Chapter 2

I tried to put out of my mind what Vicky said about wishing that she could marry me, but it was rather tough to ignore such a sentiment once expressed. It’s not everyday that your own twin sister all but declares her affection for you, after all. It clearly wasn’t about money ... we were both equally sure to inherit plenty of wealth from Mom and Dad alike. I mulled it over while getting a refill for each of us from Ram, who kept looking lovestruck for some reason.

I didn’t get why until I saw her ... damn! What was this, a cinema or an archive? Or a bleeping high school reunion! Former cheerleader, former volleyball player, former softball shortstop, though there was nothing short about her. Kara ... fucking ... Kara, with her long, flowing, dark brown hair that reminded me of Princess Leia or something like that. Long legs, too. Yep, I could see why Ram’s blood temperature would be jumping degrees upward on the Celsius rather than just the Fahrenheit.

Kara ... damn ... and she wasn’t exactly going to be out of my life. She was about to become my stepsister, in fact. My newest stepsister. Her mother was Cheyenne, a full-blooded Pequot from Connecticut, while Kara was half Scots-Irish or something like that on her father’s side. While Cheyenne worked as a paralegal, Kara had other interests, few of them academic in nature. She was a natural athlete and it showed, even now very toned and trim.

She had one brother as well, Arnold, but he was in the Peace Corps in Uganda, doing something useful with his life. He was also gay, something that made Kara and me, not to mention Cheyenne, very nervous for his safety in such an openly homophobic country. I wondered how he managed to stay alive so far, but he kept us up to date, to say the least. What little bonding Kara and I did was due to our mutual respect and affection for him and their mother.

“Oh, hey, Vic ... where’s Vicky?” Kara approached and embraced me warmly.

“Oh, she’s fine, just holding my spot while I get refills for us from Ram here,” I smiled as I drew attention enough to give Ram his fighting chance.

If the guy blew it or Kara wasn’t keen on him, that was not my fault. I gave him his opening shot, if nothing else. While I was drawn to Kara myself, she was going to be my stepsister and I didn’t know how she would feel about that kind of thing. I was still trying to process Vicky’s declaration and my own feelings toward her ... plus Sofia while I was at it. Kara was gracious enough toward the guy, but the disinterest was pretty plain, much to his dejection.

“Oh, hi ... Ram. Look, I’ll do you a favor, okay? I like you ... just not that way. It’s not personal. But I’ll help you out. My friend Charlie ... she could really use a date. She’s been hard-up with men ever since Scott broke up with her. Her own fault, mind you. She got caught cheating on him, but she felt awful about it and still does.

“She hasn’t dared to even attempt a love life again, has been too down about it, but she really must. For her own good. Give her a call ... I can tell that you’re a sweetheart, dude. Do yourself a favor. Cheating aside, she’s a great catch. And you can give up your v-card at last,” Kara made her sales pitch and Ram jumped at it.

Well, to be fair, Charlie was smoking hot, too, a former majorette and a stage goddess, really great at the theater. She had natural acting and musical talent, though with little to show for it outside of some minor Broadway parts here or there. All of them in musicals, of course. She had dimples, chestnut curls, and better cleavage than Kara had, if not the same caliber of legs. Her ass was a bit on the plumper side than Kara’s firm buns, and she was shorter to boot, but that wasn’t hard to be. Her complexion was that nice caramel one that is so delightfully common with biracial girls (black father, white mother).