Who could have guessed?

You’re kidding me. I turned to see Charley’s head poking out her window, looking at me with a cheesy grin. But as she started to climb out, I saw something that made me freeze.

She had changed into the same pink crop top she’d been wearing when I walked in on her.

Are you actually fucking kidding me? Instantly all I could think about was her hand between her legs, her face flushed, moaning softly. Shit. This was not what I needed right now. “I was just about to go back in, actually.”

She rolled her eyes and climbed out to sit down next to me. “Are you seriously still mad at me?” She grabbed my Jack and Coke from me, taking a long drink.

“Oh, yeah. Help yourself,” I said sarcastically.

“Appreciate it.”

I sighed and looked out over the back garden, trying desperately to divert my train of thought to something more family friendly.

Charley clearly had other ideas. “Look, this whole walking in on each other masturbating thing doesn’t need to be a big deal,” she said. “It happens. I’m sure we’re not the first family members it’s happened to, and we won’t be the last. It’s weird for both parties – let’s just move on and not think about it.”

Pink elephant paradox in full effect, immediately it was all I could think about. The one second I’d seen before I slammed the door shut felt like a three-hour feature length film in my mind – the pale skin of her toned legs, toes curling as she gently caressed her perfect, trimmed pussy, nails and fingers glistening slightly as they got more and more wet with her juices.

In the background, I was vaguely aware of Charley talking about something or other. It was only when she paused, having noticed that I wasn’t listening, that brought me back to the present.

“Oh my god.” She peered into my eyes, then cracked up. “You’re thinking about it right now!”

“I’m not!” I protested helplessly.

She took another swig of my drink. “Seriously. I wouldn’t have guessed it at first, but with the way you’re acting you’d think it was the first time you’ve ever seen a girl naked.”

Obviously, that wasn’t quite true, but it still hit a nerve. “Oh sure, because seeing a girl naked is the extent of my issue here.”

“It isn’t?” she responded, eyebrow raised.

I suddenly realized my mistake. I knew what the problem was – namely, the rather significant obsession with her I’d had since the day we met. Of course, she just thought it was the same as seeing any other girl. If anything, it should have had less of an effect because we were family. Yeah, this isn’t a conversation I want to be having.

“So, did you get any action at Stanford or is your stepbrother the only guy you’ve ever seen naked.”

She smirked at my abrupt topic change, but didn’t call me out on it, which I was grateful for. “Here and there, nothing serious. It’s just not what I’m looking for at this age. I have a plan, you know.”

“Believe me, I know all about ‘Charley’s perfect plan’. But are you sure avoiding a serious relationship’s still a good idea? The dating scene isn’t getting any better, you know. Plus, a couple more years and you’ll be pushing thirty.”

She gasped and grabbed my drink back, glaring at me. “What happened to you?”

“Sorry?”

“Whatever happened to my sweet, obedient little stepbrother? You weren’t always this rude to me.”

I shrugged in response. I knew the answer of course – back then I had such a massive crush on her that I would never have even dared to joke around with her. Now … well, I wasn’t so sure. It was getting complicated, to say the least. Being drunk helped.

She sighed. “You really grew up, huh?” She was still looking over, but her gaze had softened. It was clear that the **** had gotten to her too.

“I guess. Maybe we both did.” I turned and looked back out across the garden, but I could feel her eyes were still lingering on me. We both sat in silence for a minute or two, but even through my bourbon-addled mind I could just about sense the mood shifting.

Charley was the one to break the silence. “Why were you masturbating the other night?”

“What?” I spluttered, immediately back on edge. “You … you said you wanted to move on and not think about it!”

She shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m curious.” She looked at me, and in the moment, I could have sworn there was a knowing look in her eyes. “The timing of it was … interesting.”

I had to try and steer the conversation away from any reason I might have had to jack off. “You want to talk about timing? Why the hell were you doing it right in the middle of the day? Anyone could have come in and seen you.”

“I don’t get a lot of time to myself,” she said, blushing a little. “I’m out most days. Besides, Mum has no reason to come in my room – I actually tidy up, unlike you. And you’ve just avoided it ever since we played in there when we were kids.” She sighed. “So, you gonna answer my question?”

I took a deep breath and decided to try and play it off. “It was the middle of the night, Charley.” I shot her my best attempt at a look of bemusement, trying to quash any ideas she might be having. “I’m a guy, at the end of the day. Wasn’t going to not do it just because of our … slightly awkward situation.”

She gave me a small smile. “Fair enough.”

Just drunken optimism I’m sure, but for now at least it seemed like I’d dodged the bullet.

“I am sorry about laughing at you,” she continued. I looked over, and felt the head rush as I turned. Maybe it was just the Jack Daniels talking, but I could’ve sworn she was sitting a bit closer than before. “There … there was nothing to laugh about. Seriously.”

“Um. Thanks,” I replied.

“I mean, really. You look good. Really good. I guess I never noticed.”

What is happening right now? I had absolutely no idea where this conversation was going, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about letting it play out. If I was smarter, I probably would’ve gotten up right there and went to bed. But thinking rationally had always been Charley’s strong suit, not mine. And now that she was drunk, we were in dangerous territory. It didn’t help that I was very much in the same boat.

As I sat there for a few seconds deliberating what I should do, she shot me another dirty look. “You just gonna sit there and soak up the compliments? You saw me naked too, remember.”

She must’ve taken my silence as an insult. “What do you want me to say, Charley?” I took a deep breath and met her gaze, as she waited to hear what I had to say. It was strange – I looked at her now and didn’t see her naked like she’d said, red-faced and eyes half closed, despite the fact that I hadn’t been able to get the image off my mind this whole week.

Here, now, I just saw her as she was – sitting next to me, her face glowing in the dim light coming through her bedroom window. “You’re beautiful. You know you are.”

I’m muddy about the particulars of what happened next. All I know is that a second or two later, she kissed me hard.