Homelands Pt. 02 Ch. 03

"Probably because there's no straight answer. Just didn't. No particular reason."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Is that so?"

No, there was more to it than that, I thought. There had to be, didn't there? But I couldn't for the life of me think what the real answer was. On some level, it felt like just yesterday I'd been young enough that no one thought to ask why I'd "never" married.

Where had the time gone? Why did everything between my last year of college and now seem like something I'd read about instead of something that had actually happened to me?

"You're not asking if I'm gay, are you?" I asked.

She blushed more deeply. "God, no. I've heard some of...no." She laughed, a bit too emphatically. "Nooo. I was thinking more that you're afraid of commitment. But that seems strange, since Todd has always made you sound like the more sensitive one. Of course, a pile of rocks is more sensitive than my Todd, but still." My sister-in-law eased across the counter closer towards me. "Is that really it? Never been much of a one-woman man?"

"Nah, that's not it. I mean that didn't stop Todd."

She slapped my arm and I almost dropped the plate. "Jackass."

"Seriously. You make it sound like I'm one of those guys who's always ending relationships the minute the woman starts dropping hints about marriage. But that never happened."

"So, what, you've never even been in a serious relationship?" Holly asked.

I thought about it. "A few, back when I was young."

"That's," she laid a hand on my arm gently, "sad."

"I guess it might sound it. But I'm not lonely or unhappy. I mean, not everyone wants married life, believe it or not. I'm not trying to disparage it. I understand it works for a lot of people. Not as many as try to make it work for them, maybe, but still, lots of people. It's just that I'm a terrible workaholic, and relationships take time."

That almost felt like it was true.

But probably only because I'd been one of the few students in college who was capable of realizing that my professors were actually people, and the ones that were active with their research did seem to be serious workaholics. So maybe the detail only rang true because I was sure it would fit if I actually was who I claimed to be.

"So you never wonder what it's like to know that there's always going to be someone there to warm your bed?" she asked.

"Sure. And you know what I really fantasize about? Having to negotiate about every little thing, from credit card bills to what's for dinner and what movie to watch. And I can't believe I missed out on two years of sleep deprivation, vomit, and diapers."

"Do any of you actually speak English? It's all sarcasese, all the time with you guys," Holly said with a faint smile. "So I guess your right. Having to spend holidays with this family is definitely one of those terrible sacrifices marriage involves making."

I finished the food, gently laid the plate in the sink and ran some water on it. When I turned back around, Holly was standing even closer to me than before. I could smell her. Not just her perfume and her shampoo. But the excitement dampening her panties.

"You should have told Todd that if he needed to get some exercise to offset the holiday gorging, that he could do that without getting out of bed."

Her eyes went wide. "Frank!"

"What? Tell me you weren't thinking the same thing. That he missed a golden opportunity to remind you of the perks of married life."

She didn't answer. At first. After an awkward pause, too long for what followed to have any credibility, she asked, "How do you know he didn't?"

"Okay. Well, you know, I understand how this sounds, lifelong bachelor that I am. And I'm sure things change over time, after kids and so on. But I can't help thinking that if it were me, your knees would be wobbly, your hair an absolute mess, and you'd have the kind of blissful, feeling-no-pain look on your face that only comes from morphine and marathon sex between two lovers who know each other's bodies and desires inside out."

Holly's breathing accelerated, her modest breasts rising and falling. "Is that so."

"Yup."

"So you're really concerned about whether your brother is taking care of me."

"I'm a nice guy. I like to see people happy."

Definitely some pupil dilation. And her nipples were hard as rocks. "Nothing else."

"Right. Nothing else. I'm certainly not hitting on you. Making roundabout comments about how Todd should have gotten you off a half-dozen times before getting out of bed-"

"Morning, Mom, Uncle Frank," Mel said with a yawn as she walked into the common room, wiping eye crispies away with one finger. "Merry Christmas," she added, though the yawn made it sound more like, "Mewwy Qwismas."

