Copyright© 2004 AceMcCloud, all rights reserved.

A Sweet Beginning

A closed elevator is no place to be when someone is singing Christmas carols slightly off key.

Standing behind her, it was hard to tell much about her, other than that she was shortish and pretty young. And she wasn't a very good singer.

"Excuse me, miss, but would you mind not singing?"

She paused and, for a second, a pleasant silence filled the elevator. Then she spoke, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."

The ridiculousness of her reply elicited an unthinking response. "You're nuttier than a fruitcake."

Why did I say that?

True, she was seriously getting on my nerves, but Dad was the only one I knew who used that expression.

She turned and looked me straight in the eye. "And what, exactly, do you know about fruitcakes?" The challenge was accompanied by a sly, smile. It was clear that something about my outburst secretly amused her.

"Well, they were made hundreds of years ago by monks using a secret, magic formula. They are denser than lead, last forever and are deadly poison to all mortals." I wasn't about to back down from a challenge. She got the last laugh though - literally. My response made her laugh so hard that she fell on the floor.

As I helped her up, I got a chance to take a close look at her. Her sense of humor was pretty lame, but her body was very attractive.

I always looked at a woman's face. If they smile regularly and have pretty eyes, I'm hooked. So far, this woman had done nothing but smile and her eyes were a gorgeous, brilliant light green. Otherwise, her face was cute and very expressive and framed by long, lustrous, light brown hair. I was so captivated by her face that I nearly didn't get past it.

Through the gap in her coat I could see her outfit and make out enough of her figure to want to see more. She definitely had some nice curves.

Looking back at her face, it finally dawned on me that I knew her. It was Ben's sister, Janice.

Ben had been a good friend in middle school and high school, so I had sort of known Janice for a long time. Somehow, in the four years since high school, I hadn't seen Janice even once. Those four years had been kind to her - she looked really good.

I was twenty-three, so that would make her nineteen.

"So, Janice, how is Ben? I haven't seen him since last summer."

Though Ben and I had been good friends, we weren't close friends. Ben going off to Berkley, while I went to the local state college had effectively ended our relationship. We were still friendly, but no longer had anything in common.

Janice seemed pleased that I remembered her, but annoyed at the question.

"He's fine."

Ok, so she didn't want to talk about her brother. "What have you been up to?"

That question got a wry smile. "Since I didn't get the kind of scholarships that Ben did, I had to start at the local community college."

"How's that going? What are you majoring in?"

"I still haven't settled on a major, yet, but I have a 4.0 so far in the general electives classes that I've been taking."

"It's not that unusual for freshmen to be undeclared. Heck, I knew sophomores at State that were still undeclared."

"Well, I know what I'd like to do, but my parents aren't very supportive of my choices. They're pretty old-fashioned and are still holding out hope that I'll just get an 'MRS' degree and leave it at that."

It didn't entirely surprise me. Ben had complained about his parents on occasion too. This was one of my hot button issues, though.

"I've always thought that it was a terrible waste of human potential when parents didn't encourage their daughters to follow their dreams." Perhaps my reaction was a little strong.

I was gifted with a dazzling smile in response.

And then again, perhaps my reaction was just right.

She cocked her head to the left slightly, a mannerism that I remembered preceded a change of subject. "So seriously, Todd, what do you know about fruitcake?"

"Nothing, really. Just that everyone I know talks about how awful they are. Didn't that DJ guy have some kind of thing the other day about them?"

She snorted in disgust. Memo to self - don't mention that DJ anymore.

"But you've never actually tried one?"

"No."

"Ok, do you like walnuts?"

"Sure..."

"Dried fruits like raisins, dates and such?"

"Yeah..."

"I'll bet you that you would like fruitcake then."

I'm a sucker for an interesting bet and she knew it. There was that time in tenth grade when Ben and I had bet on the Super Bowl and I ended up having to streak through his living room in my underwear. Janice was the only one who saw me.

"What's the bet?" I asked her. I tried to sound as bored and skeptical as possible. I was trying to break the betting habit before I got myself into trouble.

"Well, I wouldn't mind seeing you in your underwear again."

Two could play that game. I looked her up and down with a lecherous grin. "I wouldn't mind seeing you in yours."

