Forbidden Relations

Note : This story is completely fictional!

CHAPTER ONE

Nineteen year-old Elizabeth (Lizzy) Monroe pulled up to the driveway of the two story home she lived in with her parents in suburban Denver, Colorado. Her parents were both hard-working professional types and weren’t home much to spend time with her. Her dad was a doctor, her mom a successful real estate agent. Their careers afforded them the best life had to offer, but, unfortunately, the cyclical nature of having to live to support these jobs that supported the lifestyle made Lizzy feel like an orphan. 

She tended to live an independent existence, coming home from work to a perpetually empty house. Her parents always gave her a healthy monthly allowance that she usually frittered away on useless gadgets, clothes she’d rarely wear but usually she’d blow the money getting little joke gifts for her cousin, Jeff.

Jeff was only two years older than Lizzy and lived across the street in a home whose floor plan was the same as Lizzy’s, like every house in their idyllic gated community. All the houses were eerie clones of each other. Jeff’s parents, like Lizzy’s, were hard-working professionals and also well off financially. Jeff’s dad a successful author and his mother a physical therapist that worked at the local hospital.

Because of their predicament, Jeff and Lizzy had grown to become best friends over the years. They had to keep themselves company during the countless ‘grown-up parties’ that their parents held, mostly to network with other successful career types. The two usually found themselves hiding out in the coatroom and giggling ferociously as they went through each individual coat, looking for goodies. They’d never steal anything, but it was fun to be somewhere they weren’t supposed to be, doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing. 

During one of these parties when Jeff and Lizzy were digging through a mountain of coats as the adults mingled outside the door, Jeff found a condom in one of the coat pockets. The two, who weren’t even teenagers at this time, erupted in laughter at the discovery, then bounced ideas off of each other as to how this alien device was used and what it was used for. Jeff thought it was a balloon and Lizzy thought that women had to ‘wear them somehow’ to keep from getting pregnant. She was the closest but still way off.

The bond had grown stronger and stronger over the years as the two never really strayed from each other’s side. Through elementary school, middle school, high school and the developmental stage of puberty that popped up somewhere in the middle, their friendship never broke. They lived in the same houses. All that changed was the exteriors and the changing carousel of ever-pricier cars that would inhabit the driveway over the years.

At this point in their lives, if they weren’t together, whoever would come home first would walk across the street to the other’s house, walk in the door (no one ever locked their doors in this suburban paradise) and make themselves at home. The usual greeting was ‘hey’ or ‘what’s up?’ but usually the greeting was nothing at all.

Lizzy would usually walk into Jeff’s house in the afternoon when his parents were still in the middle of another long workday, go into the living room and plop down next to him on the couch with nary a grunt from Jeff to welcome her company. Things were that loose and casual. 

One thing that never changed was their personalities. Lizzy was always a bit of a tomboy. It could be that her constant exposure to Jeff subtracted a bit of her natural femininity but whatever it was, she certainly was rough around the edges. She’d give a finishing school a migraine. 

She liked to eat with her mouth open, cussed like a sailor, liked to watch pro wrestling and horror movies and even burped and farted in public. Not so much with the farting, although she did do it once involuntarily at a Burger King. 

She had coughed and some gas was uncontrollably expelled to loud and ridiculous effect. The incident threw Jeff, who was sitting across from her, into a hysterical seizure. He didn’t stop laughing for hours.

Lizzy was definitely a cute girl, cute like a kitten that when picked up would probably scratch the hell out of you. Her father was American with Dutch/British ancestry while her mother was Iraqi/Moroccan so she had this exotic, racial ambiguity about her. She inherited her mother’s light caramel complexion as well as a pair of almond-shaped eyes that were deep, dark and impenetrable. Her freckles she got from her dad. Her button nose had a habit of wiggling when it itched and her lips always looked like they were swollen because of an allergic reaction, but not in a bad way. 

Her long, dark hair was naturally curly and frizzy, but she secretly wanted to get it straightened. Her fear was that Jeff would ridicule her if she ever did it, citing she was being a ‘girly girl’. 

She wasn’t popular by any measure when she was in school but she wasn’t a nerd, either. Physically, she wasn’t the tallest, skinniest or most athletic. She had a few pounds of baby fat that never seemed to go away and a lot of it, strangely, seemed to gravitate to her chest. She only stood about five foot three and weighed maybe 130 lbs., but she was always gifted in the ability of filling out her shirts. 

