Chapter 2

Kate struggled awake to the annoying chirp of her phone’s alarm. She rolled over tapping the off button and groaned. It’s too fucking early. She swung her feet off the bed, stepping onto a shoe lying just to the side. Mumbling, she began to kick the boot out of the way, and ... stopped.

Oh shit, Justin’s shoe. Last night wasn’t just a dream.

Sure enough her cousin’s naked ass was peeking out from the sheets. He looked just as good sprawled on the far side of her bed as he had when he had been rocking her world the night before.

Her younger cousin was perfectly sculpted. Lean muscles coiled under his skin, like a panther, even while he slept. He looked so good she wanted to crawl back into bed and wake him up.

What am I thinking? Last night can’t happen again, my mom will kill me if she finds out what we did. Plus Denise is sure to fire my ass, no matter how cute, if I don’t get into work on time.

Kate jumped into the shower, the hot water pushed back at the low-level headache that was trying to find its way into her life. She was surprised she wasn’t more hungover. They had a lot to drink last night.

In fact, what the hell had Jen been doing driving them home? They had to be smarter. Next time we take an Uber, no need to risk a DUI.

The water streamed off her body as she quickly soaped up and rinsed off. No need to wash her hair, she only did that a few times a week so she didn’t strip off the oils, just a little conditioner, and her hair would be fine.

She jumped out of the shower wrapping herself in a towel that did little to hide her lithe body and started to go back into her room. She stopped just before turning the knob and knocked quietly. “Coming in.”

“No worries.” When she opened the door Justin was sitting up in the bed looking at his phone, the sheet barely covering his still naked waist. He smiled at her, a slightly crooked, sardonic grin. “I think we might be a little past the knocking stage.”

“I didn’t want to presume.” Kate entered the room and started to grab some clothes for work: skin-tight black leggings, a french artist shirt, some little black flats. As she reached into her underwear drawer to grab a thong, she stopped as Justin spoke.

“If you need some privacy, I can go use the bathroom. Even though I’m pretty sure I saw all of you last night.”

“Last night was wild.” Kate looked at Justin, her head slightly downcast, her eyes not quite making eye contact. “I can’t believe that we did that.”

“I’m glad we did. That was the most amazing experience of my life.”

“I doubt that, it seemed like you knew exactly what you were doing.”

Justin stretched, the muscles of his tight abdomen sliding as he swung his feet to the floor. He got out of bed and stretched. Kate couldn’t look away, even though she knew she should. Last night had been a one-time thing and it couldn’t happen again, but ... Why does he have to look like a fitness model? He has a fucking eight-pack!

Justin turned toward her, his cock half-hard from morning wood and it looked just as delicious as it had felt last night. She wanted to drop her clothes on the floor and suck it into her mouth, but she shifted her eyes and pretended to be looking for something in her drawer.

“Oh, I’m not going to lie and pretend I haven’t been with some girls before.”

Justin was suddenly right behind her, his naked body inches from hers, separated only by the much too small bath towel. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her close to him, his nose buried in her hair, his hard cock tight to her ass.

“Kate, last night was amazing. I never thought I would meet the most amazing girl of my life and she would turn out to be my cousin.”

Kate felt her resolve crumble. She wanted to turn towards him, drop her towel and climb up his tall body. She trembled, her free hand toying with the towel, about to drop it to the floor. The hell with what people would think, the hell with the fact he was family, the hell with her job.

Just as her fingers tugged at the fold in the towel, Justin released her. “I’ll let you get dressed. I have to hit the head.”

She was hot. Her face was flushed with confusion, with desire, with an overwhelming need to just tackle her cousin and fuck him within an inch of his life. She could feel her pussy dripping down her legs as she bit her lip in frustration.

“Fuck,” she groaned and got busy getting dressed for work. She pulled her hair back in a low ponytail and sprayed a little perfume, before slipping out of the bedroom. Justin was still in the bathroom, she could hear him brushing his teeth.

“Hey, I have to go to work. I’d stick around, but I can’t afford to be late. Will you be alright?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m going to get an Uber and head over to SDSU for an informal visit. I’ll probably be at least a few hours over there and then I’ll head back here.” Justin poked his head out from the bathroom, his green eyes glowed as he smiled at her. “I’m sure I can take care of myself for a few hours.”

“Great, give me a call if you have any problems, I’ll be back after four.”

Kate started to open the door when a strong hand grabbed her shoulder pulling her to a halt. She trembled, she didn’t know if she could resist him if he asked her to stay, but this was wrong. He was her younger cousin. She had to be the responsible one.

“I don’t have your number.” Justin smiled his adorable slightly crooked grin. He was still naked, his gloriously athletic body inviting her touch, asking her to discover new stretches of skin.

“Oh yeah, let me drop it to you.”

Kate quickly called up her info and dropped it to her cousin’s iPhone. She turned back to the door. She could feel his eyes on her, she could sense he wanted to grab her, kiss her, but she didn’t want to lose control again.

Without turning around she said, “Talk to you later. Maybe we can see if the girls want to hang out again tonight.”

“Sure, that would be fun.”

She could hear the confusion in his voice and her resolve almost broke again, but she couldn’t stop, couldn’t let him grab her again. God forbid they actually kiss. His strong arms would make her change her mind just by holding her, all too willing, body close.

She all but ran out the door and leaped into her car, only looking at the door as she pulled away. Justin stood there looking at her, a slightly puzzled expression. He didn’t seem to care or notice that he was still naked. Down girl, he’s your cousin!

