Chapter 9: An Ordinary Life

SPRING QUARTER, SENIOR YEAR (April 2002)

Neither of us quite went back to sleep. We simply held each other with our eyes closed and cuddled in absolute contentment, hoping that the real world would stay away forever.

But it wouldn't.

Danielle had to pee and as she rolled off the bed, my eyes opened up to see where she was going as I felt her weight lift free of the mattress. She came around the bed first, bending down to tenderly press her lips to my forehead.

I think we both felt it then, and I felt my body go slack in mild sadness at realizing it was over. Her kiss was a kiss of sisterly affection, not passion. As good as her lips felt against my forehead, the sexual tension between us was now gone.

The male libido part of me felt saddened at this loss. But the loving brother in me rejoiced. We were moving on. Perhaps Danielle and I would never again make love in a physical sense, but we would be forever bonded in a close way that few siblings ever experience.

When it came time for breakfast, Danielle came down and puttered around with the rest of our roommates in a chipper mood. I'm certain Amber knew exactly what had happened. E-Beth and Diane could have their suspicions and their imaginations were probably working overtime as they evaluated Danielle and me in a slightly tense manner borne of their curiosity.

But between my sister and I? There was no awkwardness, only comfortable familiarity.

There were no questions, only trust.

There was no lust, only familial affection.

She was healing.

They caught the rapist two days later. He was an ex-member of a University fraternity that had kicked him out for physically abusing his now ex-girlfriend.

He'd raped before, and DNA evidence eventually linked him to four other unsolved rapes over the past two years. This time, he was dumb enough to go prowling under the same darkened streetlight where he'd snatched Danielle. This time, the coed managed to get to her whistle. This time, heightened security had gotten on the scene before he could get away.

I count myself very lucky that two girls who meant the world to me had their attackers caught. The grim reality was that a lot of sick fuckers got away with it.

Both Amber and Danielle were on my shoulders crying after they heard the news, but after that, there were no more tears. My girls were strong.

It was inevitable that Cherys would find out what had happened to Danielle.

Danielle didn't go to work for a few days, just mentally regrouping after everything she'd been through. My guess is that word got to Cherys through some of Danielle's coworkers after that brief absence. Maybe the news got to her a different way. But however she found out, the upshot is that Cherys suddenly arrived at the door on Thursday night, her eyes wild as she immediately begged, "Tell me where she is!"

Without thinking, I just kind of crooked my hand back towards the living room and Cherys burst past me. I was still looking out the door and saw that Cherys had done a piss poor job of crooked parking, her right front tire in the grass and the driver's door still wide open as the car dinged in annoyance that the keys were still in the ignition.

I turned around just in time to see Cherys vault on top of Danielle, who was sitting on the couch chatting with Amber. The gorgeous raven-haired woman was instantly bawling and clutching at her ex-girlfriend with a manic intensity I'd only seen in her occasionally.

Well, it had to happen eventually. I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and then went outside to re-park Cherys' car and bring her keys in.

When I came back, Cherys was still fussing over Danielle's injuries. At least now she was seated on the couch next to Danielle, holding my sister's hand as Danielle rather calmly explained Saturday night's events, starting with our drive into the mountains.

With the painful memories still vividly fresh, Danielle's recounting was quite brief and light on the details. Still, it was horrifying enough that only moments later Cherys was bawling again and gripping Danielle's hands so tightly that her own fingers were turning white.

"Ohmigod, sweetie. I am SO, SO sorry!" Cherys cried.

"It's not your fault..." Danielle tried to soothe. It was amazing. Danielle was the rape victim and she was the strong one offering moral support to her ex.

"If I hadn't broken up with you, you wouldn't have even been there. You would have been HOME, with ME."

"If this, if that," Danielle dismissed with a few waves of her hands. "Believe me, I spent enough time going over the 'if's. I blamed it on you. I blamed it on David. I even blamed it on Amber and E-Beth because I was jealous they got to fuck his brains out. But in the end, the only one to blame is HIM, the dirtbag who did it to me."

Eventually, Danielle got Cherys calm enough to stop crying. Moments later, the dark-haired beauty had her hands wrapped around Danielle's head and her lips pressed tightly to my sister's.