She tried to cover it up over the years with an evolving wardrobe of thick sweaters but during the nine months that weren’t winter she had to concede that the natural gifts she was trying to conceal wouldn’t be denied. 

She didn’t much like the attention they attracted her over the years: the second glances she’d get from guys at school, or the mall, or the park. She never dared go to the beach unless she was wearing something thick and concealing. She even noticed Jeff taking the obligatory glances at her chest around the time her chest started to swell up at around the ripe age of thirteen. She forgave Jeff and never ever brought it up but he wasn’t ridiculously blatant or obvious about it so she let the few times she caught him looking slide. 

She didn’t know it, but Jeff figured her for a 34D or somewhere in the vicinity. Months earlier he had his suspicions confirmed when he took a quick glance at the tag on one of her bras she’d left dangling over a chair in her room where the two of them had been hanging out one night. She never kept her room clean. He wasn’t a pervert or obsessed over it, but he’s a guy and guys think those thoughts.

As Lizzy arrived home, she got out of her car, dragging her feet a bit. She was tired after a long day at the shoe store she worked at but she didn’t miss a beat. She didn’t even move towards her house, but instead walked across the street, opened the door to Jeff’s and walked in.

Jeff was in the living room, watching Sportscenter on ESPN when she walked in and stood in the doorway, staring lazily at the TV. Jeff looked over his shoulder at her. The hall light had cast Lizzy’s shadow into the already dimly lit living room. He noticed, at a quick glance, that she looked nice, albeit tired. 

“Hey. You look nice. What’s the occasion?” he asked before turning his attention back to the day’s NBA highlights.

She looked at him as if insulted. “Occasion? We had a meeting today. The regional manager was there. I had to wear these stupid boots…” she grunted as she kicked them off and plopped down on the couch next to him.

Jeff never took his eyes off the TV as he lets his hands accentuate his words. “Look, I know you had a day and you know I love you and all, but Kobe’s driving to the hoop so you’ve got to silencio the talky, okay? It’s very important. Now, be a good woman and go make me a sandwich, like I like.”

“Oh, fuck you. You asked, asshole.” she retorted.

Jeff wasn’t insulted. It wasn’t the first time she called him an asshole and wouldn’t be the last… that day.

“You should quit. It’s not like you’re broke. Your parents give you over three grand a month. I wish my parents hooked me up like that. I have to work a shit job for what I earn.” he said.

“Hey, where do you think I got the money to get you those expensive ass Nikes you just had to have last summer?” she asked.

“You didn’t need that job to get them for me. They only pay you, what, seven fifty an hour? And, hey, I got you a few Playstation 2 games that summer so don’t play like the gift giving is lopsided.”

“I probably will quit.” she conceded as she stood up and headed for his kitchen.

She went to the fridge and pilfered a Diet Coke. Walking back into the living room, the Coke in her hand, Jeff looked at the glass and her eyes met his.

“Want some?” she asked.

He reached out and grabbed the can. She watched him pop the tab and drink it from full to empty, draining the can of the last drops. He handed her back the empty can, smiling as he did.

She glared at him icily. “Ass.” 

She headed back into the kitchen and got another can of coke, this time swilling it herself and not offering any to Jeff. 

“Okay, now put it on that medical channel.” she said. “…They’re showing crazy, life-saving operations. There’s a guy who has his dead twin inside his stomach and they have to operate—“

Jeff cut her off. “I’m not changing the channel. Cheap Seats is coming on next. Are you insane? You’re not my wife. You’re lucky because if you were I would’ve power-bombed your ass through the kitchen table for even entertaining the idea that I’d do what you told me to.”

She snapped her tongue, not impressed. “Please, you try to powerbomb me, I’ll throw your ass out the window on the second floor. You’d be all on the ground in the backyard like, “Owwww, mommy, I need you, mommy…” she mocked, pretending to be a suffering Jeff. 

Without looking, he shoved her with one arm, enough to budge her. She pushed back with both hands. He fended her off with one arm, his eyes never breaking concentration on the TV. She had to get up on her knees and shove at him with both hands but she was far too diminutive to cause any harm. 

She started bouncing on the couch, pushing on him, her breathing becoming labored. “You like that? Huh? You like getting your ass kicked by a girl?”

Jeff started to lean away from Lizzy, slowly being pushed onto his side. He started laughing. “Stop pushing, you bitch!”

“Bitch? I’ll show you a bitch.” she joked, still pouncing on him.

With her weight angling down on him, Jeff finally slid down the couch cushion onto his back and Lizzy slipped off his shoulder, collapsing onto his chest. The kids were both laughing, breathing heavily, Lizzy lying on top of Jeff’s chest.

