The sun was getting lower in the sky, the last rays of orange light illuminating the handful of clouds scattered across the heavens as twilight crept in. I'd just arrived at Anna's place after my first training day for my new job. Anna and Vanessa were lounging by the pool, although I wasn't sure how long that would last as the evening breeze was rolling in and it hadn't been a particularly warm day. At least, I hoped it wouldn't last, because I hadn't brought a suit, and I wasn't keen on wearing the extremely short and tight ones Anna had bought me in front of her sister when I was trying to make a good first impression.
"I don't need to throw a swimsuit on, do I?" I asked. "I assume your pool time is coming to an end?" Fingers crossed.
"What, don't you want to go for a quick swim?" Anna asked with an air of innocence, but from the way her eyes twinkled I could tell she knew exactly what I was thinking.
"If I had, I would have brought a more modest suit," I laughed, throwing it into the open. Vanessa looked mildly amused.
"Why?" Vanessa asked curiously. "What sort of suit do you have?" The way *her* eyes looked when she said that made me wonder if she and Anna hadn't already discussed this, but there was no way of knowing with certainty.
"Oh, just one your sister bought to punish me for never remembering to bring one," I chuckled. Anna grinned, but Vanessa looked confused. Maybe Anna hadn't said anything.
"Let me show you a picture," Anna said with a mischievous grin, looking directly at me as she pulled out her phone and scrolled for a moment. Then she leaned over and showed her screen to Vanessa, who fanned herself exaggeratedly, the same way that I'd seen Anna do before.
"Oh, my stars," she said in a fake Southern accent, and both sisters burst into laughter. I just stood there, more amused than embarrassed, but definitely a little embarrassed.
"That's alright, Charlie, we probably are going to change, I'm getting a little cold," Anna said finally, as their laughter eventually subsided.
"Then why'd you have to show her? And where'd you get a picture?" I asked as she smiled, looking very pleased with herself.
"I've taken a bunch, you look hot," Anna replied nonchalantly. "And because you're cute when you get embarrassed, which is true even though I don't think you have anything to be embarrassed about." Vanessa didn't say anything, which I was grateful for. If she was anything like Anna, and so far, all signs pointed that way, she probably had plenty of jokes queued up in her head. The two women even looked alike, and if not for some subtle differences could almost have been twins.
Like my girlfriend, her older sister Vanessa had light brown hair and a beautiful face with soft features. Her eyes were brown whereas Anna's were blue, and her face was a little narrower, but it would be impossible to hide the fact that they were sisters. Both women wore one of Anna's Riviera bikinis, a swimwear company famous on Instagram for their minimalist suits that left very little to the imagination.
"Well, anyway, can we get some food ordered now? We were waiting for you, Charlie," Vanessa explained.
"Any ideas?" Anna asked Vanessa. "For some reason I'm thinking sausage," she added, unable to keep a straight face. Both sisters started laughing again while I sat down, red-faced but used to Anna's antics enough to mostly ignore it.
"Sorry, Charlie," Vanessa said after she got it together. "If it makes you feel better, I did bring a suit, and she made me wear one of her little Instagram slut ones instead, so instead of a picture you get the real thing," she said and gestured at herself in a deprecating way. I glanced and looked away, figuring that staring at my girlfriend's nearly equally hot sister wasn't a good look at our first meeting.
"That does kind of make me feel better," I joked. Vanessa smiled.
"We're young and sexy and we should dress like it," Anna said with a shrug. I tried to change the subject.
"So, Vanessa, how did the New York shoot go?" I asked. She lived in LA but was visiting us in Orlando before she went back home.
"Pretty great. Had to fend off a photographer who was a little too forward with me, but otherwise no complaints. Not like full-blown harassment or anything, just awkwardly not taking hints, you know?" Anna nodded as though she very clearly knew. "I got a big box of workout sets out of the shoot though," Vanessa added. Anna perked up.
"I'll trade you some of my bikinis for a few sets," she offered her sister. "Who was it for?"
"BRSportswear," she replied. Anna narrowed her eyes.
"Hold on. You gave me shit about modeling thongs for Riviera while you wore those leggings?" she asked skeptically. Vanessa smirked.
"Maybe," she replied coyly. I was lost.
"What's wrong with that company?" I asked curiously.
"Nothing," Anna replied, "but their leggings are famous for making your ass look ridiculous, like the Riviera of gym gear. They scrunch all the way up your ass." She turned to Vanessa. "I want at least two pairs." Vanessa nodded and agreed.
"That's fine, they gave me a lot of them. Just let me get a few photos wearing each of the ones you want before I leave so I can still post later," Vanessa said.
"Deal," Anna said. "So, food?"
***
The Chinese food we ordered wasn't bad, and we ate it in the backyard by the light of the pool and some citronella candles. They'd put on more clothes now that the sun was gone. Anna was wearing a long-sleeved blue T-shirt and black leggings, while Vanessa had put on yoga shorts and a baggy grey sweatshirt.
Empty takeout containers littered the table along with empty hard seltzer cans. I knew her sister, and so I wasn't surprised that she was also very personable, but Vanessa was fun to hang out with. Anna had been right when she said they were very alike; sometimes I felt lost in their conversations because they were almost telepathically on the same page.
"So, Charlie," Vanessa asked after she set down her empty plate, her expression turning unreadable, "what are your intentions with my sister?" They'd been talking about an old high school friend of theirs who'd moved out to LA recently and lived near Vanessa, so the question took me off guard. I couldn't tell if she was joking or serious, so I decided to answer seriously.
"I want to make her as happy as possible for as long as she'll have me," I said simply. "She's the best thing that ever happened to me," I added. Anna blushed but didn't say anything and just gazed lovingly at me.
"Solid answer," Vanessa said back. "You cool if I grill you a bit?" She didn't look like she was asking a question, and I wanted her to like me anyway, so I nodded and took a sip from the White Claw they'd given me. "Anna already told me about your job and how you guys met. Where are you from?"
"South Florida, just outside Lauderdale," I replied.
"How long have you lived here?" she asked.
"Since college," I replied.
"What school?" she asked.
"Ocean State," I said. She nodded.