By this point, Amber had circled around to me where she slipped her fingers into mine. She leaned in and clutched my arm, tilting her head to cuddle against me.

Cherys broke the kiss first, staring wild-eyed at her ex-best friend/ex-girlfriend. "Please, sweetie. Take me back. Please..."

Danielle was shocked out of her momentarily blissful feelings and her head jerked back for a moment.

"Please..." Cherys' voice cracked and she was actually wringing their hands together while the tears streamed steadily down her cheeks. "I have been lost without you. Whatever I thought I wanted, I was wrong. I've been miserable for months and it's all because you're not in my life."

Cherys kissed Danielle again, gritting through her teeth in pain. And then she pulled back again. "Please ... above everything else I want in my life, I want it to be with you. The rest will have to fit into that."

Danielle suddenly burst into tears as a smile blossomed on her face, so wide that it lit up the room despite the sundown.

Already Amber was now pulling me away, rubbing my hands and positively glowing herself. When she got into one of these moods, I knew I was in for a very pleasant evening of making love.

I let myself be led to the stairs, completely at ease now at leaving Danielle behind me. She was healed. I had done my part. And from what I had just seen, she would never be alone again.

SUMMER, POST-GRADUATION (June 2002)

"You feel so good in me, babe..."

I had to admit, this was probably my favorite view in the whole world. I was comfortably lying down with my head and shoulders resting on plush pillows. And I had Amber's gloriously naked body before me as she straddled my hips and slowly rose and fell with the grace and power of the surf breaking against a sandy beach.

I could see the definition of her ab muscles as she twisted and gyrated around my pole embedded inside of her. In the brilliant afternoon light, her body glowed with a light sheen of sweat covering her creamy skin. A little further up, her large, round breasts jutted proudly forward, capped with hard pink nipples that bounced enticingly with her every motion.

Delicate shoulders and a prominent collarbone anchored a graceful neck that led to the crown jewel. Her face was quite pretty to begin with, all high cheekbones and brilliant blue eyes. But with her lips contorted into a passionate moan and her eyes reflecting the light from the window, she now looked an angel descended from heaven to bring me the ultimate in pleasure.

I was half-afraid to touch her, lest I break the spell. No matter, because as we continued on, Amber's own physical ecstasy brought her back down to earth, and importantly, brought her body down to me.

"Aw, fuuuck..." she gasped as she leaned over, at first just pinning my arms back with her hands gripping my wrists, flexing her arms to help her own up and down motions on my cock. Then she curved her back and thrust her tits forward into my face, immediately getting me to start laving her nipples with my tongue and even baring my teeth against the sensitive buds to give little bursts of sensation.

"Oh, baby. I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna cum!" she whimpered before her hips set off into a spasmodic, uncoordinated thrusting that was more ugly duckling than graceful swan.

No matter, the feelings shooting through her body (and mine) were more important than fluid motion. And after holding myself at the brink to wait for her, I relaxed the tension in my pelvic muscles and surrendered my load, letting it flow out of me to fill my lover with all I had to give while she cried out our mutual climax and slammed her entire torso against me.

When I felt my spasming cock finally still itself inside of her, I reached my hands up to cup her buttcheeks and rub happily while she cooled down and rested on my chest. We lay together for a few long moments before she turned her head to me and looked deeply into my eyes.

"I love you," she murmured.

"I love you too," I replied before we came together in a warm kiss.

When we broke, Amber dropped her elbows and lifted her chest up to get a clear look at me with her hands on my chest. "Ooh," she said in delight as she began to massage my hard pec muscles. She grinned happily. "I do all the work and it feels like you're working out pretty regularly."

"If you call sex a workout, then of course it's pretty regular," I grinned.

But Amber pouted, "But what am I going to do starting Monday? You'll be at your new job and then who's gonna fuck me in the early afternoon? I'm not sure I can wait until you come home!"

I rolled my eyes. Ever since graduation, Amber had been alluding to some fears that somehow my no longer being a student would break us up. "You can fuck the pool boy during the summer. And once school starts again I guess E-Beth will just have to keep you occupied until I get back."

