Man of the house

Morning comes early, but I hop out of bed teeming with energy. I check the alarm clock—almost seven. I feel an energy swell within me that isn't entirely due to the pill I pop into my mouth and swallow down, as I consider the past few days. I step into our upstairs hallway and gently close my bedroom door behind me, trying not to disturb anyone. The hall is silent.

I tip-toe into the bathroom and turn the shower on. Steam fills the room and I relax under the hot water beating down on me. I hear a knock on the door as I wash shampoo from my head.

"I'm in here," I call out, still trying not to be too loud.

A gap spreads around the door and I see the fuzzy outline of Kelly's face through the steam. "Hey bro, good morning. Almost done?"

"Yes, almost. Privacy?" I respond, my voice incredulous.

Kelly's giggle fades as she closes the door behind her.

A few minutes later, I dry off with a towel from the bathroom closet, then wrap it around my waist as I go back to my room. I open the bathroom door and see Kelly standing there, just on the other side, waiting. "Impatient?" I joke, tightening the towel around me to prevent indecent exposure to my sister. Her eyes dart down as I do so, and I can't help but imagine a look of disappointment in her downcast eyes.

"I just wanted to catch you before you start working," she says. Her eyes dart back to mine, and upon realizing I saw her gaze, a pink hue fills her cheeks. She nervously backs away from me and leans against the opposite wall of the hallway.

She is still wearing her pajamas, which do very little to hide her athletic figure and curves. A loose cotton t-shirt covers her chest, with two small protrusions telling me she is not wearing a bra. A pair of athletic running shorts cover the rest of her, if only a little. Neither do much to hide the muscle and curves she continually so hard to maintain.

A finger toys with her blonde curls as she continues. "Actually, I was hoping you would drive Colette and me to school today. If you don't mind, I mean. It's just... I'm kind of worried about Dan, after this weekend. I would feel safer with you watching over me. Even if it is just until I get inside."

I smile. I can sense her nervousness. "Of course," I answer. "I'll go get dressed. Come find me whenever you're ready to leave." I tighten the towel around my waist some more and notice Kelly's eyes flickering down again.

"Okay, thank you, Dom," she says. She pushes off of the wall and smiles at me as she goes into the bathroom. I hear the shower turn on as I head into my room and get dressed.

It takes her some time to get ready, so I sit down to work on some projects in the meantime. Almost an hour passes, and I hear a knock on my open door. I turn to see Kelly standing there, a different look upon her now. Her makeup is done in a tasteful minimalist style, highlighting her natural beauty. Her blonde hair is gently curled and pinned back behind her left ear, giving her a clean but youthful look.

She steps into my room with a smile and does a dramatic spin. "What do you think?" Her white dress, embroidered with large, fleur-de-lis-like patterns that blend into the base fabric, flares around her as she spins. She giggles, but the sound is lost on me as the short hemline of the dress raises just enough to reveal her creamy, toned thighs.

"Beautiful. Trying to make him feel bad?" I ask, my eyes raising back to meet my sister's, as she concludes her spin and leans against the doorjamb. She is a beautiful woman, I think.

"Something like that," she answers, looking away and grinning.

"Well, I don't think the glamor look is necessary to make that happen. Any man would have regrets just from seeing you in your pajamas earlier, much less this."

Kelly blushes and giggles again. "Where was this Dom the past four years? I could've used some of those compliments then, you know."

I sigh. "I know. Are you ready to go?"

She nods, leaving the moment behind us, and heads downstairs. I follow her out to the car and pop the trunk for her to place her bag into.

"Yo!" I turn to see Colette walking towards us, smiling. "Morning," she continues, her high-pitched voice nearly squeaking in happiness as she places eyes upon Kelly. "Girl, damn! Dan is going to lose his jaw this morning. And every other man within a ten mile vicinity."

"That's exactly what I said," I chime in. I grab Colette's bag from her and toss it into the trunk, and my cousin gives me a thankful smile.

"That thing is heavy as shit, you know." She rubs her shoulder with one hand, but her t-shirt gets in the way.

"I didn't know you like the Eagles?" I asked, looking at the band logo on her shirt.

She looked down and smiled. "They're not my favorite as a band, but Hotel California is an awesome song."

Kelly opens the rear passenger door and slides inside. "Wait, that's a band?" Kelly chimes in.

Colette rolls her eyes at me and joins her cousin in the back. "Hopeless," she mouths.

I can't help but laugh at the differences between the two girls as I pull out of the driveway. They chatter away behind me, bouncing from topic to topic with preternatural speed. I block most of it out until I hear Dan's name start to be mentioned repeatedly. I tune in--.

"Do you think he'll wait for you today?" Colette asks.

"I'm not sure," Kelly answers. "After this weekend, I don't want him to. It's over. I just hope he didn't cause a scene." A moment of silence as I hear some faint whispers.

"Wow," Colette murmurs, barely audible. "Fuck him."

"Yeah," Kelly agrees in a demure voice. I look in the rearview mirror to see her expression, but I realize I can't see anything. I adjust it until I can see her face. Kelly looks out the window, then back to Colette.

"Plans for later?" she asks.

"Swimming with Mom, I think. You want to come?" Colette answers.

"Sure. Right after school?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

I feel a poke on the back of my sleep. "How about you, Dom?" Colette asks. "Want to come swimming at my house this afternoon?"

"Sure," I answer. As if I could turn down an invitation to see these beautiful women in their bathing suits.

