Caren With A C

Author's Note: I have been reading the stories posted on Literotica for quite a while and finally decided it was time to see if I could contribute to the content in some small way. I tried to write what I found I have most enjoyed reading, stories with a long warm-up to set the scene culminating in a payoff at the end.

***

It was the summer of 1984 and my twin sister Shannon and I had graduated from high school and turned 18, coincidentally on the same day. I was an excellent student, barely missing beating out Amy Everett for class Valedictorian. I was a decent athlete, playing two years of varsity baseball and three of varsity hockey but I wasn't a star in either one. I was also a virgin and had never gotten any further than 'spin the bottle' level kissing.

I was generally liked by almost everyone but not a part of any clique or group. My one good friend had graduated the year before and gone off to college in California, where he was staying for the summer. Watching me at lunch would have given an observer a decent perspective on how I was perceived at my school during my senior year. I could sit at almost any table in the cafeteria of my relatively small local high school with no problem - athletes, smart kids, drama gang, skate boarders, anyone except the super cool kids - and none of them ask would me what I was doing there or make me feel unwelcome. None of them waved me over either though.

It was much the same with girls. There were a bunch of girls I was friendly with or studied with or both and plenty of my sister's friends were in and out of the house. None ever exhibited any obvious interest in me romantically and I was much too shy and inexperienced to make any kind of a move.

Shannon and I were close and I know she would have tried to help me get a date if I had asked, but I was way too embarrassed. Also, she didn't seem to be into dating during high school herself, although we never talked much about the subject. Shannon was petite in stature, but strong willed and forceful in her own quiet way. I'd overheard enough girl conversations in the house to know that while she was perfectly willing to listen to her friends talk about boys, she didn't feel compelled to join in. She was the kind of girl that when her friends asked her why she wasn't dating anyone, and I'm sure they did, she would have laughed it off and changed the subject.

I wasn't handsome or ugly. I topped out at 5' 11" after finally hitting my growth spurt during my junior year, about two years after my sister. "Norcott men are just late bloomers." my mother would tell me cheerfully when I complained about it. I had light brown hair and eyes, a solid but not massive build and an unremarkable face. I'm not complaining about any of this. It was, all in all, a decent high school experience and I know there are lots of people who would kill to trade their high school hell for my relatively unremarkable voyage though those four years.

I had a partial academic scholarship to a good liberal arts college and would be starting in the fall. Shannon, who was also a good student, was going off to State because she liked the idea of a bigger school. We both had worked each summer since starting high school to save for tuition, and that year was no exception. My parents had made it clear that while they had set some money aside, we were also going to have to help pay our own way. I got a job as a landscaper, which I quickly discovered was a glorified way to describe digging holes by hand to plant trees and shrubs and pounding rebar though pressure treated timber to make retaining walls. Put some muscle on me at least. Shannon got a job at the local video rental store, which is where I met Caren.

Landscapers start early and knock off early to beat the worst of the late afternoon heat. The video store would open late but stayed open until 10 p.m. My sister and I had one car between us, my parent's beat to shit old VW Rabbit which was pushing 150,000 miles on the odometer. So the weekday routine we worked out was that I would get up and go to work. Shannon would get a ride to work from mom or one of her friends, or worst case ride her bike because the store was only a few miles from our house. I would get home in the late afternoon and then pick Shannon up when the store closed, so my folks didn't have to. Small price to pay for the use of the car.

I rolled into the video store at a little before closing time on the first day my sister was working. She was at the front desk.

"Hi Tommy, I should be done in a few minutes."

"No problem, I want to get a video to watch tomorrow anyway so let me know when you're ready to go. Hey, do you get to take videos home for free?" I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me sooner but it seemed like a nice perk I could take advantage of.

"Sure," said a voice behind me, "but only one at a time and not the new releases."

"Tommy this is Caren, she manages the store." Shannon said as I turned. "Caren, this is my brother Tommy."

