Carpooling With My Sister
Spending so much time with my fun-loving sister led to a fun.
I published this story on 7/27/20. It was conceived and is set prior to 2020. To me, this is a great example of the "two track" style I like to use. In the final editing process, I added a non-sex epilogue to close out the non-romance track.

I took this and all my other stories down in January 2023. I've done some cleanup before republishing it.

I got a call one evening from my sister, Mia. "Hey, Jackson! Congratulate me!"

I couldn't help smiling at my sister's exuberant voice. "Congratulate you for what?"

"I've been offered a new job! An analyst position for a big corporation. Their building is only a few blocks from yours."

"Well, congratulations! Tell me all about it."

Mia told me about the job, which sounded like a big step up from her current job. She was very excited about it, but then again Mia was the sunny, easily excited type.

As we talked, I wondered why she had called me to tell me that she had been offered it. We weren't that close. She was three years younger than me and had annoyed the hell out of me growing up. Once I had a job and permanently moved out of the house, we had gotten along better but we mainly communicated with each other through Mom.

I asked, "So, are you going to take the job?"

Mia's voice turned serious. "Weeelll, it depends on you."

"On me?"

"I don't like driving in heavy traffic. I don't know how you handle driving downtown every day like you do. Driving down for the interview, I almost turned around because I hated the traffic so much. But after the interview, I realized your building is close to theirs. Would you be willing to drive me to and from work?"

This floored me. My sister taking a much better job was dependent on me?

I asked, "How would this work?"

"I'd drive over to your apartment in the morning, arriving when you'd normally leave. You'd drive us downtown, then drop me off at my building on the way to yours. Reverse in the evening. I'll pay for half of your commuting costs."

That sounded reasonable. Still, I didn't want to be responsible for getting my sister to work every day. "You live a good thirty minutes from me."

"My lease is up at the end of the month. Nathan doesn't care much for my apartment." Nathan was Mia's boyfriend, and they had recently started living together. "We'll find an apartment closer to you."

"What if I have to work late? I work late once every week or two."

"Then I'll work late too. Or I'll walk around downtown for a while. Just call me in the afternoon if you have to work late."

I didn't want to say yes, but I felt like I'd be a total dick to say no. "Okay. I'll drive you to work."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, Jackson!" My sister sounded over the moon. "You don't know how happy this makes me! You're the best brother ever!"

I smiled. It warmed my heart to make my sister so happy. "And you don't have to pay me anything. It's not like taking you to work will cost me anything."

"Wow! I really appreciate it. I'm going to go call Nathan and then Mom. Thanks so much! You're so wonderful!"

* * * *

Monday a few weeks later, my sister was waiting for me when I got to my car. I had never seen her dressed for work before, and I was struck by how professional she looked. She was wearing a white, button-down-the-front cotton blouse and gray skirt that came down to her knees. Very basic and simple, flattering her slim body without overly emphasizing her curves. Her three-inch heels cut our height difference almost in half. With her pretty, smiling face and her short, dark blond hair, my sister looked like the stock photo of a young businesswoman.

I unlocked the car, and we both got in. Once we were seated, Mia handed me a brightly wrapped box and said, "A thank you for driving me."

I smiled, strongly suspecting what she had given me. I collected Pez dispensers, mostly Star Wars and Marvel. They were what my family gave me for my birthday and Christmas; it beat getting a gift card or a sweater.

When I started to open the present, Mia slapped my hand and said lightly, "Not now. We've got to get to work. I don't want you to be late because of me."

I gave my sister a questioning look, but she seemed to be serious. I handed her back the present and started the car.

As I backed out of the parking spot, Mia said, "Besides, I want you to spend all day wondering which one I got you."

I snorted.

* * * *

We spent the whole hour-long drive talking. Mia told me about Nathan and the apartment they were going to move into. I told her about the girl I had just started dating, Ginny. It felt like we hadn't driven very long at all when I pulled up in front of Mia's building. I was surprised at how much I had enjoyed having my sister ride with me.

* * * *

Over the next three months, carpooling with Mia worked out better than I expected. I really enjoyed talking with her. When I had to work late, Mia found things to do until I was ready to go. Given how well we were getting along, I happily volunteered to help her and Nathan move into their new apartment.

Every week, Mia gave me a gift of some sort as a thank-you for taking her to work. After I helped her and Nathan move into their apartment, Mia insisted I give her a key to my apartment. The gifts became a casserole in my refrigerator or a cleaned bathroom. Mia never told me what the gift was. If it was a present, I had to wait until I got back home before opening. If it was something she did in my apartment while I was out with Ginny, I'd have to wait until I got home to find out what it was. Her love of surprising me was ironic as she didn't like surprise changes.

And then both our lives fell apart. I got a new boss, Janice, and she was the Boss From Hell. She worked long hours and demanded all of her employees do the same. Suddenly, I was working late every night and many weekends. At first, I tried to keep going on dates with Ginny during the week, but it super pissed her off that I was constantly late or had to cancel. Nathan didn't like Mia getting home late. Mia tried commuting by herself a few times, hated it, and told Nathan he'd have to accept that she'd be home late, and he'd have to make his own dinner during the week.

A few months into Janice's reign of terror, Ginny broke up with me. A month later, Mia broke up with Nathan. I helped move Mia into a two-bedroom apartment that she shared with a woman named Maria. Whatever furniture Mia didn't take with her, I wound up buying from her and Nathan. I felt guilty about being the cause of their break up. Mia said, "Don't worry about it. It's better I found these things out about Nathan before we got too serious."

"These things?"

"I don't want to discuss it. It got scary, and I had to get out. I still don't want to think about it."

* * * *

A week later, Mia was waiting for me by the car with one of the boxes from her recent move. It was taped shut. I asked, "What's in that?"

"A surprise." Mia put it in my back seat. "Take it to your office. I'll open it for you tonight."

Mia had made a habit of getting us dinner before coming over to my building. I'd sign her in, we'd eat dinner together in a conference room close to my office, and then she'd hang out there until I was ready to go. So, I'd have to have the box in my office the whole day with no idea of what's in it.

Mia also put in the back seat a big, insulated lunch box. It was about half the size of the moving box. I asked, "Another surprise for tonight?"

Mia gave me a smirk. "You got it."

I shrugged. Whatever the surprises were, I knew they'd be good ones.

She also had a small bag. I asked, "Is that a gym bag or another surprise?"

"A gym bag. My company has a five-thirty aerobics class. I thought I'd start attending now that I know I'll be staying late almost every night."

"Okay."

I wasn't very talkative as we drove downtown. Mia asked me, "You're so quiet. What's bothering you?"

I had been kind of hoping she'd ask. "A friend called me last night. He had seen Ginny at what had been our favorite restaurant holding hands with some guy."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mia said in the perfect way, full of caring and not condescending. She gave me a small pat on the shoulder and said, "It's been a while, but I'm sure it still hurt. I miss Nathan at times."

"Thanks." I meant it. Mia had made me feel a lot better. "And thanks for not giving me a you'll-find-a-new-girl-soon speech." To inject some levity, I added, "If Janice is going to have us work all these hours, she should do things to encourage office romances."

Picking up on my new tone, Mia grinned and asked, "Such as...?"

"She should set up a cube with high walls and a door that two coworkers could slip into for a little fun. I might get some action if we had one."

Mia giggled. "And do what, put a 'Janitor Closet' sign on it? With a little sign you could flip over that says, 'The Janitor Is In' when you're using it and 'The Janitor Is Out' when it's free."

I chuckled. "Maybe 'Presentation Supplies' instead of 'Janitor Closet'."

We discussed different possible room labels and their corresponding signs to indicate if they were in use or not. Mia did a lot of giggling. My mood brightened considerably.

I've known a few women who were nervous gigglers. I found them so annoying. My sister's giggles weren't like that. Her giggles were her way of saying she was having fun with me; they were an encouragement to continue being silly or witty. When I heard her giggle, I couldn't help smiling.

Mia changed the subject by saying, "I was always disappointed your Ginny didn't have red hair. I think there should be a law that all Ginnys have to have red hair because people can't help picturing them as redheads because of Ginny Weasley."

I laughed. "I suggested to Ginny several times she dye her hair red. If you're going to use the name 'Ginny', you should look the part." I chuckled at the memory. "It pissed her off every time."

Mia cracked up. When she was done laughing, she asked me seriously, "What would you think if I dyed my hair red?"

I shot my sister a questioning look. "You don't need to."

"But I want to. My hair color is so boring. I'd think it'd be fun to be a redhead. At least for a while. See if it gets guys' attention."

"If you want to get guys' attention, start wearing shorter skirts."

My sister shoved my shoulder. "I don't want that type of attention. I want guys looking at my face, not at my legs. Or my butt."

* * * *

Around seven, Mia surprised me by suddenly appearing at my desk. I asked, "How did you get past security?"

Mia smiled and then gave me a saucy look. She was clearly pleased with herself. "I've been buying a cookie when I buy us dinner and giving it to the security guard when I arrive. Today, I gave him two cookies I baked last night. He told me he'd sign me in, and I could go up."

I couldn't help chuckling at her latest victory over life's little challenges. "You've got him wrapped around your little finger now."

Mia put her hand on the back of her head and struck a pose. "Men are suckers for pretty girls bearing cookies." She dropped the pose and laughed with me.

I thought it might have been Mia's clothes that got her past the guard. She was wearing a gray T-shirt, gray shorts, and long black leggings. Not a lot of skin exposed, but her clothing was tight enough that you could see all of my sister's curves. Definitely eye-catching.

When she was done laughing, she walked over to the box she had given me in the morning, which was on the edge of my desk. She said to me, "Scissors, please."

As I opened a drawer and got out my scissors, I said, "Several people asked me what was in the box."

"What'd you tell them?"

"That my apartment complex has started charging for trash pick up, so I decided to bring my trash to work instead, and I'll give it to the janitor when she shows up."

Mia giggled. "And did they believe you?"

"No. But it was my story, and I stuck to it."

Mia cut through the strapping tape she had put on the box, opened it, and took out a big, stainless steel electric wok. She reached back in and pulled out its cord.

"A wok?" I asked in amazement.

"Yes. I've gained enough weight since I began having fast food almost every work night that some of my clothes are getting tight. I decided to start cooking my dinner here instead of buying fast food." She held up her insulated lunch box. "Dinner ready to be cooked."

I thought for a moment and then said, "Let's go up a floor and use the break room there."

My sister gave me a confused look as I stood up, but she didn't say anything. I put the wok and its cord back in the box, and we walked to the elevator. Once we were in the elevator alone, Mia asked, "Why go up a floor?"

"I don't know if it's okay to cook with something besides the microwave in the break room. Everyone in my department is still here, so someone might complain about us cooking. Hopefully, almost everyone on the next floor is gone." The elevator doors opened, and we strode toward the break room. "So, what are you going to cook?"

Mia gave me a smirk. "You'll see in a minute."

When we got to the break room, Mia plugged in the wok. She then unzipped her lunch box and pulled out a big storage container. "Stir fry vegetables." She pulled out a container that was full of a dark liquid. "Sauce." She pulled out a small container. "Oil". She pulled out one more container. "Tofu".

"Tofu?"

"Yes, tofu." She poured the oil into the wok and then added the tofu. "Someone at work has been eating vegetarian for a year now. She's been telling me she's lost a lot of weight since switching to vegetarian, and she feels so much better." Mia moved the tofu around in the wok.

The tofu looked very unappealing to me. Like cream cheese trying to pretend to be meat. I said, "What if I don't want to eat tofu?"

Mia shrugged. "I'm making my dinner. I'll make enough for two. If you don't want to have some, you can have something delivered."

Mia was acting nonchalant, but I suspected she really wanted me to eat the tofu and veggies. She didn't like eating alone, and I didn't want to abandon her by ordering dinner.

"I'll give it a try. No promises." Mia gave me a guarded smile. I decided to change the subject by asking, "How was your day?"

