Ashley Ch. 06

Her reaction wasn't what I expected, but it fit her optimism perfectly. "Brian, disappointment is the last thing I feel right now. This is great news. Don't you see what's happening? Everyone wants us to be together. My friends, mom and dad, even Nikky. They all helped to make this date as wonderful as it is."

Unfortunately I didn't share her optimism. How could I, when this date that was supposed to have been for just the two of us, suddenly felt like nothing more than a bunch of suggestions from everyone except me. "That's not how they're going to see it, Ash. Your friends only helped me because they care a lot for you. They don't see us as anything more than close siblings. If it wasn't for our familial bond, they never would have given me the time of day. As for mom and dad, they only helped because they're just trying to be supportive parents. They don't have any idea about what we're doing. The last thing they'd suspect is their kids on a date together. And Nikky... she's still just a kid. She's too young to know what's going on. None of them understand the extent of our relationship."

Ashley abruptly stood up, gazing out into the darkness. "That's not true," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What isn't?"

"I never fully explained why I took you to the mall with me and my friends last Friday. Do you want to know the real reason for it?"

I wasn't sure if I did anymore.

"I wanted... I want my friends to find out about us. I want them to see the love I have for you is real, that it isn't just the kind siblings have. These feelings are impossible for me to keep bottled up. I have to let it out. I can't keep this a secret any longer. I know you dread the idea of anyone knowing about us, but what if I can ease people into our relationship? What if I can show them how madly in love I am with you? Then maybe they'll understand and be okay with us being together. Maybe they'll give us their blessings, wish us luck, help us like they have for tonight. That's what I tried to accomplish last Friday with my friends."

It was an outer body experience to hear myself respond in an anger that I would forever regret. "You can't be serious. Why would you do something foolish like that? This isn't a petty secret you can joke around with to your friends. This is our life together. You need to take this more seriously before you do something that gets us both hurt. Don't you realize how dangerous it is if they knew?"

The rise in temper was mutual. She turned around, her eyes filled with sorrow and distraught. "Dangerous? What danger? My friends are the only people I trust enough with our secret. If I'm not allowed to trust them, then there is no one else I can trust. We might as well keep this a secret from the whole world again. You said it was okay for us to be more open about our relationship. What made you change your mind? Does your stupid rule only apply to you? Is it okay if your friends found out but not mine? That only you get to decide who knows?"

I stormed up and grabbed her wrists. "That is not what I said. Don't put words in my mouth. Your friends are nice girls but I need more than one week to be okay with them knowing every detail of our life. You can't make these decisions without me."

"No, Brian, that's not how this works. You don't get to decide everything. I have every right to make these decisions on my own. Don't forget it was me who took the first step to where we are now. I took the biggest risk when I confessed my feelings to you. You could have laughed at me, hated me, be disgusted with me. But did I let my fears keep my mouth shut? No fucking way. I had the courage to act right then and there, to pour my heart out to you. When you said you felt the same way about me, I thought I had fallen in love with the right guy. But for all the sweet talking you did you sure as hell don't step up to your promises. Stop being a coward for once and find some damn courage. Otherwise you won't be able to stop me from doing this." She pulled free from my grasp with a strength her thin arms couldn't possibly have.

I reached for her, my hands moving as if time was coming to a standstill, except the girl fleeing from me was invulnerable to its effect. She stopped at the lake's edge, and yelled as if she had nothing else to lose than the love that was on the verge of falling apart. "I, Ashley Stafford, am in love with my brother. I love him more than any woman could ever love a man. I want to spend the rest of my life with him, be his wife, have his kids. I don't care what anyone thinks about us. No one can do a damn thing to stop me from loving my brother."

I could barely fathom the words coming out of her mouth. Ashley had done the unthinkable; she had professed our love to the world. I should have felt scared, anxious, furious. Her outburst was uncalled for and totally reckless. Yet for some unexplainable reason, I wished I could have had the courage to yell the same things right beside her.

By the time I was able to wrap my arms around held her shoulders in an impossibly tight hold, I had heard all I needed to hear. "Ashley, I'm sorry. Please calm down."

