Like Humans Do

“Sweat it out.”

That had been Exe’s advice the next morning when they met the next morning, both every bit as bothered as they’d been when they’d gone to bed.

“You feeling any better than last night?” She’d asked Megan that morning.

Megan shook her head.

“If anything, I think it’s worse.”

Exe looked messy that morning. She’d forgone makeup, and her hair, normally neatly styled, now flowed around her body in a frizzy, untamed ponytail. Something about seeing her in a more natural state, and wearing nothing more exciting than an old t-shirt and shorts, made her more appealing than ever.

Megan fought to dislodge the thought.

“Well, nothing worked for me,” Exe said. “So I’m gonna go sweat it out.”

Megan cocked her head.

“Sweat it out?”

“Yeah. Go on a long run. Do a workout. Something like that,” Exe said. “Just don’t swim. Not with that squid round.”

Exe winked at her, but Megan only blushed and pushed past the quip.

“I think that’s a great idea!” Megan said. “Let me throw on some leggings and I can join you!”

But Exe only held up her hand.

“Sorry. Not a group thing,” She said. “I still need some…space to deal with all this.”

Megan blushed, thinking of the night before, then nodded eagerly.

Still, her idea had been a good one, and Megan had taken her up on it. That’s how she ended up at Rachel’s gym, dressed in leggings, a t-shirt and the best shoes she could find on short notice.

“Megan! Hi!” Rachel called out as she entered.

She gave her a spirited wave to beckon her over. Megan approached, slightly unsure of herself now that she was actually here.

“Uhm…hi.” She said, shifting her bag and water bottle. “I’m uh…I wanted to try a workout.”

She didn’t think it was a good idea to explain exactly why she’d decided to do so.

“Well, come on down!” Rachel beamed. “We’re about to start a yoga class!”

Megan smiled. She hadn’t known where to start, and this seemed like as good a direction as any.

She was surprised to find the number of girls lined up for the class. Julie and Loretta were there, along with the Farras. That didn’t surprise Megan much, as she’d seen them together quite a bit around the island. AJ and Hannah were chatting as well. Counting her and Rachel, it meant that over half of the contestants were now doing classes together. Not for the first time, Megan felt touched at how eagerly she’d been included in something.

“Oh, hon, those need to go,” Rachel said, pointing at her shoes.

Megan frowned, her rising optimism replaced by embarrassment.

“Oh. I…I don’t have any replacements.”

“It’s okay!” Rachel said, waving the concern aside. “It’s better in bare feet anyway.”

She nodded and slipped out of her shoes. Rachel began to herd them into rows.

“We’re only waiting on one more,” Hannah said. “Can we wait to get started?”

Rachel nodded at her, then turned when the doors to the gym opened again. Megan’s heart fluttered and her breathing quickened as Emily entered the gym, naked but for a pair of tall blue athletic socks and white tennis shoes.

But the real difference in Emily from the last time Megan saw her was her attitude. It had only been a couple of days, but she no longer seemed so shrunken in on herself. She walked with her head high and back straight. Her eyes darted around the room self consciously, still, but she seemed a lot more comfortable in her own skin.

It made her more appealing than ever. Not that Megan had ever thought that of her before. Pretty, sure, and poised in the way Megan always envied in good looking women. But this was something else; a fiery and urgent need for her that was unlike anything Megan had ever felt before.

Emily’s baby blue eyes met hers, and she smiled and waved. Megan jumped, then waved back.

Geeze, Megs. Get it together, She chided herself as Emily approached.

“Hey you!” She greeted Megan with an endearing smile. “Finally decided to join us, huh?”

Megan **** a shy smile in return, trying (and at least partly succeeding) not to gawk at her.

“Yup! It was Exe’s idea,” She said. “I can’t take credit.”

Emily only winked at her.

“Of course you can! You took the step of coming here.”

She moved to the corner, tossing a messenger bag in the same area. God her butt was perfect; a gorgeous apple shape that-

“You might wanna close your mouth if you’re gonna stare,” Loretta’s voice said.

