When Tony's family finally got home after their long Christmas break with Caitlin's family, Tony went straight to his room and went to sleep.
When he woke up, Tony played Call of Duty. He took breaks for lunch, for dinner, and to sleep, but always resumed playing.
He'd done the same routine each day. His mother had nagged him at first, his dad had yelled at him, but something about Tony's vacant gaze and uncaring manner made them give up and leave him alone.
After a while, the nagging stopped, and his parents let him continue his morose behavior. At least it's winter break, they reasoned to themselves. Let him get it all out now and we'll see how he handles going back to school again.
His parents had no idea what was wrong, because they had missed all the crazy drama from their trip to Caitlin's house. Tony had always been attracted to Caitlin, but they had always drawn firm boundaries with what was and was not acceptable behavior. On this past trip, he and Caitlin had flirted with each other, skirting the line, wandering right up to the edge of the unspoken standards that governed conduct between two cousins.
Then they had barreled right over it. Tony had sucked and fucked Caitlin, and she had welcomed it. He had fucked her in the ass, which she had not wanted. In her anger, she had retaliated by using his cell phone to text message Ms. Miller and tell her exactly what had happened.
And now, Tony was depressed. On some deep level, Tony felt that the greatest thing that had ever happened to him was his affair with Ms. Miller. She was his first partner, his first conquest, his first love.
And he had blown it.
Tony kept playing.
Didn't care, didn't want to think. First he beat one game, then another. Then he locked himself into a multiplayer online game.
Sleep, eat, play video games, eat, sleep. The cycle repeated itself. Four days passed like this, then five. Tony dimly understood that his parents would enter and leave the house, but didn't care to ask what was happening.
On the sixth day after had had returned from Caitlin's house, Tony became dimly aware that someone else was present in the house, someone different.
It was Caitlin. She sat next to him.
Tony didn't know how to react at first, and then acted as he had with everyone during the past week. He ignored her.
Caitlin's voice broke through the sound of clicking and explosions that filled the room. She said, "Your mom is letting me stay here for a bit. My school's winter break lasts another week."
Tony kept playing. He was working through the latest RPG.
After a while, Caitlin went away. Just like everyone else in my life, thought Tony miserably.
Over the next days, Tony tried to continue to ignore his cousin and play his games. He felt her presence, though, even when he was trying to tune out the world.
The guest bedroom and his bedroom were adjacent, so Caitlin and Tony shared a bathroom.
One morning, Tony had just rolled out of bed, and went to empty his bladder. The bathroom door was open, and Tony walked right in.
In the bathroom, Caitlin was apparently in the process of getting herself ready. She was bent over the sink. She was wearing only her underwear, and Tony got a brief glimpse of tight skin-colored lace panties before staggering out the door again.
Caitlin wasn't used to being ignored. As Tony went to his bed that night, he heard Caitlin emerge from the guest room. She was only wearing her panties and a t-shirt. Caitlin didn't say anything, but blocked Tony's way briefly along the narrow hallway above the bannister.
Despite himself, Tony found himself staring at her.
Though Caitlin's t-shirt was large, it couldn't quite hide the ample chest which Tony knew was there. Her panties were tight, white lacy affairs that covered the upper half of her butt. The panties displayed Caitlin's long, athletic legs. The lower globes of her ass were bare, and despite their size and fleshiness, didn't sag at all. Caitlin's ass was Tony's favorite part of her body.
Tony grunted, "Excuse me," and brushed past her.
On the afternoon of the third day, she stood up and moved between Tony and the television, but Tony just paused the game and stared at her, trying to will her to move. She was wearing a jean skirt with a light green blouse.
After a while, Caitlin said, "What are you playing?"
Tony pretended he hadn't heard, and asked her to move so that he could continue playing his game. He was now working his way through the newest version of Madden NFL football.
Then Caitlin said, "Can I play too?"
Tony didn't respond. After the game he was playing was finished, Caitlin picked up a controller and initiated a two-player game.
Tony didn't acknowledge her at all, but just continued to play as if he were matched against the computer.
During their first game, Caitlin lost 45-7. Then they played again, and she got beaten badly again, 63-10.
Somewhere, Tony felt a flicker of satisfaction at his victory. It felt good to repay his cousin in some small way for all the grief she had caused him.
Tony gave Caitlin a small smirk that signaled that she should go away and leave him alone.
Caitlin said, "Listen. I'll make you a bet. If you win, I'll leave you alone."
I'll kill her, he thought. She's never played this game in her life.
"What if I lose?" Tony responded with a sticky and gummy mouth. He felt like he hadn't spoken in ages.
Caitlin paused, then said, "If I win, you have to me a favor. I have to lift some heavy stuff, and I could use a hand."
Tony thought about it a minute, and said, "I don't want anything to do with you ever again. If you make me do something I don't want to do..."
"...you can leave whenever you want," Caitlin said firmly.
Tony paused. He didn't want to ever get involved with Caitlin again, and didn't know what she had in mind with her favor. But he didn't think he'd lose.