"No, I won't calm down. How do you expect us to take this any further if you're always afraid of the worst? I'm not going to calm down until you—"

I turned my troubled sister to me. Her body felt limp against my chest. Her sullen tears pierced my shirt. I held her trembling chin up, my hand filled with a pond of her sadness. I did the only thing I could to end her stream of sobs. I kissed her as if I had nothing else to lose than the love that took eighteen years to blossom.

Her lips remained lifeless. I nudged with my tongue, pleading for my sister's forgiveness. Of all the ways our love could have died, I never thought it would be from a fight on our first date. A fight that I started for no reason other than my own cowardice. That night was supposed to be a joyful occasion, a celebration of our love. We were alone at last. Not as siblings, but as lovers. The only tears she should have been shedding were of happiness. So why did I have to fail so miserably?

Unfamiliar tears obscured my vision, wetted my cheeks. I closed my eyes and prayed for strength. Any strength to hold my baby girl steady, any strength to keep her in my arms. The first time she ran from me hurt me more than her words ever could. I couldn't bear to let her escape again.

Ashley lightly touched my right cheek. Slowly, her lips parted as our tongues met. I hugged her tighter and exhaled relief into her mouth.

"Ashley," I began to say, before she touched my other cheek. Her fingers held me in place, unmoving from her lips. A loving kiss with my sweet, kind sister. It was what I needed to clear my head and make sense of this mess. A mess that I was selfishly trying to shift the blame on.

Ashley was the unfortunate victim of my insecurities. She did nothing wrong. Genuinely, she was the only one who did the right thing. She was being honest with her feelings.

Our lips separated after an eternity of self-thought. I opened my eyes, my perception clearer than it had ever been. "Ashley, I am sorry for the idiotic things I said. You are the smartest girl I know. The last thing I would ever do is question your judgment."

Her flow of tears had yet to cease. Ashley hid her right cheek in my shirt. "Oh god, I am so sorry for yelling. I don't know what came over me."

"I think I know. You're confused, frustrated, angry." She pulled on my jacket. Her refusal to look me in the face told me I was right. "You should be feeling all those things. I was stupid and trying to blame anyone but me. It's time I man up to my empty promises. I've been doing a lot of talking when I should have been taking action. You decided long ago you were ready to move onto the next stage of our relationship. It seems I haven't reached that point yet, no matter how much I try to convince myself that I am."

My heartbroken sister finally looked up at me. I wiped away the last tears from her damp cheeks. "Ashley, when you said you were trying to let your friends know the truth, I panicked. I shouldn't have, considering how much they already know, but I did out of fear. Things have been going so well between us that I was afraid of what might happen when things are out of our... out of my control. Why risk so much if we didn't have to? I was content with things just the way they were; secrecy isn't so terrible, I figured. But now I understand I was only delaying the inevitable. If we're to ever go beyond what we have, then I can't keep holding us back. I can't keep holding our future back."

"It feels like we're going in circles."

"Because we have been. But no more of that. From now on, the only direction we're going is forward." Kissing her forehead, I hugged my sister with all the affection I could muster.

It wasn't enough to prevent me from sighing wearily. "I'm the worst hypocrite in the world. Earlier this week I said we could be open about our relationship. Tonight I was accusing you of ruining it by being open."

"You were telling me what I wanted to hear before. Now you're being honest with your feelings."

"Am I really? I don't know what I should be feeling anymore. I could just be telling you what you want to hear again, and tomorrow I'll take it all back in another stupid fight."

"Then we'll fight," Ashley calmly said, knowing this wouldn't be our last. "We'll be angry and sad and say things we wish we never said. Then we'll make up and move on, knowing we learned another valuable lesson. It's all part of being in a real relationship."

"Sounds like we're going in circles again."

"It's a detour. Life's funny that way. We'll never know what it'll throw at us."

"Yet you're not scared of that uncertainty."

She scoffed. "I'm terrified of uncertainty, but knowing you'll be with me to face it gives me the courage to go forward."

"No wonder I'm so afraid of the future. You're hogging all my courage for yourself."