Megan whirled to find her leaning in, though blessedly also that nobody else was eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Sorry!” She squeaked reflexively, before quickly (and quietly) adding “Please don’t say anything.”

Loretta pantomimed zipping her lips, then gave Megan an encouraging pat on the butt.

“Alright!” Rachel called, clapping her hands. “We all ready to get going?”

The girls formed up into loose rows. To Megan’s dismay, Emily settled in directly in front of her. Emily looked over her shoulder to give her a smile, and must have seen the expression on her face. Her eyes closed into the smile, which widened slightly.

“Hey, you’re gonna do great!” She said. “If you struggle at all, feel free to tap out and do something simple. We’re all friends here.”

It was such a sweet thing to say that Megan relaxed in spite of herself.

“Thanks!” She said. “It’s my first time, so I appreciate it.”

As the workout commenced, Megan got a reprieve. It was hard enough to keep up with each successive pose, but she learned by watching; and watching Loretta, specifically. She kept her eyes off Emily as much as possible.

But it only worked for a time. Eventually, her eyes were drawn back to the beautiful woman in front of her, particularly as they all took something called a tree pose. Most of them seemed to handle it just fine, but by the time Rachel called for a switch, Megan was sweating profusely and struggling not to topple over.

Part of that was her still-somewhat-unfamiliar body, and part of it was her general lack of physical prowess. But most of it was the beauty in front of her. She’d mostly chalked up the term ‘weak in the knees to hyperbole. Now, she understood.

Dear lord, she could not do this.

When she was released from her pose, she tapped Emily on the shoulder.

“Excuse me,” She said, trying to sound as normal as possible.

If you had to try to sound normal, had you already failed? She dismissed this singularly unhelpful thought.

“Could we switch mats?” She asked.

Emily blinked at her, then nodded.

“Sure thing,” She said, patting Megan on the shoulder.

They swapped, and Megan gave a grateful sigh of relief. Now she could go through the rest of the motions without looking at Emily. She had no idea how to fix the fact that this whole exercise had made her more aroused rather than less. But at least she’d stopped the bleeding.

Or so she thought.

Their next pose was one Megan could barely even follow verbally, much less physically; a Natar-something-or-other that had them standing on one foot with their other held above them, one arm outstretched with the other grasping their upstretched ankles.

On Rachel, it looked elegant. For Megan, it was just clumsy.

“There’s no shame in dropping back to Tree Pose,” Rachel said, theoretically to the room, but actually to Megan.

“I’m fine!” Megan squeaked foolishly.

But she was not doing fine. She wobbled, slid backward toward the ball of her heel, steadied momentarily, then fell backward in an awkward sprawl.

It took her a moment to get her bearings; to understand that she’d even fallen in the first place, and then an additional one to realize that she’d landed right between Emily’s legs.

Staring up into her hoo ha.

Emily shrieked, and Megan rolled away, shielding her eyes. She was furiously stammering out apologies before she even knew she was doing it.

“Jesus. Megan, are you okay?” Rachel said, helping her to her feet.

“I’m fine,” She lied as she stood, burning with embarrassment. “I’m just…I should go.”

“Hey, you don’t have to do that,” Emily said, now having calmed down. “It’s fine, really.”

“No,” Rachel said, holding up a hand. “It’s a safe space here. Let’s give her some space.”

Emily looked like she wanted to argu, but she ultimatey obeyed. Rachel nodded once it was clear she’d offer no further protest.

“You’re welcome to continue with us, or you can try again another time,” Rachel said with a smile. “You’re welcome back any time. Nobody was born good at this.”

She patted Megan on the arm, and had to fight the urge to hug her.

“Thanks. Maybe another time,” She lied.

Then she turned and beat as quick a retreat as her dignity would allow.

She didn’t get far beyond the doors before they opened and banged shut again. This time, it was Emily, who hurried after her.

“Megan! Wait!” She called after her.

“Megan wanted to duck beneath her arm and run, but she **** herself to turn and address the girl.

