Chapter 7: Arrival

We stopped in front of the house. It was a large two-story with five bedrooms, a den and two-car garage. Don't get it wrong, it wasn't for lack of money that I had grown up the way I had, but this place held so few warm fuzzies for me that I wanted us drive on by. It didn't look like much had changed. However, even with only a street light to see by and the few lights coming from inside, I could tell the house had been painted. The color was different but I couldn't discern the new color in the dark.

Looking at it again, I realized just how much I dreaded the visit I was about to make. Honestly, I didn't expect to be there more than a couple of hours. I would get the papers of my adoption, and then Yvonne, Chloe and I would just go to a hotel for the next few days. If I knew for certain that I could get the papers that quickly, I would have just gotten an immediate flight back, but the calls I had made in the months since my arrival at school had not been very informative. My parents constantly made excuses about either not being able to find the papers or not having the time to send me copies. I had eventually concluded that only darkening their doorway would get them to do something other than squirm their way out of it.

Mandy looked up at the house too. In her I felt a mixture of elation and dread. She was happy to be home, but feared the confrontation that would happen between me and our parents. Yvonne and Chloe peered up from the back seat. I felt through my connection with them that they were both impressed.

"Should I park here and we just go to the front door, or pull around to the garage?" Mandy asked softly.

I lingered on the house for a moment. "Let's go on around back," I answered as she looked at me. "They can put up with me for one night. We're all just too tired to drive anymore."

After we eased around to the driveway, everyone got out. I started for the luggage but Mandy said, "Leave it. We'll come out for it in a bit." Neither Yvonne nor Chloe said anything as Mandy took my hand and held it tight while we approached the back door. I wondered how our parents would react if they knew about our new relationship. It would not improve things, that much was certain.

Mandy opened the door to the garage. To our right were Mom and Dad's cars. The garage was dark, as expected, and we made our way toward the laundry room that led to the kitchen. In the single bay on the other side was another vehicle, a Ford Expedition. Neither Mandy nor I knew who it belonged to, but it wasn't new, so it wasn't a recent purchase of Mom's or Dad's.

Mandy continued to lead the way as she opened the next door. "Hello?" She called out. We knew someone was home because there were lights on. Mandy smiled back at me and I returned it politely. However, I was having another internal struggle between allowing Mandy to lead me on and just turning and leaving.

For a second, there was nothing. Then we heard footsteps and "Mandy?" Then a blonde came into the kitchen. She wore an oversized pajama top and apparently not much else. The top fell to the tops of her thighs, covering everything important. I didn't recognize her. It certainly wasn't Mom. Whoever it was, the amount of skin she was showing off seemed out of place in this house.

Mandy's eyes went wide with surprise. "Monique!" she squealed and lunged for the blonde.

Monique, our older sister, looked surprised herself and held out her arms wide to receive Mandy in a big hug. Maybe it was the stress of the day or the remnants of my sexual frustration from the dream while we had been flying. Whatever the case, the sight of Mandy and Monique hugging was turning me on. I watched them hold each other, hugging fiercely, and fought the urge to join them. Not for the joy of seeing Monique, but for the feel of their bodies pressed to mine.

I shook my head and looked behind me. Chloe and Yvonne had come in and closed the door. They watched the sisters hugging, and all I could do at the moment was think about how soon I might get one or both of them up to my room for some much needed relief.

With my need for female flesh, I opened our links a bit more than they had been. I felt Yvonne's trepidation and Chloe's serenity. Turning back to Mandy and Monique, I could feel Mandy's joy for seeing her sister. Part of me was happy to see her too, but not for the same reason. Then I reminded myself who I was thinking about. This was the sister who loved to torture me by taking my few belongings away and teasing me with them, or strutting around the house with ice cream or soda, some treat that I had been denied for whatever reason. Some of my tension eased and I continued watching the girls.

They chatted softly for a moment. I wasn't sure how long it had been since they saw each other, but I knew they had been living on opposite coasts before Mandy came to live with me. Monique had attended Berkley and, last I had heard, landed a job with a production company that specialized in fabricating sets for plays.

Then Monique looked past Mandy and saw me. Monique smiled at Mandy and asked, "Is this your boyfriend?" She stepped around her little sister and began padding my way. I watched her, the way her long legs moved gracefully, her arms swinging in the long sleeves and even the way her breasts, filling out the front of the pajama top delightfully, swayed as if unrestrained under the cotton material.

She smiled at me as she approached. I recognized the smile. I had seen it years ago every time she walked toward some boy she was interested in. I had always been sure that Monique had been a lot friendlier with the guys she had dated while she had still been in high school than she let on to Mom and Dad. With the way I was feeling and the fear of my Charm making her see me in a vastly different light than she ever had before, I stayed in the shadow of the laundry room.

Mandy followed Monique and looked at me. She was smiling and I couldn't help but return it, though I had started blushing both with my desires and the way Monique was looking at me, like I was perfectly worthy of her attention.

Mandy waved me forward from behind Monique and I stepped into the kitchen lighting. Monique's eyes widened a touch and I saw recognition in her face. Mandy said, "It's Ral."

Monique continued to stare. Had I really changed that much? I didn't think so, but then I hadn't even reached high school when Monique had left for Berkley. Maybe I had.