They looked into each other’s eyes, still chuckling, but realized the compromising positions they were in. Their smiles subsided, their breathing slowed. The moment became extremely awkward. One of them had to say something.

“Am I crushing you?” she asked, her face flush.

Jeff was just as bewildered. “Your boobs are. They’re huge.”

They both chuckled nervously. Just then, a phone rang. 

Jeff reached into his pocket. Lizzy’s face sank, anything but enthusiastic. “I swear, it better not be…”

Jeff answered. “Hey Caitlin.” Lizzy rolled her eyes and plopped back onto the couch, watching the TV with her eyes, but listening to him with her ears.

She listened to the fragmented, one-sided conversation until Jeff hung up. 

With an attitude in her voice, she looked at him with a frigid visage. “Let me guess.”

Jeff seemed twitchy and nervous. “Yeah, that was Caitlin.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that.”

“She, uh, asked if I could drop her off at the mall.”

Lizzy’s eyes drifted off. He knew that look. “She doesn’t have a car, Lizzy.”

“You know she’s just using you, right?”

“No, I don’t think that’s fair. She’s not using me. She’s just not the driving type. You know how it is.”

She then pushed to her feet and wandered towards the doorway.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I don’t want keep you from getting her to the mall so I’m going home.” she said as she raised her eyebrows.

“Hey, come on…” he stood up and followed as she walked to the door. “What do you have against her anyway?”

She opened the door, then closed it again, turning to him, responding as if insulted. “What do I have against her? Jeff, she’s a complete and total skank. She’s one of those girls that are 100% style and no substance and, frankly, I can’t believe you’d go out with someone like her. She doesn’t respect you. She only calls when she needs to borrow money or needs a ride. You deserve better and you’re selling yourself short.”

“I think you’ve got it all wrong.” he retorted.

“Oh yeah? When’s the last time you two had sex?”

He was speechless. After babbling for a few seconds, he spat out an answer. “I really don’t think that’s a matter of importance.”

“Uh huh. What? A month? Two months? Three?”

“She wants to save herself for marriage and I respect her for that.”

Lizzy’s eyes rolled up and she started chuckling mockingly. “Oh please… You’re so blind you don’t even see you’re being taken for a ride. You may not be able to see past her blond-in-a-bottle hair, but I do. The least she could do is put out.”

“She will, eventually. I’m confident of that. I’m willing to wait for when she’s ready.”

Lizzy couldn’t help but laugh derisively at him as she walked out. Jeff was ashamed and had nothing to say in his defense. 

He quickly upped and followed her out the door into the front yard. “She’s my girlfriend. What am I supposed to do?”

She threw her hands in the air, fed up and pushed out the door. He followed her still into the driveway.

“We’ve had this conversation before…” she added. “…if you think so little of yourself that you think that she’s all you deserve, then it’s your loss. You know, there are tons of single girls out there probably very willing to go out with you. If you just broadened your horizons a little and didn’t make up your mind about a girl three seconds after seeing her you might find someone great.”

He stopped following her and looked down at the Nerf football at his feet. He snatched it up and threw it, bouncing it off the back of her head. She stopped, turned, and glared at him.

“Movie night tonight, right? Your house or mine?” he asked.

“Try Caitlin’s house. You’ll probably have to be the one to work the DVD player. She doesn’t seem the tech savvy type, if you know what I mean.” she replied coldly before turning back to walk across the street.

“Come on… we never miss movie night. Movie night is every night.” he said.

“Have movie night with Caitlin. She can suck you off after the movie is over, if you’re lucky. It’s something you can wish for.” she blurted out angrily.

Jeff didn’t know what to say. He just stood there in the yard staring until she went inside her house and shut the door.

As Lizzy kicked her shoes off and sat down on her bed, her cell phone rang. It was Jeff. She considered whether or not to answer. She picked it up. 

“What?” she blurted out.

“Geez, what’s into you, Lizzy?”

“It’s not what’s into me, it’s what you’re into.”

“I don’t see why you hate Caitlin so much.”

“Stop saying her name, please. Even her name is annoying.”

“I don’t get you.” he said.

“Jeff, you’re the one with the bad taste. If that’s how little you think of yourself, then fine. I’m gonna take a nap so please don’t call back.”

Jeff was saddened. For the night, he was defeated. 

“Alright. If that’s what you want. I’m sorry for bothering you.”

