In New Arrangements

“Time for bed” declared your step-sibling, fussing with your hair as your head lay in her lap.

The past hour had been a glorious one… lounging there in a darkening room as she unpicked your pigtails. Absentmindedly forming them into various little plaits, only to unwind all that work and start again. Your shoulder-length mop of straight, blonde silkiness had always been one of the many excuses used to bully you at your all-boys, private high school, but you had stubbornly refused to have it cut down for this very reason. Jenny hardly seemed to need a moment’s free time in order to begin casually playing with those soft strands and caressing your sensitive scalp. It was just what she did while thinking on other things… yet the tingling sensations of it had always sent you into a mesmerised trance of comfort and tranquility. It was half an effort not to begin purring as those slightly-scratching fingertips wove their way into your soul.

Sleepily you dragged yourself to your feet… only remembering to quickly tug your skirt down a few seconds later. You hadn’t actually looked in on the sleeping arrangements of this tiny, little apartment you were supposed to call home now. There were only three rooms total, it would seem: The lounge with its small, tiled kitchen area behind the sofa. An especially cramped bathroom where the rusting bathtub effectively leant against a toilet... And then the bedroom you were now entering… Which mostly comprised of a large double mattress, left lying on the floor alongside one battered chest of drawers and an ancient-looking wardrobe.

One mattress. One.

The realisation set in upon you with all sorts of conflicting additions. Not only were you now living with Jenny alone, in a strange place so far from the servant’s wily eyes and her father’s damning judgements. She clearly intended for you to both share the same bed. Lying side by side through the hot summer nights while cars and screeching drunks wandered below that small window. The idea seemed so utterly… wonderful… that you could hardly bear to face it. You just stood in the doorway staring, twisting a foot in one uncomfortably-girly shoe.

“Something wrong Jay-Jay?” Asked your step-sibling, using yet another of her many nicknames for you. She was already half through the process of stepping out from the matching tartan skirt she’d been occupying. A camouflage you’d shared to avoid unwelcome questions from strangers as you dragged heavy bags of possessions across the city. ‘You were just two private school girls heading home for the summer. They made you wear the uniform right up until you left.’

“W-we’re sleeping together?” You stammered before you could stop yourself. Not really wanting to ask the question in case the answer was an obvious ‘no’. Instead, your step-sister just shrugged and looked around puzzled. As if the idea that there might be other options had never even occurred to her.

“Well, yeah… Just like when we used to go camping as kids. I guess I could go on the couch instead if you wanted?”

“No! ...no it’s fine. We’re just older now… I didn’t… Of course we can share!” You recovered yourself quickly from an outburst of the heart thumping in your chest. It was just like when you were kids. Brother and step-sister lying side by side in the darkness. Sharing small, sweet secrets and the smell of each other’s breath… Except for the fact that you were both eighteen now. And you were wearing her panties. And her breath might still contain traces of your new landlord’s semen.

She handed you a large and baggy T-shirt, that was again actually one of hers. Though you supposed if you were going to have to wear girly things everyday for a while it didn’t make much difference. You stripped down to just that pair of tight, white cotton panties before putting it on… still not quite believing you were now going to end up next to your step-sister for hours, wearing little but her own underwear. The two of you scuttled under the thin bed sheet, needing little protection from the stuffy warmth of this evening. She automatically took up position behind you, lying one arm under your pillow and pressing her identically-sized frame against yours. You slotted together perfectly, of course… whether by coincidence or interstellar design. Yet she was the big spoon that embraced you, and you were the one left staring into the shifting shadows for hours yet. Listening to the sound of your own heart in your ears and feeling the soft kiss of her every exhalation against the hairs on the back of your neck.