Chapter 2: Pete and Repete... and Snookie

During the next few months, I became part of the Myers family. As soon as Mrs. Myers found out that my parents worked late most evenings, I had a standing invitation to dinner at their house. I took advantage of that frequently, not just because Mrs. Myers was a good cook, but also because I enjoyed being around their family. As an only child whose parents both worked long hours, I was alone a lot. Sitting around a dinner table talking about the day's events with a real family, like the ones I saw on TV, was a new and enjoyable experience for me.

It didn't take long to see that Pete had inherited his openness from his mother. Anne Myers was one of those naturally inquisitive people who can ask you intimate details about your family without seeming like she was prying. In fairness to her, she was just as ready to divulge the Myer's family secrets when asked. She certainly liked to talk, and dominated most of the dinner-table conversations.

She was the one who came up with a unique solution for dealing with the problem of having two Petes in the house. She started calling us Pete and Repete, and soon everyone in the family was calling me Repete. Snookie seemed especially eager to use my new name. That may have been her way of getting even with me for using her dreaded family nickname. If I was going to call her Snookie, she was going to call me Repete. So there. She did have a bit of an attitude.

Pete's dad, Matt, was also outgoing, but even he sometimes had trouble getting a word in when Mrs. Myers was on a roll. It was easy to see where Pete had gotten his sense of humor. Mr. Myers always seemed to have a funny comment to go along with whatever conversation was going on. He liked to tell jokes as much as Pete did.

I was a little shocked at how uninhibited some their dinnertime conversations were, and how ribald some of Mr. Myers jokes were, especially with a young girl at the table. By comparison, my folks were almost prudish. From the conversation around the dinner table, it soon became clear that Snookie was much more sophisticated and worldly-wise than I was. No matter what jokes were told, or what gossip was being tossed around, she never acted embarrassed. I was a little surprised to hear her use some four-letter words that would have gotten me in trouble. But even though she was comfortable talking about adult topics, and had a bit of a potty mouth, I didn't think of her in any kind of sexual way. She was just a little girl with a dirty mouth; Pete's annoying kid sister.

She usually wore her long, light brown hair in a ponytail, and sometimes Mrs. Myers even braided it into pigtails. Freckles on her nose and cheeks added to her child-like image. As far as I could tell, she didn't have any 'love bumps', but it was kind of hard to tell because she always wore loose shirts and blouses. Most days she wore shorts, and I couldn't help but notice that her legs were losing that pre-pubescent skinniness that very young girls seem to have. Her calves and thighs were beginning to develop some curves and definition.

The first time I began to feel differently about her occurred about a month later. Pete had invited me to spend the night one Friday. Mr. and Mrs. Myers were in the auction business, and on Friday nights they worked out of town. They didn't usually get back until well after midnight. Pete was officially Snookie's babysitter on those nights, and his parents had agreed that having me over wouldn't interfere with Pete's duties.

After supper that night, we started a game of Monopoly, but soon got bored with it. Since it was Friday night, we made sure to watch The Twilight Zone. After that Pete told Snookie to go take her bath and get ready for bed. She resisted a little, reminding him that it was a weekend, but soon went upstairs as ordered.

A few minutes later she came back into the living room to say goodnight. She had undone her ponytail and her hair hung loosely over her shoulders and down her back. That was the first time I had seen her with her hair down. I was amazed how much difference that one change could make. For the first time I realized that Snookie was becoming a very attractive young lady. She was wearing a short nightshirt, which displayed even more of her legs than her shorts did. The sight of her creamy upper thighs fascinated me, but with Pete right there I tried not to stare. But I did steal a few quick glances whenever I thought neither one of them were looking at me.

Snookie apparently had decided to test how strict Pete was going to be that night, maybe because I was there. Instead of going back up to her room and to bed, she plunked down on the sofa between Pete and myself. She crossed her arms in a show of defiance. "I'm not sleepy," she declared. "And I'm not going to bed yet."

"Oh yes you are," Pete insisted. "even if I have to carry you upstairs and throw you in bed, young lady."

When he tried to pick her up, their playful argument turned into a brother-sister wrestling match. Snookie was no match for Pete, and soon he had her pinned to the floor. She looked at me. "Help, Repete. Tickle him, he can't stand that."

I decided to come to her rescue. I climbed on Pete's back and started running my fingers along his ribcage. At first there was no response, but soon he started giggling. Snookie joined in by tickling his underarms, and Pete reared back, throwing both of us to the floor. All three of us lay there catching our breath for a few seconds, and then it became a three-way wresting and tickling match. We were rolling over each other in one mass of arms and legs, with lots of giggling.

At one point I ended up on top of Snookie, with Pete on top of me. Snookie and I were face to face, and now I couldn't help but notice that she did indeed have breasts. It was at that moment that I learned that even young girl's had nipples that could get hard. Snookie's little nubbins were pressing into me as Pete's weight pushed me onto her body. I didn't even make the connection that the intimate contact we were having while rolling around could be the cause of her excitement. I just assumed that her little soldiers were always at attention and I had just never noticed because of the loose shirts she always wore. Maybe all girls were like that, and I had just never noticed.