Holly fixed Mel the last plate of bacon and eggs then said, "I should go shower. Todd's going to want it when he gets back." As she headed back towards her bedroom, she turned back and said, "Mel, honey, didn't you say something last night about wanting to talk to your Uncle Frank about some book you read in your sociology class?"

"It wasn't a book, Mom. In the upper level courses, it's all journal articles."

"Right, right. So tell him about your journal articles," she said before leaving me alone with my niece.

Mel looked at me and shrugged. "It was stupid really. I'm sure you've heard the argument before." I could almost hear her cursing her mother for bringing it up. Poor thing.

So we proceeded to discuss the debate about whether the incest taboo was an evolutionarily stable strategy for ensuring healthier offspring or an arbitrary, if nonetheless powerful, social norm. If she was reading about that in a sociology class, it wasn't hard to guess which side of the debate the articles she'd read came down on.

I was somewhat familiar with the argument. But not because of any research I'd done as an economist who specialized in the study of family economics, as was allegedly the case. I dimly recalled having read about the debate when I was a college student. And it didn't sound like the debate had progressed much since then.

But wasn't I just in college a few years ago?

Which made very little sense. Something supernatural was going on, sure. But that only took you so far. Unless, of course, whatever it was not only meant that time had little effect on our bodies, but that we didn't actually move through time in a linear fashion. That was more than I could wrap my head around at just the moment though, hard as I was trying to fake some kind of understanding of the research Mel was asking for my opinion on.

If I had to have a detailed conversation abut my research with a real economist, I'd be exposed for a fraud right away. But, thankfully, even though the work Mel wanted to discuss was on a topic that was somewhat related to my nominal research interests, it was in a different field. I thought maybe even if I actually was an economist, that alone might mean that I could get away with not having more to say than I did.

For that matter, she was asking for my reaction to the argument some sociologists had put forward critiquing an argument evolutionary psychologists had long taken for granted, and I had plenty of excuse to claim ignorance of both.

"Well, we don't really know that inbreeding causes birth defects, just that it introduces less variation. That's not quite the same, right?" Mel asked.

"Right," I said, sounding more confident than I was.

"So maybe they're right that we're mostly disgusted by the idea, even amongst consenting adults, because society tells us we should be. The same way most people are strictly hetero, even though we'd probably all of us be bi if we hadn't been conditioned to think it was weird and wrong to be attracted to the same sex," she continued.

"Makes sense," I said, though I wasn't entirely sure about that. If my lack of interest in other men was simply a reflection of society telling me I shouldn't like other men, society had done a bang-up job. Of course, that wasn't much of an argument.

I told her about the few studies I sort of remembered having read on my own back when I was in college. Whenever that was. Studies that were consistent with the idea that incest avoidance was a social construction. It sounded like they'd either been the same ones she'd read in this class of hers, or she'd read follow-on studies inspired by the ones I'd read.

"But, I mean, as interesting as that idea is, and as an academic myself I have no small sympathy for a counterintuitive argument, doesn't it just make your bullshit detector go haywire? For example, can you really say that the only thing preventing us from taking advantage of the fact that neither of your parents are around is that, when you were a child, you heard lots of people say that it's wrong for blood relatives to be intimate with one another?" I asked her.

"Well, we're not going to be alone for long," she said.

I chuckled. "Okay, but so what? I mean, they can join in too, right? We're all adults. If incest is no big deal, then what's stopping you from getting started with me then switching to your father when he gets home?"

"Now you're just being obtuse," she said. Holding up her pointer and middle fingers, she said, "Two things. First, even if it's true that it's all a social construct rather than a biological imperative, that doesn't mean it's exactly a weak or superficial force. Like a typical economist, you're assuming that culture is just something you can wave away."

I started to protest, but then, it wasn't really worth it. She could rag on my supposed profession all she wanted, it was no skin off my nose.

"Second," she continued, "if it was true that people were just as capable of being attracted to people to whom they were closely related as other people, that wouldn't mean they necessarily always were. Why would I want to let two older men have their way with me, want to cheat on my boyfriend, even if you and Dad weren't blood kin? I'm not one of those sorostitutes, you know." One corner of my niece's mouth turned up. "Plus, I mean, it's not like you're even all that attractive."

