"Wow! Look at you!" Becca said, squeezing his broad shoulders. "All grown up. Come inside."
"Hey, sis. It hasn't been that long, has it?" Jack said, wiping his dust covered boots on the mat. "Hey everyone."
"Look who it is, Aunt Lily," Mom said. "Jack is here."
"Hey Lily. Nice to see you," he said.
The old, white-haired woman didn't budge an inch. Becca stifled a giggle with the back her hand. The tattoos on her arms became prominent.
"Aunt Lily," she said, pointing to Jack. "Look!"
"Oh, my dear. Sorry, love. My hearing isn't so good these days."
"That's ok," Jack said, reaching in for a hug. "Food smells great, Mom. I'll just go wash up first."
"Hey! I helped cook too," Becca said, pouting.
Jack grinned as he pinched her arm. With the red highlights in her long, black hair, nose ring, and choker necklace, she'd managed to retain most of her college days' goth look. He always liked that style. Any chick who wore black Metallica t-shirts was cool in his book. He felt a tug on his arm as he neared the bathroom.
"Careful when you wash up. The kids are sleeping in the next room," Becca said.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'll be quiet."
He couldn't understand why her eyes lingered on the leather tool belt fastened around his waist. It did hold an impressive array of equipment, he supposed.
"I'll...get you a beer," Becca said, finally releasing his arm.
"Thanks."
Jack rubbed aching limbs and splashed some warm water on his face. Green eyes stared back at him as liquid beads clung to his unkempt beard. Working on a building site wasn't the worst job. He liked being outdoors, but it sure took its toll on his body. On the bright side, he didn't need any gym membership. Muscles sprouted up in the oddest of places. Even Becca had noticed. 'If only other women would,' he mused. He did his best to straighten his scruffy hair and headed back. Passing quietly by his old bedroom, he hoped his nephews were getting a good night's rest.
***
"So, where will I sleep, then?" Jack asked as he spread butter over roasted potatoes.
"Well, Aunt Lily has the spare room, so you'll have to share with your sister. It'll be just like old times," Mom said, smiling.
Jack stared across at Becca to check her reaction. Oblivious to his gaze, she shrugged her shoulders as she failed miserably to cut her steak.
"Don't worry if there's no room, Mom. I can just drive back home. No big deal."
"You've been drinking," Becca said.
Her thick lips formed a grin as she tapped the tinny can. It wasn't fair that her teeth were so much nicer than his. 'Damn genetics,' Jack moaned to himself.
"Your sister's right."
"Okay, fine," Jack said, shovelling gravy-soaked potatoes into his mouth.
"At least you can relax a bit now," Becca said, offering her brother a hearty Cheers!
"Don't drink too much, kids," Lily said.
Jack almost spat his cider as a stony-faced Becca nudged him under the table. They sank another few beverages and sat up chatting after everyone else had gone to bed. Chilling together reminded him of how easy she was to hang out with. In stark contrast to their friends, they had always preferred to share a joint rather than bicker and fight about petty sibling shit. On bringing up the option of sleeping on the sofa, Becca sarcastically agreed with him: "If a stiff back the next day is what you want." Growing tired, they headed to her room.
***
"This bed is smaller than I remember," Jack said.
Becca crushed her empty can, burped, and tossed it into the trash.
"Another drink?" she said, peeling off her pants.
Jack turned his head away.
"Ehh...No thanks. I've an early morning. Uhm, you want me to go outsi-"
"Me too, I guess," she cut in. "It was good to have some adult time away from the kids tonight though."
"Yeah, it was great catching up with everyone."
Jack crawled under the covers, yanked off his work pants and dropped them onto the floor. The belt buckle made a light thud on the carpet. He squeezed his cock, and then halted, remembering that it wasn't his usual bedtime routine. He watched Becca sit at her dresser and drag a brush through her long, flowing hair. The tattoos on her legs were visible now; a diamond, a skull, a flower. He thought they made girls hot. A little wild or something. Other girls, that is.
"It must be down to your...-"
"Ass?" she answered. "Yeah, I should probably get it cut."