“I am so sorry!” She blurted.

“It’s okay. Really,” Emily said as she finally caught up to her. “Megan…can I ask you something that might be a bit uncomfotable?”

Megan studied her own bare feet like they were strange, alien lifeforms.

“It’s difficult to imagine anything you could ask me that isn’t after that little display,” She said. “But go ahead.”

She saw Emily’s feet shuffle too, no right near her. She lifted her gaze until she was looking down into her eyes. She found a strange comfort in what she saw there. Emily looked almost as nervous as she was.

“Have you been…thinking of me lately,” Emily asked. “Y’know in a…”

She didn’t seem to know how to finish, but she didn’t have to. Megan swallowed and nodded.

Oddly, that seemed to loosen her up.

“Okay…I know this is gonna sound weird, but don’t sweat it,” She said. “I had a dream about you the other night. Y’know, a racy dream.”

Megan instantly took her meaning.

“Oh my god! Your curse!” She said. “That explains why I’ve been so crazy obsessed with you all the time!”

Suddenly, she realized what she’d said.

“I just meant that, y’know, I”ve had some daydreams of a…maybe not so appropriate nature,” She corrected.

That sounded even worse. But Emily was giggling.

“It’s okay, Megs. Don’t sweat it,” She said. “They’re hardcore fucking with our heads.”

For the first time since Emily had walked into the gym, Megan was starting to get ahold of herself. But a question passed from her brain to her lips before her better judgment had a chance to stop it.

“Does that mean you’ve been…y’know, thinking of me the same way?” She asked.

Emily bit her lip, then nodded.

“Can’t help it,” She said. “Although honestly, Megs, I always thought you were really cute.”

“I…really?,” Megan stammered, more pleased than she cared to admit. “Thank you…”

Emily giggled again. She really was gorgeous when she smiled.

“Absolutely. The dimples. Your legs. And you’re a fabulous dresser,” She said. “I know you really don’t mean to be, but you were beautiful even before they ever started messing with you.”

“I mean, that’s really sweet and all,” Megan said. “But you’re sure you’re not just saying that because, y’know…”

She twirled a finger around her ear to indicate her meaning. But Emily only shrugged.

“I’ve always swung both ways,” She said. “If anything, I think Jake is more an exception than the rule. But I at least think I’ve always noticed.”

Megan wasn’t sure what to say to that, and only picked at her leggings.

“I really want you,” she mumbled unwittingly. “I’ve never felt that way about anyone before.”

Emily smiled sweetly and reached out to turn Megan’s chin. She planted a gentle kiss on the corner of her lips.

“I’m not saying no, but why don’t you wait until it’s on our terms,” She said. “You’re a sweet girl. I wouldn’t wanna do anything we regretted, y’know?”

Megan gaped.

“But you’re…you…Jake!”

This time, Emily’s smile had a weary quality to it.

“I’m in love with Jake. And I really do mean that,” She said. “But I also know he’s…already not held the faith like he wanted to.”

Megan moved toward her a step, half opening her arms for a hug, but without the confidence to go through with one.

“I’m really sorry to hear that,” She said. “Are you okay?”

Emily shook her head.

“No…its okay,” She said. “I gave him permission. And got it from him. Though….if I’m being honest, I kinda shot first on that one.”

She brushed back a long strand of hair. She’d let it grow all the way to her hips, and she couldn’t seem to help but playing with it.

“I know he wouldn’t have without all of this,” She said, making a sweeping gesture toward the resort grounds. “I wouldn’t have either. But it’s the world we’re living in, right? I think it’s gonna turn into an epidemic sooner rather than later.”

Megan didn’t know what to say to that.

“Well…I am his sister,” She said. “As incredibly tempting as it is.”

Emily only shrugged.

“Do you care? I don’t.”

Megan made a seesawing gesture with her hand.

A strange sort of madness to reach out for any new experience overtook her. She reached out to take Emily’s hand, and clumsily pulled her into a kiss. Emily tensed in her arms for a moment, but eventually leaned in.

