The Morning After

The first thing Joey noticed was the smell.

Sex. Sweat. Perfume. Skin. It clung to the air like smoke after fireworks, heavy and sweet and human.

The second thing he noticed was that Juniper was gone.

He blinked, stretching one arm across the empty side of the bed, fingers brushing the warm imprint where she'd been. The sheets were a tangled mess of wrinkled cotton. They would need to be laundered. Or maybe replaced.

Joey smiled.

The sunlight pushing through the curtains hit the far wall, pale and gentle, like it was still deciding whether to fully enter the room. He laid there a moment longer, letting everything sink in. Not just the memories—though there were plenty—but the feeling of it. The warmth in his chest. The tension that had finally, finally let go of his shoulders.

He'd been inside his sister.

But somehow that wasn't the headline. Not for him. What stuck out more was her face, looking down at him. The way she'd whispered his name like a prayer. The way her hands clung to him like she'd never wanted to let go.

It was insane. Absolutely insane.

But it was also… kind of perfect?

Joey hadn't just had sex with Juniper—he'd connected with her. In a way he never had before. And yeah, maybe the path that led them there was off-the-rails batshit, but the destination? It felt more honest than anything they'd shared growing up.

Because the truth was, he'd always wanted her to see him. Not in a creepy way, not like how things turned out. Just—see him. As more than the loser little brother trailing behind her perfect life. As someone worth paying attention to.

And now? She couldn't look away.

He let out a long, slow breath. One part relief, one part disbelief, and maybe just a little satisfaction.

Out of habit, he reached over and grabbed his phone to see if there were any notifications.

Dad.

"Hey bud – just checking in. You doing okay?"

Joey stared at the screen for a second, blinking against the haze of morning light.

It was the first time he'd heard from his father all weekend. He hadn't even noticed how silent that part of his life had gone. With the party, the sex, the girls, the sheer velocity of everything spiraling into this new version of reality... Dad had kind of slipped off the radar.

But now that the message was there, Joey felt something tighten in his gut. Where was he? What had he been doing?

Joey typed back quickly:

"Hey dad – doing great. Where are you?"

He stared at the message for a second before hitting send, then tossed the phone back on the nightstand.

One more long breath. The room still smelled like Juniper. Like lust and heat and skin. It was disgusting. It was wonderful.

Joey sat up, rubbing his face with both hands, then ran them through his hair. Time to shower. Maybe eat something. See who was still around. The party was over, but his life felt like it had only just started.

He stood, stretched, and padded barefoot to the door.

What did the world have in store for him today?

Whatever it was, he was ready.