She hung up without saying goodbye. He looked at his phone, stunned. Looking at the clock, he knew Caitlin was waiting in her front yard for him to arrive. Women.

*******

Fifteen minutes later, Jeff pulled up to Caitlin’s house. Running up to his car was the bouncy, bright blue-eyed tart wrapped in a short, flowy skirt and revealing blouse. Her golden blonde tresses were pinned back at the bangs with a fancy barrette. She hopped in the passenger side, leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Hey sweetie!” she said.

“Hey! So, it’s a day at the mall, huh? Got anything in mind specifically or just window shopping?”

“Yeah, Trish is waiting for me. We were going to have some coffee then go to that new clothing store they just opened.”

“Wow, really? I was thinking of taking a look in there. Mind if I tag along?”

“Oooh, sweetie, I wish you could but I kind of made arrangements with Trish. We’re going to be doing, you know, girl stuff. You wouldn’t be interested. You’d be bored out of your mind.” she joked, passing it off as nothing.

Jeff was disappointed and could see Lizzy in his mind giving him that ‘I told you so’ look. He played it off, laughing along with Caitlin.

The next morning, Jeff woke up bright and early and made breakfast. He put it on a plate and walked across the street, knocking on Lizzy’s door. Her dad, Jeff’s Uncle Phil, opened it.

“Hey, Uncle Phil. Is Lizzy up?” Jeff asked.

“Hey, Jeff. Up bright and early, huh? No, Lizzy’s still in bed. Can I borrow some of that bacon?” he said with a grimace as he reached for the plate.

“Sorry, Uncle Phil, this is for Lizzy.” Jeff moved with agility, dashing past Phil into the house as he laughed. 

Phil laughed too. “Go on upstairs and wake her. She should be up anyways.”

Jeff walked past the kitchen where his aunt was eating breakfast, “Hi Aunt Ellen.” he said in passing as she waved. 

He went upstairs and opened Lizzy’s door, shutting it behind him. She was fast asleep. He watched her for a moment, smiling. 

He then snatched up a pillow laying at the foot of the bed and smacked her in the head with it. She snapped up, eyes bulging, then focusing on Jeff.

“What the fuck?! Ass!” she barked as she threw the pillow back at him and laid back down. 

He chuckled and sat down next to her, offering the plate. “Here. Breakfast in bed.”

She sat up, looking at the plate, her anger tamed. She then looked back at him, bouncing a repentant grin.

“Hope you like it.” he said.

She didn’t take a bite. She just looked at it, contemplating solemnly.

“Hey, go close my door.” she said with an interesting calmness. Jeff shut the door. “Lock it.” she added. He did, and then looked at her, confused. She patted the bed so he went and sat down.

“You get lucky last night?” she asked.

He didn’t know how to explain without getting an ‘I told you so’ in return. 

“No. She had plans with one of her girlfriends.” Jeff said, disappointed with himself. 

“Told you so.” she said. In his mind, Jeff rolled his eyes.

“You know…” she said. “…I’m not going to apologize.” She was tragically earnest. This was a serious side of her Jeff rarely saw. “Look, I meant what I said about Caitlin yesterday. I may have been a little rude about it, but I think sometimes you need a good kick in the head to get a point across.” she said.

He listened calmly, receptively. 

“I just don’t think she’s right for you. I think you deserve better. I mean, look at your situation: you’re dating this girl who basically uses you for money and transportation, doesn’t put out and, for all you know, she could be sleeping around behind your back.”

This was news to him. “She could?” Jeff was infamously gullible.

“Uh, yeah.” Lizzy sarcastically announced. “It’s what girls like her do best: lie on their backs and let guys turn their pussies into Disneyworld.”

Jeff muttered, “I still haven’t gotten to go to her Disneyworld…”

Lizzy sunk forward, brows high, “Yeah. Exactly.”

Lizzy watched Jeff sulk, eyes down. She felt sorry for him. “Well, don’t feel so down. The barbecue tomorrow should take your mind off of her for awhile.”

“Yeah, eating meats slathered in barbecue sauce and having to hear you burp and laugh like a psych ward patient in my backyard will really take my mind off the fact that my girlfriend refuses to polish my sausage.”

“Maybe if you take out a few of your own ribs, you can polish your own sausage. The lead singer in this metal band does it.” she suggested.

“Ha ha. Very funny. You should have your own show on Comedy Central; you’re so damned funny. Not.”

“Hey, you’re the one with the bad taste in girls.”

“Exactly. I mean, I do choose to hang out with you.” he snapped back.

