Scott Norris had been a single-parent responsible for raising his now sixteen year old daughter for over ten years. His beloved wife, Jessica, had died in a terrible car accident when Molly was only six. Even though it had been a decade, a decade of ups and downs, Scott loved his wife too much to move on and had spent the last ten years focusing on his career and giving Molly a wonderful life even with the absence of her mother.
Scott had gotten a great job at a small computer shop right before his wife’s death , and since then the shop had grown into a large prosperous local business with Scott as the manager. Scott and Molly were financially secure, living in a nice, but small two-bedroom home in a quiet neighborhood.
When Molly turned twelve, began blossoming into a young woman, Scott experienced a lot of panic and distress. His worse fear was that Molly would turn into an emotionally controlled teenage girl, go through the typical teenage rebellion stage, decided she hated her father and would blame him for everything that was wrong in the entire free world. That was a part of Molly’s life that Scott wasn’t sure he would be able to handle.
But he had gotten lucky. Molly matured, gained a lot of responsibility, and kept a close focus on her priorities which included school work and band practice. She helped out around the house, completed all her house chores and then some before going out with friends. Scott constantly reminded her how much he appreciated her being a perfect daughter. He had watched her grow from being a quiet and shy little blue-eyed girl in pigtails toa shapely, intelligent looking woman. The undeniable fact that she had become a stunningly beautiful girl did not escape her father. He knew that boys would be tripping over one another to get to her before long. He knew because she favored her mother and he had been the luckiest guy to end up with her.
Scott pushed through the front door, flinging his coat over a dining room table chair, before grabbing a cold beer out of the fridge. It was finally Friday evening. He was off for the weekend and could enjoy a few drinks since he didn’t like to drink on work nights.
He sat down at the dining room table, the daily newspaper already resting on the place mat ready to be read. The dining room and joint kitchen sparkled with a fresh scent of lemon clean. Scott looked at the headlines on the newspaper, scowled at how ugly the daily news could be, and flipped through the pages to read the editorials, skipped the sport’s section and was enjoying the comic strips when he heard footsteps behind him.
Turning around he saw Molly stroll into the dining room. She was wearing a t-shirt with The Doors on it, tight jeans, her freshly washed-still-moist brown hair framing her oval shaped face and her perpetually innocent blue eyes staring at him from behind her narrow-rimmed eyeglasses.
Scott flashed her a smile. “Hi, honey. What are you up to?”
“Not much, dad. I was just going to ask if I could go down to The Tilt and hang out with some friends for a little while.”
“Sure, sweetheart. Just don’t stay out to late.” Scott took a sip from his beer. Molly always had her homework finished and chores done before she headed out. She usually hung out at The Tilt, a local arcade/pool hall where a lot of high school students spent the evening. It was a lot better than her hanging out with the ones who loitered in parking lots or went to Jefferon’s Field to drink.
“Thanks dad! You’re the best!” Molly wrapped her arms around him followed by a light peck on the cheek. Scott felt aslight electrical tingle shoot through his body, ending abruptly somewhere in his loins. He shuddered from the sensation.
“You okay dad?” Molly asked standing next to him.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just a chill. Be sure to wear a coat outside, okay?”
Molly giggled, grabbed a denim jacket off the coat rack next to the door and said “See ya later!” before she was gone.
Scott sat motionless for a moment at the table, one hand resting on the newspaper and the other gripping his empty beer bottle. “Christ,” he muttered, “one beer and I’m getting aroused by my own daughter’s hug.” Scott shook his head to clear that disturbing thought from his mind. He got up and snagged another beer from the fridge. One more wouldn’t hurt anything, he told himself. Molly was gone to the arcade for a few hours so there wouldn’t be a repeat of what had happened.
Scott knew he needed to get out soon to find a woman since it got where the slightest female contact send his hormones into overdrive. Thing was, he'd never been good with the courting and dating scene; he'd always considered himself lucky to have gotten his wife. Now, with a teenage daughter and a full time job his chances of getting another woman seemed miserably non-existent.
Just as he had sat back down at the table the phone rang. The sudden ringing startled him in the quiet house causing him to jump to his feet. He hurried over to the wall and picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Scott, it’s Melissa.”
Dread seized him when he heard his sister’s voice on the other end. Ever since his wife’s death Scott lived nearly every moment worrying about his daughter’s and his sister’s well-being. They were the two most important women left in his life. He had been worrying about Melissa’s well-being ever since they were younger, though. She’d gotten pregnant at 17, their parents kicked her out of the house and disowned her; she was forced to marry the older guy who’d knocked her up, and he turned out to be a royal jerk. But Scott never turned his back on his sister. Instead, he’d helped her throughout the years stay on her feet and even paid rent for an apartment after her divorce to keep her from having to beg their parents to let her come back home. Her son, Cody, was now seventeen, and Melissa had re-married to another older man.
“What’s wrong, Mel?”
From the other side of the phone came a low whimpering noise. “It’s happened again, Scott!”