"Ffpt," Amber's lips vibrated. "Not likely. She's getting serious with this Jeff guy. And Diane is FIRMLY hetero."

"You know what they say," I offered. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Maybe the sex will be just that much more satisfying when you have to wait for it."

She grinned and was about to say something when we both heard the distant click of a lock opening and then rather loud voices arguing. Amber strained her ears for a few seconds and then exclaimed, "Ohmigod, it's my PARENTS!"

Amber quickly moved off me, pulling her pussy off my cock with a wet squelch and then she hurried into the bathroom to clean herself up. Very quickly, she came back out and started hunting around for her clothes.

I took her cue and grabbed at my shorts. "I thought you said they were going to be out of the country until this weekend?"

"They WERE!" she hissed. "Get dressed."

Somehow, Amber just ran her fingers through her hair and finished the last button on her sundress. She gave me a half-hopeful/half-fearful smile. "Looks like you're finally going to meet them."

Satisfied with both our appearances, we calmly opened the door and walked out. The second floor had rooms running the length of the hallway on one side while the other side just had a railing that looked over the vaulted ceilings down to the main floor entrance.

From the upstairs railing, Amber and I could see a distinguished middle-aged couple was now seated in the living room while a maid brought them glasses of wine. A uniformed limo driver was still bringing luggage in through the front door and setting it out on the foyer while other staff came to fetch each bag.

"You guys are home early," Amber said nonchalantly as we descended the stairs.

Amber's mom happened to be looking the other way as she waved a hand dismissively and began complaining, "Well, our travel agent assured us that Santo Domingo had cleaned up in the last decade and that the hotel she booked us into was World-class. Well, it wasn't ANYTHING like St. Croix and-" she cut off as she turned and saw me. "Oh! Who's your guest?"

"Mother, Daddy, this is my boyfriend David."

"Ah, yes," her father stood and straightened the cuffs of his blazer. "Pleased to finally meet you. I understand you've been seeing my daughter for about a year and a half?"

We made it into the living room and I held out my hand to firmly shake with her father. "Yes, about that long Mr-."

"No, no," he waved me off from finishing. "Just call me Robert."

"And I'm Julie." Her mother said, standing up and putting on her socially fake and flirty demeanor like one would put on a new shirt. "Well! He's set the record then, hasn't he?" Then her eyes rolled up the stairs as the initial surprise wore off and she seemed to realize what we had been doing just prior to their arrival.

I felt my back tense up. I don't think any parent ever feels HAPPY about their daughter having sex with her boyfriend, especially in their home while they're out. But Amber's mother surprised me.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear. I hope we weren't interrupting your afternoon," she apologized as she brought her gaze back down to Amber's.

"No, it's alright mother. We were just talking." It was true. We had finished our playtime and gotten to the post-coital cuddle.

"Good then," her mother smiled knowingly. I got the distinct impression that her mom understood perfectly. "I'm sorry but that so-called vacation was just horrid. I couldn't stand being there any longer so we came home a little early."

Amber's father rolled his eyes as if to say 'I didn't have a problem with it'. But he managed to retain his dignified expression and commented, "Well, this may not have been how you were planning for us to meet your boyfriend, but we're all here now." He then turned to me. "Now David, I'm assuming you planned to spend the whole day with my daughter?"

Mustering up all the confidence I could while delicately trying not to say the wrong thing, I nodded my head and answered, "Yes, sir."

"Well then, since you have the free time, I insist that you stay with us for dinner. But in the meantime, the sun is still out, thank goodness for summer. Do you golf, David?"

"Uh, no sir." It was a sport I always wanted to try, but $100 greens fees seemed a little steep for a college kid's poverty.

"Really? You should learn. Tell you what, give me a few minutes to call the Country Club to get a tee time and arrange some clubs for you, and in no time we'll have converted you from hacker to proper sportsman."

I risked a glance over to Amber, who wide-eyed just nodded her head in a subtle indication to just go along with it. "Sure. It sounds wonderful."

"Excellent. I'll just go make the calls." With that, Amber's father strode off to his study.