She punched him in the chest. “Bitch.” she cursed. “So, since you’re so depressed about your girl problems, are you going to call off what we had planned after the barbecue?”

“We had something planned?” he asked, confused.

She was insulted, her mouth agape. “Uhh, yeah. We were supposed to go to downtown and check out that new ice cream parlor, the one that just opened? The one with the all-you-can-eat dessert bar? I gotsta have my triple chocolate strawberry crème and I’ll kill to get it.”

“Yeah, that’s all I need. I get no sex as it is so why not just become a fat ass?” he said.

“I’m sick and tired of hearing about all the sex you aren’t getting. Next time you go looking for a girlfriend, don’t pick one whose panties are tougher to get into than Fort Knox. So, you’re not going to flake tomorrow, are you?” she asked.

“Nah, we’ll go.”

“Okay, I’m holding you to that.” she said.

*****

The next day, Jeff’s and Lizzy’s parents and Lizzy were in Jeff’s backyard. The women were setting the tables and Phil was flipping burgers while Lizzy’s dad, Barry, chatted with him with a beer in his hand. Lizzy came into the backyard, looking around. Jeff was nowhere to be found.

She went up to Jeff’s mom, Becky. “Aunt Becky, where’s Jeff?”

Becky looked around. “Huhn. He’s not in his room?”

“No, I just checked.”

“Maybe he went to the store really quick to get some chips or something?” Becky theorized.

“Hmm, maybe.” Lizzy said, but not believing it.

Half an hour later, Jeff still hadn’t shown up but the food was ready so everyone started digging in. Lizzy bit into her hamburger, wondering where Jeff was. She felt like a fifth wheel since the parents were having adult-y conversations. She missed him and knew that if he were there, she’d actually be having fun.

Then, Lizzy heard the rear sliding glass door to Jeff’s house open. She looked up and into the backyard walked Jeff. Holding his hand was Caitlin.

Lizzy stopped chewing. Her face sunk. Jeff saw Lizzy’s expression from across the yard and was wearing a nervous smile himself.

The parents all welcomed Jeff and Caitlin loudly and enthusiastically. Lizzy sat silent, looking down at her plate, stewing in flustered anger.

Jeff spoke. “Hey, guys. I thought I’d invite Caitlin over for the barbecue. I hope that’s cool.”

“Of course!” Phil exclaimed. “Pull up a chair, Caitlin, and grab a burger. Jeff, get her a plate.”

Caitlin interrupted. “Oh, it’s okay, Mr. Monroe. I just came to spend time with Jeff, mostly. I’ll just have a bottled water or something. I really need to watch my figure. If I eat just one hamburger, I’ll balloon up.”

Lizzy, remaining obscure, rolled her eyes, her thoughts stabbing venom at Jeff’s blonde guest. 

“You don’t need to watch your figure, honey.” Becky laughed. “I’m sure plenty of guys watch it for you.”

Caitlin chuckled along with Becky and the rest of the parents. Jeff laughed along, but noticed that Lizzy wasn’t. He could see she was not happy in the least. Lizzy seemed to almost take Caitlin’s comment as a personal dig at her.

“So, what have you been up to, Caitlin?” Ellen asked.

“Oh, not much. My friend Stacy’s car broke down last night so Jeff was going to drop us off at this salon downtown to have our hair and nails done.” Caitlin said.

Lizzy was stewing in her juices.

“Is that the place that opened up next to that organic market?” Becky asked.

“Yeah.” Caitlin said.

“You know, you should take Lizzy with you one of these days, Caitlin. She could use a few lessons on how to be a girl.” Ellen chuckled. “She’s still in her tomboy phase!”

Everyone laughed, save for Jeff, whose tame laugh was just for show. Lizzy grinned with fake enthusiasm, secretly wanting to strangle her mom. Jeff cringed inside, feeling for her. Lizzy put down her burger and fished out her cell phone. No one had called her, but she pretended to get a text message.

“Excuse me, I’m getting a text…” Lizzy said discreetly to the adults before excusing herself from the table.

Everyone carried on, talking, everyone but Jeff. He watched as Lizzy walked towards the side gate. He turned to his dad.

“Hey, dad, I’m gotta grab a soda from the fridge real quick.”

Phil nodded, completely engaged in his conversation with Barry, both men guffawing as they spoke and drank their beers.

Jeff whispered to Caitlin. “I’ll be right back.”

Caitlin was yakking it up with Jeff’s mom and aunt so she didn’t mind.

