Twisted Fate

I sat in the seventh row, dead center, taking occasional glances at the empty seat beside me. My foot tapped nervously against the crunchy amber grass as I peeked at the stragglers finding their seats, hoping to catch a glimpse of my frazzle-haired mom, ticket clutched between her thin fingers. But some things are simply not meant to be.

It was pretty clear that, yet again, mom would be a no-show. There was never a good reason for it really, just lack of interest I guess, and, truth be told, I'd stopped caring long ago. But Marissa, well, she clung tirelessly to hope.

Gnashing my teeth, my eyes returned to the stage. My body inched across the span between the two seats, hoping the shear emptiness of the one could be obscured by my broad shoulders. That's what it's always been like for us, Marissa and me, each making certain the other was protected. It wasn't something we'd ever talked about or planned, it was just something we did, on instinct. We were always close, but you kind of have to be when there's no one else looking out for you. So we'd learned to adapt, adjust, and keep each other's secrets, as if the fate of the world depended on it.

"Warren, Marissa," Principal Tanner's deep voice echoed through the P.A. system and I scrambled to my feet, using the opportunity to shield her from the still vacant chair beside me.

I applauded as I watched Marissa step onto the stage, shoulders back, head high, proud. Her thick tawny waves pulled back in a loose ponytail against her neck, her long legs pushing her quickly across the stage. I smiled as she yanked the diploma from Tanner's hand and spun toward the audience, fist pumping in the air. I waved her track jersey in the air and her sapphire eyes found mine, gleaming, as she mouthed "I did it." I couldn't have been prouder. Somehow my own achievements held less excitement than watching her revel in her own.

But my heart sank as her eyes panned the space around me and the color drained from her face. Briefly, her eyes returned to mine and with a slight shrug she moved off the stage, her shoulders, her head, now sagging slightly under the heavy weight of disappointment.

I flopped back into my seat, no longer bothering to hide the obvious absence of our mother, and waited impatiently as the last few seniors crept across the stage and collected their diplomas. The ceremony ended while the marching band eked out a craptastic cover of School's Out. A flurry of burgundy caps floated in the air like autumns leaves, before tumbling down to earth. Slowly the rows of proud parents began to empty and I followed; a lone steer in a directionless herd.

"Hey!" I grasped Marissa's wrist and pulled her in for a hug. "Congratulations graduate!"

"She didn't come," she whispered against my chest, her loose curls tickling my neck as she clung to me.

"But I'm here," I offered, twisting my fingers through her hair and pulling her a little tighter.

"I know, I'm sorry," Marissa croaked and I could hear the tears in her voice. "Thanks for being here. I guess I'm feeling..." she stammered, shaking her head. "Jesse decided this morning was a good time for us to breakup, so I... I don't know, I guess I just hoped that for once... you know..."

"Mom's... well, she's mom and Jesse's a douche," I said, feigning nonchalance while silently aching. "Let me guess, pre-college liberation?"

"Pretty much," she forced a smile and offered a shrug. It hadn't been love with Jesse but, still, you'd think he would have waited until after graduation.

"You deserve better," I told her, because she did, she deserved a lot better. "So I was thinking we could go to that little Japanese joint you like so much, maybe get toasted on some sake tonight. What do ya say?" I offered in an encouraging tone, hoping to get her mind in a better place.

"Can't, I'm going to Kara's graduation party, maybe tomorrow okay?"

"Deal," I conceded, "Japanese tomorrow."

Marissa threw her arms around my neck and planted a huge kiss against my cheek. "You're the best," she whispered. "Thank you for everything... especially for being you."

I drove us home and sat on the edge of the tub, listening intently as Marissa chatted away about her summer plans and college; watching as she lined her bright blue eyes with black kohl and brushed on a shimmering gold shadow, her pouty lips already stained crimson. She was a beautiful girl, smart, sensitive, funny, and Jesse was an ass, I thought absently.

Marissa smiled when she caught me staring and let out a little giggle. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"We should move out," I replied, it seemed as good a time as any to pose the idea. We'd always done everything together and college was no exception. So when she got her acceptance letter back in March, moving out seemed the next logical step. Marissa had been the only reason I'd stayed home, knowing neither of us was equipped to handle that kind of distance, that level of separation. But the two hour commute was awful. "I was thinking we could get a little two bedroom somewhere close to campus, maybe even within walking distance."