“What happened again? Are you alright?”
“No, I’m not alright!” Melissa sounded more hysterical each time she responded.
“That stupid bastard has been cheating on me. I can’t believe this is happening. Look, Scott, I can’t stay here another night in this God forsaken hell-hole. Can Cody and me come stay there for a few days?”
It took Scott a couple seconds to digest and decipher his sister’s furious words, but it finally hit him: her current husband had turned out to be another douchebag and Melissa needed his help again.
“Sure, Mel. You and Cody came crash here for awhile. Do you need me to come get you?”
“No, we’ll be there shortly. Thank you so much, Scott! I’m so grateful for you. I know I’m a huge screw up and you’ve always helped me. I’ll pay you back, I swear it.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Molly and me both will enjoy the extra company around the house. I’m off for the weekend so we’ll have a good time.”
“Thanks, again. I’ll see you in a little while.”
* * *
Forty-five minutes and three beers later, Scott heard the doorbell ringing. He’d moved from the dining room table to the couch in the den. When he stood up he felt a little light-headed. He couldn’t tolerate the beers like he could in his college days.
He opened the door and there stood his younger sister and nephew. Melissa was only thirty-five but unlike some young women she looked her age, maybe even a little older. She’d been through hell and back, though. Scott had done his best to look after his sister, but the stress of life had tarnished her. Still, as she strolled into the house, he smiled at how lovely she looked. She was only 5’6, had some extra pounds but was nowhere near being overweight. Her long black hair was as black as ever, not a trace of gray. Ever since she was a kid Melissa had always had a simple beauty.
Melissa sat a suitcase down on the floor, and took her leather jacket off. She was wearing a plain green sweater and Scott felt a little uneasy when he noted she wasn’t wearing a bra. Her large round breast could clearly be made out through the sweater.
Melissa caught the look in his eye. “I know, I know, I’m not wearing a bra. I just threw something on and threw some things in a suitcase and left.”
“I’m glad you two made it okay,” Scott replied. Cody sat a duffel bag on the floor next to his mother’s suitcase. Scott couldn’t miss how well toned and muscular his nephew had become since he’d joined the football team. “I see all that weight training is paying off.”
“Yeah,” Cody replied with indifference.
“Where’s Molly?” Melissa asked.
“She went down to the arcade to hang out for a little while. She should be back soon.”
“Well, where do you want us to stay?” she asked.
“I’m not sure just yet,” Scott replied. Scott thought about it for a moment. “I don’t think Molly will mind if Cody crashes in her room for tonight. They’ll probably stay up all night watching t.v. or playing video games anyhow. Cody, just go throw your stuff in Molly’s room and I’ll inform her when she gets home.”
“I guess I’ll take the couch, then,” Melissa said, picking her suitcase up and heading for the living room.
“No. No. That’s not right!” Scott shouted at her. Cody shrugged, picked his bag up and headed for Molly’s room.
Scott chased Melissa into the den. “Look, you don’t have to sleep on the couch. If anything, I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Melissa laughed. “My husband is cheating on me and I’m suppose to make my brother sleep on the couch? I don’t think that’s how it works.”
“Fine, fine, just bring your stuff in here and sleep with me,” Scott muttered, not fully realizing what he’d said.
“Sleep with you? In your bedroom? Are you sure?” Melissa followed her brother into his bedroom.
“Yeah, it’s fine. No big deal, not like we never shared a room before.”
“Oh,cool!” Melissa chuckled. “It’ll be just like the good ol’ days. Do we need to draw a line down the middle of the room to mark who’s side is mine and yours?”
“We’ll try getting along better this time,” Scott said with a smile.
“We won’t stay here too long, Scott. I promise. I’ve got some money saved up and can get an apartment soon as possible.”
“Don’t worry about it. You and Cody can stay as long as you need to. I told you earlier that Molly and me will enjoy having you here.”
Melissa stepped right up to Scott so their faces were inches apart. Scott noticed for the first time since she’d arrived that her face was streaked from crying. Melissa threw her arms around him pushing herself into him. “Thank you so much, Scott. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Scott patted her back but couldn’t help but notice the feel of her large, soft breast pressing against his chest.
“Hey, how about a beer, sis?” Scott asked after they broke their embrace.
“Hell yes! I thought you’d never offer.”
They walked back into the dining room and Scott stepped into the kitchen and grabbed a couple cold beers. They sat down at the table and started talking. Melissa did most of the talking about how her second and current marriage had now gone down the drain.
“Looks like the only man who wants me around is my brother,” she remarked, wiping a few fresh tears from her eyes.
“I guess I’ve known you long enough to know just how to deal with you,” Scott said with a cheerful grin. He was fetching the next round of beers when the front door opened.
Molly stepped inside the house, removing her jacket and then realized her aunt Melissa was sitting in the dining room.
“Hey, Aunt Mel! What are you doing here?”