Jeff jogged to the side gate and could see Lizzy crossing the street through it. He pushed through the gate, chasing after her. He caught up with her in her driveway. She sensed his presence, having heard his pounding footsteps, but didn’t acknowledge him.

Jeff was apologetic in his every gesture. “Hey, I’m sorry. I—I didn’t know she wanted to come by. She called me earlier and had me pick her up.”

Lizzy paced up to her house, not slowing a step. She pushed through her front door as Jeff followed. “It’s okay. I mean, she’s your girlfriend. You guys gotta hang out.”

“It wasn’t right what your mom said. You don’t need to take lessons from anyone.” he said.

Lizzy scaled the stairs, heading to her room. Jeff followed closely behind. “Apparently some people think so. Maybe I should be more like Caitlin. Maybe I should get all whored up, go out, get drunk and sleep with a ton of guys. Hey, maybe if I’m lucky I’ll get an STD, or better yet, knocked up! I’ll bet that’d make me ‘more girly’. I’ll bet everyone would love it if I started shopping at Victoria’s Secret, wearing lingerie in my third trimester, but only after I take my meds to help keep my Chlamydia under control. But I’d have to make sure, above all else, that my eye shadow complimented my skin tone.”

Lizzy and Jeff took their conversation into her room.

“Lizzy, that’s not you. I like you just the way you are.”

Flustered, she finally spun around, confronting him face to face. “Yeah, because I’m harmless! I’m undesirable, repulsive. I couldn’t get a rock hard.”

Jeff chuckled in a reassuringly supportive way. “That’s not true at all.”

“Oh yeah? How isn’t it?”

Jeff wanted to confess the dirty little thoughts he’d compiled about her over the years but he just couldn’t draw up the courage to. All he could do was look down.

“Exactly.” she said. 

“You are attractive. You just don’t need to be all painted up to be.”

“You forgot to say that I’m beautiful on the inside and that’s what counts. What other motivational cliché are you going to dig up next? That I’m not fat, that I’ve just got more to love?”

“Well, you’re not fat at all, so that’s just silly.” Jeff said.

“Apparently I must be, since only fat asses eat hamburgers. According to Caitlin, I must be a balloon since I like to eat from time to time.” Lizzy growled.

“Look, what do you want me to say? No matter how attractive I think you are, you’re my cousin. I can’t, like, hit on you like that. All that should matter is that I care about you. That’s why I love spending time with you.” he stated emphatically.

“You like hanging out with me because I’m like a guy, that’s why. If you weren’t my cousin you’d have no interest in spending five minutes with me.” she said, unconvinced.

“Now that’s not fair. That’s not true at all.” he said, disagreeing.

“That is true. I know how guys are. If I were attractive even a little, you’d hit on me, cousin or not. You’d want to get into my panties and eventually you would. I know how it works.”

“Lizzy, that’s insane. So, the fact that I don’t hit on you means that I don’t find you attractive? That you’re not attractive?”

“All I’m saying is that I can see what you find attractive, and she’s across the street in your backyard not eating because God forbid she gains half a pound.”

“Will you stop it? You know how I feel about her and how I feel about you.” he barked.

She stared daggers into him. “Oh, I know how you feel. You hang out with her, hoping for the chance to get her into the sack, but since you have nothing in common with her, afterwards you hang out with me for the conversation.”

“What is with you?” he asked.

“Jeff, you know what’s with me.” she said as she dug her car keys out of her dresser.

Jeff intruded, turning her to face him. “Lizzy, I think you’re beautiful.”

She looked into his eyes and saw the honesty in his words. She was a bit taken aback by the admission, one he’d never made before. He’d softened her, doused her fire.

“Yeah, but Caitlin is your girlfriend. I can’t stand her but it’s not up to me whom you choose to be with. I just have to deal with it.”

He looked at the keys in her hand. “Where are you going?”

“Well, I figure our post-barbecue plans are shot since Little Miss Cum-catcher is having you drive her around town so I’ll just go out alone.”

“No, come on. Just wait for me.”

She looked at him, astounded. He didn’t get it. “I’m not waiting around here while you chauffeur her all over the place. I’m not going to play second fiddle to anyone. You have plans. Fine. I’ll just change mine.”

She walked out of her room. Jeff slugged along after her in defeat.

“Am I at least going to get to hang out with you tonight when you get back?”

“I don’t know when I’ll be back.” she spat back.

Jeff couldn’t believe how hurt Lizzy was. He wished he knew what to do to tame her. He wanted to stay with her. She was his best friend and it was painful to see her frustrated. He wanted to spend time with Lizzy and not Caitlin, but he knew he couldn’t come out and tell her that. That would just complicate things.