"That so?" I asked.

She nodded. "Ayup."

"And what about your father? You can't tell me he's not. Man in a uniform. Ridiculously good shape. Women have been fighting over my brother all my life."

"Well, sure, he's hot," she said.

I flung a packet of sugar at her.

She howled with laughter as she stepped back, shielded her face instinctively with her hands, and blocked the pathetic little projective with a thigh.

A rather thick, meaty, thigh. I almost hadn't noticed, since she'd been standing on the other side of the counter. Her shirt was loose enough that it was possible to only observe in passing how awesome her breasts were while we were talking. And awesome they were, particularly given that she had so little body fat. But one look at the equally impressive curves she had from the waist down was enough to set my heart racing. My niece's shorts left only slightly less of her body exposed than would have been the case if she'd chosen not to wear anything but her panties.

Her body was not exactly the type I generally preferred. But whether they were mostly muscle or deliciously soft, curves always got my attention in a way that a body like Holly's never would. However, my sister-in-law might be prettier, even at her age, than her daughter. Mel had a fairly deep tan, and I'd never been crazy about that. Turned me off quite a bit, actually. And her eyebrows were either naturally thin or had been sculpted down into puny little things. Her nose was a bit too broad too. I guess she got that from her father's side of the family, since the same was true for my mother.

Still, my niece was far from ugly. And she didn't need to have the prettiest face in the world to have blood rushing between my legs. Not with a body like that. Not after having spent fifteen minutes talking about incest. In a detached, academic sense, to be sure. At least at first. But part of my mind didn't seem to be bothered by the distinction. All it knew was that my niece and I had just been discussing incest, at length.

That was fucking hot.

Just then, we heard footsteps on the stairs leading up to the apartment.

"Speak of the devil," I said. "He's home. Maybe you can show me what you're willing to do with a member of your family, so long as he's hot enough."

"Maybe I will," she said.

I felt pre-cum leak out and dribble down the rounded tip of my cock.

My brother walked in before I could reply. He didn't look like a man who'd just run several miles. He wore camo utility shorts and an olive green T-shirt, as he might wear to the track, but there wasn't a drop of sweat on him, nor any damp spots on his shirt.

Except that was only true for one version of Todd.

Like Nat, Mom, and myself, he mostly seemed to be standing before is in an exaggeratedly sexy form. I caught one tiny glimpse of another image. The latter version was drenched in sweat, with dark stains reaching from his collar to his waist as well as below his pits. In that guise, Todd had a bit less muscle, and a little less definition. His face looked a little older. But overall, the two versions of Todd had a lot more in common with one another than was true of everyone else.

Well, not including Mel. Only now that I thought about it did I realize that I'd seen another version of her ever so briefly. In her case, the main difference was just that her ordinary version wasn't wearing any makeup and had smaller breasts. Perhaps there'd be a few other slight differences, but I hadn't had a chance to notice.

"Merry Christmas, Daddy!" Mel said.

"And to you," he said. He looked over at me. "Frank."

"Todd," I said.

"Where's your mother?" he asked Mel.

"She said she was going to take a shower. But that was a while ago and, come to think of it, the water hasn't been running for some time. Maybe she went back to sleep?"

Todd shrugged. He went over to the fridge, pulled out a bottle of water, and drank half of it without coming up for air.

Maybe he really had gone for a serious run.

Mel came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Uncle Frank doesn't think I believe that you're handsome. Isn't that crazy?" she said.

Todd grunted. "He's just jealous. I would be too, if I were him."

"That's not exactly what I said." I told Todd all about our conversation. "So, you see, I was just trying to call her bluff, get her to admit she doesn't really buy some overly contrived academic argument. Thought maybe she'd be quicker to say `Eww, gross,' if I asked her if she'd have sex with you. But, well, she's certainly stubborn enough to be your daughter."

Todd held Mel in place with a hand atop her red hair and spun around to face me. His daughter was now plastered to his chest instead of his back. He stroked her hair gently while addressing me. "She is, that. But she wasn't just being stubborn in this case."

