Chapter 2

Tristan and Barb looked so much alike that all during their younger years, everyone said it was almost impossible to tell them apart. They shared the same blond hair and blue eyes. She had the same high cheekbones, but her nose was slightly smaller than his. They even had the same lips.

Most of their features came from their dad’s side of the family. Their mother told them he’d loved telling everyone about their German ancestry. In Tristan’s mind, it was so many generations back that it hardly mattered now. The supposed family tree had them migrating to America in the early eighteen hundreds. They were scarcely German anymore.

Until his recent growth spurt, they’d even been the same height: five-seven. While being a tomboy had made Barb cute and likable, Tristan had looked ... what was the best word? ... effeminate. Now that he was six-three and 190 pounds, his broad chest, narrow hips, and short blond hair made him look even more German, and the bullies had stopped the name-calling.

It had taken him a while to gain coordination due to the rapid growth, but he was now comfortable in his changed body. He felt he was now ready to become a man. He hoped to do so before he went off to college.

Over the last several days, he’d debated whether he should ask James’s sister for advice, but honestly, she scared him.

That morning was one of the rare instances he was alone in the house with Barb; their mom had taken the younger girls to school this morning. He found his twin in the family room, reading a book.

He tried to stay out of her line of sight while figuring out the best way to broach the subject.

“I know you’re there. You might as well tell me what you’ve done,” Barb said as she turned to him and set her book down.

The problem with having a twin was they knew you better than you knew yourself. Barb patted the couch to get Tristan to sit next to her. He sat at the other end, keeping his distance. She wouldn’t have that, so she closed the gap and stared at his face. Barb broke out in an ear-to-ear grin.

“This is something big, isn’t it?”

He heaved a heavy sigh before answering. “I had my first kiss.”

She leaned back into the couch and looked at the ceiling, not saying anything for several minutes. Tristan had learned it was best to wait her out. Finally, her eyes narrowed, and she glared at him.

“It wasn’t James, was it?”

“Barb! What the fuck? I’m not even remotely bi,” Tristan complained.

“Was it one of those base sluts? You didn’t have to pay for it, did you?”

“Jesus, Barb! How little do you think of me?”

“Please. You’re a boy, after all, and now that your balls have dropped, I imagine you might do almost anything to get a girl to touch you in your naughty places.”

It took him a moment to realize his sister was winding him up.

“So, what’s your excuse?” Tristan fired back.

“For?”

“Never being kissed?”

Her eyes widened like he’d offended her. But the twin thing told him he wasn’t far off the mark.

“I’ve been kissed many times.”

“Your dirty lesbian sleepovers don’t count.”

“Tristan!”

“Don’t play innocent. James told me he heard your bunch had practiced kissing each other for when you finally did it for real. He told me you got high marks.”

“If you’re getting your information from Jimmy, you must know he’s full of shit. Nancy told me he’s never been kissed. She also told me he thinks you’ve become good-looking,” Barb said with a smirk.

“He’s about as gay as I am.”

“Exactly.”

Sometimes you just cut your losses and run. Girls are indeed more intelligent than boys, and he wasn’t going to win, so he went to stand up. Barb grabbed his arm and made him sit back down.

“I promise not to tease you anymore. Just tell what you came to ask.”

“How do I get ... erm ... you know ... get a girl to like me?”

“Plenty of girls like you.”

She was going to make him say it.

“Like me enough to, like, make out ... and stuff.”

“By stuff, are you talking jerking you off, polishing your knob, full-on sex, anal...?” Barb said with raised eyebrows.

“Anal! I never even thought of that,” Tristan said in total disbelief. “Has someone asked you to do that?”

“You just said I was a lesbian. How am I supposed to do something like that with a girl?” Barb teased.

“I assumed you used a strap-on.”

“Tristan!”

“Just admit it. You’re as much in the dark about all this as I am.”

Barb shook her head at her brother.

“I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but I’ve never been kissed by a boy. And before you get all pervy, I never joined in on practicing kissing with girls, either.”

“This brings me to my question. How are we supposed to learn what to do? I mean, porn gives you the basics of tab A fits into slots B, C, and D. What it doesn’t tell you is how you get to that point,” Tristan said.

“Honestly, you’re the best guy I know, and if you weren’t my brother, I would love to practice with you,” Barb said.

“I feel the same way. It’s probably good we aren’t stationed in Southern California where boning your sister is encouraged.”

The punchline was Twentynine Palms was due east of Los Angeles. The town was at the entrance of Joshua Tree National Park. So they were, in fact, in Southern California.

“I think that’s stepsister. They still have rules about doing your sister. Now, if you wanted to suck Jimmy’s cock, they’d be all over that. They might even help you get your nuts cut off if you asked your guidance counselor,” Barb said.

She chuckled at Tristan’s flinch when she said the last part.

“Jesus. Could you see me going into Mrs. Campbell’s office and telling her I wanted a sex change? She would have the God Squad after me.”

Everyone was amazed that their guidance counselor hadn’t yet triggered anyone and been canceled.

“Who do you know that might help us out?” Barb asked to get them back on topic.

The only person he could think of was Nancy, but she’d threatened to end his life if he shared that she’d kissed him. In a perfect world, his buddy James could help Barb while Nancy taught them stuff.

“I’m going to tell you something that might get me killed.”

“Out with it.”

“Nancy kissed me.”

“Jesus, dude. You don’t mess around, do you? How the hell did you pull that off?”

Tristan shrugged.

“I just kissed her when I couldn’t think of anything else to do.”

She, of course, wanted all the details.

“ ... her parting words were that I would die if I told anyone.”

“You’d be willing to kiss her again?” Barb asked.

“She’s not that old. Of course I would kiss her again. The question is, would you kiss James?”

That sent a series of emotions across her face from ‘Hell, no’ to ‘my brother has lost his mind.’

“He sort of feels like a stepbrother, if I’m being honest,” Barb finally landed on.

“We could take a trip to Southern California,” Tristan teased.

“Before you get your hopes up, let me talk to Nancy. If she decides to kill you, I’ll send you a message so you’ll have a head start,” Barb said.

Tristan had made himself a go-bag by midafternoon because he’d convinced himself he would take his chances in the desert over facing Nancy. He hadn’t realized how many stupid noises his cell phone made in a day. He was in full meltdown mode when his mom and the three flowers got home.