She had no idea what she was doing. But for once, Megan Cooper overthought nothing. Her tongue danced with Emily’s, she traced her hand down the back to the exquisite curve of her rear, and ran her fingers through that wonderfully luxurious hair. She cooed in real delight, perhaps the first she’d ever felt, as Emily held her tight and returned the kiss.

*****

“Megan,” Jake interrupted, “Are you about to tell me you had sex with my girlfriend. Please tell me you didn’t have sex with my girlfriend.”

“I didn’t have sex with your girlfriend!” His sister squeaked. “I promise, really!”

The redness in her face was all the proof he needed of that. He relaxed.

“I’m sorry. I’ll stop talking about it,” Megan said. “I told you it was awkward.”

Jake suddenly felt ashamed of himself. Yes, it was uncomfortable of him to ask this of her, and she’d even warned him of that when he had. But he’d wanted to hear her out, and he sort of owed it to her to do so.

“No, no,” He said, voice softening. “I’m sorry. It’s…weird all around, but so is everything here.”

He put a hand on her shoulder.

“No pressure if you don’t wanna keep talking,” He said. “But I think it would be good for you.”

Megan seemed to think it over for a moment, then nodded.

“It would be. And I really didn’t…you know…”

Jake nodded.

“Yeah. I got that. But what did happen?”

*****

Megan liked her first kiss with a girl so much that she took another one, and then another still. But her annoying brain did eventually turn itself back on. Here they were, standing in the main thoroughfare of the resort, making out in broad daylight. She drew back sheepishly.

But as she opened her mouth for another reflexive apology, but stopped as Emily shook her head.

“It’s okay. But I think I was right the first time,” She said. “This is a mistake, because we’re both pretty mind borked right now.”

Megan took a long, deep breath and let it out, closing her eyes to block Emily out.

“No. You’re right.” She said, “I’m just gonna go…”

She turned to do just that when Emily slipped her hand into hers.

“Hey. I meant what I said,” She told her. “If we decide we wanna try this again when we’re not being compelled to…my answer isn’t necessarily no.”

Megan thought that over for a moment, then nodded.

“And what I want isn’t necessarily yes,” She said. “But we’ll just see later on, then, I guess.”

Emily squeezed her hand and gave her a weak smile.

“I’m gonna go back to class,” She said. “I’m trying to do some more normal stuff since like…all this happened.”

Megan nodded.

“Yeah. And I hope you don’t take it amiss if I take a powder. It was a good idea as social activities go, but under the current circumstances, it’s just ****.”

“You could always pick a new spot,” Emily suggested. “Rach wouldn’t mind.”

But Megan shook her head.

“No. I mean, you were part of that, but I was rather aroused before I even showed up,” She said. “I don’t know what the solution is, but it seems clear enough that yoga around a bunch of beautiful women isn’t it.”

Yet for all her talk, Megan was still ****. And there was still one last shot she could think to take to get some relief.

*****

“Okay. So you and Em made out for a bit, then decided it was a bad idea because you were under the game’s influence and she was my girlfriend,” Jake said. “Megs, I know you guys are being mind fucked. And you didn’t even really do anything. Why on earth do you think I’d be mad about that?”

“Yeah…I mean, that’s all that happened,” Megan said. “I guess that’s fair. It just seems weird given all the relationship overlap.

“And dont’ worry about Emily, either,” He added. “You didn’t make her uncomfortable long term. She probably knows better than anyone what her curses are doing to people.”

Megan looked puzzled.

“I’m not worried about her. She was the one who did the responsible thing.”

It was Jake’s turn to be confused.

“Well, you said you were worried you’d made a friend of mine really uncomfortable,” He said. “So if it’s not Emily…”

Megan blushed and looked away from him. This, too, felt like a story he should probably ask about.

“Uhm…Megs?”

Megan closed her eyes and she sighed.

“Well…I did go through one last indignity during all this,” She said. “But in fairness to the universe, this one was self-inflicted. And in fairness, I got a ton of good out of it. But it was certainly an embarrassment.”