"On second thought," she mused, "let's stretch the envelope a little... I've got it. The winner performs oral sex on the loser."

Darn it, there was no way I was going to turn that bet down. I could tell that she knew it too. At least it wasn't something that would get me into serious trouble - what's a little oral sex between two unattached consenting adults? Heck, as pretty as she was, I would be just as happy to lose.

"Ok, it's a bet."

She smiled at me. "My parents are having a little Christmas party tomorrow night. Why don't you come over as my date and we'll do the taste test then."

I thought about my work schedule. By some miracle, I was actually off tomorrow night. "What time?"

"Seven o'clock."

"I'll be there."

Gosh, I loved her smile.

Reflections

Laying in bed that night, I thought about Janice, dredging up memories from my childhood.

We met during sixth grade, the first time that I went over to Ben's house to study with him. Ben and I found that, when it came to studying, he and I really clicked. For the next seven years, we were in and out of each other's houses constantly.

It didn't take long for our younger sisters to realize that they had a lot in common too. However, while Ben and I were only good friends, our sisters were best friends. Net result: I saw a lot of Janice during middle and high school.

I never really paid much attention to her - she was four years younger than I was after all. Even so, I have to admit with the help of 20-20 hindsight, she had always been nice to me - friendly even and helpful whenever she could be. She was certainly never the pest that Ben made her out to be, at least not to me anyway.

To be honest, if it wasn't for studying together, I doubt that Ben and I would ever have been friends - he really wasn't all that nice of a person. I mostly blame his parents for that. They had practically defined the term "self-absorbed" for me.

The Sibling Speaks

The next morning, I stopped by my parents house for breakfast. I had barely set foot in the door when my sister came up to me and wrapped me up in a big hug.

"What's up, Terry?" I asked, hugging back. She wasn't really a touchy-feely kind of person.

She pulled back and looked me in the eye. "You have a date with Janice?"

It was half question, half explanation, so I nodded in confirmation. "I'm going to be her date to her parent's Christmas party - no big deal."

"It may not be a big deal to you mister experienced college graduate, but Janice has never had a date with anyone - ever."

I was genuinely puzzled. "How can that be, Terry? She's such a good looking young woman, and she's a nice person, too."

She chuckled and patted my cheek. "Have a good time."

he knew something that she wasn't going to tell me. I hated it when she did that.

Party For Two

I knew that Terry was an extremely reliable source, so I could be sure that Janice had, in fact, never been on a date. I found it perplexing, but I wanted to come up with some ideas to help make it special for her. My final plan consisted of three basic parts. I dressed up in my best suit, I bought her a corsage and finally, I resolved that, no matter what, I would stick with her and give her my full attention for the entire evening.

Working in retail, I had learned how powerful and special one's undivided personal attention can be.

Janice's father opened the door in response to my knock. He looked at me like I had three heads."Hello, Todd. What can I do for you?"

"Good evening Mr. Jacobsen. Janice asked me to be her date to your family's Christmas party tonight."

His look changed. I must have grown seven or eight arms to go with my three heads. "Janice actually used the word 'date'? Are you sure about that?" The puzzlement in his voice wasn't half of the puzzlement written on his face.

"Yes, Mr. Jacobsen, I'm quite sure."

"Ok then, Todd. Come in and I'll get her for you."

A minute later, she came out of the kitchen, somehow annoyed and smiling at the same time.

"I'm sorry, Janice, did I misunderstand your invitation? I could have sworn that you said 'date'."

The annoyance vanished and she chuckled happily. "You're fine Todd." She looked at the box containing the corsage. "What's that?"

I held it up so that she could see it properly. "It's for you."

That got me a squeal of delight that I took to be a good sign. Emboldened, I took it out of the box and went to pin it onto her dress. She stood still and stuck out her chest to make it easier for me. As I was pinning on the corsage, I took a good look at the chest to which I was pinning it.

In the four years since I'd last seen her, she'd grown some very nice tits.

Janice introduced me around and we mingled a bit with the other guests. I quickly found that most of the other guests were as shallow and self-absorbed as Janice's parents. It wasn't hard then to stick with Janice. She was the only person at the party worth talking to anyway.

We danced, we ate. We talked, we ate. The food was really good, so we ate some more.