That left me standing in the living room with Amber and her mother. "So ... were you two having a good time?" her mom asked Amber.

"Well, yes, mother," Amber flustered for a moment as her eyes clearly gave away what we had been doing.

"Interesting..." her mother said speculatively, her eyes clearly evaluating me. Now over the years I'd gotten these looks before, usually from girls in high school or pretty co-eds at college. I had to admit though, as much as I enjoyed the attention, getting 'the look' from Amber's mother kinda freaked me out. "Anyways, so sorry your father is stealing your boyfriend, dear. But at least it will give us a chance to catch up!"

Amber looked like she would rather melt into a puddle. But her expression was all honeyed smiles as she answered, "That sounds wonderful, mother."

I have to say, I didn't do too badly. True, I'd never swung a golf club other than those cheap putters playing mini-golf. But I'd always been pretty athletic and by the third hole I could really let 'er rip.

Of course, hitting for distance off the tee is one thing. Chipping with any accuracy is an ENTIRELY different game.

After the round, I massaged out the calluses forming on my hands from gripping the clubs too tightly while Amber's father and I hung out in the lounge with a couple of cocktails.

"Not bad, David," he cheered me. "You'll be a regular Tiger Woods in no time."

"Thank you, sir," I said automatically in respect. But he raised an eyebrow at me. "Er, Robert."

"So what are your plans now, David? Amber tells me that you've just graduated from University?"

"Yes, sir. I mean, Robert. I start at Beckman Engineering next Monday. I only have this week off to take a break."

"Ah, yes. Beckman! Good firm. They're doing well. It's downtown, not too far from the University isn't it?"

"Yes ... Robert."

"Well, well. That's not too far from my office. I'm not in there very often, it is a long drive. But I pop in every now and again to make sure they're not driving my company into the ground. We should meet for lunch sometime when I'm in town."

I was seized by momentary fear, a little intimidated by Amber's father and yet hopeful that maybe he liked me. Getting in with the parents would be great for the future, and it seemed that despite 'The Heights' reputation for snobbishness, my lack of social nobility wasn't going to be a deal-breaker in my dating his daughter.

"That sounds great Robert," I answered with full confidence.

He patted me on the back, and for the first time, I started to really think about my long-term romantic future.

SUMMER, STAFF ENGINEER (June 2002)

I shot my cuffs and took one more second to make sure my tie was straight. They said the dress code was business casual, but for my first day I wanted to make a good impression. They say its always okay to be too dressed up and never okay to be too dressed down.

Minutes later I was smiling at the matronly receptionist as I told her, "I'm here to see Brianna, in HR."

I sat in the lobby for about five minutes. I was early after all. I tried to calm myself by breathing slowly and absently wiped the nervous sweat from my hand. I already HAD the job, so it wasn't like interview nerves. But a tingle of excitement still zipped up and down my spine. My first real job.

When the security door opened, I immediately stood and got ready to greet the HR staffer who would walk me through my paperwork and get me started. The only problem was that as soon as the attractive brunette came through the door, my tongue immediately tied itself into a pretzel.

She wasn't the most gorgeous woman I'd ever seen. Either Amber or Cherys would easily have taken that crown. But she was still quite pretty and her green eyes sparkled.

And yet it wasn't her attractiveness that floored me. I'd been around enough pretty women in my life. It was that she looked JUST like Danielle. Same eyes, similar cheekbones, same curve to her lips. Only her dark brown hair initially set her apart.

I was seized by momentary confusion. Was this my sister come to play a prank on me?

"Hello David, pleased to meet you. I'm Brianna." She reached her hand to shake and I took it numbly. You know how they say you can tell a lot about a person by their handshake? My handshake said I was a limp, spineless fish.

"Uh... , um..."

I was a caveman.

At least her voice was different. And the longer I stared at her face the more I began to pick out the subtle differences. Still, the resemblance was striking. But at least I managed to find my voice.

"Oh, sorry," I muttered as my tone picked up in strength and my grip firmed up. "You startled me, that's all."

Brianna smiled demurely and she blushed.