Caren was about 5' 5" with short spikey blonde hair framing a round and attractive face highlighted by a pair of large green eyes. She was smiling at me. "I manage it for now, anyway." She extended a hand with several rings on it, which I shook. "Oh, and no porn." she said over her shoulder as she returned to the cart full of videos she was putting back on the shelves. I felt myself flushing red as I turned back around to face my sister, who was blushing too but also laughing. As I waited for Shannon to finish up I got the chance to surreptitiously check Caren out as she moved around the store pushing the cart. She was wearing a somewhat baggy, black concert tee shirt over a pair of jeans and ankle high black boots. She wasn't skinny, but she certainly wasn't chubby either. Somewhere nicely in between. It was a little hard to tell with the tee shirt, but it looked like she had a decent set of breasts under there.

Caren told Shannon she could leave at 10 on the dot, even though Caren was still putting away videos. After we got in the car and pulled away I asked Shannon what she thought about working at the store after her first day.

"It's good, Caren is cool. Putting videos away is a pain but she said she'll keep doing it for the first few days while I learn where everything goes. She's also smart and funny and likes to talk to the customers. I was worried it was going to be boring, but I think with her around it might be a lot more fun than I was expecting."

Shannon paused. "Getting out the porn tapes out took a little getting used to though."

The world has changed, everything is online now. But back in the day the video store was typical for a local operation. The main floor area was maybe 30 feet wide and 50 feet deep. At the back were three doors. On the left was the bathroom, which was supposed to be for employees only but good customers and people who asked nicely could use it. In the middle was the door to a small office. On the right were a pair of three-foot swinging doors, mounted about three feet off the floor. Opening them led to a small room where all the porn was. Only the boxes were there. Like the new releases, if you wanted a porn tape you had to bring the empty box to the front of the store and have the person manning the counter get the actual tape out of a locked cabinet for you. As a horny teenage boy at the time, I can reliably report this set up was a significant impediment to renting porn. I could only do it if there was a 20 something guy at the counter, otherwise the shame factor was too high.

So, when Shannon said that about the porn tapes I laughed. "I hadn't thought of that. You OK with it?"

"Actually, it's not so bad. Caren warned me it could be embarrassing and to pretend I was getting out exercise videos."

"I guess that's not too far from the truth." I said, smirking. Shannon turned redder than she already was.

"She also said that if any of the customers ever made me feel uncomfortable I should call her over right away."

"Caren seems great. How come I never saw her in the store before this?"

"She just started. It turns out her parents own the store and the apartments above it. She told me she is helping her folks manage the place for a while because the old manager quit suddenly. He used to live in one of the apartments so she is staying in there until they can rent it out again."

"Is she back from college?"

"I'm not sure. I think so, but we didn't really get into it."

When we got home I undressed and got into bed. Usually I liked to read before going to sleep, but I laced my hands behind my head and looked up at the ceiling and started thinking about Caren. Typical teenage fantasies about her making some excuse to have me come up to her apartment and having her way with me started to get more and more detailed in my mind. Soon, I was stroking my dick as I ran the mental video of her straddling me and yelling 'fuck me harder' as I humped her to a mind-blowing orgasm. I delivered a fat load of cum onto my own stomach and chest. Cum I imagined was spurting deep into Caren's tight pussy.

The next day I got to the video store a half hour before it closed. I didn't have anything better to do on a Tuesday night so I figured I'd show up a little early and hang out with Shannon and Caren.

"Hi Tommy." Caren said cheerfully as I walked in. "Shannon went down the street to get us a couple Diet Cokes. Hang out, she'll be right back. Does she need to go home early?"

"No." I said. "I figured I'd come and chill out with her for a while until she was ready to go." A thought occurred to me. "As long as it's OK? I mean, I won't keep her from doing what she has to do."

"I think that's sweet. We may put you to work though."

"That's cool. Better in an air-conditioned store than digging holes in the hot sun. Besides, I don't mind helping my sister."

"Do enough work around here and maybe I'll relax the restriction on free porn." Caren said, and winked.

I blushed furiously and she laughed. It was a mature, feminine laugh and it was incredibly sexy. "OK then Tommy, check the returned tapes to make sure they have been rewound and if not put them in the rewinders. It's not rocket science Mr. Almost Valedictorian."

"Shannon told you that?" I asked. How the hell had my academic record come up?

