Chapter 13

Joan had dance class again that afternoon, so Sam spent the time after school doing his homework and getting ready for his study session that evening. He wondered again if Gina was being affected by whatever it was that had happened to him. If she had, would she act on it? Should he make a move? They had been friends since childhood, but he had been attracted to her for the last several years. Did she reciprocate? Had things changed too much for her to be comfortable with him?

When Joan came home Sam was just finishing his preparations. She wore the same dance clothes that she had the first day they'd made love, which outlined her figure beautifully. Sam looked at her admiringly as she came into the living room and dropped with a sigh into a chair across from him.

"How are you doing?" he asked her solicitously.

"Beat," Joan said frankly. "I haven't been getting enough sleep recently, as you may have noticed. Practice today really wiped me out."

"I'm sorry," Sam said.

"Yeah, me too," Joan gave him a dimpled grin. "Otherwise I'd be over there ripping your clothes off."

Sam laughed. "Tell you what," he proposed, "why don't you take a shower, and then we'll take a nap. It'll be a while before Mom gets home."

"Sounds good." Joan yawned hugely and blinked. "I'd better be quick, or I'll fall asleep in the shower and drown."

While Joan showered, Sam carried his study materials up to his room and put them on his desk. He kicked off his shoes and lay down on the bed, relaxing. By rights, he should be even more tired than Joan, but he wasn't. He felt... peaceful. Equally content to hold Joan in his arms or make love to her, as she preferred. Or almost equally content; he still found her incredibly attractive. But he was patient. He knew she would have sex with him any time he wanted, and enjoy it more if he didn't push her too much.

Joan came into his room shortly afterwards, wearing a sports bra and panties and brushing her still-damp hair. Putting her brush down on Sam's night stand, she lay down next to him and gave him a quick kiss.

"Mmmm," she sighed, as Sam put his arms around her and they nestled together like spoons. "That feels nice." They lay together comfortably for a while before she added quietly, "I love you, little brother."

Sam smiled, and kissed her hair from behind, smelling the faint scent of her shampoo. "I love you too, sis." The two of them drifted off to sleep.

Sam woke later at the sound of the front door closing. Joan lay asleep in his arms, her face relaxed and peaceful, her breathing slow. He tightened his hold of her and she stirred a little in her sleep, sighing and pressing closer against him. He heard footsteps on the stairs, and his mother looked in at the doorway, smiling.

"Well, this is surprising," she said by way of greeting.

"Hi, Mom," Sam said. "What's surprising?"

"You're both fully dressed," Caroline said.

"Joan was feeling tired," Sam said. "We took a nap."

"Still tired," Joan said without opening her eyes. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, honey." Caroline walked into the room and bent over the bed to give Sam a deep kiss, then leaned further to give Joan a kiss as well, her breasts brushing against Sam's side. Joan opened her eyes as they kissed, then laughed when her mother straightened up again.

"Well, that's one way of waking up," Joan said with a yawn.

Caroline was efficiently removing her clothes, laying them on the chair by Sam's desk while her children watched with interest. When she was nude she walked back over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"So, are you tired, Sam?" Caroline asked, her fingers tracing the line of his erection through his trousers.

"Not to speak of," Sam said. He released Joan and settled onto his back; Joan rolled over onto her other side so she could watch.

"Good," Caroline said. She unzipped his fly and efficiently removed his trousers and shorts. "I've been thinking about this all day. Just lay back and relax, honey."

Sam sighed with pleasure as her mouth engulfed him. Her enthusiasm for the task was easy to see, as her head bobbed up and down his shaft, tongue swirling vigorously. It took only a couple of minutes for her to bring him to a very pleasant climax. She swallowed his cum happily, then sat up with a look of satisfaction.

"Huh," Joan said. "That was pretty direct."

"No point in beating about the bush," Caroline said calmly. She got up and began to dress again, while Sam readjusted his own clothing. "Is lasagna all right for dinner?"

"Sounds good," Joan said.

"That reminds me," Sam said. "Gina is coming over after dinner to help me study for my algebra make-up test tomorrow. So... "

"So, we shouldn't walk around the house naked?" Caroline finished. "No problem."

Joan got up and headed for the door. "I guess I should put something on, then."

Dinner passed, like any normal family meal, with the three of them chatting about what they'd done that day. The doorbell rang just as Sam and Joan finished loading the dishwasher. Sam went and opened it, to reveal Gina standing there in her usual jeans and sweatshirt, with her book bag lying on the ground at her feet.

"Hey, Gina," he said, stepping aside to let her in. "Thanks for coming over."

"No problem," she said. She sounded a little nervous, and Sam remembered her behavior that morning.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Gina shook her head and gave him a smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Where do you want to work?"

"Up in my room," Sam said. "Come on."

They passed Joan as they headed for the stairs. She greeted Gina with a grin.

"Hi, Gina, how's it going?"

"Pretty good," Gina said, sounding a little surprised. "Thanks."

"Cool. Have fun, little brother." Joan walked into the living room, and the two of them continued upstairs.

"Is something going on with your sister?" Gina asked Sam. "Normally she kind of acts like we don't exist."

"Well, she's been a bit friendlier lately," Sam understated. "Maybe because of my accident. Here we go."

Sam closed the door of his room, and the two of them settled down behind his desk. There wasn't a lot of room there, and Sam was aware of Gina's arm pressing against his. He thought that she noticed the contact as well, but she gave little outward sign of it.

They quickly went over the last two chapters in the book, then Gina picked some problems for Sam to solve, unconsciously leaning against him while she watched him work. This was a bit distracting, but Sam concentrated on the math. After about two hours, Gina pushed her chair back with a sigh and stretched.

"Let's take a break," she suggested. "You clearly know this stuff."

"Okay," Sam agreed. "Do you want something to drink?"

