Chapter 38

Fifteen minutes later, Cindy pulled Baby off the road and drove across a grass field. They stopped at the edge of a steep drop-off facing the Tombigbee River. Cindy said, “Roll the window down.”

Deana watched Cindy, then, for the first time ever, she turned a handle on the door to manually lower a car window. A steady breeze passed over them, and Cindy started talking about who Darlene was and why Sally had to leave. Deana didn’t interrupt, ask questions, scream, or cry; she hung on Cindy’s every word, waiting for it.

It had been in Deana’s mind since the day Cindy found the Victoria’s Secret bag on the porch steps and kissed her. Deana had been telling herself it was true; she wanted it to be, but that still hadn’t prepared her for when the words, “I’m not your cousin,” came out of Cindy’s mouth.

Everything Deana knew, all the stuff that defined her, her family, and her history, was being challenged. Plans, expectations for the future, and her sense of identity were all suspended. Deana’s brain was numb. It was as if she woke from a dream and didn’t know what was real. The next time Deana stepped into the house at 5809 Center Lane, it would seem like a place they had been vacationing, not her home. It would never be home again, and she never wanted to see John again. Sucking his dick or taking a load of cum on her body paled in comparison to keeping her sister from her. For all these years, Deana could have had a big sister, a companion, a mentor, and a protector. Instead, Cindy had been a cousin who she didn’t get to see often enough. “I’ll kill him. I swear I’m going to kill him.”

“No, Deana, no, you promised if I told you—”

“I know, but—”

“No buts,” Cindy said. “Leave it to Sally. What she is going to do will be worse than death. Trust me, she’s been planning this for years.”

“She’s a badass, isn’t she?”

“You have no idea how bad.”

Deana thought she might actually have smiled. “I bet.”

“Don’t forget, I haven’t told Candy about us, not yet.”

“I won’t say anything, but I can’t believe she hasn’t figured it out. It’s so obvious if you look at us.”

“Cousins look alike, too, so why would she question it?”

“Because kissing you is like kissing myself,” Deana said. “How could she kiss you and not notice?”

“You saying you’ve been kissing your mother?”

“No, I kissed my stepmother ... and your girlfriend.”

“Let me see.” Cindy leaned over and kissed her. Deana closed her eyes and gave her sister unfettered access to the deepest parts of her mind, places she didn’t let Evan into. She believed in superheroes again and thought her life might actually get better.

When the kiss ended, Deana held up her hand. “This band represents you. I kind of always felt it, knew that there were still three of us. Evan feels it too, but he hasn’t realized it’s you. I don’t think he has.”

Cindy laughed. “We’ve both kissed him, so...?”

“Oh, my God, you did it to him, too? I would have paid money to see the look on his face. Did he cream in his pants?”

“Not sure, I didn’t check,” Cindy said. “I just needed to get him focused, and kissing him worked.”

“You know Gloria and Darl—I mean Angela have a thing?”

“Cousins,” Cindy shrugged, “better than siblings hooking up.”

Does that mean she knows about Evan and me, or—Cindy turned the key, and Baby roared to life. She backed up too fast, cut two donuts in the grass, and went sideways down the tree-lined access road. Deana’s appreciation for Evan’s idealization of Cindy grew, as did her respect for race car drivers. Her pussy lips moistened, and her nipples erected while trees flashed past. Bam was something to fear, but Deana trusted her sister with her life.

Once they reached Center Lane, Cindy sped up, shifted into neutral, and turned Baby off. With only the sound of the car slicing the air, they glided past 5803, 5805, 5807 and turned right at the gray mailbox labeled 5809.

In the kitchen, Candy’s expression changed rapidly from surprise to joy and back to surprise. “Cindy, ah, Dee, Cindy, you and Deana were together? Where did you come from?”

Deana tried to maintain a neutral face, but Candy rushed forward, asking, “What happened?”

My transparency has reached epic fail levels, Deana thought as her mother practically ran her down and crushed her in a hug. “Honey, oh, honey, I’m sorry, I’m—”

“Shh, Candy, don’t.” Cindy wrapped her long arms around both of them. “This isn’t your fault. It’s none of our faults.”

Deana was pressed into the soft cushioning love of Candy’s body by her sister’s beautiful, brute strength. Nurturing love, fierce maternal love, the love of siblings, and lovers’ passion all flowed through Deana and filled her heart. Their shared secrets had forged an unbreakable bond. Now, they were family, friends, and lovers.

Deana kissed her mother, then watched Candy kiss Cindy, knowing how it felt to kiss both of them. A shameful longing made Deana say, “I’ll leave ... let you—”

“No, Dee,” Candy said and kissed her firmly. Cindy smiled and turned Deana’s face to hers. Deana’s mind sparkled with thoughts that weren’t her own, and suddenly, it was her sister’s tongue in her mouth instead of her mother’s. Cindy’s hand was on her ass, lifting the dress. Deana raised her arms. That was all it took, and she was naked without feeling exposed.

Like twenty of Rebecca’s feathers, their fingers barely touched Deana, moving over her cheeks, neck, shoulders, down her arms, over her ass, and around her hips and stomach. A fire of sensation raced to every nerve ending in her body. She felt like a child in the hands of women, surrendering everything to them. They weren’t making love to her. They were loving her with pleasure.