"Great!" said Mia enthusiastically. "Deion showed me how to use slicers in Excel. I had never used that feature before." Mia explained what slicers were and how they would make some of her work so much easier and then about how helpful Deion and the other people in her department were. My sister loved learning new job skills. In her prior job, she had felt like a glorified data entry clerk. Mia was very career-oriented and had told me during our commutes about new positions she was going to pursue at her company once she had more experience and skills.

Eventually, Mia put the tofu and vegetables onto two plastic plates. She gave me one and a fork, then took a bite of hers. I steeled myself as I took my first bite.

After a couple of bites, I said, "This is good."

Mia gave me an unconvinced stare.

I said defensively, "All right...it's okay. I like it enough to finish it." I added appreciatively, "It's nice having a home-cooked meal, and it's much better than something I could microwave here."

That got me a warm smile.

We didn't say anything more. Once I cleared my plate, Mia asked, "Do you think I could store my wok here?"

"If we can find an empty space, I don't see why not." I opened a cabinet above the counter, and the top shelf was empty. "Let's store it there. If someone pitches it, I'll buy you a new one and keep it at my desk."

"Sounds like a plan. Now, go back to work while I clean up."

* * * *

Mia was all giggly when we started driving home. Finally, she said, "I can't believe I got you to eat tofu. Eat it and like it."

I shrugged defensively. "It wasn't on my list of things I wanted for dinner, but I was willing to give it a serious try because it had a secret sauce."

"A secret sauce?"

"That you had made it. I know you're a great cook, and I trust you."

After a few moments, Mia said a heartfelt "Thanks." Then Mia added lightly, "I never would have gotten Nathan to eat tofu."

"I appreciate you choosing to cook for me. Beggars can't be choosers. If you want to go vegetarian, I'll suck it up and eat vegetarian even if I'm not thrilled about it. It'll still be much better than eating some microwave meal like my coworkers do."

Mia was quiet for a while before eventually asking, "How was your day?"

"Bad," I said bitterly. "Stupid bad."

"Stupid bad?"

I shook my head in disgust. "We had a departmental meeting today. Last month's metrics were down. They had gotten better each month since Janice took over, and she was upset about the backslide."

"Okay."

"She wanted to know why our metrics were down."

"And did someone say everyone was burnt out from working long hours?"

I smiled at my sister hitting the nail on the head. "No. But someone did suggest hiring one or two more people to help with the workload."

"What did Janice say to that?"

"We don't need more people. We just need to work smarter."

Mia asked cautiously, "What did you think of her answer?"

"I found it insulting. Like I was intentionally working dumb before and needed Janice to prod me to work smarter." A bad taste rose in my mouth. "Some suggestions were made, and most of the meeting was squabbling about whether they were good ideas or not. And at the end, Janice said she wants us to work more hours."

* * * *

From then on, Mia would text me when she got to my building, and I'd meet her in the break room on the floor above.

One Friday night, I walked into the break room as Mia was unloading the items for dinner. I asked, "How's it going?"

"Good."

Mia was wearing her usual post-workout clothes. At some point, I had started checking out my sister's body when I joined her in the break room. Her back was always to me. I wasn't checking her out like I'd check out some woman walking down the street. I mean, she was my sister. I was just keeping myself appraised as to the results of her exercising and eating vegetarian. And the results were very, very nice.

When Mia turned around, she asked, "Do you like it?"

"Like w--" I suddenly noticed that my sister's hair was now a dark red. I embarrassingly realized that my eyes had never made it above her waist.

Mia's face fell. I could tell that I hurt her by not noticing her new hair color. I tried to cover my screw-up by asking, "Were you asking about your hair color or your hairstyle?"

Mia's face brightened. "Mainly the color. The style didn't change that much."

"I like it." I moved around to look at my sister from several angles. "The color is very vibrant and really brings out the blue in your eyes." I looked a little more. "Your hair has enough color variation to look natural."

Mia gave me a grateful smile. "Oh, great! I did it at lunch today." She gently touched her hair. "One of the many advantages of working downtown is that the top-notch hair salons are close by." My sister looked uncertain. "It looks so different. I'm not used to it. It looks so wrong to me when I look at myself in the mirror. My female coworkers loved it, but they could have been just being nice."

I gripped my sister by her shoulders and held her at arm's length. "It looks wonderful on you. It really suits you. Before, you were pretty. Now, you're a heartbreaker."

I let go of my sister. She looked down bashfully for a few moments and then returned to cooking. I moved to her right and was looking at her side as she cooked. She said, "I was really hoping the man in my life would like it."

That was an odd phrase. I bent forward so I could see her face as she cooked. "The man in your life?"
"You're my brother and all that, but you're also the guy I talk to the most." She paused there, and I felt like she had more to say, so I stayed bent forward. Mia also bent forward as she stirred the contents of the wok. As I waited, my eyes were drawn to her chest. Mia was wearing a polo shirt that was tight enough on her that it emphasized her tits, and she had enough buttons undone at the collar to show an appealing amount of skin. If she bent forward a little more, I'd be able to see her bra.

I moved back and turned to face the entrance to the break room. I felt guilty for ogling my sister. I hadn't meant to and even though it had just happened, I knew Mia would have been disappointed if she had caught me. My sister was attractive, and it was easy to admire her good looks, but I had slipped into the habit of admiring her nice body far more than a brother should. I needed to do a better job of keeping my mind from wandering when I was around her.

Should I have called my sister a heartbreaker? What kind of brother tells his sister she's a heartbreaker? It seemed wrong, but at the same time, what was wrong with telling her the truth?

Then I had a sudden thought - Mia was a conservative dresser. And yet, she had on a polo shirt that was tighter on her than anything she wore to work, and she had it fully unbuttoned. She hadn't intended for me to get a good look down her shirt...had she?

That was craziness. I needed to pull myself together. Too many long days at work. I was too easily distracted now.

Mia continued cooking. By her posture and how she was moving, I could tell she wanted me to say something. But what?

She had just told me that I was the man in her life. I guessed she wanted me to reciprocate in some way. Was Mia the woman in my life? She was the woman I spent the most time with and the woman whose opinion I valued the most. Still...it wasn't a phrase I'd feel comfortable saying. But I felt like I should say something that expressed how I felt toward Mia. I reached out and gently pulled on her shoulder. She set down her spatula and turned toward me as I pulled her into a hug. I said, "You're the bright spot in my life right now. I'm glad my opinion means a lot to you. Your opinion means a lot to me."

Mia leaned hard into me as she let me hug her. She said, "I enjoy spending time with you. Before I started commuting with you, I never thought about doing anything with you when I had free time. Now, I regret how little you were in my life."

"I think we had to grow up enough that we could interact as adults instead of siblings for us to enjoy being with each other. And I do enjoy being with you."

I felt odd hugging my sister. That was not how our family behaved. We were the stoic type that never complained and rarely showed emotion. I couldn't remember my parents telling me that they loved me or Mia that they loved her; they were the types to let their actions show their love. I had told only one girlfriend that I loved her, and that was after dating her for almost a year. I never told Ginny that I loved her. I wouldn't be surprised if Nathan was the only man that Mia had said I love you to. Yet here we were, hugging like this was perfectly normal for us.

I gave Mia a quick squeeze and then released her. She went back to cooking. I said, "I've got big news to tell you on the drive home."

My sister gave me a questioning look before saying tentatively, "Okay." I hoped she realized my news was something I didn't want overheard.

Mia changed the subject by saying, "Maria is having a party tonight. I don't like being home during her parties."

"How come?"

"It's mostly friends of her boyfriend. I feel like they spend all night hitting on me."

Given how good my sister looked, I wasn't surprised the guys would hit on her.

I said, "You could stay in your room."

"That's what I do. But regularly a guy will knock on my door and tell me to come out and join the party. I'm getting tired of making polite excuses for not doing so."

"I can see that getting old."

"Could I please stay at your place tonight? I'll sleep on the couch. I'd much prefer a quiet evening to having to listen to Maria's party."

I asked in fake outrage, "Are you saying that my Friday nights are boring?"

"Well, uh...

I winked and said, "Sure you can stay. It'll be nice to have some company."

"Great! Thanks so much." Mia bounced happily a couple of times and then gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll drive home after we get to your apartment, grab some stuff, and drive right back." She poured the contents of the wok onto two plates. "Let's eat!"

* * * *

Later when we got into my car, Mia asked, "So, what's the big news?"

I started the car and began driving. "We had a departmental meeting today, and Janice announced we're going to get low-wall cubes next month to foster teamwork and improve communication."

After a while, Mia said, "So."

"So...one of my coworkers said he had worked someplace which had low-wall cubes before coming to us, and that you heard every conversation and every phone call going on around you. He found it impossible to seriously think with so much noise. I added that I speak to people outside of our department and outside of the company much more than people within my department, so improving my inter-departmental communication isn't going to help much. All my coworkers agreed with me."

"And what did Janice say to that?"

"People's voices aren't going to be a problem because they're going to pipe in white noise."

Mia said with a hint of amazement, "They're going to solve the noise problem by adding more noise?"

"Oh, yeah. Makes a ton of sense, doesn't it?" I could feel my frustration rising. "I think it's all about control. Janice wants to be able to stare down our row of cubes and make sure we're all busy." I forced myself to relax my hands on the steering wheel. "Janice is a terrible manager. She doesn't inspire me in any way. Everyone hates working for her. She hasn't done a thing to make us more productive. All she's done is make us work more hours. That doesn't take any skill, any talent. All that takes is being cruel and heartless with no life." I took a big breath to calm myself. "I've had it. I really like my coworkers, I enjoy my work, but I can't take Janice anymore. I'm going to update my resume this weekend and look for a new job."

Mia was quiet for a while, and then she said in a small voice. "I love my job. I've been learning so much, and I feel really appreciated there. I can see myself building a career there. If you got a job someplace else and stopped driving downtown, I don't know what I'd do."

We were quiet for a while, and I eventually said, "Would you like me to find another job downtown?"

"Would you?" Mia said excitedly.

"No promises, but I'll make downtown my primary search location."

"Oh, that'd be awesome!" My sister twisted in her seat, leaned over, and hugged me. "That would mean so much to me."

I hadn't thought about how a new job might impact our carpool situation. But now that Mia mentioned it, I definitely wanted it to continue. When I drove to work on weekends, I found the drive so boring and empty. It was like the commute with Mia was all bright color, so full of life; but without Mia it was lifeless, all drab grays.

Mia said, "We'll work on your resume tonight." She added excitedly, "Tomorrow, you find some job openings you're interested in, and I'll help you with a cover letter. I'll do whatever I can to help you find a new job."

* * * *

I jumped up from my computer when I heard Mia put her key in my door lock. By the time she got the door opened, I was there to help her with her stuff. My sister dumped her stuff on or next to the couch and then walked over to my Pez dispenser collection.

What had convinced me to get this apartment was that it had three long shelves on one wall. The bottom shelf had my Star Wars Pez dispensers, the middle one had my Marvel Pez dispensers, and the top one had the rest of my Pez dispensers. I really liked how the shelves displayed my collection.

When I joined Mia in front of my collection, she asked, "Which ones are new?"

I pointed out the three I had purchased since the last time she had been over. She picked each one up, examined it, and put it back. My collection would be more valuable if I kept the dispensers in their original packing material, but I enjoyed playing with them too much to care. Mia picked up one of my Princess Leia dispensers. Those were her favorites.

I said, "Ginny could never understand why someone would have a Pez dispenser collection."

"It makes you happy. What's there to understand?" She set down the Princess Leia dispenser, turned to me, and said, "I'd like my boyfriend to have a collection of some sort. Then when he had a bad day at the office or was grumpy because I had nagged him to do something he had promised to do, I could talk about his collection to put him in a happier mood." Mia walked toward my computer. "How's the resume going?"

"Pretty well. I've got down what I want to cover. Now, I need to fine-tune it."

For the next hour, Mia and I worked on my resume. She helped me with the wording and the formatting. Around ten, I said, "I think that's good enough for now. I may make some more changes after looking at job openings tomorrow."