"You think?" Her smile broadened, excitement gleaming in her eyes. "Oh Matt, could we? Could we really?"

"Sure, why not?" Unless they do an FBI background check, I think I'm employable," I chortled.

"Matthew Warren, petty larcenist and all-around scoundrel," playfully she chided. "Oh, Matt, I love it! I have some money saved, I could totally come up with the deposit," she squealed, hopping onto my lap and nearly sending us backward into the tub. "Let's do it, let's find a place, Matt."

"I'll start looking tonight."

After Marissa left for Kara's party, I flipped open my laptop and perused the apartment listings. I smiled to myself at the idea, this perfect, wonderful idea finally being realized. No psycho dorm-mates, no torturous commute, no more mom, just me and Marissa, two people who fit like hand and glove, best of friends and the only constants in each others' lives.

I made my little list of possibilities and near midnight I powered down my laptop, popped in a cheesy '80's flick and settled into bed, feeling my lids slump as the images on the screen grew hazy.

A succession of loud thumps jostled me awake and I strained to identify the sound, prepared to grab the baseball bat beside my bed and start swinging. When Marissa's soft giggle filled the air, followed by another loud thump, I released the breath I'd been holding and chuckled as I imagined her stumbling for her room. "Must've been a great party," I mumbled to myself.

Another laugh, louder this time, cut through the still air of the house and again I found myself chuckling. I tossed the blankets off my legs and walked into the hallway. "Hey drunkie," I said, standing over Marissa's twisted body.

"Hey yourself," she slurred, her eyes crossing as she stared up at me.

"Time for bed." I knelt beside her and slid my hands beneath her arms, hoisting her to her wobbly feet.

"Not sleepy," she whined loudly, releasing the tension in her muscles and collapsing her body to the floor like a wet noodle.

"You're gonna wake mom," I said.

"Stupid mom." Marissa stuck out her tongue and blew me a raspberry. I shook my head and started for my room, but she reached out and fumbled for my ankle, nearly tripping me. "No, no, no, not leaving me... you aren't... please?" She rolled her head back and stared at me with her big blue eyes.

"Fine," I sighed, pulling her to her feet again. "You're a freakin' lush, you know that?"

Marissa just giggled as I dragged her into my room and flopped her onto my bed. "You're naked." She pointed at me and laughed, then grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the bed where we tangled awkwardly, legs and arms -- and I think a breast or two -- collided in a mash of flesh.

I panicked for a second and shot up, looking down to find my boxers firmly in place. "I'm not naked you drunkard."

"Naked and spinning... maybe the room is the spinny thing," she garbled and then pouted at me, clumsily unraveling from her flowy coral summer dress.

"Marissa! You can't be naked in here," I scolded.

"Why no... not?" she giggled and fell back onto the bed, arms twisted in thin spaghetti straps. My eyes drifted to her breasts, now barely concealed, and found myself lost in the reality of her bra-less body. Something about that concept stirred in me a twisted kind of arousal.

I gave myself a swift mental kick in the ass and grabbed her wrists, pulling her up. But I only managed to abet her fight for liberation. In one slippery move, she'd broken free of both me and the dress, and wriggled beneath my sheets in just her panties.

"Ta-da!" she slurred triumphantly. "Now we're even! See?"

She was cute, I'd give her that. "You're gonna have such a hangover," I grumbled, turning off the light and plopping down on the far side of the bed, keeping myself above the covers. My hope was that the liquid sedation would take over and Marissa would simply drift off to sleep. But she clearly had other ideas.

Marissa wiggled closer, nestling in against my side, her head coming to a rest against my chest. But this was okay. We did this all the time, except for the practically naked part. I sighed, feeling defeated but also a little more relaxed. This was Marissa, my sister, not one of the few sorority girls I'd banged over the last two years of college. This was different, this was safe.

I watched Marissa closely out of the corner of my eye, taking in her peaceful frame, the soft blue light of the television glowing against her golden skin, her eyes heavy from what smelled like whiskey. I felt her hand move beneath the sheet and my breath caught as she slipped it across my chest, pulling her body tight against mine.

"My leg," she said, her voice thick with alcohol, as her bare thigh slipped from beneath the sheet and came to rest against my hip, "tickle it." Sure, I could definitely do that.