A soft laugh warmed my heart. "I'll save some courage for you next time." Ashley sniffed, moving her cheek from my tear-stained shirt. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, Brian."

"Stop that, you don't have anything to apologize for."

"Yes I do. I got make-up all over your new shirt."

"Do you honestly think I care about that?"

"But my make-up has to be a mess. I must look like a clown right now."

She couldn't be further from the truth. "You look like the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." To prove it to her, I gave her the longest, deepest tongue-filled kiss.

I didn't know how long we stayed in each other's arms, and I didn't care either. The public park was our very own private kingdom. Give Ashley a golden crown and she would have all she needed to be a queen.

Although I didn't have a crown on hand to give her, I did have something that came close. I pulled out a thin chain from a pocket concealed within my jacket. "Ash, can you turn around?"

She pouted while doing so. It was always a good sign when she pouted. "See, I do look like a clown. That's why you don't want to look at me and... oh my... Brian, it's beautiful. Is this—"

"Don't move yet. I still need to tie this on." I fiddled with the metal clasp behind her neck. "And there, all set."

Ashley spun around, showing me the gold heart between her fingers. "Brian, is this real?"

"I hope so. Otherwise the jeweler who sold me this gold necklace scammed me out of my life's savings."

"I mean I'm not dreaming, am I? This necklace is really for me?"

"Of course it's for you. I can't imagine you wearing anything that doesn't match your golden little head. You like it, right?"

"It's the best gift anyone has ever gotten for me."

My dad had said there are three ways to win a woman's heart: flowers, chocolate, and jewelry. Since I didn't know which was the fastest, I went with all three. He also advised me not to splurge on the first date, but I thought Ashley and I had gone beyond that stage.

"Let's go home," she said, leaving the heart to dangle in the middle of her neckline.

"Aren't you still having fun here?"

"I'm serious, Brian. Take me home." Standing on her toes, Ashley whispered into my ear, "I'm ready."

"You mean..." She nodded. "You really mean it?" Smiling, she nodded again.

My happiness level was off the charts. I almost tossed my sister into the air because of how quickly I lifted her off the ground. I twirled on my feet like a spinning top, going around and around until she cordially asked, "Aren't you ready to go home?"

I lowered her feet onto the grass. "Ashley?"

"Yeah, Brian?"

"I'll race you to the car."

Nothing like the sparks of passion to get the heart pumping. The two of us had never been fueled with so much adrenaline. Our bikes topped speeds reserved for dragsters as the tranquil scenery became a blur. Ashley out-pedaled me from start to finish, and hustled into the car first.

Ashley caught me sending out a text message from my phone. Leaning over the gearshift onto my shoulder, she nibbled on my earlobe. "Who are you texting?"

"Lilly to come get her bikes. I was supposed to do this secretly but since you figured it out, there's no point in—"

She hotly kissed me on the lips. "I don't need an explanation. Just go."

Had there been a police car on the road, I would have gotten a speeding ticket from how fast I was blazing through the neighborhood. The police would be hard-pressed to get me to pull over, however. As far as I was concerned, the law didn't apply to a guy who was about to make love to his sister.

I jammed the brakes in front of our driveway, the car coming to a screeching halt. Ashley and I busted out of the vehicle and into the empty house, our lips inseparable.

I trapped her against the hallway wall, savagely kissing her neck. "Yours or mine?"

Ashley pulled me from her neck and wetly kissed my mouth. "Your room. I want to freshen up and change into something more comfortable first."

That was fine with me. Considering how excited we were, if we didn't take a small break to calm down, we would have rutted right there on the hallway floor.

While Ashley was making herself comfortable in her room, I was making my room comfortable for the both of us. I lay sprawled on my bed, shoes off and tie loosened, when a seductive voice beckoned me back up. I half-gasped and half-groaned at the vision of beauty standing at my door.

The scantily-clad vixen, who had mysteriously replaced my lovely baby sister, came into my room wearing purple platform heels and a gauzy, maroon silk robe. The long, flowery tail draped the ground on which she passed, from the entrance to my bed. She pulled up the faux fur collar and performed a balletic spin to show off her exorbitant gown, dark lace bra, and incredible figure.