"Good!" Kelly says, and I see her grinning in the mirror.

The continue talking as we make our way to their high school. "Hey, think you can go to student parking and drop us there?" Kelly asks, pointing to a secondary entrance ahead of us on the road.

"Sure," I answer, and follow her directions. I park alongside a few other cars in one of the many clumps of vehicles that undoubtedly correlate to different cliques in the school. Kelly and Colette hop out of our old Camry, and I pop the trunk for them. I hear unfamiliar voices through the window and see some girls I have never met walk up to Kelly.

They point at me and Kelly nods. I roll down my window a little to better hear them. "Can I? Please? Come on, Kelly," one girl asks.

Kelly sighs, then nods again. "Fine, just don't be weird."

The girl giggles and walks over to my window. I continue rolling it down as she leans in. I immediately notice her generous cleavage, barely concealed by a low-cut top. I glance at it, then up to the girl. She has straight, light brown hair that would normally hang to her shoulders, partially binned back, and a smooth, mousey face. "Hi, I'm Mary. You're Dom, right?"

"That's me," I answer, smiling. I look over at Kelly. She watches us intently, with a strange look on her face. Colette talks to another girl behind her. My nootropic mind recognizes her crossed arms, flustered cheeks, and scrunched brow as annoyance. Obviously, Kelly does not want me to talk to Mary.

"I just wanted to say hi. I saw you at the lake house last weekend with Dan and the guys. That was crazy. I wish you had stayed around after." She bends over more, lowering her cleaves until it is perfectly eye level with me, and gently sways her chest. "We could've gotten to know each other a little."

"Mary! Quit being a slut with my brother!" Kelly calls, her annoyance now a look of anger. She quickly barges over. "I told you not to be weird!" She knocks Mary aside with her hips and replaces her, leaning down on the windowsill and placing her chin on her crossed arms. Mary giggles and walks away, giving me a demure wave as she disappears behind another car. "Sorry about her," Kelly says, grinning. "She's kind of a whore. But we love her."

"She wasn't bothering me," I answered, grinning back.

"You just like her tits," Kelly giggles, and I shrug. A month ago, I never thought I would hear Kelly talk to me like this. But it seems she is more vulgar than I thought, considering recent events.

"Well, I can't--," I start, but another voice interrupts me.

"Well, well, look who it is. The whore and her cheat of a brother." I turn aside from Kelly and see Dan through the windshield. Alone, this time.

I look back to see Kelly's soft grin replaced by fear. Her eyes are wide and afraid. Her breath halted. "It's okay," I assure her. I gently rub her arm with one hand, and she starts to relax. "Just go into the school and ignore him."

She nods and returns to Colette. Dan continues talking shit. "Where you going? Finding some other cock to suck? I know it certainly isn't mine." Dan smacks the hood of the car and laughs.

I sigh.

I open the door of the car and slide out. Kelly and Colette gasp behind me. "Dom, don't. He's not worth it, Dom," Kelly says, her voice high.

I turn to her and see a look of fear on both her and Colette's faces. The other girls behind them look on intently.

I control my breathing as I walked over to Dan and lean against the hood of the Camry. "Dan, right?"

The jock deflates a bit, a confused look on his face. "Yeah?"

"How's the knee?"

He looks down at it and winces. "Hurts like a bitch. Fuck you." His eyes glance back to meet mine, his anger returned.

I nod along, acting as sage-like as I can. "And you think you should talk to my sister like that, still? With me standing right here? And you standing there, alone?"

Dan looks around. His anger dissipates. "Uh," he murmurs.

"Look, Dan. I'm not going to fight you here. But I can assure you of one thing. If you continue harassing Kelly, your knee will be the least of your troubles. I'll use every resource at my disposal to systematically break you. Kicked off of the football team. Denied admissions. Losing your scholarship. You won't even be able to get a payday loan by the time I'm done. I'll make it so that every day for the rest of your life you are constantly reminded by how much you fucked yourself over."

Dan looks away, quiet. I hear a bell ringing in the background.

"Or, you can leave my family alone. Take your lesson and move on and never speak to me again. And I'll do the same. What's it going to be?"

"I... I'll leave her alone."

"Good. You may go now." I motion my hand towards the school, and Dan walks away in silence, shoulders sagging and head down.

As he disappears behind a car, a **** slams into me from behind. I slide off of the hood of the car and instinctively turn to defend myself. But a smiling blonde stops me.

"Oh my god!" Kelly purrs, "Dom, that was crazy. You just totally dominated him. I can't believe you just did that!"

"You're my sister. I'll always protect you," I say, simply.

She smiles and buries her head into her chest. "I've never felt like I had someone to protect me. Not since Dad died. Thank you."

I smile at her. "Of course. Let me know if he bothers you again, okay?" I look around and realize that everyone else is gone. The earlier bell must have been the school bell telling everyone to come inside. "Should you go?"

"Uh, yes," Kelly says, breaking away from me. She also looks around for a moment, then blushes. Before I can stop her, she steps onto her tip-toes and plants a quick, wet kiss on my lips. It isn't a romantic kiss, but it isn't entirely innocent either. "Thank you, again, Dom. You... don't know how much it means to me."

And then she is gone, jogging into school in a dress, flats, with a too-heavy bag sagging behind her. I trace my lips with a finger, the lingering sensation of her cherry lip-gloss still sending sparks throughout my body.