Never were there two sisters who were as close as Annabeth Kurtis and her younger sister, eighteen-year old Carrie. Like two peas in a pod, you rarely saw one without the other following close behind. So when their parents split up and the girls were separated, there were two VERY unhappy and angry young women living in different houses. Young women who could not be bribed with lavish gifts or placated by promises of expensive vacations.
They talked every day and when either their mother or their father would complain about the phone bills, they got "the look". Both sisters could do it; they had inherited it from their grandmother. It was a face so sour that it could have curdled milk. Their mother didn't have it but their Aunt Robin did.
Both of the girls thought the sun rose and set on their gorgeous, sexy aunt. Only 10 years older than Annabeth (and thus, 12 years older than Carrie) she was an auburn-haired, curvy, fun, long-legged, vivacious hedonist who lived only for herself and for love.
"Let them come and live with me," she said to her brother and sister-in-law. "You two need some time apart -- that's
your
shit to deal with. The girls hate it and they're going to hold it against you. If they come and stay with me, they'll remember later on that you put their needs first, no matter what happens next."
The girls' parents looked at each other and realized that Robin was right.
Annabeth and Carrie weren't thrilled with the idea in the beginning. Aunt Robin lived in the country, what they lovingly referred to as "the sticks", being children of the city. She was a good distance away from, well,
anything
. That was when their aunt sweetened the deal. "You can borrow the Porsche or the Corvette if you want to drive anywhere," she told them. They looked at each other and had to refrain from squealing. Driving those gorgeous monsters, they would be the envy of all of their friends and be able to get the attention of any guy they liked. The sisters hugged their aunt and ran to their room to start packing. The move was finished in a week and as school didn't start until the fall, they had a nice, long summer to look forward to.
The girls were both leggy and loved the outdoors, so it wasn't the surroundings they abhorred. Both of the sisters liked swimming and it was already a beautiful day when they arrived at Robin's. She lived a five minute walk from a lake, so they both got out bikinis and sandals and decided to go for a swim. "You don't have to wear suits if you don't want to," Robin told them. "It's a private beach, so no one comes around at this time of day because most everyone is at work."
The girls walked down the lane to the lake, enjoying the warm, sunny day. "Aunt Robin's great," blonde Annabeth said. "We should do something nice for her while we're here. I wonder if any of my friends has an older brother I could fix her up with?"
"Yeah, she's hot and I've always wondered why she never married," petite, also-blonde Carrie smiled. "She's gorgeous and could have any guy she wanted. Or any
girl
too, for that matter."
"Oh Carrie, don't be
stupid!
" Annabeth said to her younger sister. "Aunt Robin certainly isn't a lesbian."
"Don't call me stupid, Mom and Dad taught us better than that," Carrie shot back. Their parents had grilled it into their heads that while an act could be stupid, it was insulting to call someone stupid.
"Okay, I apologize, you're right," Annabeth sighed as they neared the lake. "But, come on! Aunt Robin is beating them off with a stick!"
"Is she?" Carrie countered as they came up on the beautiful sandy beach. "Have you actually ever seen her dating anyone? Heard her talk about a boyfriend?"
"No, but I'm not dating anyone either and I'm not gay," Annabeth said as she laid their beach towels down.
"There is nothing wrong with being a lesbian, you'll likely meet some at university in the fall, if you haven't already," Carrie said as she applied sun block to her skin. "I have a few friends who are lesbians."
"What? Really? Tell me! Who are they?"
Carrie shook her head. "I can't tell you that, it isn't my place. Even today, not everyone is open about it."
"We tell each other everything. We're best friends!" Annabeth whined.
"Anna, of course we are," her sister smiled. "We're almost never apart. But this isn't my place to tell you, it's not my right. It's an issue of privacy. Someone has trusted me with a secret, just like you told me about you and Bobby last summer."
"Oh God, what a mistake that was," Annabeth groaned. "You really haven't told anyone?"
"No, not anyone."
The two sisters smiled and shared a quick hug and got some sun before going in for a swim to wash off the sun block. Their aunt had been correct that they likely could have gone without suits, but they didn't want to scandalize the neighborhood their first day here. As they approached Robin's home, it dawned on them both how large it was. It wasn't really a country home as such, but more like the old southern homes. They were told they each could have their own room and Aunt Robin had her own. Plus one she used as an office and another two for guests. It also had a dining room, a sprawling living room, large kitchen and three bathrooms. They had no idea how their single, never-married aunt could afford all of this. They had asked their parents a while back what Robin did for a living and their dad said he only knew that it had something to do with the Internet.
"Did you have a nice time, girls?" Robin greeted them both with a hug and a kiss as they entered the house. She was wearing a pink tank top and shorts so tight they looked as if they had been painted on. She was also wearing a very high pair of "stripper heels". Annabeth thought back to Carrie's earlier comments and still thought they were insane. Robin was just too sexy to be a lesbian. She then realized she was stereotyping and shunted that thought from her mind. She didn't know any lesbians so how would she know what one looked like? She could only see that Aunt Robin wasn't wearing a bra, as her boobs jiggled naughtily when she walked into the kitchen. She sat the girls down and smiled, squeezing both of their hands.
"I think my brother and your mom are both morons. They belong together and love each other and I hope they work things out," she said to the sisters. "Until then, you're welcome to stay as long as you like. This is your house and you treat it as such, but with respect too, of course. No one is going to wait on you like your mother does, you'll be expected to do your own laundry and prepare your own meals if I'm not home. You may have a drink and use the cars whenever you want," she smiled. "Anything else?"
"What if we want to bring a cute guy home?" Annabeth teased.
"Up to you, just be considerate and don't make too much noise if it's late," Robin said. "I'll do the same for you, I certainly don't live like a nun."
"What if we want to bring home a cute
girl?
" Carrie said. Annabeth wanted to kill her.