I immediately realized that she would be under the impression that I was flirting with her. Or perhaps she was getting a mild ego-boost by a handsome guy sputtering nervously around her. "Um, I don't want you to get the wrong impression," I stammered a bit. "But you actually look JUST like my sister."

Her face fell a bit. Not many romantically inclined young people want to be thought of like a family member.

I hurriedly dug into my pocket to get out my wallet and flipped to a recent picture of me and Danielle.

"Oh, wow..." she said, staring at the photo. "She really does look a bit like me."

I shrugged and then we both looked at each other in awkward silence. I finally sighed and blinked while shaking out my head. "I'm sorry. Can we start over?"

She looked at me oddly as I straightened my shoulders and then confidently took a step forward, extending out my hand. "Hi. I'm David. I start here today."

She grinned and took my hand, this time our handshake expressing confidence and comfortability. "Brianna. Welcome aboard."

"How'd it go?"

I let out a light yawn as I stretched across the bed on my back. "Pretty good. They're using the same CAD program we had at school, just a different version. So I'm not too worried about picking up the system."

"Have you actually done any work yet?" Amber asked.

"Nah. Just settling in, raiding the office supply cabinet, ordering business cards, etc. Feels weird. I was there for eight hours and I didn't do a single productive thing."

"Well, getting organized is pretty productive. How's your manager?"

I shrugged "He's a cool guy..."

We spent the next twenty minutes chatting about my first day. I even gave Amber the whole awkward story about meeting Brianna. But in the middle of my analysis of the other Engineering nerds I would be working with, my stomach gurgled loudly.

Amber laughed and patted my belly, then turned to rubbing it slowly in a circular motion. "Should I go get us some food? Or should I have my dessert first?" Her circling hand dropped a little lower to run over my crotch.

My prick gave a little stir in response, and for a moment my mind went to war between satisfying my hunger and the always present hunger for sex.

"C'mon..." Amber said seductively. "We have the ENTIRE house to ourselves. Pick the room, any room, any piece of furniture."

I groaned as my imagination started whirling. Danielle had moved back in with Cherys. Diane had gone to her hometown for the summer. And E-Beth was back at her internship. Given a choice between hanging out in her empty mansion with the servant staff all summer or staying with me at our off-campus house, Amber chose to play housewife for a few months.

But just when she got my zipper undone, my stomach growled again, this time much more loudly. Amber started laughing and once I started chuckling myself, the mood was broken.

There would be plenty of time for sex later. I just didn't know if we could wait the proscribed 1-hour's rest before physical exercise.

I was just walking up the Starbucks when I caught the reflection of two people behind me in the glass doors. So when I opened the doorway, I automatically turned to hold it open for them.

"Thanks," a sweet voice came before I recognized the face and saw Brianna just behind me, along with another young woman who also worked at our company. "Hi David!" she said brightly.

Ten seconds later we were all in line. It was the morning rush so I figured it would take a couple of minutes before we could place our orders. Meanwhile, Brianna made the introductions. "Kathy, this is David. He just started in Engineering two days ago. David, this is Kathy, she's in Accounting."

I shook hands and politely said, "Pleased to meet you."

"Oh, you want to see the craziest thing?" Brianna said to Kathy excitedly and then turned to me. "Can I see that photo again?"

I knew the one she meant immediately and I dutifully fished out my wallet, handing it to Brianna. The pretty brunette took it and flipped over to the photos. She paused at the first one and her head went back an inch. "Wow..." she said, obviously impressed. "Who is this?"

I leaned over and smiled. "That's my girlfriend Amber."

Kathy rolled her eyes. "You wanted to show me a photo of his girlfriend?" she asked sarcastically.

"No, no," Brianna blushed and then flipped to the next picture. "This one."

Kathy looked, and then LOOKED, leaning down to scrutinize the photo. "Why does he have a photo of you in his wallet?"

Brianna giggled. "That's not me. That's his sister..." she looked to me for a second, "Danielle?"

I nodded in confirmation.

"You're shitting me!" Kathy said a little too loudly. The gentleman in front of us turned and frowned before returning his attention to the barista taking his order.

"Weird, huh?"

Kathy shrugged and tilted her head, still staring at the photo. "Well, at least you know you two would look cute together."