He chased her out to her car. She was already in the driver’s seat, putting her key in the ignition when Jeff ran up to her window. “Hey, drive careful, okay? I’m going to call you in a few hours just to check in on you, to make sure you’re okay, alright?”

Lizzy was touched by his concern, but she had to play the role. “Okay. I don’t know if I’ll pick up, though.” she said, maintaining her discontentedness.

She backed up in the driveway and drove off down the street, leaving Jeff alone. He felt stranded.

Jeff sulked back to his house, into his backyard and plopped down at the picnic table next to Caitlin. Caitlin took his hand and whispered into his ear. “Can we go now, sweetie?”

“Yeah, sure.” Jeff said, trying to mask his unhappiness.

A few miles away, Lizzy had stopped at a red light and was almost in tears.

Jeff and Caitlin were now in his car, heading downtown. He dropped Caitlin off in front of the salon. Her friend, Stacy, was there and Caitlin barely gave Jeff a second glance as she ran up to her, the two of them disappearing into the salon amidst a sea of giggles and chatter.

On the other side of town, Lizzy walked into a quaint cosmetics shop/beauty salon. The place looked like it had been around for a while, passed down a few generations possibly. The women behind the counter didn’t look like swimsuit models. They were older and a bit fuller in the body. This put Lizzy at ease.

She wasn’t used to being in places like this. She was out of her element, for sure. Hesitantly, she walked up to the counter. The two ladies instantly greeted her with wide smiles.

“Well, hi there!” one of them said.

“How can we help you today?” the other asked.

Lizzy tried to cobble together a coherent answer. “Well, I—I don’t know, I was thinking of just treating myself today and getting a makeover.”

She said this almost as a question. This peaked the women’s interest.

“Oh, of course! We can take care of you.” one of them said. “Were you interested in a facial? Pedicure? Manicure? Shampoo, rinse and styling, maybe?”

Lizzy chortled. “Yes, please.”

They came out from behind the counter and escorted her to the back of the shop. Lizzy felt safe in their hands.

“We’ll do your facial first, then your hair, then your nails and then you’ll be all set.” the darker-skinned lady said.

“I’m not a big make-up person but I kind of wanted to pick up a few things. What would you recommend?”

“We can help you out with that, darlin’. You’re a cutie now, but once you leave here you’ll be causing car crashes.” the lady smiled.

Lizzy smiled, looking forward to it.

Jeff laid in bed, restlessly channel-surfing on his TV. He leaned over and snatched up his cell phone off the night table next to his bed. No messages, no calls. Lizzy had been gone for over two hours.

He finally decided to give and check in on her. He dialed her number and waited nervously for her to answer. One ring, two rings, three, four, nothing.

She’d never been gone this long after a disagreement and she’d never not picked up her phone. He was getting worried.

He decided to give it one more try. He dialed again and waited. After three rings, Lizzy picked up.

“Hey.”

Jeff was relieved, but tried not to sound too excited. “Hey, I just wanted to check in and make sure you were okay.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just doing a little shopping. I’ll be done in a little bit.” Lizzy said.

“Oh, okay. Well, you drive safe, okay? Call me if you need anything.”

“Okay.” she said. “See ya.” and hung up.

Jeff was conflicted, happy that she was all right but disturbed at her seemingly flip responses. She didn’t seem herself. She seemed distant, distracted. He lay back in bed, his mind swirling with thoughts, ruminations, and assumptions. He wondered how his relationship with Caitlin was really affecting Lizzy.

Forty-five minutes later, he heard the familiar sound of Lizzy’s car tires rolling up her parent’s driveway. He bounced out of bed and peeked out of his blinds. Lizzy’s brake lights went off as she shut off the ignition. She opened her door and got out, then leaned back in, pulling several bags from the passenger seat and lugging them up to the front door.

He wondered whether or not he should call her, wait for her to call him, go over or wait for her to come over. He decided to give her some space and wait for her.

He felt like he was waiting forever until finally his phone rang. Elated, he popped up and answered it. “Hey!”

“Hey, sweetie.” the voice answering back wasn’t Lizzy but Caitlin. “We’re done here. Could you pick me up?”

He was let down but tried to sound upbeat. “Hey…sweetie. Yeah, sure, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

He hung up and snatched his car keys off the dresser. As he headed out, his phone rang again. He looked at the caller ID. It was Lizzy. He quickly answered.