"Here we go. Two against one," I said.

My brother shook his head. "No, no, fuck that. I could care less about academic debates. You know that. I'm not trying to make a point. I'm saying my lovely Mel isn't afraid to show how much she loves her Daddy. Isn't that right, sweetie?"

Mel giggled by way of response.

"You wouldn't believe how well this girl can suck a dick," Todd said. "Baby, why don't you show Uncle Frank?"

She started to drop to her haunches, but he grabbed her upper arm. "Not me. Him."

Mel slowly turned to regard me. And smiled a smile that told me this was no joke.

Despite all the signs that were already out there telling me that our family was not like most families, as I watched my niece slowly settle down on her haunches, run her hands over my thighs and abs, and pull my stiff cock out of my pajama pants, all I could think to myself was "No fucking way this is happening."

She stared with wide eyes at my manhood. I'd seen myself bigger, I knew. Perhaps we not only could switch back and forth between our true selves and convincing imitations of ordinary mortals, but could further improve upon our already impressive fantasy versions. The moment the thought occurred to me, I knew it for the truth. But I didn't bother, for now. Even at the baseline, I had something of a monster. It was a good three quarters the size of my forearm. Sure, I could make it every bit as long and thick as my forearm, but there was no need just now.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Daddy, but he's got at least one reason he doesn't need to be jealous of you," Mel said, licking her lips.

Todd laughed. "Let him have the one."

Mel licked my pre-cum away with a furtive twitch of her tongue. "Just trying to make me admit I didn't believe the argument, huh?"

I didn't reply. Just ran a hand through her soft, dark red hair.

My niece giggled again before engulfing me. She took me in her mouth slowly at first, her full lips creeping along my helmet. But just as she reached the expanse of smooth circumcised foreskin, she pulled out all the stops.

"Whoa, whoa. Are you trying to get me off or make me cry uncle?" I asked.

Todd groaned at the terrible pun.

But poor choice of words aside, it was a valid question. Mel was overwhelming me. Her tongue was nimble, and focused like a laser on providing intense stimulation to my most sensitive parts. Her lips were soft and pillowy, and the light touch of her fingers on my balls was a nice addition. Even so, it felt better than I could have imagined.

Like she'd reached inside me and turned the dial on my pleasure receptors to high.

I didn't last a minute.

Mel coughed a few times as I fed her a rather generous load of cum, but every last drop of her uncle's jizz went down her throat in the end, even if she had to use her fingers and tongue to get it back in her mouth.

When I finally looked up, I saw Holly had rejoined us. She stood next to her husband, stark naked, stroking his cock slowly while she watched her daughter fellate her brother-in-law. "That's my girl," she said when Mel licked the last glob from her finger.

"Okay, now you can remind Daddy of how good you are," Todd said.

"Thank you," I told my niece, planting a kiss on her cheek. "If that's what happened every time I lost an argument, I'd make a point of being wrong more often."

She laughed, patted my little guy on the head, told him goodbye, and walked away.

"I'd offer to let you compare," Holly said, slipping over to me. "But I know I can't hold a candle to my daughter. And you probably need a minute to recover anyway. So, how's about you show me what kind of oral talents you've got?" she asked. With that, she turned her back to the island counter and hopped up onto it. Feet planted firmly on the marble counter top, she spread her legs, reached down, and played with her pretty lips for me.

She was hairier than I was used to. Or rather, hadn't groomed herself the way most women I'd been with did. It wasn't that she had a monster bush or anything. But her pubes surrounded her lips. And I noticed that her lips were a little gray, rather than strictly pink.

Still, I wasn't going to refuse.

Unlike Mel, I was a teaser. I used the soft back of my tongue to gently lick first one of her outer lips, then the other. Then I simply let her feel my warm breath against her womanhood before throwing a quick slash of my tongue down across the hood that covered her clitoris. I continued in that fashion, working slowly and tenderly on her labia while giving her more sensitive parts only the briefest attention. But gradually, I worked towards more and more direct stimulation, less and less teasing. Holly shuddered and sighed softly, guiding me inward with a hand on the back of my head.