*****

She found AJ sitting on the dock of a bay. She was dressed in a breezy, flowery red summer dress that was at once totally incongruous with her tattoos, and all the more appealing because of them. Her largely bare legs dangled down into the water, and she sat next to a fishing pole that she didn’t seem to have much interest in and a six pack of beer bottles that she did.

AJ turned her face up to Megan and smiled broadly when she approached.

“Heya, Megs!” She greeted, “Whatcha up to?”

Megan fidgeted with the hem of her skirt.

“Well, I was actually coming to see you,” She admitted.

AJ cocked her head.

“Oh yeah? What can I do ya for?”

Megan let out a nervous giggle in spite of herself.

“Uh, well…that’s kind of what I was here about,” She said. “I was wondering if…well, if you’d be interested in having sex with me.”

AJ threw back her head and laughed uproariously. She kept on doing it, unable to control herself, until finally, gasping for breath, she asked.

“Okay, okay…Who put you up to that? You gotta tell me.”

Megan turned a plum red.

“Nobody! I was just…I thought…” She began to turn away.

Truly, she was finding revolutionary new vectors in humiliation this week. This one she’d even brought entirely on herself.

“Nevermind. I’ll go now. Back to the hotel, or maybe just straight into the ocean.”

She began to scurry away, but AJ stopped her. She stood, placing a hand on her hip.

“Megan…you’re not asking me about this just because I’m gay, are you?”

That was certainly a large part of it, and Megan could instantly see how that might have been offensive.

“Well…no. Not just that,” She said. “I mean, I met Dana and Andi and just kind of assumed I was your type. And you’d mentioned you were…y’know…really needy in that way.”

AJ snorted a laugh.

“You ain’t far off, but you’re not quite my type,” She corrected. “In that you’re not completely insane.”

Megan rather questioned that at the moment, but kept that thought to herself.

“And as for needy, I’ve been doing better taking care of that lately,” She continued. “But Megs…do you even play for my team?”

*****

Jake chuckled in spite of himself, then let out a full blown belly laugh.

Megan cocked her head at him.

“Did I say something funny?” She asked.

“No…no.” He said, gaining control of himself. “I think I just figured something out is all. Go on..”

She looked puzzled, but continued her story.

*****

“I don’t know!” Megan snapped, her frustration boiling over.

She stamped her foot. Suddenly, all of the pressure she’d placed herself under, all the plans she’d laid and grades she’d made seemed somewhat hollow. They were achievements, and important ones she’d been proud of. But she suddenly realized a horrible truth about herself. Megan had spent so much time setting herself up for the future that she’d utterly neglected to live in the present.

All the unknowns about love, parties she’d never attended, friends she hadn’t made and experiences she’d never had crashed down on her in an instant. And she was furious. Not at AJ, or her curses, or whatever it was now making her feel this way, but at herself.

Belatedly, she became aware that tears were streaming down her cheeks.

“I don’t know anything. That’s the problem,” She said, furiously wiping them away. “And I don’t know how to learn, either.”

AJ stepped forward and took Megan in her arms, giving her a hug. She relaxed into it, returning it gingerly.

“Come on, take a seat,” AJ said when she let her go.

The two sat on the dock as AJ popped the cap on a beer.

“There’s no shame in all that, y’know?” She said. “Being a virgin or a late bloomer. Any of that.”

“Easy for you to say,” Megan grumbled. “You’ve got it figured out.”

AJ snorted.

“Nobody has it figured out, hon,” She said as Megan settled in on the dock beside her. “Anyone who tells you otherwise is full of shit.”

Megan dipped her feet down into the water, enjoying the way the waves licked at her ankles.

“You seem to,” She said. “You’re so…cool, and confident about who you are.”

“I wasn’t always,” AJ responded quietly. “Megs, I didn’t come out until I was a sophomore in college. And that wasn’t like, me admitting to my friends. It was mostly me admitting to myself.”