My fingertips swept across her skin in haphazard patterns, never venturing too closely to her barely concealed breast, a thin veil of cotton the only thing left between us. I could just make out the shape of her nipple, puffy and full. My breath caught again as I considered what it would feel like, what it might taste like against my tongue.

I bit down hard against my lower lip in silent reprimand, concentrating instead on tickling Marissa's leg, trying to focus on the normalcy of that routine. It was something she loved and would oftentimes present me with a bare arm or leg to tickle. I was used to touching her skin, there was never a moment I'd considered it anything more than a way to make her happy.

"Mmmm," she moaned, her voice a velvety purr, "feels yummy."

"Good," I squeaked, then cleared my throat. "Good," I repeated, trying to keep my tone flat and unaffected.

I glanced at her but her lids had pulled closed. My eyes grazed her body, now barely covered, the sheet just an inch shy of revealing her tender nipple. I felt my mouth water as I, again, thought of what it might taste like. I considered how it would feel between my lips, growing taut and perked in my mouth, while I rolled my tongue across its tender flesh. How I would gently clench it between my teeth and flick the tip of my tongue over its tiny little peak. I closed my eyes and imagined its tight, rippled skin tracing across my lips before sinking it deep into my mouth; my tongue cupping around it as my fingers played against the soft flesh of her breast. I could almost hear her moaning, begging me to fuck her with my hard cock --

Shit! I silently yelped, looking down between my legs at the distinct pitch in my boxers. My sister, her body, her mouth, her nipple, had gotten me hard and that was the absolute antithesis of okay. I tried to focus on other things, the pile of laundry I had sitting in the corner of the closet, the oil change I'd been neglecting for the past three months, mean old men kicking puppies, dead things all rotted and filled with bugs. Anything, anything at all to keep from thinking about Marissa's puffy little nipple just inches away from my mouth. Nothing worked.

"Tickle my leg," Marissa whined, wiggling her body to get my attention. Except she already had my attention -- fully.

"Sorry," I murmured, tracing her thigh with my fingertips. With my free hand I gathered the loose folds of the sheet she'd abandoned, in an attempt to drape it over the tent in my boxers. But I could only negotiate a tiny sliver, the rest seemed locked under her leg. I offered the sheet a gentle tug and nearly gathered enough to pile against my groin.

The final tug revealed that taunting nipple and my eyes locked on it as if it were deadly snake. "Um, sorry," I blurted, averting my eyes and nodding to her exposed flesh. But Marissa ignored me. With a deep yawn she settled her face against my shoulder, blowing warm whiskey breath against my neck. That awful nipple was now resting against my chest, staring at me, as if demanding to be touched.

I took a deep breath and considered my options. Really there were only two; attempt to ignore the insistent nipple or expose my thumping cock. But those choices were abruptly ripped from my grasp as Marissa leaned across my body, her fucking nipple grazing my chin as she grabbed the remote from the nightstand and turned off the television. I lay frozen and rigid beneath her body as she came to rest against me, draped across me like a warm, fleshy blanket.

Fuck, I thought, as panic and desire wrestled in my brain. "You have to go to your room," I said, attempting to pry her arms from around my neck. This was definitely crossing the line, but with any luck I could just get her into her own bed and pretend that none of this had ever happened. Given the situation, it seemed a fair bet she wouldn't even remember this come tomorrow.

"Don't want to," she muttered against my mouth, her lips pressing against mine. "Fuck me, Jesse."

Jesse? Double fuck, I thought. I was about to protest, to push her away again and kick her out of my room, when her hand slipped beneath my boxers and found my cock. Her fingers clutched tightly around it, offering it a gentle tug, and when my lips parted to let an unexpected groan escape my throat, Marissa spilled her plush tongue into my mouth. God she was delicious, even with the taste of whiskey coating her mouth. Marissa's tongue twined with mine, hot and eager, almost vicious, as her lips moved against me. For a moment I got lost in it, unable to conjure a single valid reason to stop her.

Suddenly I was thinking about that mouth of hers, that tongue, what it would feel like wrapped around my dick. Her full pink lips around the pink flesh of my shaft as she moved her mouth over me, around me, sucking me in. As her tongue twisted against mine I imagined it rolling the length of my cock, stopping at the curve of its thick head as she flicked her luscious tongue across the top, collecting the beads of cum now wasted on her panties. Her panties, I thought suddenly, as I recognized the slippery feel of silk against me.

