Chapter 11: On The Road Again

When we got back to the apartment, Kate was already sound asleep on one side of the bed. We both peed and brushed our teeth. Jess stripped down to her panties, pulled on a t-shirt, and snuggled into the middle of the bed beside Kate. I got into my boxers, and climbed in on the other side. It was tight, but we fit. But if this was going to be a thing, I thought to myself, one of the first things I needed to buy us was a bigger bed. This double one of Jess’s just wasn’t big enough for three of us.

I didn’t sleep well that night. I think I saw the clock change over every single hour. There was so much on my mind. I tried to stay still, so I wouldn’t wake Jess and Kate. But I’m not sure how successful I was. When morning came, I felt totally unrested, which was not the best state to be heading out driving in. Kate rolled out of bed and headed to pee and start the coffee, and Jess rolled over to face me.

“I know you’re thinking about what we talked about yesterday morning,” she said, before I could say anything. “And I need you to know that whatever you decide to do, and whatever comes of it, we’ll work through it together.” Then she kissed me, and got out of bed, and headed for the bathroom. I followed when she was done, and then joined the girls at the table, where Kate had coffee waiting. We had cereal for breakfast, then cycled through the bathroom again for showers and (in my case) a shave. I was the last one in, and when I came out, Jess was helping Kate make sure she had packed everything she needed. They both then came out to the livingroom and played with their new phones for a bit, getting everything set up the way they wanted it. Both girls were thrilled to have a piece of technology that was far superior to anything they had been able to afford up until now, and were determined to make the most of it. Jess called her service provider and cancelled the existing plan she had for both herself and Kate. Their phones were so old that it didn’t cost her anything to cancel. While Jess took care of that, Kate went to the kitchen and packed a lunch for us to take with us.

Before long, it was time to hit the road. We carried the luggage downstairs, and threw it in the trunk of the car, which was just barely big enough for us each to have a bag. Kate squeezed into the tiny backseat for the short trip to Johnny’s, and Jess climbed in beside me. When we got to the bar there were damp hugs all around. Jess and Kate didn’t spend time apart very often, and as for me, I had become so attached to Jess that being away from her for a couple of days seemed like an impossible task. But Jess had to get to work, and Kate and I needed to get on the highway, so we climbed back into the car and drove off.

As we got underway, we started talking about what the time in Ottawa would be like. I was avoiding the hard topic, and dealing with the easy things first. I’d heard back from the accounting firm, and I would be in meetings with them most of the day tomorrow. I suggested that on Saturday, I’d show her around a bit. But tomorrow was another matter. I didn’t want to just leave Kate on her own - that seemed kind of boring - so I said that I was thinking of asking my goddaughter, Taylor, who is Kate’s age, if she would spend the day with Kate while I was busy. Kate thought that sounded like fun, so I made a mental note to send Taylor a text and see if she had anything planned for tomorrow.

Thinking about Taylor got me thinking, again, about the issue I was avoiding. Jess had told me that Kate wanted me to take her virginity. But I was torn. On the one hand, Kate was gorgeous, and what guy doesn’t dream of being a girl’s first lover? But on the other hand, she was 17, and my girlfriend’s little sister. I’d done some checking, and I still wasn’t sure if it was legal or not, but even more to the point, I was concerned about whether it was ethical. And whatever happened, we needed to talk about it. So, it was time to stop evading the issue and have the talk. We were on a pretty straight stretch of highway, and the traffic was moving steadily, so there wasn’t going to be a better time.

“So, Kate,” I started, tentatively, “Jess told me that the two of you were talking about you and I having sex.”

Kate blushed. Furiously.

“Umm. Yes. I did talk to her about that.”

“Well, can we talk about it for a bit? There are some things that I want to know.”

She nodded, without looking at me.

“Kate, I can tell that you’re finding this embarrassing. But if two people can’t talk, there’s no way that they can have sex. So try, please?”

“Ok, Alex. I’ll try.”

“So, I guess what I want to know is what this is all about. Why do you want to lose your virginity at this moment in your life? Obviously, you’ve hung onto it longer than some girls your age do. So why now? And why me? Can you talk to me about that?”

Kate took a deep breath.

“Well, I suppose I’ve hung onto it this long because there’s been nobody around that I would consider making out with. I mean, there have been guys that have asked, you know, hit on me. The guys who live downstairs do it all the time. But I’ve never been tempted to do anything with any of them because they’re scuzzy, and the guys at school who’ve come on to me haven’t been guys I wanted to be with either. So I’ve just waited. I never thought I’d wait till I was married or anything. I just have never found a guy I wanted to do it with.

“And then you came along. And you’re kind. And you’re hunky. And you’re not all, ‘Yo, babe, suck my dick and I’ll give you something nice.’ You just do nice things for me. And you don’t try and grab my butt when I walk by, or whistle at me, or make me feel like I’m some kind of meat or something.

“And so I look at you, and I think, that’s the kind of guy I’d like to be my first lover. And Jess says you’re good at it. And I’ve fallen ... I mean, I just think that I’d like to do it with you.”

I was confused. First, no one has ever called me hunky. It was clear the girl was delusional. Either that, or she seriously needed glasses. But did Kate just stop herself from telling me that she had fallen in love with me? I thought that this was just supposed to be about a one-time thing, an introduction to pleasure, so to speak. That was conflicting enough. But if she was in love with me, or thought she was in love with me, that was even more conflicting. It was unlikely that having sex with her was going to help her achieve any kind of clarity in her feelings for me, at least any kind of clarity that was compatible with me being her sister’s boyfriend.

“Kate, I appreciate what you’ve said, and I am grateful for your honesty. I really am. But I’m not sure that I can give you what you want me to give you.”

She began to sniffle.

“It’s because I’m ugly, isn’t it? I’ve never been as good-looking as Jess.”

“No! Kate, this has nothing to do with your looks. Trust me, you are extremely attractive. I don’t want to get into comparisons with your sister, because that will end badly no matter what I say, but you’ve got nothing to worry about there. There are three things that are making this hard for me: your age, and how long we’ve known each other, and the fact that I consider myself to be Jess’s boyfriend. If those things were different, I would have pulled the car over and jumped you by now. Trust me.”

“What does how long we’ve known each other have to do with anything?”

“Kate, you’ve known me for less than a week. How can you have decided that I’m the right guy to take to bed in that small an amount of time?”

She turned and glared at me. “If I recall correctly, it seems to me that you were fucking Jess two days after you met her. So what’s the difference between her and I?”

She had me there.

“You’re right. I moved too fast with Jess. I should have taken longer before I did anything with her. And I am sorry for that. It’s set a bad example for you. But Kate, in my - our - defence, Jess is older than you are.”

“So?”

“So, she’s seen men. Met men. Known men. At least enough to be more sure of what she likes and doesn’t like. You’re only 17.”

“So I’m too young to know the right guy when I meet him?”