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Kevin growled.
“Does that make you angry, little bro?”
“No,” he said, his voice barely controlled. “It makes me want to do it again.”
“Good. That’s what I want to hear.”
Kevin grabbed my shoulder, tight. “But not now. Our parents are heading home. And if they catch us? Mom and Dad love us both, but you know they won’t get it. We need to be smart about this. Safe. OK?”
I glared at him, but I knew he was right. “Fine,” I said, then flounced upstairs.
*
I finally settled on a t-shirt and shorts. I put on panties but no bra. Honestly, I barely needed the thing most of the time anyway and for whatever reason the straps were chafing me. Almost as soon as I got dressed, Mom and Dad came home. So, I guess my brother was right about that.
Getting caught in the kitchen with my brother’s dick in my pussy would have been bad. I might have been feeling weirdly empty-headed, but I wasn’t stupid enough to convince myself otherwise. I was feeling amazing, but if I wanted to feel that way again, I needed to be cool.
We spent the rest of the day as a family. Doing chores, running errands. We went out for dinner and watched TV. The whole time I felt outside myself. Odd. The night before I’d been smashed so bad I barely remembered a lot of it.
Yet I felt even drunker that whole day. Desperately trying to sober myself but unable to. I broke into giggles again at the Home Depot with my dad. I walked into a blank wall on the way to the bathroom at dinner. I mean, it was weird.
Every time, at every moment, someone asked me if I wanted to break to study. Because, you know, that’s what I did every other day of my life. And I could honestly reply ‘no’ every time. The thought of even opening a book felt so off-putting to me. Why would I ever waste my time with that?
When our shows were done, my parents switched off the TV. I got up to go to bed (and later, to sneak into Kevin’s), but my parents stopped me.
“Jacey, we need to talk,” Mom said. Dad nodded his agreement. I looked over at Kevin, sitting on the couch, but he wouldn’t meet my eye.
I took my seat next to Kevin. My parents sat across from us. You could have picked the two of them out of a catalog. Dad nearly bald with a bit of a gut, wearing a plaid dress shirt and jeans. Mom in a dress, her hair tied back in ponytail. Both of them worked white collar jobs in the city. They were serious people who believed in doing things the ‘right’ way.
Weirdly, they seemed to struggle with both their kids. My drive was valued, yes, but neither parent thought it was altogether healthy. And Kevin’s lack of seriousness was always something they tried to squeeze out of him.
But I knew my parents valued my work ethic and intelligence. And I was certain they loved Kevin’s good humor and easygoing attitude. In other words, my parents were the usual mix of imposing and approachable that I think most kids in healthy families come to expect.
But in that moment, Mom and Dad seemed as commanding as two CIA agents with all the evidence and none of the compassion. The way they eyed me made my skin crawl.
“Kevin told us what happened,” Mom said.
He DID?!
“We want you to know, it’s OK,” Dad said, “It happens to all of us.”
It DOES?!
“And while it may seem like the end of the world now, I think it’s a good thing for you,” Mom said. “Truly. You need to experience stuff like this. It’s how you grow.”
“I remember being your age and going through the same thing,” Dad said, “Well, I mean, OK. Not exactly the same. But still.”
I tried to picture my dad and Aunt Kelly. There was no way, right?
“Personally, I know it sounds weird, but I’m actually happy for you,” Mom said, “I know it feels off right now but it’s really the best thing.”
OK. I’d officially entered an alternate universe. There was no other explanation that made sense.
“I’m so confused,” I said.
“It’s not even that bad,” Dad said, “I mean come on. I think everyone on Earth has had one. Just because you didn’t till now doesn’t mean anything.”
“One what?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You got a B on your test,” Dad said, like it was obvious.
“Kevin told us you were stressing it, honey,” Mom said.
“A B-minus, actually,” I said, weirdly pressed about that point.
“Oh, well that’s not that bad either,” Dad said, “Honestly, there were some classes in college I’d have killed for a B-minus.”
“Seriously,” Mom said, “College is hard. Especially what you’re doing. I mean, pre-med — there’s a reason it has that reputation.”
“Anyway, your brother is really worried about you,” Dad said, “He told us you got drunk last night and that you’ve been acting strange all day.”
“It’s OK to be upset about a bad grade, and honestly letting off a little steam can be a good thing,” Mom said.
“But you should know better than to take a risk like that,” Dad said, “You could get yourself in real trouble.”
“Sorry Dad,” I said, head appropriately bowed to the ground.
“It’s OK sweetie,” Mom said, “We get it, and we’re glad you’re safe. But we both know this is barely a setback. You’ll take your next test, ace it like always, and be back to normal before you know it.”
“But in the meantime,” Dad said, “We’d like you to stick close to Kevin for the next few days. So, he can make sure you’re feeling alright.”
“We know you don’t want your little brother barging in on your life,” Mom said, “But we all feel it’s important.”
Oh my God. I looked over at Kevin. He was desperately trying to keep a straight face. Both of us — eyes widening, jaws dropping. A mirror of our shared incomprehension of what we’d stumbled into.
“Um, thank you?” I said. I quickly pulled myself back on track. “Thank you both. I know I’ll be OK. But I appreciate you being there for me. And I agree, I don’t want to get hurt. So, I’ll stay close to Kevin.”
“Thank you,” Dad said, the relief filling his voice.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.
“Like, maybe, if it’s alright, I’ll sleep in his room tonight? Just to make sure.”
“Now Jacey, your brother is worried about you. But you can’t put him out like that,” Mom said, “Kevin, would that be too much of an imposition for you?”
My little brother coughed to cover up whatever reaction he was about to have. “Yes. Sure. That’d be fine.”
Mom beamed. Dad grinned. They gave us both huge hugs.
“We’ve got great kids,” Dad said, “We’re so proud of you both.”