Mia said, "I'll go change into my bedclothes, and then let's watch some TV."

"Okay."

My sister grabbed her daypack, went into my bedroom, and closed the door. I had no idea what she would change into. I guessed something fairly conservative which wouldn't show a lot of skin, something comfortable, but not baggy. When she came out of my bedroom, she was wearing what looked like a light pink, women's cut T-shirt that went down to almost her knees instead of her waist. Not overtly sexy, but she looked good in it. She was also wearing pink and white striped socks that came up past her knees, which gave her a youthful, fun look.

Mia joined me on the couch. She lovingly stroked the cushion between us. "I'm glad you bought this from us. It was my favorite piece in our apartment. I'm glad I'm able to come visit it."

"It is a very stylish piece of furniture." The couch had white upholstery with black wood highlights in the arms and across the top of the back. The back was high, and the stitching on it made diamonds of the upholstery. The cushions and back were well-padded, making it very comfy to sit on. It was wide enough that three people could sit comfortably on it. "And the end tables I also bought from you nicely complement it. It doesn't go with my other furniture, but I'll get rid of those eventually and keep this. It'll easily outlast that Ikea trash. It's very comfortable. After a long day at work, I like to lie down on it and listen to music. I never pictured myself owning a couch this nice."

"I'm glad you like it as much as I do. And it's not a couch; it's a sofa."

I decided to give Mia a little grief. "It's a couch. Nobody I know owns a sofa."

"I'm telling you, it's a sofa," Mia argued good-naturedly. "A European-style sofa."

"What's the difference between a couch and a sofa?"

"Functionally, they're the same but sofas are more stylish and elegant than couches."

Well, I had learned something new. Mia was something of an interior designer. She liked reading home decorating magazines, and the decor of her place with Nathan had been gorgeous. She had given me advice about decorating this apartment, and Ginny had been impressed with the results.

Mia asked, "What do you think about while you listen to the music on the sofa?"

"Work," I said bitterly. "I think about all the things I have to get done the next day before Janice will let me go home. I think about how miserable I am working for Janice. It takes me a while to unwind enough that I can think about something besides work."

When I did finally unwind enough to think of something besides work, I thought mainly about Mia. I'd review everything I said to her that day, and I'd think of new things to say to her for the next day. I felt uneasy about how much time I spent thinking about my conversations with my sister, but I put it down as practice for when I started dating again.

Mia frowned. "Nathan never liked this sofa."

"He didn't?"

"No. He wanted one of the cushions to fold down to provide a place to hold his beer."

"That's why you have end tables."

"Exactly!" Mia turned to face me with one hand balled into a fist. "But he didn't want to have to reach all the way to the end table, and he wanted something that had a recessed cup holder." Mia rolled her eyes. "He never said anything about wanting a fold-down cushion with cup holders while I was shopping for a sofa. He didn't give me any ideas on what to get. He just said, 'I'm sure you'll get something nice.' And then he complained about what I bought."

I didn't think I had ever seen Mia this worked up. "That doesn't seem fair."

"It wasn't! We spent a lot of money on this sofa. It has an eight-way hand-tied construction and a solid oak frame, so it should last at least 25 years. It was the centerpiece of our living room. That room had a very elegant, classic look that I was very proud of. And when Nathan grumbled about having to reach so far to set his beer down, I wanted to throw something at him. I loved that Nathan and I rarely fought. I don't like fighting. This sofa was the one thing we regularly disagreed on."

I said jokingly, "Instead of fighting, he'd just let you have your way?"

Mia rolled her eyes. "The big thing with me is don't surprise me. I like to watch TV in the evenings, and I like to pick the shows. If Nathan wanted to watch a football game, he'd say at dinner, 'Would you mind if I watched football after dinner?' And I always said yes. While he watched the game, I'd sit on the sofa with him and read, or play a game on my tablet. I'd watch the commercials with him and talk about those. We'd have a good time together. But if I was watching a show, and he was to grab the remote and suddenly change it to football, that would make me very angry. I've had other boyfriends do that kind of thing, but Nathan never did. When there was an issue, we'd talk it out and make a mutual decision. Nathan was very reasonable about everything, except this sofa." Mia ran her hand lovingly along the wood on the top of the sofa back. "I tried everything to get him to like it. When I saw ads that had similar sofas, I'd show them to him to get him to appreciate how this sofa made the living room. The few times we had friends over, I'd always fish for comments on it, and it always got a lot of praise. I even tried making some happy memories on it with him."

Mia suddenly froze, like she realized that she had said too much.

"Happy memories?"

Mia suddenly blushed. "Yeah. You know..." She held that meaningfully.

I didn't get what she was alluding to. "No, I don't know."

Mia looked down in embarrassment and blushed even more. "Well...you know...we had sex on the sofa. I thought that would get him to like it."

"You had sex on this sofa?" I asked in a raised voice.

Mia gave me an embarrassed nod.

"Several times?" I asked even louder.

Mia gave me another embarrassed nod.

I raised my hands up in exaggerated outrage. "This sofa has sex juice on it, and YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!"

Mia didn't know what to make of my overreacting. "You couldn't tell."

I jumped up and slapped my hands to my forehead. "OH MY GOD! I'VE BEEN SITTING ON SEX JUICE FOR MONTHS!"

Mia giggled at my overreacting. "Stop being such a baby about it. I cleaned the sofa afterward."

I started walking around the sofa with my hands on top of my head. "MY SISTER IS A WILD WOMAN WHO SOLD ME A SOFA COATED IN SEX JUICE."

Mia got off the sofa and swatted me gently on the back. "Stopping making such a big deal about it."

I walked quickly to get away from her while saying "MY SISTER--"

Mia caught up to me and swatted my back again. "Stop that."

I began jogging. "--IS A WILD WOMAN--"

Mia giggled as she swatted my back again.

"--WHO SOLD ME--"

Mia swatted my back again. We started running around the sofa laughing with Mia regularly swatting me on the back. After a couple of laps, we both collapsed on the sofa laughing.

When we caught our breath, Mia said, "You're such a goof."

I chuckled at that and then replied in a slightly teasing voice, "Hearing that my sister had had lots of sex on my sofa was so shocking that I overreacted. I'm sorry." After a few moments, I added, "And I still really like this sofa." I stroked the fabric appreciatively. "When you say you don't like surprises, you mean you don't like sudden changes in plans, right?"

"More than that. Any kind of unpleasant surprise. You're really good at not surprising me. Take today. You didn't just find a new job and spring it on me. You told me before you had even started searching, so we could talk about how this affects me, and I was able to convince you to look primarily at downtown jobs."

"You're really okay with helping me find a new job?" I felt a little like I had blackmailed her into doing it.

"I am! I want you to be happy, and your current job makes you miserable." Mia touched my arm with her hand. "You've always acted like your working late is this huge inconvenience to me, and it's not. I've built it into my schedule. I started attending my aerobics class because you consistently worked late, and that's been the best place for me to make friends. I want to continue that after you find another job. And cooking dinner for you has actually been great for me. I've been able to try out a bunch of recipes I've been meaning to try that Nathan never would've touched. Cooking dinner for us is now built into the schedule. And besides," my sister poked me in the tummy a couple of times, "you were getting a little pudgy before I started cooking dinner for us. Now, you're down to a good weight."

"Well..."

"You're great about giving me a heads up if you think you'll work later than usual. When I asked if you'd give me a ride to work, you told me up front that you'd have to work late occasionally, and I prepared myself for that."

"But if I didn't work late so much, you'd have more free time to do what you want in the evenings."

Mia shook her head. "I haven't wanted free time in the evenings. I've been fine from when I left Maria's until I got back. When I got back to Maria's, I'd fall apart. Right after I broke up with Nathan, I'd bawl my eyes out every evening."

I was filled with such sadness. I reached out for Mia, and she came into my arms. As we hugged, I said, "But you're going to have a good time tonight. Whatever you want to do, we'll do."

"What I want to do is watch TV with good company."

I ended the hug and reached for my remote. "Triple D?" Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives was one of Mia's favorite TV shows. After she and Nathan had vacationed in Chicago for a week, the thing she talked about the most was all the restaurants that she had seen on Triple D that she had gone to.

"Not tonight. Let me browse."

I handed Mia the remote. She stood up and flipped through the possibilities. She said over her shoulder, "Lie down on the sofa."

"Okay." She was really taking advantage of me saying we'd do whatever she wanted. I lay down and said, "If you say it's a sofa, it's a sofa. But I think of it as a couch."

Mia pulled up the show "Too Cute!", lay down on the couch in front of me, and threw the blanket over both of us. As I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, I felt very comfortable. We watched a litter of puppies live their first few months. Mia regularly, "Awwwwed" as we watched the show. It was fun, mindless entertainment that was very relaxing.

As we watched, Mia moved back until she was just touching me. Her proximity had me thinking unbrotherly thoughts. If she had been any other woman, I'd take us lying together like this as a hint to cuddle, for me to pull Mia close to me and nibble on her neck. But Mia was my sister, and I suppressed the urge to see how she'd react if I did nibble on her neck.
As I watched the show, I wondered about what happened between Mia and Nathan. Mia never talked about her problems. Tonight was the most she had ever talked about the issues she had with Nathan and her feelings after the breakup. I didn't think the couch was the only reason they broke up. It sounded like there were other problems, and the couch was just a symptom. They had seemed so happy, then Mia was asking for help moving into Maria's. There had to be something else.

Once the puppies were all adopted, Mia sat up and started another "Too Cute!" episode. This time, it was kittens. And then she lay back down next to me.

I asked, "Having a good evening?"

"Yes. Very much so. The best evening since I broke up with Nathan. Did you and Ginny spend many evenings watching TV?"

"Some. Not as many as I'd like. She wanted to go to a movie on Friday nights and go dancing on Saturday nights. When she came over during the week and there wasn't a movie she wanted to watch, we'd Netflix and chill."

After we watched some of the kittens' antics, Mia said, "The sofa is yours. If you want to call it a couch, call it a couch."

"Thanks."

We both had spoken in quiet, relaxed voices. We were both very comfortable and getting ready for sleep. When the kittens had been adopted, I was ready for bed. Mia got up, I got up, she gave me a hug and a kiss goodnight, and off I went to my bedroom.

When I got in bed, I decided I was in the mood to jerk off. But I always jerked off at my computer, which was out in the living room. Unfortunately, my phone was out there too. I had been woken up too many times from a good sleep by a spam call or the notification of some random text message, so I left it by my computer.

I started stroking my cock as I ran through possible fantasies to jerk off to. I started imagining Ginny and I making out on my couch. My intent was for the fantasy to turn into Ginny and I fucking on the couch, but I couldn't picture us getting naked on the couch, and the fantasy just faded away. And then I had a picture in my head of Mia naked on my couch giving me a come-hither look. That freaked me out. How could I think of my sister like that? And it didn't help that Mia was on my couch at that very moment. I got out of bed disgusted with myself. I tossed into my hamper the underwear I had been using, put on a clean pair, and laid back down to go to sleep.

* * * *

When I came out of my bedroom the next morning, Mia was watching TV on the couch. "Good morning," she chirped.

I wouldn't mind more mornings starting like this. "Good morning. What would you like for breakfast? An omelet or pancakes?"

"Oooo! An omelet would be wonderful." My sister turned off the TV, came over, and sat down at the bar which faced the kitchen. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good."

Actually, I hadn't slept well as some wicked and cruel part of my mind decided to show me a slide show of my sister getting fucked in different positions on my couch. After showing me an image, it would ask me, Did your sister get fucked like this on your couch? I had watched enough porn that I could imagine a woman getting fucked in a LOT of ways on the couch. The wicked and cruel part of my mind showed me all of them. Did she get fucked like this?, and I saw an image of Mia making an 'O' with her mouth as she got pounded in the missionary position. Did she get fucked like this?, and I saw an image of Mia bent over sexily while being taken doggie-style. And then there was an image of her bouncing up and down on a guy's cock while he sat up on the couch and she faced him. Then Mia was bent over the armrest while being fucked doggie-style again. Image after image after image. Mia's face always showed her delight in getting pounded. It had been pure torture.