"How about a coke?" Gina said.

"Sure. I'll go get it, wait here."

In the kitchen, Joan was also getting a drink. She gave Sam a wink.

"So, you and Gina... are you gonna... ?"

"I don't know," Sam said. "What do you think?"

"I'd say, go for it. She's cute, and nice. And you need a girlfriend."

Sam laughed. "What about you and Mom?"

"We'll still be here, of course. But you can't really take either of us out to the prom, or anything, can you?"

Joan had a point, Sam thought, as he carried the cokes upstairs. It would be better if he had someone he could date publicly. He supposed he could try to turn Marcie or Katarina into a girlfriend, but he really didn't know them very well, while Gina and he had been friends for years. Would she want to, though? He somehow didn't think he was destined for a life of monogamy; would Gina be willing to accept that? If she became his girlfriend he could hardly conceal the nature of his relationship with his mother and sister, nor would it be fair to her if he did. Sam resolved to play it by ear and see what developed, but not to lie to her.

With drinks in both hands, Sam leaned against his bedroom door to shut it. Gina was sitting on his bed, looking at his bookcase with interest. At the sound of the door closing she looked up and smiled, seeming more relaxed than before.

"Here you go," Sam said, offering her a glass. "Sorry there's no ice."

"That's okay," Gina said. She accepted the glass and sipped from it, looking at Sam over the edge. She was feeling more comfortable. For days she had felt conflicted between wanting Sam and worrying that it would ruin their friendship. In coming over to his house the conflict had been intensified, every casual contact between them reminding her of how she felt. Finally, while Sam had been out of the room, she had decided just to go with whatever happened, and not worry about consequences. With that decision, a weight seemed to have lifted from her mind. She had always liked Sam, and for the last couple of years had felt the stirrings of attraction for him as well, though she had never acted on them. But for the last few days it had been different. Every time she'd seen him, she had been acutely aware of how sexy he was; thoughts of the two of them together kept stealing into her mind at odd moments. She thought that Sam liked her as well, but she wasn't sure if he wanted her in that way; fear of rejection had kept her from saying anything.

Still, she thought, nothing ventured...

Gina stretched, noting Sam's eyes flickering to the rise of her breasts through her sweatshirt. So, he did notice her. She put her drink on the night stand.

"My shoulders are all kinked up from leaning over your desk," she said. "Would you mind rubbing them a little?"

"Sure," Sam said promptly, putting his own glass down. "Why don't you lie down? Take your glasses off," he suggested.

Gina put her glasses next to her drink and rolled over onto her stomach. Sam's weight settled onto the bed next to her, then his fingers gently probed the tight muscles behind her neck. He applied more pressure, and Gina gave an involuntary groan.

"Ohhh, that feels good," she said with a little surprise. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Just native talent," Sam said, "and practice. I give Mom and Joan back rubs all the time. Joan's always hurting something dancing."

"Yeah, well... gymnastics... " Gina trailed off into a sigh of pleasure as his hand moved down between her shoulder blades. "You're really good at this," she mumbled.

"Thanks," Sam said. "Why don't you let me give you a real massage?"

"That sounds terrific," Gina said. Sam began working his way down her back, his fingers erasing tension as they went. He had a very delicate touch, but his hands were strong; he could bring pressure to bear on tight muscles, while moving gently over sore spots. Gina felt herself becoming warm and limp as he relaxed her, but strangely excited as well; he was touching her more intimately than anyone ever had, and it felt so good that she didn't want it to stop.

His hands reached her waist, and Gina expected him to quit, but instead he just shifted down and began working on her legs. Gymnastics had left Gina's legs very muscular, but Sam seemed to have no trouble kneading the backs of her thighs and calves, even through the thick denim of her jeans. He unlaced her shoes, then began massaging her feet, pressing his thumbs firmly into the arches and rubbing. Normally Gina's feet were too sensitive to be touched, but Sam seemed to have the knack of rubbing them without tickling.

Both feet done, he shifted up again, and worked on her waist and upper buttocks. After massaging those muscles, he stroked his hands lightly over her rear, sending a tingle through her, then moved up again to gently rub her neck and upper arms, drew his fingertips lightly over her scalp, kneaded her shoulders again.

"This would work better," Sam said, breaking the silence after nearly half an hour without speaking, "if you took off your sweatshirt."

"Oh... " Gina said. "Um... Okay." She sat up, which seemed an enormous effort at this point, and pulled the sweatshirt off over her head. She hesitated for a moment, then almost defiantly pulled off the t-shirt as well. Sam gave her an appreciative smile, and Gina felt herself blushing as he dropped his gaze to her chest; her bra was translucent, and she knew her nipples were visibly erect through the gauzy fabric. She rolled back onto her stomach and Sam started massaging again, his touch on her bare skin even more pleasant than she had imagined. She felt herself melting, unable to move. After a few minutes, Sam unhooked her bra without asking and pulled the straps aside. Gina didn't protest. She felt a strange mixture of languor and arousal, her body immobile but her pulse racing. Sam continued the back rub.

"You... make me feel so good... " Gina said after a while.

"I'm glad," Sam said without stopping. After another minute or two he asked, "Do you want this to go further?"

This is it, Gina thought. I can still say no. But God, I don't want to say no!

"Yes," she managed to croak. "Yes, I do."

"All right, then," Sam said. "Roll over."

In spite of her earlier resolve, Gina hesitated for a few seconds before complying. Her unhooked bra had slipped off of her breasts; Sam leaned over and removed it completely. Gina could feel her heart pounding behind her ribs as Sam's eyes roamed briefly over her bare torso. A moment later he went even further, unbuttoning her jeans and unzipping her fly. Gina raised her hips slightly to help him slide them off her. She was now nearly naked, wearing only her panties and socks.