Ashley—or I thought it was Ashley—placed her hands on her bare midriff just above her matching panties. "Do I really need to ask?" She sure sounded like my Ashley. After I shook my head no, she looked around my room and then back to me. "This is unbelievable. You really went all out with the romantic decor."

Scented candles for a soft orange glow, sultry jazz music to set the mood, and a bed of roses to romanticize my bed. What's unbelievable was me setting up my room without burning anything. Our parent's unexpected announcement that they wouldn't be home left me unprepared for the occasion. I had to work faster than Superman to do a fraction of what I wanted to do with all the supplies. "This is your special night. I want you to enjoy it."

The temptress smiled and sat on my left knee. The smell of lilac couldn't mask the unmistakable scent of my sweet sister. "This isn't just my special night. This is our special night. You better not forget that." Yep, she was my sister all right.

"But no music," she firmly stated. "If I get carried away with the vocals, I don't want any background music to accompany it."

It was a simple request, one that I quickly dealt with. I motioned her up from my leg so I could turn off the stereo using a nearby remote. "Anything else I can do to make tonight any more special?"

Ashley crawled to the head of the bed and rolled onto her back, her robe spread beneath her. "You can help me out of this underwear for starters."

I was on my stomach and between her legs in a blink of an eye. Giggling, she said, "Slow down. We have a long night ahead of us. I don't want you to tire out in the middle of it."

She was right. The night was young and there would be plenty of time to make our first a memorable experience. Putting my excitement in line, I remembered a very important precaution. I scrambled off the bed, grabbed a box from my bedside cabinet, and scrambled back to my rightful position at her panties.

Ashley gave me a funny look as I opened the lid. "What is that?"

I flashed her the box. "Protection." Also known as condoms. As I tried to tear a plastic wrapper open, she sat up with her hand out to me.

"Here, give me that." She more or less snatched the condom from me. "Give me the box too." I did. Ashley placed the lone condom back in the container, then threw it at the corner of my room. The box bounced off the wall and into a trash can. "If those are still there when I wake up, you are never getting inside my panties again."

"You want to do this without any... are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything. I want to feel you, and only you, inside of me. Besides, we're still clothed so that thing won't do us any good."

If my penis could jump for joy, it would have done so at that moment. After trying on a condom that afternoon as a sort of practice run, I developed a quick dislike to the artificial feeling. Ashley's desire to do this naturally suited me just fine.

Hoping to reset the romantic mood, I lifted her legs up and lay under them on my stomach, my face inches from her panties. I breathed in deeply, filling my lungs with her arousing scent. As if it was more valuable than air itself, I nuzzled my nose into her lace-covered pussy and inhaled.

Intoxicated by her pungent essence, I bit down on the top of her panties. I grinned up at her elated expression as I slowly peeled the fine material from her hot center. No matter how big my panty fetish gets, I would always be more obsessed with my sister's private treats. Her pussy definitely looked more enticing since I knew I'd be sampling it shortly, with more than just my mouth.

I balled up her panties and kept them close to my nose. The lingering smell would have been a pleasant source of dreams for any man. "Put this scent in a bottle and you'd make millions."

"Uh-unh," she protested. "I don't want any other guy to have that part of me. My lust is only for you."

I smiled sweetly and stashed the underwear in my back pocket. It would take more than almost being found out by my mother to stop my panty-stealing ways.

Ashley opened up her folds as my head bowed down to her pussy. So many times have I seen it up close, so many times have I been captivated by the color. I nimbly extended my tongue and licked the pink flesh.

"Oooh, that's the spot," she lengthily purred. "Show me what you can with that marvelous tongue of yours."

My tongue and I were more than happy to oblige. Hooking the back of her legs, I pushed them toward her chest, giving my tongue more room to savor her femininity. I licked on and around her pussy, not venturing inside the way her rampant gasps begged me to. I looked up to her delightful face, watching her reaction.

Ashley watched me watching her, like a staring contest we used to play as kids when we were bored. Except neither of us were bored, and neither of us cared who blinked or laughed first. Though if we did, the game would have ended with a tie as we both smiled together.