In the waiting room, with Louise, trying not to be awkward.

They arrived at the doctor with barely another word spoken between them, John far too embarrassed and confused to mention anything about his sister flashing him her panties, somehow for the second time that day.

Only when they walked through the door to the waiting room did she finally speak. ‘You’re not getting all weird on me now, are you?’

John shrugged, unsure of how to begin to answer something like that.

‘Look, I told you, I was messing around in the car. You don’t have to get all awkward like you are, right now.’ She playfully punched his arm. ‘You’re my brother. It was just a stupid joke.’

‘It’s fine,’ he finally agreed, if even to just get her to be quiet. They approached the receptionists desks, where John asked for the next available doctor. After filling out a required form, he was asked to take a seat and await further instructions.

‘It doesn’t feel fine,’ Louise continued, once they were seated and out of anyone else’s earshot. ‘Why are you being so weird?’

John scoffed in disbelief. ‘Why? Louise,’ he said, bringing his voice down to a whisper when one of the other two waiting patients glanced in his direction. ‘You can’t just… show me things like that. You said it yourself, we’re siblings.’

‘Jesus, John. You’re blowing this way out of proportion. Yes, we’re siblings, that’s why I thought I could play a stupid joke on you and you wouldn’t get all antsy. I guess I was wrong.’

He shook his head, far from expecting his morning from turning out like it had. ‘Just, don’t do stuff like that. Please.’

‘Like what?’ Louise asked. Before he could answer, he felt a hand grip his knee. He looked at her, but she patiently waited rather than clarifying her question. ‘Don’t do stuff like what, John? Tell me.’

He swallowed as she squeezed his leg a little tighter, biting her lower lip in what John could only interpret was arousal, despite the last ten minutes of conversation they’d had.

‘What are you doing?’ he asked, trying to sound assertive.

‘Say it, John. Say to me what you don’t want me to do.’

John looked away and pushed her hand from his leg, sighing. ‘Don’t show me. Your panties.’ He tried to block the image out of his mind as he said the word.

Louise giggled as the word left his lips, his obvious discomfort adding to her amusement. ‘You are so fucking easy to get all riled up. Just relax, man. You’re going to stress yourself out.’ He sighed as she leaned closer to him, her breath hot in his ear as she whispered, ‘besides, you’re the one who admitted to looking at your little sister’s panties. You brought this on yourself.’

John turned to her and opened his mouth to argue, but before he could think of any suitable words, another voice rang through the room.

‘John Doe?’

He looked up to see the owner of the deep, female voice; a tall, smartly-dressed woman holding a form stood in the entrance to a hallway.

‘Hi, yes,’ he answered and stood, grateful that the doctor had arrived to take him from the conversation with Louise. ‘That’s me.’

She approached them and held out her hand to shake. ‘Hi, John. I’m Doctor Kate Harper. I’ll be looking after you today.’ He nodded as he studied the woman, perhaps the same age as his mother, yet alarmingly beautiful. Her dark blonde hair tied up in a bun, her tight body complimented by her even tighter pencil skirt and blouse. ‘If you’ll both just follow me to my office. Oh, I’m sorry. If you’re both coming in, that is.’

John turned to Louise and opened his mouth to speak, not taking into account her own feelings towards the answer.