"No, it was a lucky guess." Caren smiled. "We have a lot of time to talk in here. She talks about you a lot."

"She does? Nothing better to talk about I guess." I said jokingly.

The smile fell away from her face. "Your sister adores you Tommy. She wishes she was as good a student as you are. She said she has to work hard for her grades but everything comes naturally to you."

"But she is so social. She makes good friends so easily and everyone loves her. I wish I had that."

Caren looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. "Jesus, you twins should maybe talk a little more."

The little bell over the door rang as it opened and a guy walked in. He looked like he was in his late 40s or early 50s and went straight back into the porn section. He came out a couple minutes later with three videos. Caren was at the counter. She looked at one of the boxes and said, "Ass Bandits 4, an excellent selection."

The guy laughed heartily. "Good to hear, 1 and 3 were ok, but 2 was awesome. Maybe it's an even number thing?"

Caren got the tapes out of the cabinet behind her and put the empty boxes in their place to hold each spot until the videos were returned.

After the guy left the store I asked her if she knew him.

"No, never seen him before."

"Then how did you know you could joke about the porn tapes?"

"Because he went straight to the back, got what he wanted, then came right to the counter without blushing or hesitating. And when he got here he handed me the boxes without being creepy or making any comments. That's a guy that is likely to appreciate an Ass Bandits joke without taking it for something it's not. Reading people is a good skill to learn Tommy."

The bell tinkled again and Shannon walked in holding two cans of Diet Coke. We both turned toward her. She was wearing a mid-length blue denim skirt with buttons up the left thigh and a white tee shirt which came down to right over the top of the skirt and had something glittery printed on it. She had round, thin framed glasses and was slim almost to the point of being too skinny. Sort of a brunette, darker skinned, glasses wearing version of Molly Ringwald. My twin sister was cute.

"Hi Tommy." Shannon said. "You're early."

"Yeah, not much to do tonight. Caren put me to work rewinding video tapes."

"Good, I hate that job. Hey Caren, can we put on a movie?"

The video store had several television monitors, one on each wall towards the back of the floor area and one over the front counter. All of them were hooked up to a VCR in the front. I guess there were movies playing all the time. I had never given it much thought.

"Sure." Caren said. "I'll be interested to see what Tommy picks."

Holy Shit. The pressure was on. Pick something intellectual like Citizen Cane and I was trying way too hard. Twelve O' Clock High was one of my favorite movies ever, my grandpa loved it and had introduced the family to it. He thought, correctly, it taught lessons about leadership. But it still felt like a little much on this occasion. Risky Business? Maybe not the right thing to show in the store, even late. Caren was looking at me. Clock was ticking. "WarGames." I said.

"I love that movie, great choice." Caren said. She found it on the rack and put it in the video player. We watched it for about 45 minutes while the three of us put away the tapes and straightened up the store, talking and laughing the entire time.

On the car ride home with Shannon I looked over at her and asked, "Why did you tell Caren I was second in my class? I mean, I'm not mad or anything, I'm curious."

Shannon looked back at me through her round glasses and said, "Because I'm proud of you."

I was floored. "Shannon, you know I would do anything for you right?" was the best I could do for a response.

"I know Tommy." She said. "You don't have to tell me, I know."

The routine went on for the next week or so. I started getting to the video store earlier and earlier after I finished up work at my landscaping job and cleaned up at home. Caren, Shannon and I developed a nice rapport and talked about all kinds of stuff. It turned out Caren had graduated from college the same time Shannon and I were graduating from high school. She been accepted to medical school but had deferred for a year. She was planning to spend a month or two managing the video store while her parents found someone to take over and then travel the world. I got the sense her parents had enough money that no one was overly worried about the whole situation. I was curious when I found out she spelled her first name with a 'C' instead of a 'K' but it seemed somehow rude to ask her about it. I don't know why. I was also falling completely head over heels for her and jerked off thinking about her every night.

