David's POV: Caught Between A Rock And A Hard Place

The dishes were done. Both women had disappeared. Women? Yes, I finally had to accept that Nele was no longer a little girl. Physically, she hadn't been for years. And since her 18th birthday, she wasn't a girl legally either. She could do whatever she wanted, even if I didn't always like it.

The house was suspiciously quiet. Lisa had brushed past me so closely that our bodies touched and my skin was still tingling. She was probably upstairs now. In the guest room or the bathroom. I didn't know. Nele had left immediately after breakfast without a word and without even glancing at me. I hadn't seen her since. Maybe she had gone back to bed, offended. Maybe she just wanted to get away from both of us.

I couldn't blame her. Lisa was so pushy and full of herself. She thought the whole world belonged to her—especially the men in it. And that flirting. Of course, I enjoyed having a young, attractive woman pay attention to me, even though I was sure she didn't mean it. She couldn't mean it, because she was my cousin, after all.

But I could imagine how it must have looked to Nele when her father—even if he was only her stepfather by marriage—was being hit on. Of course, she had every right to be angry.

I wanted to go to my study, but stopped halfway down the hall and rubbed my neck. The day felt like I was sitting on a volcano about to erupt. What was going on with those two?

While I stood there brooding, Lisa jumped down the stairs, taking two steps at a time. She was barefoot. Again. And she was wearing something new. Or old. I couldn't tell. A men's shirt that was just long enough to pass as decent. I recognized it. One of mine. Why?

She stood directly in front of me without explaining anything. Her arms were crossed, which accentuated the contours of her breasts under the fabric. Her smile was not warm, but cold and calculating.

“David,” she said in a low voice. “You're avoiding me.”

“I'm not...” I began, but she cut me off.

“Don't lie. You always do that when Nele is around.”

The accusation hit me like a blow. I started to stutter. “I... no... that's not true...”

“You don't take her seriously.” Lisa tilted her head. “No. You don't. And that's the problem.”

I looked at her, at a loss. What was she getting at?

She smiled more broadly. “She's not a child anymore. You can see that, can't you? She can handle it. You've told her about sex, haven't you? And she's probably already having sex with... does she have a boyfriend?

My mouth was suddenly dry. “Lisa, I don't think this is the right topic...”

“No. It's not about what you think. You refuse to see it. You're suppressing your feelings—for me...” Her voice grew quieter, as if she were revealing a secret. “...and especially for her. Can't you see how much it hurts her when you don't treat her like a woman? You should see her eyes when you don't look at her.”

I took a step back. She immediately closed the gap between us.

“You ignore her. And that makes her angry, makes her fight harder and harder for your attention. She sees me as competition. She wants to outdo me,” she said, her grin widening. “And I like that.”

I didn't move. I couldn't. Her body was too close to me. Her perfume enveloped me like a spider's web. I was the fly.

She stood on tiptoe and leaned forward. A whisper: “Do you like it too?” Our lips came closer.

Then...

A soft noise. Barely audible. A creak on the stairs.

Lisa heard it too. She turned her head. Her gaze darted upward.

“She's listening, isn't she?” she whispered. Confidentially. Stealthily. It wasn't really a question, but a statement.

I nodded. A thousand alarm bells were ringing in my head.

Lisa put a hand on my shoulder and leaned against me, so close that I could feel her breasts through my shirt against my chest and her hot breath on my ear.

“You're in so much trouble, David,” she giggled. “And we haven't even really started yet.”