Chapter 7: Sheila

Wow.

The man could definitely kiss. I hadn't felt sparks like that since, well last night.

Mentally I groaned. Last night. No matter how many times I went over it in my head, I was still in disbelief that Nat would go down on me that way. Nat? Good ol' Nat, honorary brother number 6 who had never looked at me as more than a sister in his life?

I dropped my head against the wall in my tiny entry and closed my eyes. Mark had really thrown me asking if Nat was a spurned lover. Lately, nothing made sense anymore and quite honestly I was tired of being thrown off balance.

Sighing tiredly, I bent down to unstrap my sandals and kick them under the hall table before turning, intent on taking a shower.

The sight of my brother Todd sitting on my couch burst that thought and had me stopping in my tracks. I should have expected this when I gave Mom a key for "emergencies". That didn't mean I liked it. From the look on Todd's face, I was going to like the coming conversation even less. Just great.

"Who the hell was that? And where's Nat?"

Todd didn't disappoint me. I dropped into my recliner before looking Todd in the eyes.

"What are you doing here Todd? And what do you mean 'where's Nat'? Why would I know?"

Todd leaned forward and studied me before answering.

"Sheila, let's take this from the top. First of all, who was the guy with his tongue down your throat just now? Secondly, Nat has been a distracted SOB all day. When he left the office, I thought he was coming over here to work things out."

I answered distractedly while my mind played over Todd's comments about Nat and I working things out. "That was Mark, my new neighbor. We went out for dinner. Why would you think that Nat's mood would have anything to do with me?"

Todd barked a laugh while looking at me disbelieving.

"You're kidding, right? You've been the reason for Nat's moods for over 10 years. I thought he was finally going to work things out with you. That is, until I saw some other guy playing tonsil hockey with my baby sister. What's going on Sheila?"

I couldn't believe my ears. "What on Earth are you talking about, Todd? There's nothing to work out between Nat and myself."

Todd leaned back against the couch before eyeing me appraisingly.

"Sheila, you cannot be this oblivious."

At my blank look, Todd ran his fingers through his hair and muttered, "Maybe you can."

I was starting to get ticked off with all this abuse. Todd must have noticed because he continued fairly quickly, pinning me with his glance.

"Sheila, Nat has been saying for years - since you were 14, in fact - that you belonged to him. Whenever one of us would ask about it, Nat would only say that he was waiting for you to be old enough. When you finally decided to find your own place, we all thought that now would be the time. Nat has been wanting you for years and it seemed that his patience finally ran out. Quite frankly, I'm surprised he's waited this long. I kept hoping that you would finally see what was right in front of your face and put Nat out of his misery."

To say I was in shock was an understatement. Having Nat eat me out was nothing compared to the idea that he had been wanting me since I was 14. 14! Where was I during all of this? I had had a crush on him when I was 17. He was a mature man of 23 though and only looked on me as a baby sister. Or so I thought. I wasn't sure I could handle having a teenage obsession become attainable.

Todd laid a hand on my arm and continued more gently.

"Sheila, how could you have not known this? Nat's never really made any secret of his feelings. And what did you do to him yesterday? I know he was helping you move in yesterday. I heard him making the arrangements to clear his calendar. I also know that he was at the end of his rope with waiting. Then today, he's snapping at everyone, including your darling brother, and can't seem to concentrate. He would get this goofy grin on his face while staring into space and then the thunderclouds would come."