Marissa's hips ground against mine as she straddled me and, through her thin silk panties, I could feel her pussy sliding the length of my shaft. The two inch width of paper thin fabric was the only thing keeping us from making a terrible mistake. One misplaced, abrasive thrust and it was all over.

My cock was precariously positioned between her hand and her pussy, with nowhere to go. But, shit, it felt good, and since I'd abandoned all logic at that point, I thrust back, enjoying the friction. Marissa responded, sliding her hand beneath my neck and pulling me against her. Her mouth was feral, carnal, and moved against mine with more passion than I'd ever experienced. Marissa's mouth was incredible and the deeper she kissed me, the more I wanted to feel it around my throbbing erection.

I found my hands winding up her sides and around her shoulders, spilling and twining through her thick waves, pulling her mouth closer, kissing her deeper. My cock was still pulsing in her hand and, shit, I wanted to fuck her.

"Put it in your mouth," I blurted against her tongue, realizing a moment too late that it was the absolute wrong thing to say. Kissing my drunk sister had already crossed a dangerous line. Her pussy chafing against my cock, her hand around me, those too were dreadful mistakes, but once we started messing around for real, well, that was pushing it beyond the realm of absurd.

For fuck's sake this was my baby sister. The same one I'd walked to kindergarten everyday because she was afraid to ride the bus. The same one I took to the park when our mom forgot to come home. This was the little girl I'd cooked mac and cheese for and read stories to every night, sequestered under our tent of blankets with a flashlight tucked beneath my chin. My sister, my only sister, the only person in the entire world I'd ever promised never to hurt, and meant it. This person, I had known since her very first breath and would know until my last, depended on me always to make the right decisions.

"No," I blurted frantically as her mouth left mine and her body began to snake down my chest. My hands tangled in her hair as I reached for her, my knees falling open as I sat up, fumbling through the dark to hold on to her. I felt her hands on my thighs, her nails digging into my skin as her beautiful, perfect mouth slipped over the head of my cock. My heart slammed against my ribs, beating, pounding, slamming again and again, as if attempting to escape. No! I screamed inside my head but the sensation, the feeling of her mouth around me was so glorious, so perfect, I couldn't stop her, not anymore, not even if I wanted to, and I wasn't certain that I did.

"Ah, fuck... Marissa," I groaned as her mouth consumed me. With a thud I fell back against the mattress, lost in the sensation of her lips, tight and warm, wet, gliding down my shaft. Her tongue, just as moments ago I had imagined it, so perfect, swirling along my shaft, exploring me, tracing the thick vein that ran its length. With every stroke she took me deeper, until I felt myself pierce the back of her throat.

Her hands wrap around my balls, delicately cupping them, cradling them, while gently running her long nails against their sensitive skin. A little moan escaped her chest as she held me deep, stroking my balls and sucking at the thick base of my cock, her mouth clutched tightly around me.

Now I couldn't conjure even one of the reasons I'd thought of before, the reasons this was wrong, so terribly wrong. Now I wished more than anything I had the nerve to turn on the light, to watch her beautiful lips wrap around me, to watch my cock sliding between them. Oh fuck I wanted to see that, to watch her as she took me deep, my shaft disappearing into her mouth and sliding back out, her glistening saliva coating me. God I wanted to see her take me whole, pumping me in and out of her mouth, her tongue flicking over the head of my cock when she let me pop out, the way her lips spread as I sank back in. The thoughts alone made me want to cum.

Again my fingers tangled in her hair, only now they encouraged her, silently begging her to fuck me with that sublime mouth. I tipped my hips toward her face, shoving my cock deeper, groaning as I felt it slide into her throat. I pulled back slowly, letting her mouth glide over me, her tongue flickering over the head, catching the little pearls of cum beading there. I urged her forward again, pressing myself back in, pushing as deep as she could take me. And she took me, all of me, until I felt her mouth reach the base of my cock. A coarse, humming moan filled her mouth, vibrating her tongue against me.

Again she slipped me out, more slowly this time, rolling her tongue along the bottom of my shaft and stopping at the delicate little spot beneath the head, where she flicked her tongue, tickling it. It drove me crazy, I no longer wanted to cum, I wanted her mouth to suck me forever, bringing me to the very edge and letting come down slowly.