I shook off the memory. "Would you like bacon with your omelet?"

"I shouldn't," Mia said coyly. "But what the heck."

I went over to the refrigerator and started pulling out ingredients. Mia said, "I slept great. That's a comfy couch to sleep on. Would you mind if I slept here again the next time Maria has a party?"

"No, not at all. Would you like some orange juice?"

"Please! I wasn't expecting such a great breakfast."

I shrugged. "When Ginny slept over, I'd always make us a nice breakfast. She really liked that. She'd flirt a lot with me while I cooked, and then we'd go back to my bedroom after we'd eaten. Our little breakfast ritual was like foreplay for her."

Mia smiled at me like she could see the fun in what Ginny and I had done. "Do you miss her still?"

I handed Mia a glass of orange juice. I turned to pour mine. "Somewhat. I had fun doing things with her, but when she walked out the door, I didn't think much about her until the next time I saw her. We never had deep conversations or talked about our long-term plans. She was the kind of person who lived in the here and now. I was getting frustrated with the lack of depth in our relationship by the time she dumped me."

"Why didn't you dump her first?"

"She never gave me a reason to break up with her. It was fun going out with her. The sex was really good. And when I first started dating her, I liked the lack of relationship drama." I changed the subject by asking, "It's hard for me to believe that you and Nathan did it on the couch. He always seemed so...square."

"Have you ever had sex on a couch?"

"No."

"Any place beside the bed?"

"No."

"Then you're much more square than Nathan."

Mia's eyes twinkled at getting the best of me. It annoyed me, but I had stepped into it. Still, there was a broader point I wanted to make. I struggled with what exactly it was as I got the bacon out. Once it was frying, I said, "I suspect that the reason that Nathan is less square than me on this issue has to do with you and not him. You're a very fun person, and Nathan isn't."

Mia gave me a knowing smile. "You're not the first person to make that observation."

I focused on the bacon. I knew I should move on to another topic, but I wanted to know more about Mia and Nathan's relationship.

After I flipped the bacon, Mia said, "Nathan was unimaginative when it came to sex, but most guys are. Variety with my prior boyfriends meant position number two or three instead of position number one. Nathan encouraged me to be imaginative or silly. And he always played along whenever I did."

"And you liked that?"

"Yes."

"What else did you do besides have sex on the couch?"

"I'm not going to tell you!" Mia said in a tone that was both light and firm. "It's embarrassing enough that you know about the couch."

"Fair enough." I never discussed the details of my sex life with anyone. But as we were talking about Mia and Nathan, I decided to ask, "How serious were you and Nathan?"

Mia looked uncomfortable for a few moments, and then she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Serious. When I moved in with Nathan, I was expecting to marry him someday. He was the one. We were..." Mia froze for a few seconds. "And then it turned into a disaster. It still shocks me how wrong I was about everything."

"I'm sorry to have ruined your relationship." I continued to feel a lot of guilt about it.

Mia looked at her hands for a while and then shook her head. "I'm sure I would have married him if I hadn't taken the job downtown. And then when things blew up, it would have been much harder to walk away. What if we had had kids by then? It really hurt breaking up with Nathan, but it was best to end early a relationship that wasn't healthy."

"Not healthy?"

"Yeah." Mia shifted uncomfortably. "A relationship needs trust, doesn't it?"

I was confused by her question. "Yeah. Absolutely." That was true for any type of relationship. I once had a coworker who would regularly lie to shift blame, and everyone hated working with him even though he was a smart, funny guy.

"Nathan didn't trust me. I didn't recognize that at first. The first time you worked late after I had moved in with Nathan, he asked me a whole bunch of questions when I got home." Mia folded her arms. "When did your brother tell you he'd be working late? What did you do after five? Who was there?" She paused for a moment before unfolding her arms. "He wasn't hostile or anything. I didn't get upset about the questions. I just felt...he was...overly curious. I had told him before I accepted the job that you had told me you'd stay late once every week or two. Why should he ask me a bunch of questions when you did work late?"

Mia stopped to take a drink of orange juice. I took the bacon out of the pan and put it on a plate with a paper towel. I poured the egg mixture for the omelet into the pan.

Mia continued, "It was like that every time you worked late. It wasn't a big deal, but it was annoying."

"Then Janice took over, and I started working late consistently."

"And Nathan started questioning me more aggressively. Where did I go out to dinner, and who did I go with? Why didn't I want to drive to work myself? Did I go out to lunch too? If so, who with?"

"This is starting to sound scary."

Mia nodded. "It was. And it kept getting worse. I drove to work a couple of days, hated it, and then went back to carpooling with you. But Nathan couldn't accept how much I had hated driving myself." Tears were running down her face now. "He kept pressing me for the real reason."

My stomach was feeling queasy. "But there was no other reason."

"Which I told him over and over." Mia put her elbow on the bar and rested her forehead on her hand. Her story seemed to be exhausting her. "I put an app on our phones so we could see where the other was. I thought that would reassure Nathan. But it made things even worse."

"How so?"

"Every time I went out to lunch, or to dinner, or out shopping, Nathan would call and demand to know what I was doing. And he wouldn't believe me when I told him." Mia swallowed hard. "The last straw was when some friends of mine from college came into town. I met them at a bar. Nathan called several times, asking when I was coming home. It was so embarrassing having to try to calm him down over the phone in front of my friends. He even showed up at the bar to check on me. It was so humiliating. When I got home, I told him it was over between us. Nathan got really ugly then. It was like breaking up with him was confirmation that I was cheating on him. He demanded to know who I was sleeping with. I got so afraid he'd hit me that I ran out of the apartment and slept in my car."

"I'm so sorry, Mia. I had no idea." My heart was really going out for her. "No one should go through that."

"The next morning, I started calling for places to move into. Once I found one, I called you." Mia left her place at the bar and came around to the kitchen. As she did, I smelled something burning and realized that I had paying so much attention to Mia that I had let the omelet burn. I moved it off the hot burner and gave Mia a hug when she got close to me. "Thanks for helping me out when I broke up with Nathan, for buying the furniture neither Nathan nor I wanted, for moving me to my new place, for being my rock when my world was falling apart."

Mia hugged me tightly, pressing her head hard into my chest. I said, "I was glad to do it. I love you, Mia, and I want to see you happy. I was glad to do whatever I could to get you into a better situation."

"I love you too, Jackson."

We held each other for a long time. Mia quietly cried, letting loose her grief over what she had thought had been the perfect relationship. I tried to think of something to say, some words of comfort, but nothing came. At times life sucked, and there was nothing that could be said which could change that; when loving support was far more important than words.

We were emotionally leaning on each other so much. Mia was my emotional support as I dealt with my job situation. I hadn't known how much she was leaning on me after her breakup with Nathan, but I was realizing it now. During our struggles, we had found a deep love for each other, a kind of love that was very different from what we had felt for each other for so long.

When I felt her tears had stopped, I said, "Let me check on the omelet." I turned back to the stove with one arm around Mia. The omelet was an overcooked mess. "I'll have to make us a new one."

Mia stepped back from me, and I turned to face her. She said, "Go ahead. I'm hungry."

"You sure? I don't mind hugging you some more."

Mia gave me a small, grateful smile. "I'm fine now." Then she darted to me to press herself against me while giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for being here for me."

Mia left the kitchen, and I went back to the refrigerator to get another batch of ingredients. I dumped the dead omelet in the trash and made another as Mia watched. When the omelet was done, I cut the omelet in two and put Mia's piece on her plate.

We ate quietly for a while. I felt we were both processing our newly expressed feelings. Mia finally said, "I keep thinking about what went wrong with Nathan and what I could have done differently. I don't want to go through that heartache again." Mia played with her food for a bit. "That's why I've been so slow to resume dating. I've been asked out several times, but I've always said no. I want to figure out what I did wrong, so I don't do it again."

I said gently, "I don't think you did anything wrong. You were up-front with Nathan with everything. You did everything you could to reassure him. It sounds like he was never going to trust you. Maybe he was so suspicious because he was a cheater himself?"

"What?" Mia asked in surprise.

"People project on others. Maybe Nathan was the type of guy who thought about cheating when he was away from his girl and thought you would do the same to him."

Mia's mouth dropped open. She obviously hadn't considered that Nathan might cheat on her. She shook her head and said, "Enough about Nathan. Let's discuss something fun. You haven't watched 'The Masked Singer' yet, right?"

Mia talked about the show all the time in our drives to work, but I preferred movies to TV shows. "Correct."

"Oh! We have to watch it after breakfast. I love that show."

"Okay. Just one episode though. Then I'll need to shower and go to work."

Once we finished breakfast and put the dishes into the dishwasher, we headed over toward the couch. I sat down, allowing Mia to pick up the remote. I said, "I'd prefer sitting up this time." I felt like after all the hugging this morning, I wouldn't be able to resist pulling her to me if we lay down on the couch together again.

"Fine but sit on one end." I sat on one end as Mia pulled up the show and started it. Then she turned to me and said, "Put your leg up on the couch." I didn't know what she was planning, but I went along. Mia then sat down between my legs and leaned her back into my chest. "Please hold me. I want to be held this morning."

I wrapped my arms around Mia, and she put her head on my shoulder. We chatted as we watched the show. I felt like our conversation was on a much deeper level where the lightest comment was an expression of caring and the need to be cared for.

* * * *

Tuesday evening while Mia and I were eating dinner, one of my coworkers walked into the break room.

"Hey, Jackson."

"Hey, Matt."

Mia said, "Hey, Matt."

I was used to coworkers joining us occasionally. I spent so much time with my coworkers that I didn't want to have dinner with them, but sometimes one of them felt the need to vent, and the break room on a different floor was considered a safe place to do so.

I said, "Missed you yesterday after lunch. You went home sick?"

"Yeah, man," Matt said in a tone I recognized as being frustrated and angry about work. "Eye problem. I couldn't see coming back to work after lunch."

I snickered. "I hear you. I totally hear you."

"I goofed off the rest of the day. Felt great. In the evening, I went to a bar by myself. Guess who I saw there?"

My hunch was that it was a female former coworker. I thought over the possibilities and answered, "Susan?"

Matt shook his head. "No. I wish." Susan had been good-looking and had flirted a little with Matt. "I was scanning the bar and saw this woman in a white Abercrombie & Fitch hoodie."

"Ginny." Ginny had always worn a white Abercrombie & Fitch hoodie when it was the least bit chilly.

"Yeah. I couldn't remember her name. I had seen her a few times with you but hadn't talked to her. I worked my way over toward her. When I got close, she was doing some serious bitching to a friend about some guy she had just broken up with. The guy kept telling her how much he cared about her, but he never did anything to show it. She thought he was only interested in her for the sex. Blah, blah, blah. I could tell it wasn't a good time for a guy she barely knows to try to strike up a conversation with her, so I just listened for a while. She mentioned your name a couple of times. Very positively. Sounded like she regretted breaking up with you."

I shrugged. "I, too, regret that she broke up with me. But she dumped me because I wasn't able to spend the time with her she wanted, and that hasn't changed."

"You never know with women. Give her a call."

It was an interesting idea. "I'll think about it."

"It can't hurt, man. All she can do is say no."

I knew that Matt was trying to be helpful, but I didn't want to commit to calling Ginny. "Or I can give her a chance to call me. It'd be better if she made the first move."

"Don't wait too long." Matt gave Mia a big smile. "And how are you doing?"

Matt tried chatting up Mia, but she wasn't receptive. Unusually, she seemed in a bad mood.

I finished my dinner and went back to work. A half-hour later, I called Mia. "Let's go. I'm not getting anything done here."

Mia and I were both quiet on the walk to the car. Once I got on the freeway, Mia said in a slightly angry tone, "You aren't thinking of going out with Ginny, are you?"

"She hasn't called."

"And if she called you, you wouldn't go out with her, right?"

"I...um...it'd be nice to go out on a date again."