"Nah, it's nice."
"Thanks. My hair is pretty nice too."
Becca swivelled on her stool and gave a cheeky wink before returning to the mirror. Jack couldn't figure out what she was doing next. She slid one hand under her t-shirt, then another around the back. Finally, after much struggling, she pulled a black bra through the sleeve and plopped it on the floor. Her long, lissom legs were on full display as she stood and turned. Jack didn't know where the t-shirt ended and the black panties began. He cut a stunned expression and was glad she couldn't see where his hand had roamed.
"What?" She said, placing her hands on her hips. "Bras are uncomfortable. Especially after 15 hours! Men have no idea."
"And that isn't?" Jack said, tapping his neck.
"What, my choker? Not really. I like it. Makes me feel...I dunno...young again."
"How about your rose? Is it still growing?" Jack asked.
Becca offered a shy smile. She turned sideways and scrunched the t-shirt up under her breasts. He followed the thorny stem that wrapped around her body and stared at the dark, red petals covering her lower ribs. Jack blamed the alcohol on the amount of side-boob she was mistakenly revealing.
"What do you think?" She asked.
"Still looks awesome, sis. The color hasn't faded much at all."
"You hated it the first time I showed it to you. Remember?"
Unrestrained, her breasts motioned freely as she flicked off the light and climbed into bed. Cool skin brushed him as she made herself comfortable. Cloaked in darkness, they lay there, shoulder to shoulder, staring at an obscured ceiling.
Of course he remembered Becca revealing her tattoo all those years ago. It was a miserable, fall evening. Mom and Dad must have been still at work. It wasn't that he'd hated her rose. Fleeing the bedroom was just the reflex reaction he had to his eighteen-year-old sister sitting next to him and lifting up her shirt. Imagining what would have happened had he stayed was a shameful but recurring thought.
"Tired?" Becca asked.
He was. Jack, however, struggled to remove thoughts of the inexorably feminine body beside him. That, and the image of her breasts protruding through the baggy top.
"A little, yeah. Oh, we better keep it down in case we wake Aunt Lil."
"I wouldn't worry," Becca said under her breath, "She's as deaf as a dildo."
"You'd know all about those," he jested.
Bodies bumped as they struggled to hold in their laughter.
"It's funny how we call her aunt. I mean isn't she Mom's aunt? Anyway, I have to drive her to the train station in the morning," she said. "The stories she has, Jack. I'll miss her."
Becca sighed and wriggled next to him.
"Ugh! I hate sleeping on one pillow!" she said.
"Oh, sorry. I guess I have your download japanese porn other one. Want it back?"
"Nah," she said, shuffling. "Give me your arm."
Jack lay passively as she dragged his arm and tucked it under her head.
"That's not bad actually," she said. Her voice closer now. "You used to be only skin and bones. Plenty of meat on you now."
The sound of breathing was all that could be heard as they lay. Jack didn't know how his sister felt, but for him, the close physical contact was causing a great deal of confusion.
"Remember when we were little, we used to camp in our rooms?" Becca said.
"Yeah, we'd make a tent out of the bedsheets," Jack said. "We'd try and stay awake all night, but you would always doze off. Sleepy head!"
Their knees knocked as they chuckled.
"And now here I am with kids of my own, but still in the same old bedroom!" she said. "Where have the years gone?"
"How are the boys?" Jack said, unable to drift off.
"A handful! Nah, they're great. Though it'll be nice to have some peace and quiet when they visit their father tomorrow. The bastard."
"Still pissed with him?"
"Of course! He practically ruins my body and then runs off with another girl. Prick!"
"Shush!" Jack reminded her. "Ruined your body? What are you talking about?"
Becca sighed and grabbed his free hand.
"This!" she said, pulling it under her t-shirt and pressing it tight to her belly.
"It used to be as hard as a rock. Now it's all squishy. See? That's why I haven't bothered to pierce there since."
"Bec, no one is going to notice. Anyway, it's only natural. It's not a big deal."
"I bet