"Dani, Simon, come here please!" dad's voice boomed from the living room.
I looked up from the magazine I was reading and stood up. I walked from my room, across the hallway and into the living room. Dad was standing there.
"I need to talk to you and your sister. Serious....ish," he said.
We stood and waited for a couple of minutes before my younger sister Dani came in, dressed in a vest and baggy sweats.
"You haven't forgotten your mother's birthday have you? If you have made plans you had better unmake them as I have booked us a table at the Grand Hotel."
"Err, next week, yeah?" I mumbled.
"Next Saturday. August the fourteenth. You didn't really forget did you?"
"No I was just kidding. The Grand? Wow that sounds great," I smiled.
"Cool," said Dani.
"Just one thing. Well two actually. Look smart. Look your very best please. It's her fiftieth so I really want us to make the effort. Secondly. Please, please for her and for me, could you two just TRY to get along? PLEASE?!"
"Sure dad, we will," I replied.
"Of course dad, no worries," answered Dani.
Chat over, Dani and I returned to our rooms without once exchanging a word. And that was how our relationship had been for about four months.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm Simon. I'm twenty three years old. Living at home with my parents and my younger sister Dani, who is nineteen, and at college.
I'm slim, about five feet ten tall. I'm muscular, through playing a lot of sports and generally looking after myself.
Dani is also slim, not quite as tall as me. She has blonde hair. She was, until about a year and a half ago, a bit of a teenage geek. Awkward, a bit overweight, thick eyebrows, glasses and unruly hair. But in that time even I have been aware of her changes. The puppy fat has mostly gone. The eyebrows are manicured, the hair is well kept and the glasses have been replaced by contact lenses.
It's fair to say both Dani and I are now quite good looking. Neither of us is short of attention from the opposite sex, and we're both quite confident, outgoing people. I've no idea (or interest) in my sister's sex life but I imagine she doesn't have trouble getting boys. She's had a few boyfriends although she is single at this present time.
So am I, having split up with my girlfriend about three months ago, mostly because she was a pain, but also because I don't really want to settle down just yet.
Our home is a lovely waterside apartment, all on one level, overlooking the harbor. Three bedrooms at the front, all around a large hallway, as well as the bathroom. This hallway leads through to a large open plan living room/kitchen/diner that has fantastic harborside views, as well as a large balcony complete with glass table and outdoor furniture.
So with so much going for us, the real downside at present is that my sister and I are not talking at the moment.
About four months ago she came into my room while I was out and borrowed something without asking. Quite minor, quite common, as most sibling rows are, but I was pissed when I found out. I had a row with her,she said sorry, and really it should have finished there. But I decided revenge was in order and crept into her room one day when she was out, rifled through her drawers, before borrowing a cd that I really didn't want to borrow. Now she was REALLY pissed! Went crazy. During the course of the row that followed she even pushed me.
That should have been that. But she told mum, who took her side.
"A girl's room really is private. It's different for girls. You have to respect that," mum told me.
And so on. Till I was the bad guy. Rather than make up, apologize or whatever, I was now mad that it all seemed to be my fault so rather than back down I treated my sister even worse, being generally rude and unpleasant to her. The final straw was three weeks ago when she celebrated her nineteenth birthday. I decided not to buy her a card or a present. Nothing.
She was really. Furious. But also mum informed me she was really upset. I had genuinely hurt her. Now feeling even more isolated in my feud I simply avoided her. And so we haven't spoken a word to each other in three weeks.
Petty. Stupid. Stubborn. One of us was going to have to back down but I was determined it wouldn't be me. But now for mum's fiftieth birthday meal at the restaurant of the best hotel in town we were going to have to make the effort and call a truce.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Saturday the fourteenth of August. Mum's birthday.
I changed in my room. Very smart. Very 'dashing'. The smart end of smart casual. Crisp white shirt. Black suit. Shiny black shoes.
I walked into the living room, where dad was already ready.
"Great, son. Really good. Mum will be impressed. Just the two girls now. Could be hours yet," he said, laughing.
Mum was out next, and she was thrilled by my appearance.
"Oh Simon! You look lovely. Thank you!" she gushed.
Then the living room door opened. Now as you can probably guess, my sister is not exactly the object of my sexual desires, given our current hatred for each other. I had noticed over the last eighteen months she was looking better all the time, and can admit, if pushed, why some men would find her attractive. But she's my sister. And at the moment a sister that I can't stand.
BUT.....she looked fantastic. Little black dress. Short, about halfway between her knees and her hips, if a little shorter. Blonde hair immaculate. Nails, lips, eyelashes and eyebrows all perfectly made up. Slender, smooth legs and a pair of stylish black stilettos. Wow.
"Dani.....you look amazing!" said mum.
"Amazing, " repeated a very proud dad.
I said nothing but I was staring. I'm convinced she didn't have a bra on, as the back of the dress had a plunging v line to just above her ass and there was no bra strap. I'm not sure if she was wearing panties as there were no obviously visible lines but maybe she was wearing a thong or something.
"Simon, doesn't your sister look lovely?" asked mum.
"God yeah she looks HOT!!"
The words had left my mouth before I realized what I was saying.
"Hot? Oh wow Dani you must look great if even Simon is praising you," teased mum.
"But?" Dani asked looking at me.
"What do you mean but?" I asked, talking to her for the first time in weeks.
"Well you said a nice thing so there's got to be a but to even it out," she sneered at me.
"No. Honestly you look....good."
"Thanks."
"You'll be fighting the men off looking like that," joked mum.
"Mum you know I don't really want a boyfriend at the moment."
The taxi arrived us to take us to the restaurant.
We sat at a square table. Me next to mum, with my sister opposite me, and dad next to her.
The evening was going really well. Laughing, chatting and smiling. Dani and I were in good spirits as mum and dad reminded us of embarrassing stories from our childhood. We were laughing along, even if we still weren't talking to each other.
Suddenly Dani broke the ice.
"Do you remember Simon that time at the rollercoaster when it broke down and that woman in front was really screaming?" she laughed.
"Oh god yeah. I really wanted to hit her."
"You should have."
We laughed at the memory. After that Dani gave me a little smile almost as a sign that we had smashed through a barrier. I smiled cautiously back.
After the main course mum and dad both went to the toilet, leaving Dani and I alone for a few minutes.
"Thanks for what you said earlier. About me looking good," she said.
"Well you do."
"Really?"
"Dani, you look...beautiful."
"You don't look too bad yourself," she smiled.
"Thanks."
"Hey?" I joked.