Mia said angrily, "She dumped you when you really needed her. She's not seriously interested in you; you said so yourself. You'd have a shallow relationship with her until she dumped you again."

Suddenly, I was furious. "Maybe she'll be serious this time! Maybe dating the loser she broke up with taught her to appreciate what I had to offer!" The last few words came out as a yell. "It's none of your business whether I get back together with Ginny or not."

"It's none of my business?" Mia asked lividly. She added in a higher pitch, "It's none of my business? It's my business you've been mooning over her ever since she dumped you. How many times have I had to cheer you up because you missed her, even though all you were to her was a boy toy?"

That got me even angrier. "I was not a 'boy toy' to her! We had a lot in common! We had a lot of fun together!"

"And when you couldn't go out with her whenever she wanted to have fun, she cut you loose and moved on to the next boy toy!"

"And she--"

The car next to me honked its horn. I had drifted well into its lane. I realized I hadn't been paying attention to the traffic. I swerved back, shut up, and concentrated on the traffic for a while. It took several minutes for my heart rate to return to normal.

Once I got my emotions under control, I said as evenly as I could, "I liked Ginny. I enjoyed her company. It's been a long time since I had sex, so going out with Ginny has a lot of appeal even if the relationship wasn't serious. But maybe we'd both take the relationship more seriously this time."

"I feel like if you go back to Ginny now, you'd be rewarding her for abandoning you when you needed her the most." She let out a big sigh. "And I'm sorry about the rest of the things I said."
"I'm sorry I lost my temper."

I didn't understand why I blew up like I did. I rarely got that angry. I guessed the stress of the long hours at work was getting to me.

* * * *

Friday morning when Mia got out of her car and into mine, she was holding a brightly wrapped small box that had a big bow on top. I conspicuously looked at the box, hoping Mia would explain it. Instead, she said, "Maria's having a party tonight. May I stay at your apartment?"

I couldn't see what Maria having a party had to do with the present she was holding. "I owe you so much. Anything you want is fine with me."

Mia gave me a happy smile. "In that case," she handed me the box, "a present." She looked very pleased with herself.

I held up the box; it was very light. "I should be the one giving you a present."

Every evening that week when we got to my apartment complex, Mia had gone with me to my apartment and had helped me with my job search. During her free time downtown, she had explored the buildings near her for large companies that might hire me. Every night, I had been so beat from the long day at work that it had been her energy that had gotten job openings found, cover letters written, and resumes modified to fit the job requirements and sent out. I doubted that I would have responded to any job opening without her.

Mia said, "What I want most from you is the news that you've gotten a new job. Don't worry about me until you can give me that."

I knew to not fight with someone when they gave you a present. I started to put the present in the back seat, but Mia said, "Open it now."

I shot her a questioning look. Normally, she wanted me to wonder what her present was all day. When she gave me an encouraging look, I unwrapped the box. Inside was a small note. You'll get a fun surprise tonight.

I looked at Mia for an explanation, and she was faux innocently staring out the window. I could tell she wasn't going to tell me anything about what the note meant.

I started the car and headed downtown. I pondered what kind of present I could give Mia. She was the type of person that you gave gift cards to as a present as she always wanted very specific things. But I refused to not come up with something to give her. When I got on the freeway, I said, "How about this - the first three-day weekend after I start my new job, we'll go on a road trip together. We'll hit a Triple D restaurant every day for lunch and dinner. You can order for both of us, and we'll share our meals. We'll stop at whatever sights you want to see on the way. When we watch TV at our hotel, you'll pick what we watch. What do you think?"

"Oh my!" said Mia, taken aback by my suggestion. "That sounds so wonderful! What a dream weekend!"

"I'll do all the driving if you want."

Mia laughed. "Oh, I want. But I do insist that we split all the costs."

"Sure thing," I said with a big smile on my face.

"I can't imagine anything I'd enjoy more than a quiet three-day weekend with you."

* * * *

When Mia and I got back to my apartment complex, we went to Mia's car and got bedding out of the trunk of her car. Mia took an extra day pack out of the trunk and rejected my offer to carry it. I assumed it had the surprise in it. When we got to my apartment, my sister set her extra day pack down in a corner and ignored it. We watched another episode of "The Masked Singer" while sitting close to each other. Not boyfriend-girlfriend close, but near to that. I was in a very good mood and enjoyed her proximity being close to her. I kept waiting for her to tell me about my fun surprise, but she never mentioned anything.

When the episode ended, I got up and got a drink. When I came back, I announced, "I had a nice surprise today." I had intended to tell Mia about my surprise after she gave me mine, but I had no idea how much longer she'd make me wait for her surprise.

Mia perked up. "What was it?"

I paced in front of the couch as I said, "I got called about a job today. It'd be in a building two buildings over from yours."

Mia bounced lightly on the couch. "Tell me more."

"It was an interview with a person from HR. We went over my resume, and she asked some general questions, including 'What is your biggest weakness?'"

"What did you say?"

"Lycanthropy."

"What?"

I smiled at my sister's surprise. "That was how the HR person reacted. So, I explained to her that lycanthropy meant I turned into a werewolf every full moon."

Mia gave me a disbelieving look.

I took a sip of my drink before adding, "After a few seconds, I told the HR person I had decided that if I was going to make up a biggest weakness, I'd make up one which was interesting."

Mia giggled, and I couldn't help smiling. Her giggles were like aural sunshine. Each one made me happy to my core.

I continued, "Then the HR person asked me what my real biggest weakness was."

"And you said...?"

"That when I'm working on a problem, I get so many good ideas that at times I have a tough time choosing among them."

Mia snorted and rolled her eyes.

I said, "I think that was the HR person's response. She told me she liked lycanthropy better." Mia giggled again. "She ended the interview by telling me, 'I'm sorry to tell you that none of our medical plans cover lycanthropy. If you're okay with that, we'll have you come in Tuesday for an interview.'"

"An interview Tuesday!" Mia jumped off the couch and flung herself at me to give me a big hug. "That's so wonderful!"

I wrapped my arms around Mia and hugged her back. Hugging because of good news was definitely new for us, but I was enjoying it. Mia ended the hug and sat back down. I set my drink on the end table and sat next to her.

Mia asked, "So, what really is your biggest weakness?"

I partially raised my hands. "I don't know. I'd say...I'd say right now my biggest weakness working for Janice is that I'm unhappy about being forced to work long hours. That means I'm not a team player."

Mia frowned. "Enough of the unhappy thoughts. You've got a job interview Tuesday. Let's celebrate. I'll change into my night clothes, and then we'll watch a fun movie."

When Mia came back, she was wearing her pink super-long T-shirt and her pink-and-white striped socks again. Mia had us lie down on the couch this time. We watched "The Princess Bride", my all-time favorite movie. Hearing my sister laugh as we watched the movie made it so much more enjoyable for me. Occasionally, I'd have inappropriate thoughts about my sister lying next to me, but I'd push them off and focus on having a good time. I was a little sad when the movie ended as it meant the end of an enjoyable evening.

Mia sat up so I could get off the couch. When I stood up, I waited a moment for Mia to announce her fun surprise. Mia gave me a knowing smile, got up, gave me a hug and a kiss, and then lay back down on the couch while pulling the blanket over her. She said cheerfully, "Good night!"

* * * *

As I lay in bed, I listened intently to hear what my sister was doing. What was going to be her surprise? Had she bought me some new Pez dispensers and was going to put them on my shelves while I slept? Was she going to clean my kitchen?

After about fifteen minutes, the door to my bedroom opened. I looked toward the doorway expecting to see Mia and, to my surprise, it was Ginny in her white Abercrombie & Fitch hoodie. I couldn't make out much other than the hoodie. Was she not wearing anything else? I stared in amazement as she walked sexily toward me, swinging her hips wildly from side to side. Her long hair swung back and forth as she did so.

Ginny said in a sultry, lower-than-normal pitch. "Hi, Jackson. I've missed our Friday and Saturday nights together. I decided to give you a fun surprise and drop by."

That wasn't Ginny's voice. I stared at the girl's face which I could barely make out much because of the lack of light. I realized it was Mia, and that she must be wearing a wig to make her hair look something like Ginny's.

Mia pulled back my covers and climbed into my bed on her knees. She said in her imitation of Ginny's voice, "I can't stay too long. Just long enough to show you my appreciation for being such a great boyfriend."

My mouth fell open. I was stunned. I was on my side watching Mia. She raised one knee, gently pushed me onto my back, and straddled my stomach. "Have you missed having Ginny in your bed?"

I was too stunned to say anything. I had no idea what was going on. Then it hit me. Fun surprise. So, this is what my sister had promised me. I had no idea what she had in mind.

Mia smiled widely as she reached up and grabbed the zipper on her hoodie. She said, "Aren't you going to say hello to Ginny?" as she slowly unzipped the hoodie.

I said almost mechanically, "Hello, Ginny."

The hoodie was unzipped now, and Mia was holding the bottom of the hoodie next to the zipper with each hand. I could see enough through the gap where the zipper had been to know that Mia was wearing dark panties and wasn't wearing a bra. How much of my Friday nights with Ginny was Mia going to reenact?

Mia held her pose. I realized she was waiting for me to say something more. I said, "I'm so glad you've come to visit me, Ginny." My brain was warming to this game, so I thought to add, "I've missed seeing you."

Mia started flapping the sides of her hoodie. Then she silently laughed before asking, "You missed seeing me? What did you miss seeing? Was it my..." - Mia suddenly flung open the hoodie - "TITS!"

Mia's perky breasts stood out proudly on her chest. They were the perfect size for her slim body. Mia's erect nipples dominated the small, dark ring around them.

I stammered out, "They're...so...beautiful."

Mia flashed me a pleased grin as she tossed the hoodie onto the floor. She leaned back and said, "You've seen them lots of times before. I've always liked showing them off to you. Remember how I used to parade around naked in front of you while you cooked breakfast?" Mia leaned forward and shook her chest at me while laughing naughtily. I was mesmerized by her display. I was overwhelmed by how sexy my sister was. Pretending to be Ginny seemed to bring out this amazingly seductive and alluring side of her.

Mia gave me an exaggerated sad look. "But I won't be able to have breakfast with you tomorrow. I can't stay too long, and you've got to go to work. Tsk, tsk." Mia struck a couple of poses to show off her chest to me even more. Then she said coyly, "But you liked to do more than just look at my tits, didn't you?" Mia grabbed my wrists and raised my hands upward. "You also liked touching them."

Mia put my hands over her tits. I automatically cupped them. I moaned, "They feel so good." I squeezed them lightly. "They feel wonderful...Ginny." I had almost said Mia.

"I've missed this," Mia said. She closed her eyes and parted her lips as she leaned her tits into my hands. She let out a loud sigh of pleasure.

I was filled with conflicting emotions. I knew Mia shouldn't be in bed with me while mostly naked, and I knew I shouldn't be squeezing her tits. If she had come into my bedroom and proposed doing this, I would have said no. I would have rejected the idea of doing what we were doing, but I loved it now that we were doing it.

But she hadn't proposed that type of relationship. She had come into my bedroom as Ginny and had done the type of things Ginny had done, things I had enjoyed and now missed very much. And before I knew what was really going on, I was transported to heaven by the feel of my sister's tits. Though I knew it was wrong, I was enjoying it too much to stop.

I opened my fingers so Mia's nipples were each between a pair of my fingers. I loved the feel of their hardness. I said, "Someone's excited."

Mia said huskily, "You've got that right, Sugar. I've been thinking about this all night." Mia wiggled a little bit, pressing her tits more firmly into my hands. "That's it, Sugar. You know I love having my nipples played with."

It was weird how Mia was guiding me to do what she wanted by pretending to be Ginny. I had never talked to my sister about what Ginny and I actually did during sex. And Ginny had never called me "Sugar". But I found it hot being called "Sugar". Being talked to while making out was a new experience for me, one that I was quickly starting to like.