“I knew that, actually,” Megan said. “He’d mentioned that he’d suspected it before you did.”

AJ laughed.

“Yeah, we’re always the last to know,” She said.

She grew more somber then, looking out at the water.

“I couldn’t figure out why I kept failing at every relationship I ever tried to have,” AJ said. “Turns out I was going after the wrong ones. I guess deep down, I kinda knew, but…it’s not an easy thing to admit to yourself that you’re not who you thought you were.”

Megan listened, and nodded.

“How did you break out of that?”

AJ grinned and shook her beer bottle.

“****!” She said, “Got me some good ol’ liquid courage and strolled into one of the city lesbian bars. I won’t get into the gory details, but I basically had to **** myself to confront it.”

“It sounds like you at least had an idea of where to start,” Megan said, crossing her arms. “I don’t even know how to do that much.”

AJ put a hand on her shoulder.

“You shouldn’t **** it,” She said. “I’d had enough sex with guys by the time I pulled that to know that something wasn’t working for me. Don’t take this wrong way, Megs, but you trying to do that is sorta like going from the kiddie pool to the diving board.”

Megan nodded. She wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t exactly actionable advice either.

“But how do I start?” She asked, quietly.

AJ shrugged.

“I dunno. But start by taking yourself out of your comfort zone,” She said. “Have some fun. Loosen up. Try to find that thing that gets you excited.”

Megan sighed.

“I thought I knew what that was. But I guess that was more of a band-aid, now that I think about it.”

AJ examined her over the ridge of her sunglasses.

“Oh yeah? If you’re comfortable with it, do you mind sharing?”

Megan sighed. She supposed it couldn’t be any worse than her faceplant a few moments ago.

She told her about the libraries. The old steamy books. What she did with them, and where. She expected AJ to laugh, but she only smiled instead.

She snapped a finger and pointed.

“See? There ya go?” She said. “That’s your first clue right there.”

Megan shook her head, confused.

“My first clue on what?”

“Well, you like the idea of intimacy at least, otherwise that wouldn’t do anything for you,” AJ said. “And you’ve got either an exhibitionist streak or a risk taking one.”

Megan blushed.

“That honestly doesn’t sound like me at all.”

“Oh yeah? Then why the libraries? Why someplace so public?”

She thought about that, and it sent a ripple of heat through her. There was something about the idea of being caught. About doing something she wasn’t supposed to.

AJ seemed to watch the change her face, and nodded.

“See? There you go,” She said, giving her a gentle punch on the arm. “You really want my advice? Find that loose threat and pull on it.”

“I just wish the only guy around here wasn’t my friggin brother,” Megan said. “Not that I’m not…y’know, open minded. Just…options would be optimal.”

“Yeah, we all got kind of a shit hand here. Though you got it worse than most,” AJ said. “But hey…don’t get so hung up on the sex.”

“You’re right,” Megan said, swishing her feet in the water. “There’s a lot I need to experience and learn about myself.”

“And if you figure all that out for yourself, the sex will figure itself out on its own,” AJ finished for her.”

Impulsively, leaned over and kissed AJ on the cheek.

“Thanks, AJ!” She said, standing up abruptly. “I’m uh…sorry my proposal was so awkward.”

AJ gave her a dismissive wave.

“We’ll chalk it up to nerves and frustration and shit,” She said. “You feelin better?”

Megan nodded enthusiastically.

“Not only that, but I think I have a plan!” She said. “Thank you so much, AJ!”

AJ smiled.

“Anytime. And don’t be a stranger. I know I”m like, Jake’s friend or whatever, but I never had so many friends I couldn’t use another,” She said. “Feel free to come hang and shit.”

“I’ll do that!” Megan said, and meant it. She’d be doing a lot more from now on, she decided. “In the meantime, though, I am exhausted. I think Jake’s gonna be out of his place for a while so I’m gonna head up there and crash.”

She turned to leave, then stopped.

“AJ…can I ask one more thing. I know how it’s going to sound, but I promise it’s not about my folly earlier.”