Both Brianna and I blushed. But then it was my turn to order.

"Hi Honey! I'm ho—" My voice was abruptly cut off as my jaw hit the floor. "Holy SHIT!" I finished.

"Welcome home, honey..." Amber drawled in a low voice. She was sitting in an armchair wearing nothing but one of my ties. Specifically, my favorite tie and the one I'd worn to my first day of work.

The damn thing never looked that good on me. Right now it was nestled into the valley between her two glorious breasts and pointing straight down across her flat tummy to her neatly trimmed blonde landing strip leading the way to a pretty, pink pussy.

I was getting to like this whole playing house thing.

"No way, man. Nothing beats a Red Robin burger."

"Come on! You can't go wrong with Islands."

"Islands? Those things are tasteless bricks compared to Red Robin."

"Why are we having this conversation in a Fuddruckers? We all wanted to come here because THESE burgers are so delightfully AWESOME!"

I grinned and just looked at the three Enginerds arguing. Dan, Vipul, and Marshall were all on the same project team as me and we were all absolutely starving on this Tuesday lunchtime. I thought back to the conversations I had with Nate or Kevin about fast food joints and recalled the same inane arguments about who had the best burgers. Some things just never change no matter how old you get.

Dan was just a year ahead of me and he'd been the newbie on the project until I joined. Vipul and Marshall had both been hired at the same time a few years earlier. The four of us grumbled about forgetting to eat after getting lost in our work on repeated occasions.

Fortunately, our food was ready with relative speed and the four of us were soon chomping down with wild abandon. If any pretty girls could see us now, they'd probably mock us for being such slobs.

"Slow down, boys! The cow is already dead! It's not going anywhere." A sweet voice sounded off behind me.

I turned to see Brianna and Kathy behind us, each holding a buzzer waiting to announce when their own food was ready.

In a deep, raspy voice, I growled, "Mmm ... Meat..." and then took a massively big bite out of my burger.

Brianna laughed and then slapped my shoulder, her emerald eyes sparkling. "You're so gross, David. Can we join you guys?"

With my mouth still full, I simply gestured to the empty seats at our six-person table. Brianna sat next to me and Kathy took the spot across from her.

In the corner of my eye, Vipul and Marshall exchanged significant glances and Marshall looked like he was going to go into adrenaline shock just from sitting next to Kathy.

I swallowed my bite and said, "I assume you all know each other?"

The guys nodded but the girls seemed ever so slightly unsure. "Hi Brianna, hi Kathy," Dan offered with a nervous little wave.

"Hi, uh ... Dan, right?"

Dan was beaming that the pretty brunette knew his name. But when the girls hesitated another moment, Vipul and Marshall quickly volunteered their names.

"Right, right."

There was about thirty seconds of awkward conversation, and then both girls' buzzers went off and they left to go pick up their food.

The three Engineers immediately focused in on me. "HOW did you get those girls to sit with us?" Vipul immediately asked.

"Do you know them? From outside of work?" Marshall put in.

"No, no. Brianna's in HR and Kathy's in Accounting."

"We KNOW that," Vipul put in. "But Brianna's worked here for two years and she NEVER came to sit with ME."

"Good lord, she's hot," Dan practically swooned.

I just shrugged. "I dunno. She did my paperwork on my first day. We say 'hi' to each other in the hallways. That's it."

"She doesn't say 'hi' to ME in the hallways..."

The boys spent another couple of minutes trying to pry more information out of me, information that I just didn't have. Their excited whispering was soon even louder than their normal speaking voices would have been.

Marshall rolled his eyes. "Look man, we just want to know WHY one of the hottest girls in the entire company is flirting with you."

"Who's flirting?" Brianna asked as she walked up with her tray, a chicken salad artfully piled atop her plate.

"Uh, nothing, nothing," Marshall stammered and then immediately went catatonic.

Kathy sat down with an amused look at Marshall next to her as she picked up her own chicken sandwich. "Uh-huh. You mean Brianna flirting with David here."

"Kathy!" Brianna hissed and turned beet red. "I was not flirting. Besides, I have a boyfriend and HE has a girlfriend."