I twisted Mia's nipple gently with my right hand. She cried, "God, yes!" I twisted her other nipple. "Oh, yeah!" Mia closed her eyes, put my hands back over her tits, and said, "Not too much of that, Sugar. You'll make me crazy."

I went back to squeezing Mia's tits and sometimes scissoring her nipples with my fingers. Mia lightly ground her pussy against my stomach as she kept her eyes closed, a blissful look on her face.

Mia suddenly opened her eyes and leaned her body forward. She brought her face to about a foot from mine. I was still cupping her tits, and she was leaning on my hands for support. She said, "You playing with my tits is lots of fun, but we're ready to move on to the next thing, aren't we? I have only so much time here tonight."

I felt like Mia had a plan for what she wanted to do tonight but had gotten sidetracked. Now, she had regained her focus and was prepared to start the next step of her plan, whatever that might be.

I said, "I'm ready for the next thing."

I suddenly moved my hands from underneath Mia to her side, causing her to drop. Mia let out a gasp of surprise. As she dropped, I slid her up my torso and opened my mouth to suck in as much tit as I could. I moved my mouth back slowly, sliding my lips over her tit flesh. Eventually, my lips were wrapped around her nipple, which I sucked on lightly.

Mia said in a surprised tone, "Oh my god! That's so good!"

Holding Mia above me was awkward, so I rolled her over onto her back as I moved to her left tit. Again, I inhaled as much of her as I could into my mouth, then slowly backed off until I was sucking on her nipple.

Mia half-moaned, "Oh yes, Sugar. I so love that."

I ran my tongue around the base of Mia's nipple, and then I made little kisses where I had licked. Mia ran her fingers through my hair while muttering little encouragements. We both loved what I was doing.

Mia suddenly pushed me back. She rolled onto her side as she guided me onto my back. As she did so, her wig came loose. She tossed it in the direction of her hoodie and said, "Now stop distracting me, Sugar. That's not what I came here for." She slid her hand slowly along my chest, down my stomach, and eventually into my underwear. She wrapped her hand around my cock. "This is what I came here for." She slid her hand up and down my cock twice. "Now take off your underwear."

Mia pulled her hand out of my underwear, and I slid them off and tossed them aside. I knew I shouldn't have. I knew I shouldn't be doing this with my sister. But I was curious how far Mia would go. And she had me so damn horny I wasn't going to tell her no.

Mia moved her head down my body as she took my cock in her hand again. "Oh, yes. I came here tonight to say hi to my friend." She held my cock straight up and then took a lick along it. I moaned as she did. My sister turned to me and smiled. She was back in control. She turned back to my cock and put half of it inside of her mouth. She formed a tight ring around my cock with her lips and slowly moved her head upwards, giving me shivers of delight.

When Mia brought her lips past the head of my cock, she turned to me and said, "Missed me doing that, Sugar?"

"Oh yes, Ginny. So much."

Actually, I couldn't miss Ginny giving me oral sex as she had never done it. Ginny loved receiving oral sex, but she had no interest in giving it. When the clothes came off, I'd eat her out and then we'd fuck. I had asked her once about going down on me sometime, and she said she wouldn't.

But Mia - she obviously loved giving head. She was working on my cock like a champ. She had maneuvered herself so her body was now between my legs. From there, every time she moved her mouth up on my cock, she'd look up at me.

I said, "Ginny, you're the best at what you're doing."

Mia smiled briefly around my cock. She had initially bobbed her head up and down on my cock quickly, but she suddenly changed her pace to doing it slowly. Each time she went down, she went a little further than before. Each time she went up, she gave me a long, smoldering look.

"You're so wonderful, Ginny."

My sister was a great cocksucker, the best I've ever come across. The pleasure was so intense. I was gripping the sheets with clenched hands.

Mia took my cock out of her mouth. She gave it a long lick and then looked at me with the joy of a kid with a new toy. She spent the next few minutes licking and playing with my cock. I had been close to coming before she had taken my cock out of her mouth, but now I wasn't.

Mia put my cock back into her mouth, bobbed down and up, and then swirled her tongue around my cock head. She did a couple more bobs and then another swirl.

"That feels so great, Ginny."

Mia continued with the bobs and swirls. She gradually increased the number of bobs and their speed. I was panting loudly now. She was getting me close to the edge again. She did another string of bobs, and I said, "I'm almost there."

Mia pulled off my cock to give me a quick, happy grin and then resumed bobbing even faster. Her hand was a blur, up and down the part of my cock that wasn't in her mouth. I relaxed my body, surrendering to the pleasure Mia's mouth was giving me. A few moments later I was coming, firing blast after blast into her mouth. She stopped bobbing and sucked down all my cum. I kept coming and coming and coming. When I finally stopped coming, I felt drained both in my balls and of my strength. I lay still, trying to catch my breath.

Mia crawled over my leg and then off the bed. She moved her head close to mine and said, "I've gotta go, Sugar." She gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "That was fun." She grabbed her hoodie and wig off the floor and left my bedroom, closing the door behind her.

* * * *

My first thought the next morning was of my visit by "Ginny". I didn't feel right about it, but I couldn't put my finger on why. Yes, a sister and a brother shouldn't do what we did last night. But we did it, we enjoyed it, but we wouldn't do it again. My guess was Mia was going to pretend that it didn't happen, and I'd go along.

Did I feel guilty about it? Not that I could tell. Mia chose to do it, and I chose to go along. There was no coercion. We were both adults. For a while, I went beyond what Mia intended, but she seemed to enjoy that part, and I stopped it once she said she wanted to move on to something else.

For me, it was nice to have had sex again. To have had someone want to have sex with me again. Work's destruction of my social life had gone on for so long now that it had really been getting me down. With the interview, I could see a light at the end of the tunnel, but I had no idea how far away I was from getting another job. Last night had been a great pick-me-up and had reminded me of the importance of not giving in to fatigue when I got home but instead fighting through it to keep job hunting. I had only applied for as many jobs as I had last week because of Mia's encouragement. Now, I was ready to keep hunting on my own.

Suddenly, I realized what Mia's motive was. She had taken a dislike to Ginny, and the idea of my dating her again. So, last night was a mercy fuck...er blow job...to keep me from dating Ginny; to tide me over until I started dating someone new.

But last night did make my relationship with Mia more awkward. Or at least there was a possibility that it could. But I wasn't going to let it. I'd continue to treat Mia as the wonderful sister she was, and I'd eventually get back into the partying circuit and find my next girlfriend.
With a groan, I got out of bed. I put on shorts and a T-shirt and headed toward the door. I'd make Mia and me breakfast, and then I'd take a shower and go to work.

* * * *

When I stepped out of my bedroom, Mia popped her head over the couch and said perkily, "Good morning!"

"Good morning to you too." Mia's grin instantly put me in a good mood. "What do you want for breakfast, omelet or pancakes?"

"Neither."

I went into the kitchen as Mia picked up her day pack and walked over to the bar. She was again wearing her pink nightshirt and pink-and-white long socks. I guessed the wig and the Abercrombie & Fitch hoodie were back inside her spare day pack.

When Mia got to the bar, she said, "I want French toast."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't have any bread."

Mia reached into her day pack and pulled out a Ziploc full of baguette slices. "I do."

I chuckled, shook my head in mild disbelief, and said, "I don't know a recipe for French toast."

Mia pulled out a page which was in a plastic sheet. "Here's one that looks very yummy."

I shook my head in amazement. I took the recipe and read it over. "I don't have cinnamon, nutmeg, or vanilla."

I started to hand the recipe back to Mia, but she was digging in her day pack again. She pulled out a Ziploc with several bottles. "I do. And powder sugar too."

I laughed and then took the bag of spices.

Mia said, "I love French toast." She leaned on the bar and wiggled her butt happily. "Particularly when someone else makes it for me."

I instantly thought of seeing her black pantie-clad butt as she walked away from my bed last night.

Mia asked, "How'd you sleep?"

"Well. Really well. I did have this weird dream..."

"About?"

"I dreamed Ginny visited me. She was wearing her white Abercrombie & Fitch hoodie like she always did." I let that hang for a few seconds before adding. "She wanted to buy my couch." Mia started giggling. "She was very insistent, asking several times. I kept telling her I really liked my couch, and it wasn't for sale."

Mia laughed. She said, "I had fun last night." She gave me a coy smile. "I had a great time...watching The Princess Bride."

I gave her a coy smile back. "My favorite movie."

Mia never wore a bra when she had on a nightshirt. I normally didn't give it any thought. But this morning, I couldn't take my eyes off the way her nightshirt draped over her tits. I started to feel guilty about it and then decided not to. I had squeezed and sucked on those tits. The memory of doing so was a gift from my sister. Hopefully, she'd take me looking at her chest as me appreciating what she had done for me. I turned and started making the French toast.

After I put the first set of bread slices on the griddle, I looked at Mia and noticed she was holding a Princess Leia Pez dispenser.

Mia said, "You know, she kissed her brother. Several times."

What's the point of saying that? I shrugged and said, "She didn't know he was her brother."

"And I didn't know he was her brother the first time I watched the movies. But now, it's weird to me those scenes where she kisses her brother."

"Well, um..." Mia was looking at Princess Leia. It was like it was too personal of a topic to look at me while discussing it. "I always knew she'd wind up with Han. Pretty girls always fall for the conceited jerks."

Mia giggled. "Handsome conceited jerks. They've got to be handsome."

"Yeah. The earnest, caring guys like Luke never get the girl."

"Well, Luke was pretty damn handsome too."

Mia got up and left the bar. I flipped the French toast and got a couple of plates. Mia returned to the bar. Now, she had Leia, Luke, and Han.

I asked, "How many slices do you want?"

"Two."

I put two slices on a plate and handed it to her. I put the remaining two slices on a plate for me and set it aside. "Do you want butter?"

"Yes please."

I gave her my spreadable butter and started the next batch of French toast. Any leftovers I'd microwave the next day for breakfast.

Mia buttered her French toast and then sprinkled powdered sugar on them. After her first bite, she said, "Ummm. These are really good."

"Thanks."

As she kept looking at her plate, Mia said, "I should tell you I told you a little lie yesterday."

"You did?"

"Maria didn't have a party last night. It's been a month or two between her parties. I felt bad after we fought the other day. I said some nasty things for no reason at all. So, I decided to make it up to you by having some fun with you last night...watching the movie."

Mia looked up at me. She seemed to be having...regrets? Wanting assurance that I was okay with last night?

I said, "I had a really good time last night. I'm glad you spent the night, whatever the reason."

Mia smiled and went back to eating her breakfast. She said without looking at me, "I doubt I'll sleep over again. Hopefully, you'll be dating soon on Friday nights. And I finally feel ready to resume dating."

So, last night was definitely a one-time thing. Mia would resume her social life, I'd resume mine, we'd find people to spend time with, and we'd slowly drift apart. We'd still have our commute time together, but no more making and eating dinner together.

I resumed cooking. The feeling I had this morning came back over me. Again, I wished I could place it.

Mia dropped teasing hints about what she was going to make for dinner this work week. She was constantly trying new recipes and using new ingredients. Now every meal was a surprise. Mia liked teasing me about not having a clue what I'd be eating.

Mia carried the conversation, and I was glad. I split my thoughts between trying to figure out why I felt like something was wrong, and a new idea I was uncertain about.

When I finished my breakfast, I decided to go with the idea. I asked Mia, "What would you think of getting an apartment together?" I added quickly, "A two-bedroom, maybe closer to downtown?" I felt stupid after I said the second sentence. Of course a two-bedroom. We wouldn't need a third bedroom, and we certainly needed more than one.

Mia rubbed her chin with her hand thoughtfully. "I like the idea in general. But wouldn't it cost a lot of money for us to get out of our leases?"

"My lease is ending soon. I've been so busy that I haven't had time to go to the office and sign the paperwork to extend it. How about you? How much would you have to pay Maria to get out of your lease?"

Mia looked up at the ceiling. "I signed some forms before I moved in. I'll have to check, but I think I only have to give one month's notice."