“Oh my god, stop beating yourself up over it,” AJ groaned. “What’s up?”

“Have you been…unreasonably…I mean, excessively…” Megan stammered.

“Spit it out!” AJ said.

“Aroused. Y’know, horny?” She said, forcing the words out. “To an unusual degree, I mean.”

AJ chuckled.

“I mean, I’d certainly been pretty tempted. There’s some…scintillating company around here. But nah, I been doing alright. Any reason you ask?”

Megan frowned. If there were all being microdosed with pheromones, the effect wouldn’t be localized to her Exe.

“Nothing. Just a little detective work,” She said. “Thanks again, though.”

And with that, she headed back toward the main building.

*****

Jake smiled as Megan finished her story.

“God I love that woman,” He said. “Asking her to sleep with you wasn’t the best move in the world, but I’m glad you talked to her.”

AJ +2VP

“I am too,” Megan said. “She got me thinking about some really good stuff.”

“So is that all? It kinda sounds like you met here right before you came here.”

Megan nodded.

“Yeah, that was it.”

“Doesn’t sound so bad, on the whole,” Jake reflected.

“You weren’t there,” Megan said. “I can assure you, the last few days were very humiliating.”

He shrugged.

“Fair enough,” He said. “So what do you wanna do now that you’re here?”

Megan yawned.

“Anything that can’t feasibly put me into some sort of compromising situation,” She said. “Which I guess rules out pools, anything in the kitchen and…I dunno, anything that would involve a changing room.”

“How about we watch some movies?” Jake suggested.

She was a film, as well as literature hound, and it was one of the things they’d managed to bond over as adults.

“I think that sounds like a great idea!” Megan agreed, hopping off the bed with a yawn.

That was a portent.

Despite the film abruptly switching midway through from Masaki Kobayashi’s The Human Condition to a particularly steamy scene in the 2002 erotic comed Secretary, Megan was fast asleep and gently snoring against his shoulder, and thus saved from any embarrassment.

Jake turned the movie off and gave her a gentle shake, prodding her just awake just long enough to guide her over to bed, where he tucked her in and pulled off her glasses. She gave a contented little smile as she drifted back off to sleep.

Jake gathered a pillow, blanked, and prepared to spend a night on the floor.

He woke the next morning to find Megan awake on his porch writing in a notebook. She’d picked a red, short summer dress for herself with dark legging that, and had done her hair up in a cute overshoulder braid.

“Morning, Megs,” He said, stretching stiffly, “You’re up early.”

“I fell asleep early,” She said. “I figured I could get some reading done. You didn’t have to sleep on the floor, y’know.”

Jake waved the concern off.

“You didn’t have to stick around, either.”

She beamed up at him.

“Yeah, but I thought I’d say thank you for hearing me out yesterday,” She said. “And being a good guy about that stuff I told you.”

“No problem,” He said. “What’re you writing there?”

Megan smiled.

“I’m putting a list together of things I’ve never done before,” She said. “And that I want to do before I leave the island. AJ’s right. I need to find myself and this is a fun place to go about it.”

Jake chuckled and shook his head. Yesterday, she was humiliated. Now she seemed to think it was fun.

“Well, I’m proud of you,” He said. “That’s a pretty awesome goal.”

“Yup!” She agreed, springing to her feet. “And now that I’ve had a chance to say thank you, I’m going to head out there and get to it.”

She clutched the book to her chest, standing before him.

“Promise me you won’t hide away in here all day, okay?” Megan said. “I know there’s at least a few of us who’d really like to hear from you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jake said. “Although isn’t this a bit of the pot calling the kettle black? You were hiding here in yesterday.”

She shook her head.

“Not hiding at all! I was just taking a little break. That’s all,” She said. “Overall, I’m really pleased with the events of the last few days. They were embarrassing, but they were a wakeup call.”

She looked up at him and smiled.

“Consider me arisen! And if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some fun to chase.

And with that, Jake's strange, bemusing little sister made her way out the door.