About an hour into the party, we managed to find an empty love seat in the family room. I took the opportunity to ask a question that I had been thinking about since yesterday's chance meeting. "So, Janice, what career path are you considering that your parents don't approve of?"

She looked around, trying to look casual. "Either a sex therapist or a medical doctor specializing in sexual dysfunction."

Just before I could ask further, her dad poked his head in and asked for Janice's help in the kitchen.

About two hours into the party, she took my hand and, while nobody was looking, pulled me up to her bedroom. She was carrying a small brown bag.

Once in her room with the door closed, she turned to me with a smile. "Ok, Todd, time for a little taste test." She held up the bag. "In here, I have samples from about ten different desserts that are being served tonight."

With a motion, she bade me to sit at her vanity. "I'm going to feed you pieces of different desserts. You just tell me if I give you anything that you don't like. Ok?"

"Sure." I wasn't half as sure as I sounded. I was having a really good time though, and I wasn't about to chicken out now.

I don't know what she used, but Janice first placed a very effective blindfold over my eyes. When she was satisfied that I couldn't see, she put a small piece of something into my mouth.

I was a little nervous at first, but I had every reason to trust her, so I started chewing. I found, to my delight, that, whatever it was, it was really tasty. While I was chewing, I felt a soft hand stroking my face and arms - it was very pleasant. When I swallowed that first bite, I opened my mouth for the next.

Janice continued feeding me little morsels, but never the same thing twice in a row and all the while she softly stroked my face or my arm. All of them were delicious. Eventually, she told me that we were done and asked me what I thought.

"I loved them all." I admitted as she peeled off my blindfold. "Will you tell me what they were, now?"

She sat down, straddling my lap. "Well, there was two kinds of fruitcake, pumpkin bread, a nut roll, a lemon square and a spiced rum cake. I gave you two pieces of each at random." Her face came close to mine and she asked saucily, "So when are you available to pay off your bet?" before kissing me.

It was some kiss.

"Perhaps we would be better off at my apartment? I'm working until six tomorrow through Wednesday."

Since I was working full time now, I had my own place. If we went there, I could be sure that we wouldn't be disturbed.

"Tomorrow night?" I nodded. "Pick me up at seven?" I nodded again. "Lovely." She kissed me again.

That one was quite a kiss too.

After a minute, she broke it to tell me, "We should probably go back to the party before someone comes looking for us."

At midnight, the party was over and I followed the crowd out onto the night streets - after collecting a goodnight kiss from Janice.

Laying in bed, drifting off to sleep, I realized that, despite my experience, I had never before enjoyed a date that much.

The Thanks of a Greatful Sibling

As a teenager, I found working in retail both interesting and fulfilling (if tiring and sometimes aggravating). In college, I continued working part time and chose the major that best fit my career interests - business. I piled on the courses during my sophomore and junior years so that I would have a light load for my senior year, allowing me to get into a full-time management training program at one of the larger national chains.

Being an assistant manager for a large retail store during the Christmas season, I rarely took enough time while at work to eat properly - I enjoyed work too much. The next day, things would have been no different except that, unbeknownst to me, my sister had stopped by.

She had begged my boss to give me a decent lunch break so that she could take me out. She can be very persuasive when she tries.

Imagine my surprise when I was told that my lunch date was waiting by the loading dock and that I was not to come back for an hour. Perplexed, I got my coat and went out the back to find Terry's yellow VW bug.

As soon as I got in, I knew something was up. I also knew that Terry would tell me when she was ready and not a moment sooner. This time, I only had to wait until just after our entrees were served.

"I talked to Janice this morning."

"And?"

"... and she had a really good time last night."

"And?"

"She's had a crush on you for a long time."

I'm sure that I looked dubious.

"Todd, I mean it."

"Anybody want a peanut?"

She hit me.

"Ok, so she has this crush. How long has she had it?"

"Since she was in the third grade."

Whoa. Nine years - that is a long time. "Why me?"

Terry smiled at me. "Well, let's just say that you're the first person that ever treated her with respect. After the way that her family has always treated her, it really meant a lot... and it still does."

I guess that I didn't get it. "But I treat everyone with respect. I've never treated Janice any differently than I treat anyone else."

"Exactly!" My sister didn't like explaining things that she thought were perfectly obvious.