One night about 9, Shannon was in the bathroom when I heard a car with obvious muffler problems pull up. I glanced out the front window and saw a beat up, red, Toyota Corolla parking near the front door. The bell over the door rang and I looked up. The guy that walked in was a couple inches over six feet tall and he was wearing a tee shirt with the arms cut off, tucked into a pair of jeans held up by a wide black leather belt with a matte finished silver buckle. A tattoo with a bunch of snakes ran down over his right shoulder onto his muscle-bound arm. His jet-black hair, tanned face and straight white teeth completed the picture. Early 20s. Definitely a macho ass wipe. Had to be. At least he drove an even shittier car than mine.

"Drake!" Caren ran up and gave him a big hug he returned.

"Hi Caren." he said with a smile. "How are you? When did you come back into town?" He was holding both her shoulders at arm's length and looking down at her face. She was looking up at him with a big smile.

"A few weeks ago. It's so good to see you." Caren said, her hands on his waist. They were obviously very familiar with one another.

Their hands dropped as they smiled at each other and chatted back and forth for a minute. The vibe was two friends who had not seen each other for a while catching up on each other's lives.

"Oh, hey, sorry." Caren said, "Drake, this is Tommy. His sister is working at the store this summer."

"Hi Tommy." Drake said and put out his hand.

I extended mine, preparing for the bone crushing dominance shake. What I got was a polite, but firm, handshake and a warm smile.

"Hey Drake." I replied. I think I was probably a little sullen.

Then Caren said, "I saw you have a car now, where's your bike?"

"Oh," Drake laughed, "That's Mrs. Rayno's car. I left my bike at her house so I could take her car to the shop tomorrow and put on a new muffler. I'll tune it up for free too. We don't usually provide pick up and drop off but she is such a sweet old lady that we bend the rules at the garage a little. Besides, she always gives us homemade chocolate chip cookies, so it's an even trade."

At which point all my teenage fantasies about Caren sort of went out the window. How could I possibly compete with this guy?

The door to the bathroom in the back opened and Shannon came out, walking towards the group of us standing near the front counter.

"Drake this is my sister Shannon. Shannon, this is Drake."

"Hi Drake." Shannon said cheerfully and made her way back behind the counter. As she was walking past us I looked over at Drake and saw the appraising look he gave her once she had turned away. Oh boy. I would probably need to warn Shannon about this guy.

Drake walked over to the video racks, humming to himself. He picked a couple and brought them back to the counter.

"On the house, Drake." Caren said, "But you have to buy me a beer sometime so we can catch up more."

"How about now? Tommy and Shannon look like they can handle the crowd." Drake looked theatrically around at the otherwise empty store.

"Sure Caren, I'll hang out with Shannon and help her close up." I said. No point being a sore loser. Especially when I knew deep down I wasn't ever in the race to begin with.

"OK," Caren said, "why not?"

She turned to Shannon. "You know where the keys are to the front door, leave them under the mat by the stairs leading up the apartments and I'll pick them up on the way back in."

'With Drake', I added silently to myself.

Caren turned back to Drake. "Let's take my car, I wouldn't want Mrs. Rayno's to break down on us."

"But yours doesn't smell like cats." Drake said. "And I love the smell of pussy." His smile faltered as he glanced over at Shannon, who was doing stuff behind the counter and seemed totally oblivious. I laughed, though. I couldn't help it. The funniest part was the big biker guy looking embarrassed in front of a much smaller, glaring Caren.

"Tommy, Shannon you sure it's cool if we take off?" Drake then said sincerely.

"Yeah." Caren echoed. "We can totally hang out here with you guys if you want."

"It's fine." I said. "We got it covered. I think I'm going to put on Twelve O' Clock High while we close." Shannon heard that and rolled her eyes. It was an inside joke. She hated that movie. Well, not hated, but she wasn't a big fan and had been forced to watch it on more than one holiday evening when grandpa was over. Shannon loved grandpa and would never say no or walk out. But she had had her fill of that movie for sure.

"Good choice dude. Gregory Peck. Great movie."

I turned toward Drake, "You've seen it?" Which was obviously a stupid question and borderline insulting.

Drake ignored the stupidity. "Sure, what's not to like? Been a while though. I had to watch it for some class in high school. Next time I'm in here let's put it in."