I nodded. That would work timing-wise. "It's nice having a place to myself, but one conclusion I've come to as a result of Janice is that I should minimize my expenses and save up more money. As much as I've wanted to quit my job, I haven't had the financial resources to do so."

Mia nodded to that. "It'd be nice to not have to drive to and from your apartment every day." She gave me a smirk. "And I'd continue to cook dinner for you even after you change jobs."

"Hey! I can cook dinner. I may not be as good of a cook as you, but I'm not helpless in the kitchen. I did okay this morning, didn't I?"

Mia gave me an apologetic look. "You did great this morning."

"No problem. I'm not looking to take advantage of you. I'd want to split the housework evenly with you." And I added in a lighter tone, "Which means that if you wanted to cook all the dinners, I'd do more of the other housework to make up for it."

Mia laughed.

I gave Mia an embarrassed shrug. "I really like your cooking."

"Let's sit at the dining table and makeup what rules we'd follow."

Mia left the bar to get some paper. I noticed that she had taken the Leia and Luke Pez dispensers and had left the Han one. I moved over to the dining room table.

When Mia sat down, she said, "Let's start by telling bad roommate stories, so we know what each of us wants to avoid happening again."

So, we swapped bad roommate stories. We spent the whole time laughing. I loved making my sister laugh, and her laughter made me want to laugh.

And then we got to the business of rules and how to divide the housework. "Since you're doing the driving five days a week, I'll buy the groceries and cook dinner five days a week, and then you make breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. How does that sound?"

"Fantastic!"

We went through things. Mia would clean the kitchen, her bedroom, and her bathroom; I'd clean the rest of the house. I'd take care of the dishes, and she'd do the laundry. We'd have a joint checking account for rent, groceries, and other household expenses. We worked things out pretty quickly.

Mia said, "This is for the first three months. After that, we'll review how it's going and make adjustments."

"Fine. Any idea where you want to live?"

Before Mia could answer, my cell phone gave off the dreaded Janice ringtone. I walked over to it and answered with "Hello."

"Where are you?" Janice demanded angrily.

"In my apartment."

"You should be here by now," said Janice in her 'I'm this close to firing you' tone. "The rest of the team is getting things done. You're letting them down."

I tried to keep my voice neutral as I said, "My sister came over to discuss some family stuff. She thought I'd be free on a Saturday morning."

Janice swatted away my little hint with "Well, you shouldn't be." She piled on with, "And you won't be until our metrics are where I want them to be."

Which will be never.

I said, "I'll wrap things up with her, take a shower, and then head in. I'll work late to make up for coming in so late."

"You better." And she ended the call.

I didn't understand how I could be coming in late on a Saturday, but I've never understood Janice's point of view. I wished I could be angry, but I was well past the anger stage. This was my life until I got a new job.

Mia had started gathering her stuff. We were standing in front of the couch when she asked, "Janice?"

"Miss Sunshine herself, letting me know how much she missed my charming company." I shook my head sadly. Another Saturday ruined.

Then I had a happy thought. I smiled at Mia and said, "If it wasn't for Janice, I probably wouldn't have ever suggested us sharing an apartment. And I'm super excited about that."

Mia took a long step to stand right next to me. She looked up at me. "Why are you super excited about sharing an apartment with me?" she asked very seriously instead of in her usual lighthearted tone.

I looked down at Mia's face, and my knees went weak. Her beautiful blue eyes seemed so big, and I felt like they were pulling me in. She was so pretty, and she was looking up at me so expectantly. Like she wanted me to say...

I felt like I was suddenly on a cliff. One step forward, and I'd plunge into a completely different relationship with my sister. And I was slowly falling forward...

I reached out, grabbed Mia, and spun her around as I pulled her into a hug with her facing away from me. I didn't want to look into her eyes. I had felt like I had come too close to falling into their beauty.

As I pressed Mia against me, I said, "Because I think you're wonderful. You're so much fun, and I love talking with you. I'm addicted to your cooking." I stopped there, but I could have said so much more. Mia leaned her head back so it was pressed against my shoulder. My arms were wrapped around her just below her chest. It felt so great holding her like this. It felt so...right.

Again, I felt myself on the cliff edge. It'd be so easy to raise my hands up, to cup my sister's perky breasts one more time.

I suddenly realized what was causing the weird feeling I'd had all morning. I had been like a starving man who had a bite of steak. It was a marvelous experience, but it left me wanting so much more...

Mia turned in my arms and then leaned back against them as she looked up at me. Again, her beautiful blue eyes seemed huge as they searched mine. She said, "Last night...at one point...I lost control. I was willing to let you do anything..." She let those words hang for a few moments before adding, "I haven't been able to stop thinking this morning about how happy I was."

I felt my head moving toward Mia's of its own accord. It was getting sucked down by her beautiful blue eyes. I said as my lips moved toward hers, "I didn't want Ginny in my bed last night. I wanted you."

And then our lips pressed together. The kiss was short but insanely intense. My body felt full of electrical energy. I knew it was wrong but...

Mia's hand was on my neck, and she pulled me down for another kiss. We pressed our lips together in a tender kiss that made my heart swell with love. This felt so right. I loved my sister and kissing her just felt like the most right thing to do in the world.

We slowly pulled our heads back while keeping our lips touching. Mia slid her hand softly along my cheek as she lowered it. Her lips grabbed my bottom lip as I moved back. She gave it a soft tug before letting it go. The kiss had been short and yet seemed to last an eternity.

I raised my head so I was standing erect while looking down at my sister. I was dumbfounded. Kissing my sister had been glorious, but did I really want this? Did she really want this? It'd be so hard. We could never tell anyone. My brain kept saying this was so wrong, but my heart kept saying this was so right.

My sister studied my face. It was like she was reading my thoughts as each raced by. Her serious look was so different from her usual fun-loving grin, but her seriousness was calming. It was like her look was saying to me It's okay. It was okay what we did. We love each other now just like we loved each other yesterday at bedtime. We've only expressed it in a new way.

Mia then gave me her fun-loving grin. She said, "If it makes us happy, what's there to understand?"

I dropped my head down to give Mia another kiss. We did a short kiss, and then a longer kiss, and then a longer and hotter kiss. Our hands started roaming, gently exploring each other's bodies. Mia gently rubbed and stroked my chest and stomach. I ran my hands up and down her sides and back. After the next kiss, Mia ran her tongue over my lips. The next kiss, I slipped my tongue into her mouth, and we tongue-wrestled.

Everything was happening faster than I could process. Mia wanted to kiss me, and I wanted to kiss her. What more did she want? Did she want more than kissing? I...I wanted more than kissing. Much more than kissing. I was frightened by how much more I wanted than kissing.

I slid my right hand downward to Mia's butt and gave it a gentle squeeze through her nightshirt. Mia slid her mouth sideways and kissed my face just above my jawline. She dropped her mouth lower and kissed my neck. I lowered my left hand down and gripped her other butt cheek. When Mia brought her mouth up for another kiss, I lifted her with my hands so I wouldn't have to bend down so much.

Passionate kiss after passionate kiss followed. Sometimes we frenched, sometimes we kissed with just our lips. Mia gently stroked my face and neck as we kissed, providing an interesting contrast to how aggressively she kissed me. I had worried that putting my hands on Mia's butt might have been a step too far, but if anything, she kissed more passionately once I gripped her ass.

I decided I wanted better access to Mia's body than I could with us standing up. I turned while kissing Mia to slowly lower myself to the couch while constantly kissing her on the lips. Mia followed along, eventually climbing onto the couch. I was sitting with my back against the couch back and my legs together. Mia faced me while straddling my lap. Her head was higher than mine, so I tilted my head up to kiss her, and she kissed downward. She put her hands on my shoulders and leaned on me while we kissed.

Once we both stopped moving, I pulled up her nightshirt high enough to get my hands underneath it. I slowly slid my hands up the back of her legs, checking to see any signs of disapproval from Mia. Mia continued kissing me ardently. She rotated her head to give me a sort of sideways kiss. She held her nose against my cheek, and we both panted as I slid my hands up and over her panties. Mia gave me a long kiss with her lips as I softly moved my hands up and down her pantie-covered ass. Her panties were cotton. They felt soft.

Mia sat upright, moving her head above mine. I kissed down her neck and then back up the other side as she rubbed her hands up and down the side of my chest. She rubbed her stomach against mine as I continued roaming my hands over her wonderful ass. So many times, I had admired it. So many times, I had wanted to touch it. Her ass was everything I thought it would be, firm and well-rounded. I loved the shape and size. Mia resumed kissing me, no different now than before. I took that as permission to continue with her ass. Sometimes I gave her ass a strong squeeze. Sometimes I just moved my hands gently in circles. I had no idea how long we'd continue like this.

Was this a one-time thing? Would Mia and I come to our senses and stop this madness, never to repeat it again? We had spent all morning talking like we normally did. And then we were suddenly all over each other. Should I stop? Should I apologize, saying I didn't know what came over me?

I didn't want to stop. I didn't want to apologize. This was something both of us wanted.

I slid my hands upwards and around Mia's body. Her nightshirt fought my movement, and I was forced to raise it as I moved upward. Mia kissed me faster, more passionately. Her tongue swirled around mine on every kiss. Eventually, my hands felt the gentle curves of her tits. I continued upwards until my hands covered both of them. I gently squeezed. Mia moaned as she kissed me. She sat straight up, giving me better access to her tits.

I more strongly had the feeling that I should stop. That this was a line I shouldn't cross, that my relationship with my sister would be changed forever if I didn't.

I looked up at Mia's face. Her eyes were closed, and she was biting her lip. I saw all pleasure and no remorse. As I slowly circled the edges of her tits with my fingertips, Mia sensually rubbed her stomach back and forth against me. Every sign she was giving me was go, go, go.

I said softly, "Take off your nightshirt." Would that be the thing that brought Mia back to her senses? Would that stop this wonderful madness?

Mia grabbed the hem of her nightshirt, pulled it over her head, and tossed it aside. She said, "Suck on my tits. I loved it when you did that last night."

Mia's tits were close to the level of my mouth. I moved my head forward, took her nipple into my mouth, and sucked gently on it. Mia let out a deep sigh before running her fingers through my hair.

Mia said, "Like that. Oh yeah, like that."

I continued sucking on Mia's tit with my hands pressing lightly against her back. Like last night, it felt wonderful in my mouth. I gave her nipple a few more gentle sucks and then switched over to the other nipple.

As Mia played with my hair, she said, "I know we should stop, but I can't. It feels too good. It feels right to me. It makes me very happy you're the one doing this. I..." She left that hanging. I knew what she was going to say, and I understood why she'd hesitate to say it.

I let go of Mia's nipple, looked up at her, and said, "I love you, Mia."

Mia's face lit up with happiness. "I love you too, Jackson."

We kissed again; sloppy, happy kisses. It was a frenzy of kissing. I was so elated. My mind was floating on a cloud. I had finally realized what I had been trying to suppress for a long time - that I loved Mia. I loved her with my whole heart. She was wonderful, amazing, and made me incredibly happy. And she loved me back! And soon would be living with me.
When my thoughts came down from the clouds, I noticed my hands were gripping Mia's butt inside of her panties, and I was using them to help her grind her pussy against my cock. I loved the feel of her body pressed against mine, but I knew I'd cum in my underwear soon if I didn't stop this.

I pulled my hands out of her panties. I grabbed Mia by the waist and pushed her back as we continued to kiss. Once I had some room, I slipped my right hand into the front of her panties. I slipped a finger between her pussy lips and found her very wet. When I circled Mia's clit, she stopped kissing me to let out a moan. She gripped my shoulders with her hands as I continued circling her clit and panted out her pleasure.

Mia suddenly jumped off the couch. She said, "Let me make that easier for you," as she pulled down her panties and stepped out of them. While she was doing that, I stripped off my shirt.

Mia climbed back on the couch, this time straddling my right leg. She stood straight up on her knees to give my hand good access. She grabbed the top of the couch and said, "I love you, Jackson."