Scott returned with the two beers. “Hey, honey. You’re aunt Mel and cousin Cody are going to be crashing with us for a little while. I hope you don’t mind but I told Cody you’d share part of your room with him until we can fix better sleeping arrangements.”
“Dad! You let him go into my room without me here? Oh jeez! I might have personal things lying around in there!” Molly rushed off to her bedroom.
“Uh-oh, Scotty,” Melissa giggled. “You’re in trouble now.”
“As clean and spotless as she keeps the rest of the house I doubt she left anything personal just lying around in her room.” Scott took another gulp of his beer hoping he was right. He forgot sometimes how peculiar teenage girls could be about those sort of things.
“Well, she’s a lucky girl,” started Melissa, “she’s never had to share her room with a nasty, nosy, boy like I had to when I was her age.”
“I wasn’t nasty or nosy!” Scott argued.
“Oh, right. You stole my diary one time and read it to your friends.”
“That wasn’t nasty. That was just harmless fun.”
“Yeah?” Melissa narrowed her eyes at her brother before taking a big swig of her beer. “Okay, what about that time I caught you with my panties?”
Scott nearly blew beer out out of his mouth and nostrils but stifled it to a crude cough. “Dear God, Mel! That was one time and I was sixteen.”
“One time? I don’t think so. I never told you about the pair of red panties I found under your mattress one day. God, they were so stained from where you’d jerked-”
“Okay! Okay! So maybe it was more than once. I was a teenager, and I was horny.” Scott paused for a moment then got a clever gleam in his eyes. “Why were you looking under my bed mattress anyhow, huh?”
Melissa giggled. “I was looking for where you hid those dirty magazines.”
“You were trying to steal my dirty magazines but you’re giving me hell ‘cause I took your underwear? Hell, the way I see it we were both after the same end result.”
Molly and Cody suddenly reappeared in the dining room to find Scott and Melissa both laughing madly.
“What’s so funny, dad?” Molly inquired as she took a seat next to her dad.
“Yeah, really. What’s the big joke?” Cody asked, taking a seat next to his mom.
“Nothing, honey. Nothing at all,” Scott said. “Your aunt Mel and me were just talking about the old days.”
“Yep, we sure were.” Melissa was still having trouble controlling her giggling. “You know, Molly, your dad and I had to share a room. He was a pain to live with then. I hope it’s not going to be that way this time around.”
“Dad’s pretty easy going now,” Molly said. “Not a big morning person until he’s gotten his coffee, though, so be warned.”
“You kids going to be alright sharing a room?” Scott asked. “You won’t kill each other tonight will you?”
“We’ll be fine,” Cody replied.
“Yeah, it’s cool, dad. We’re going to watch a movie and play some games for awhile. I told Cody he can get an air mattress to blow up and sleep on the floor.”
“Good. But if any killing goes on I would hope Molly wins ‘cause she cleans up the messes better than I do.” Scott laughed and threw an arm around Molly to give her a tight squeeze on the shoulder.
“What are you two drunks going to do?” Molly asked, readjusting her glasses that her dad had caused to slip off her face.
“We’re not drunks!” Melissa shouted and then laughed hysterically. “We’re just enjoying a couple...six or seven beers, then we might break out Jack Daniels and Cuervo!”
“Can I join in?” Cody asked with a hopeful grin.
“Not tonight, champ.” Melissa leaned over and gave Cody a light peck on the cheek. “Why don’t you two go on get ready for the big movie and game night?”
“Man, I wanted some Jack!” Cody got up and looked over at Molly. “You coming or what?”
“Yeah, I’m on my way.” Molly stood up, gave her dad a kiss on the cheek, said her good-nights and hurried away.
“Who would’ve imagined we’d have two great kids?” Melissa spoke after the kids had left.
“I just hate that we have to stick them together like this after what you and I went through sharing a room.”
“Oh, c’mon now. It wasn’t all that bad. And we don’t hate each others’ guts today so it all worked out nice.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. You want to head off to bed yet?”
“Maybe we could stay up and watch a movie or something, too?” Melissa looked at her brother with caring eyes. “You know, like old times.”
“Sure, we could do that.”
“I think I need to get a shower first. I still feel cruddy and need some clean clothes.”
“Go ahead and use the bathroom in our bedroom.”
“Our bedroom? Wow! This really is starting to feel like the old days!”
* * *
Scott heard the shower water in the bathroom and figured Melissa would be occupied long enough to give him a chance to put on his sleep clothes. He got undressed until he was standing in the middle of his bedroom with just his boxers on. Normally, he’d sleep in just boxers and a an extra large shirt--sometimes not even the shirt. But since he’d be sharing the room, and even the bed, with his sister he felt he might need to wear something a little more appropriate.
He picked up his discarded khakis, and work shirt and went to step into the bathroom to place them in the hamper before remembering that Melissa was in there. He listened, still heard the shower running, so he stepped inside.
Sure enough, Melissa was in the shower. He couldn’t see anything but a blotched figure behind...
