Three weeks had passed since my niece, Kristen, had dropped by my flat unexpectedly and we had ended up having sex. I was feeling somewhat ashamed of having taken advantage of the situation she had been in. She had arrived late on a Friday, in tears after a huge argument with her boyfriend and having split from him. She had also had a few drinks by the time she got to my place so she was vulnerable and I had behaved appallingly, allowing my sexual desires to get the better of me.
When I awoke around 9am on the Saturday morning, Kristen was snuggled up to me in bed. Raising the sheet a little confirmed we were both naked. She was still sound asleep, so I rose to get dressed. Leaving a short note on the bedside cabinet to say I would be back around mid-day, I slipped out of the house and went for a long walk to clear my head and my thinking. I knew we were heading for a difficult conversation when I got back.
It was a bright sunny morning with just a slight breeze to keep it cool enough for a brisk walk. I headed out of town with no real destination in mind and paying no real attention to the route I was taking.
After about 90 minutes walking I found myself in a small village that I did not immediately recognise. At the far end of the village was a pub with a small garden. I decided I could ask there for directions back to town and, in any case, a pint of beer would be most welcome. One pint turned into two and then a third as I delayed the inevitable return to my flat and the difficult conversation with Kristen.
It was nearly two in the afternoon by the time I had built up the courage to return home. I found that the front door to my flat was double-locked, which I was sure I had not done when I left. Kristen was gone and when I checked the drawer in the bedside cabinet it became clear that she had found my spare key. To be honest, I was quite relieved that she had gone and, coward that I was, I made no attempt to contact her to discuss what had happened or to check how she was, then or in the following days. I kept telling myself I should call, but always came up with an excuse not to do so.
Then, today, as I returned home from work at my usual time of 6:30, I opened the front door and nearly jumped out of my skin as I glimpsed someone sitting on my sofa. It was Kristen. I was frozen to the spot. "Oh! Hi Kristen" was as much of a welcome as I could manage.
"Hello Sam," said Kristen. "I hope you don't mind me coming round unannounced."
I still had not moved and became acutely aware that I was staring at her. Despite everything that was whirling round my head, I couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked, sitting there in a light summer dress. It was a pale yellow colour, quite low cut, sleeveless and it finished just above her knees. Her bare legs and arms were a golden brown from the great summer we had enjoyed this year. Her body looked fantastic, but she had a really worried look on her face.
I reticently pushed the front door shut behind me. "Not at all," I said, "we need to talk. I should have got in touch..."
"Fuckin' right we do!" interrupted Kristen. "Sophie's back from Uni. I told her what happened here last month and now she's really going off on one!"
My heart sank. Now, not only did I have to talk to Kristen about what happened between us, I also had to deal with an irate, and probably extremely protective sister. One thing I knew about Sophie was that she had a ferocious temper. Mostly, we had got along fine in the past but I had once felt the extent of her wrath when, as a teenager, I had taken something of hers without permission and damaged it. Despite her being almost three years younger than me, she had given me a sound beating. I had vowed then to stay on the right side of her in future and, even now, I winced at the memory, fearing I had repeated the crime.
Before I even had a chance to formulate an introduction to the conversation I knew I had to have with Kristen, the doorbell rang sharp, loud and long. Just from the way it rang, I knew it was Sophie. On the basis that there was no point delaying the inevitable, I opened the door wide. "Hello Sophs," I said nervously.
Sophie was dressed almost exactly like her younger sister, only her dress was red and a few inches shorter. She stormed straight past me and into the lounge. Staring straight at Kristen, who was cowering on the sofa, she screamed "There you are you devious bitch! I guessed you'd run straight round here. You can't avoid me. I'm never going to forgive you."
I was confused for a moment until it dawned on me that I was not the subject of Sophie's wrath, it was Kristen she was furious with. Sophie continued shouting at poor Kristen who was not allowed to get a word in edgeways. From the tirade, I gathered that the two sisters had had a huge crush on me as schoolgirls and had sometimes fantasised about losing their virginity to me. They had, however, made a sort of pact that neither would ever try to do anything about it on their own. As far as Sophie was concerned, Kristen had broken that solemn agreement.
I was about to do the gentlemanly thing by stepping in to explain to Sophie that It was me who had instigated our liaison when Kristen took advantage of the slightest pause in the onslaught, as Sophie took a breath, to offer her apologies and in the process, admit that she had planned the whole thing. Apparently there was no break up with her boyfriend, Nathan, that evening. That had happened two weeks prior. It was after an evening out drinking that a frustrated Kristen had decided to come round to my flat to try to get me into bed. As it happened, I had taken the lead when I thought she was sleeping and made it really easy for her.
I was shocked but then totally relieved as I realised I didn't have to feel so guilty and I was not going to have to apologise to Kristen for my behaviour that night. It also occurred to me that Sophie must have an alternative motive for coming round to my place tonight. Surely she could have waited at home to confront Kristen when she eventually returned. There was no need to follow her here.
The two sisters had returned to shouting and were now standing, toe to toe, hurling insults at each other. Instead of being the subject of a shit-load of abuse, as I had expected, I was now put in the position of peace-keeper. I'm not ashamed to admit that I also saw a possibility of having some fun with these two girls tonight. A plan began to form in my mind. It was risky because I would have to take the side of one sister and risk alienating the other but it was worth a try.
I pushed my way between the two girls, forcing each to take a step back. "Let's all calm down and talk about this" I said. "Now sit down and stay quiet while I get us a drink and we'll work out what needs to be done here".