Kate got to work twenty minutes early, even though she stopped for a coffee and a muffin from her favorite local shop.

Denise was surprised when she pulled up five minutes later. “Took my warning to heart? I can’t remember the last time you were this early.”

“I’ve never been this early.” Kate smiled as she walked to the shop door. “I left the house early. I...”

She paused as her phone buzzed announcing an incoming text. She realized she hadn’t even looked at it this morning. A true sign of how rattled she had been. Her phone was never far from her hand but she was shocked to see she had a ton of messages from Jen and Maria.

There was also one on top. One from a number she didn’t recognize. A 719 area code...

“What did you do last night?” Kate almost dropped her phone as Denise peered over her shoulder. “Looks like someone had a good time.”

Kate blushed and panicked. What am I going to say? The text had to be from Justin.

“Ummm, nothing happened. I was with my cousin and my friends.”

“That text is telling me something else. ‘I had the best time last night. I wouldn’t change it for the world.’” Denise was like a bloodhound on the scent. “It seems someone thought last night was amazing.”

“It must be a wrong number.” Denise thumbed her phone off. “Nothing exciting happened. We went to the 710, had some drinks, and danced a little. I had to beat my friends off my poor little cousin.”

Kate and Denise entered the boutique. Denise was young to own such a hot business. She wasn’t more than ten years older than her younger employee and looked like she was in her early twenties. A bronzed Mediterranean complexion, long straight black hair, an unkind person might say her nose was a trifle proud, but in reality, it just made her the more striking. Intense blue-gray eyes peered at Kate.

“I’m not sure if I believe that. You’re a little too red for nothing to have happened.”

“Nothing did happen. I made out a little with Kate and Maria, but that’s not unusual. I thought we were going to give little Justin a heart attack.”

“A fish out of water, huh? He must have been shocked to be in the big city.” Denise started to count out the cash drawers and do the usual things they had to do to get the shop ready. “Didn’t you say he was from the back of beyond?”

“Colorado. Colorado Springs, actually. I guess it’s not too backwoods.”

Kate busied herself, straightening a pile of boy shorts that were perfectly neat already, but she needed to keep her hands moving and keep Denise distracted. She knew if her boss got an inkling there was something more she would keep prying until Kate cracked.

The two girls prattled on about nothing much, Denise complaining about her on again-off again boyfriend Ramon who spent too much time tanning and flirting with her girlfriends and not enough time taking care of her. This time he had gone out for drinks with a couple of her friends and hadn’t told her until she mentioned it. Denise wasn’t the jealous type; she just demanded honesty and Ramon was constantly on the edge of fucking things up.

“If only he wasn’t so good in bed, I’d dump him in a heartbeat. It’s hard to be on the prowl at my age.”

“Bullshit Denise. You’re drop-dead gorgeous and a successful businesswoman to boot. Men would be kicking down your door to get a chance to even go out to dinner with you.”

“Maybe a girl doesn’t want dinner. Maybe she wants someone with a tongue like a lesbian biker and a cock like a pony.”

The two of them burst out laughing just as a customer walked in. Kate finally got a chance to look at her phone an hour or two later. She quickly fired off a text to Justin stating “I had fun too” and then looked at the mass of texts from her friends. They were demanding that she respond. Demanded to know what happened after they had dropped her off. Jen was asking how good Justin was in bed. Maria was asking if they continued making out. There were both direct and group texts and Kate didn’t know where to start.

Eighteen is legal in every state. Even if he was younger, he’s so yummy I’d slurp him right up. Jen was fast on the text. She was dropping all kinds of suggestive emoticons.

Maria posted a gif of Rachel from Friends with the tagline “He’s so pretty I want to cry.”

Well, keep your claws off him. He’s only here for a few days. Don’t warp his opinion of San Diego.

I’m going to offer to make him my pool boy. I’m sure my mom would let me keep him. Jen texted with a winking face emoji.

I don’t think your dad would like that.

My dad is banging his secretary, I’m sure he’d get over it.

Kate was never sure when Jen made comments like that. She had known Jen’s parents since they were freshman cheerleaders together. Her dad was a stockbroker and her mom was a lawyer who had sold her practice and started working full time doing charity work. They always seemed close and affectionate whenever Kate saw them.

That’s not an option. Maybe we can all meet up at the beach. Have a bonfire tonight, something chill. I get off work at four.

You’re at work? What’s the Boy Wonder up to right now? Maria asked.

I call dibs, from Jen.

He’s not home. He went to go check out the soccer team at SDSU. He’s an All-State center midfielder in Colorado. I think even some professional teams have put out feelers.

I’d put out some feelers.

Damnit, Jen. Leave him alone. Kate pounded out the text.

Someone sounds jealous. Maria texted. I think that hit close to home.

Lol. Shut up you bitches. I have to get back to work. Let’s plan on meeting up around five and hitting the beach.

Sounds good. Texted Jen.

I’ll be there with bells on, texted Maria. A few seconds later, Maybe nothing else.

Rolling eye, shocked, and rofl emojis filled the stream. Kate slipped her phone away. They’re a couple of nosy bitches, but they’re my nosy bitches.

At noon Hyacinth came in. The cute little Asian was the third of the three girls who worked the shop for Denise. She always joked that Denise only hired her because she filled out the racial quota.

“One sexual chocolate, one vanilla cheerleader, and one fortune cookie. That way the dragon lady covers all her bases.” The first time Hyacinth had said that Denise had sprayed coffee all over some sixty dollar thongs and had jokingly threatened to fire the little Korean girl on the spot.