I slipped my fingers through Mia's light brown curls and down to her pussy. "I love you too, Mia." I parted her pussy lips and found her clit with my finger again. Mia let out a hiss of delight. As I resumed circling her clit, she shifted her hips to find a comfortable position and to guide my finger to the right spot.

Mia said, "I meant last night to be a one-time thing, but it felt so right, so good. It showed me how much I love you; how much I want to be with you. I've been struggling with my feelings all morning..."

"I want this to be an everyday thing, Mia."

Mia smiled. "I do too. It's crazy how fast things changed."

A line from The Princess Bride popped into my head. "This is true love. Do you think this happens every day?"

Mia giggled and then said in a loud, sing-song voice, "Wuv. Twue Wuv..."

I continued rubbing her clit where she had guided my finger. Mia went back to breathing deeply as she pressed her crotch against my hand.

I couldn't resist saying, "Tweasure your wuv."

Mia smiled briefly before going back to concentrating on the pleasure my hand was giving her. "Mmmmm...Oh...Oh...Oh...a little higher." I moved my finger a light higher on her clit. "Oh...Oh...Oh, yeah...Oh yeah."

Mia started quivering. Her hips jerked randomly. I moved my hand around to keep my finger on her clit. Her eyes were closed, and I drank in the pleasure on her face as she came.

A few seconds later, Mia opened her eyes. I dropped my hand, and Mia hopped off the couch. She tugged on my shorts and said, "Somebody is overdressed."

I stood up and pulled down my shorts and underwear. The only clothes we had left on were Mia's socks.

Mia climbed back onto the couch, grabbed the top of the couch with her hands, and wiggled her butt. "Are you ready to have sex on the couch for the first time?"

"Yes." I put one hand on her hip and guided my cock toward her pussy with the other hand. "I'm ready to make some happy memories on it."

"The first of many happy memories."

My cock touched her pussy. "You make me so happy, Mia."

I pushed a little forward, and my cock was inside of my sister. I put both of my hands on Mia's hips and pushed my cock slowly forward. Mia was very wet, but she was so tight that her pussy provided a lot of resistance. I took my time, enjoying every fraction of an inch my cock slid into Mia. We were lovers now. We had crossed the line that brothers and sisters weren't supposed to cross. It felt so wonderful, so right. I wasn't having sex on the couch; I was making love on the couch. To the woman who I'd soon be living with.

I continued my slow advance until my crotch pressed against Mia's butt. I was all the way in. I didn't move for a few moments, savoring how great it felt.

Mia said, "Stay there." She slowly rocked her hips forward, my cock slid a few inches out of her, and then she rocked her hips back until her butt was pressed against me again. "Stand still and let me fuck you." Mia slowly shifted her hips forward and back again.

"This feels incredible."

"I love being in control, which is why this is my favorite position on the couch."

Mia continued her cycles of rocking her hips forward and back. I put just my fingertips on the sides of her waist. When my cock came close to coming out, I pressed down to stop Mia.

It felt wonderful to have Mia do all the work; to just relax and enjoy. Pleasure flowed through my body as my cock slid back and forth through Mia's wetness. As I had nothing else to do, I admired Mia's marvelous body. She had a great ass with the perfect combination of fullness and firmness. She also had a muscular back and sexy shoulders. And her red hair looked so beautiful as it swung back and forth gently.

I said, "This is great."

Mia asked saucily, "Having fun?"

"Lots of fun. I'm going to have lots of fun living with you."

Mia let out a happy sigh. "You make me so happy, Jackson." Mia stopped moving her hips. "I've had my fun, and now I'm ready for a good fucking." I grabbed Mia's hips firmly. "Fuck me, Jackson. Fuck me good."

I pushed Mia forward a few inches and then pulled her hard back onto my cock.

"Oh yeah, Jackson."

Damn, she felt so great. I pushed her forward a bit further than last time and then pulled her hard back toward me again.

"Like that," Mia said.

Mia started rocking her hips in time with me, so I fucked her harder and deeper. God, I was getting so deep inside of her. Mia kept saying little encouragements. "Oh yeah." "Like that." "Fuck me good."

Faster and faster I fucked Mia. The faster we went, the more intense the pleasure. Our bodies made a loud slapping sound every time we came together. I stared at Mia's gorgeous ass as I fucked her again and again and again. The rest of the world faded away. It was only me and Mia, making marvelous love together.

Mia was now just saying, "Oh!" every time I slammed into her. I could feel sweat rolling down my body as I fucked my sister even harder. I felt the pleasure building and building until...

I said, 'I'm about to come." I didn't know what Mia would want me to do.

"Cum in me, Jackson."

I did a few more strokes, and then I pulled Mia hard against me as I started coming. Intense pleasure swept over my body as the first spurt shot into Mia. Deep, ragged breaths filled my lungs as I filled Mia with spurt after spurt. It felt so great. There was the physical pleasure, but also the deeper joy that Mia and I were truly lovers now. We were joined together in a special, mystical bond.

When I was done coming, I put a hand on Mia right below her chest. I spun as I sat down, so Mia was now in my lap. Her back was against my chest, and her head was on my shoulder.

I said, "I love you, Mia."

Mia turned her head slightly so she could see me. "I love you too, Jackson." She gave me a quick kiss and then put her head back on my shoulder. We held that position for a while, both of us catching our breath with me still inside of her.

Suddenly, it hit me what I had done - I had fucked my sister. It had felt so right, but I knew it was so wrong. I said, "Any regrets?"

Mia thought for a few moments before responding. "Some." After another pause, she added, "It's scary jumping into a relationship with you. I have no idea how we are going to make it work. But I want to make it work."

I nodded my head in agreement. "Ditto."

Mia stood up, my dick sliding out of her as she did. She grabbed her shirt and pressed it to her crotch while saying, "You need to shower and go to work. I'll look for apartments. Call me when you're done with work."

"Okay."

I knew I should get going, but there was something I wanted to do first.

I said, "The next time..." I felt so foolish I stopped.

"Yes?"

"The next time we have sex...would you call me 'Sugar'?"

Mia laughed her silvery laugh, kissed me on the cheek, and said, "I'd love to."

Epilogue - Six months later
I got a call a little after seven. I was surprised to see it was Matt. "Hey, Matt. Long time, no hear."

"She's gone."

I laughed. "Who's gone?" It could only be one person.

"Janice. She got walked out of the building this afternoon."

"No shit! They didn't just let her go? They actually walked her out?"

"Hell yeah, man. It was the prettiest sight I've ever seen. Ding, dong; the witch is dead." He laughed.

Mia and I had been watching TV on the couch. Mia stood up and stretched as I said to Matt, "Tell me all about it."

"I don't know how much you know about the department after you left. It's been a steady exodus; about half the department. We've got a bunch of contractors and temps. Janice has moved some of our work offshore. Of course, our metrics are in the gutter."

I shook my head. "She should have been fired so long ago."

"Yeah, but Travis really liked her." Travis had been her boss. "But Travis left two months ago for a better job."

"Probably used Janice's slave-driving to get that promotion."

"No doubt. Anyway, we got our new director Monday." It was Wednesday. "Her name is Aubrey. First day, she gave our group a speech about her vision of how she'd manage her departments. Lots of good stuff; very different from how Janice managed us. I think she could tell something was up just by how our department received her speech."

Mia had taken our glasses to the kitchen. She was back now. She motioned for me to move to the end of the couch.

Matt continued, "So, this morning people in the department got invites to meet one-on-one with Aubrey. My meeting was in a little room with no windows. Aubrey opened the meeting by promising me confidentiality and then asked me questions about Janice. I let her know that I thought Janice was a terrible manager. She thanked me for my honesty and then called in the next person."

"The little chats of impending doom."

"Yeah. I've heard about them, and I was glad to finally do one."

Mia sat down between my legs and laid back slowly until her chest was pressed against my front. We frequently cuddled like this while we had long talks.

I asked, "So, what happened after the meetings?"

"We went back to our cubes and worked. Janice asked a few people how the meetings went, and they were all very guarded about it, saying nothing beyond it was a good meeting. Around three, Aubrey showed up with a RIF box." A medium-sized moving box with no top and holes on the side for handles. Big enough to hold a worker's personal items yet easily scannable by a manager to make sure no business items were being taken. "We watched Aubrey march down to Janice's cube. Do you remember how her cube is in the middle of all of our cubes, and how with the low walls everyone can see everything? It was like we all had a front-row seat."

"Of the best show you've ever seen?"

"The very, very best."

I pulled back a little bit. "You know, I've always felt that no one ever deserved to go through the embarrassment and humiliation of having to fill the RIF box in front of their coworkers. I've always hated seeing people being walked out. I've always felt like it was the company's fault, not theirs."

"But you'll make an exception for Janice."

"Ab-so-lutely! Firing her was the right thing for the company to do. And while she was filling up her RIF box, she suffered just a fraction of the embarrassment and humiliation she dished out. God, it was so stressful working for her. When I started working in my new job, I felt like this huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders."

"My doc has put me on blood pressure meds."

I said sadly, "I can believe it. Hopefully, you can get back off them soon. So, what happened after Aubrey gave her the RIF box?"

"We all pretended to be working, but we were watching Janice. It didn't take her long to fill the box. Then she picked up the box and started down the aisle. I tried to keep my face somber as she walked toward me, but once she was past me, I busted out a huge grin. I looked at my coworkers, and they were all grinning too. Once she was away from our area. I felt this need to go to the bathroom. And to use the bathroom near HR."

I chuckled. "So, you followed her on her walk of shame to HR?"

"You got it! From a discrete distance of course. Amazingly, three other people in the department had that same urge to go to the bathroom. Once she went into the HR director's office, and the door was closed, we all walked back to the department. We tried to act cool, but it was really hard to keep the happiness in. When we got back to the department, everyone was the same way. We did some serious celebrating - high fives, chest bumps, hugs; you name it. And we all kept singing 'Ding dong, the witch is dead'. People dropped by to celebrate with us. It was great. It was like the best end-of-the-school-year party ever. At five, we all went to the Rose and Crown and continued partying there."

"Are you still there? I'll come join you."

"I'm not there. There may be some still people there."

I turned the idea of going over a few times. "People have probably left. Maybe I could join you guys for lunch tomorrow?"

"Let's do that. It'd be great to see you again. How ya doing?"

"Doing great. I'm loving the new job. Mia and I got a new apartment. She decorated it, and it looks great. Like something from a magazine. You should come over sometime."

"How is Mia doing?"

"Doing great." I gave Mia a little hug. "She recently got promoted from Analyst to Analyst II. Got a nice raise." I was really proud of her getting that promotion.

"Would you consider coming back to the department?"

I gave it a few seconds of thought and then said, "No. I got a nice pay bump when I took this job, and I'm doing bigger dollar work now."

While I was saying that, Mia grabbed my hand and slipped it under her nightshirt. I was now gliding my hand over the smooth skin of her stomach.

Matt's voice turned serious. "I left the party early to go back to the office. I found Aubrey and told her that I think you'd be the best choice to be the new department manager. I said that everyone in the department liked you, and you were respected in the company. You also knew more about the departmental processes than just about anyone."

I felt a huge surge of appreciation toward Matt. That was just a tremendous thing to do for someone else. I asked, "What did she say to that?"

"She said that it sounded promising and asked me to get your resume."

"Thanks man. Thanks a lot. I'll get it to you. And then we'll find a date for you to come over."

We talked a little more and then hung up. I told Mia everything Matt said. I asked her, "What do you think?"

"It sounds good to me."

"I'd have to work a lot of overtime at first until everyone was trained and everything was under control."

"We've done fine with you working a lot of overtime. I just need notice beforehand. It's your choice."

I kissed the back of Mia's neck. She was the perfect woman as far as I was concerned. I had been so happy since that morning we decided to accept that we loved each other.

I thought through the pros and cons of taking the job. My hand drifted down her stomach. "I think I should take it. Get us more financial security." I made a little circle with my fingers on her skin above her panties. "For someday."

Mia turned her head and kissed me as I continued to make circles with my fingers. "For some day."

Author's Notes:
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