“Hey! I noticed you just got back.” he blurted out.

“Yeah. Hey, can you come over?” she asked sweetly.

He was really glad to hear the pleasantness in her voice, but realized he couldn’t run over there like he wanted to. “Yeah, I’ll be over in, like, half an hour. I just gotta do something real quick.”

Lizzy was smoldering under her calm tenor. “Hmm, let me guess. You got the call, right? She says jump and you start hopping. Same old story.”

He tried to smooth things over. “I said I’d be over in half an hour. I will be. I promise.”

“Whatever.” she barked back and hung up on him.

“Geez.” he thought. “It’s like having two girlfriends.”

He hurried to his car, speeding off towards Caitlin. The quicker he picked her up and got her home, the quicker he could get home to Lizzy. 

He arrived at the salon and Caitlin was waiting outside. Upon seeing him, she ran around to the passenger’s side and hopped in.

“Hey, honey.” she beamed.

Jeff was impressed. She looked great. But for Jeff she was more like a priceless piece of art hanging on a wall: nice to look at, impossible to touch and not much more to her than what you could see. For him, that was always something that ate away at him. Any other guy looking at her would come to the same conclusion: “What a piece of ass. I’d fuck it.” but that was the problem. That’s not all Jeff wanted.

“So, how do I look?” she asked, grinning.

“Great, as always.”

It only took him ten minutes to get her home. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and decided to walk her to her front door.

The sun was going down, the sky was the perfect hue of gold and bronze. She reached into her purse to find her house keys and her purse slipped off her arm and hit the floor, spilling its contents. “Shit.” Caitlin said, her cell phone and keys clattering over by the door. She had to turn around to pick them up.

Jeff looked down and, amidst the small pile of spilt contents, was something unmistakable. An empty condom wrapper. His heart sank. Before Caitlin turned around, he scooped everything, including the condom wrapper, back into her purse.

She turned around and he handed her the purse. Keys in hand, she unlocked her door. She smiled back at him. “Did you want to come inside for a few minutes? My parents are gone.”

Any other time he would’ve leapt at the offer, but he was still reeling inside. Stunned. “Actually, I promised my dad I was going to be back right away. I have to help him with some car work.”

She actually looked a little disappointed. He was sure though that she’d probably had sex some time within the last few hours, and it wasn’t with him.

The drive back home was a decisive one. He realized that everything Lizzy was telling him about Caitlin was probably true. He’d never been cheated on before but the proof was almost undeniable… unless you’re in denial, like he was desperately trying to be.

He got home, parked, and walked over to Lizzy’s. Jeff’s Aunt Ellen opened the door and let him in.

“Hey, Jeff. Did you have your girlfriend talk to Lizzy?” she asked.

“No, why?”

“Well, she went out to do a little shopping and came back looking like a Barbie doll.”

“What? Really?” he asked, now bitingly curious.

“Go see. She’s in her room.” she suggested.

Jeff quickly scaled the stairs. He knocked on her door only to hear Lizzy’s muffled voice say, “Come in!”

He opened the door and found Lizzy sitting at her computer desk, her back to him.

The only light in the room was coming from her monitor, but he could tell that something was different about her. He noticed that her normally frizzy hair was now straight and smooth, cascading down her shoulders.

“Your mom said you were up here. I wanted to talk to you.”

Without turning to him, she spoke. “Sure. What did you want to talk about.”

“Can I turn your light on?” he asked.

“Sure.”

He flicked her light switch on and went over to stand next to her. Her attention was lazily affixed to the screen as she scoured random websites.

“Whatcha doing?” he asked.

“Being bored. Just surfing the net.”

He looked her over, noticing that she looked so different. She was always beautiful to him but never attempted to ‘polish’ her natural cuteness with make-up or primping of any kind. A natural beauty, if you will. But now, she’d been given a serious polish. Her skin was glowing and fresh looking and her nails were painted a slick, dark crimson.

She did get her hair done. It shimmered, flowing straighter than he’d ever seen it. She looked so… desirable. At that moment, he actually wanted to kiss her. Kind of the same way when you go to a bakery and see a scrumptious looking cake and you want to bury your face in it.

He stumbled for words. “Wow, you look really nice.”

“Thanks.” she said, still not locking eyes with him.

“I hope you didn’t go out and get all done up just because of what your mom said.”

She still came off flip. “Not really. I just had all this cash burning a hole in my pocket so I figured I’d do something new for a change.”

“New is good. You look really…”

“…Nice.” she interrupted. “You said that already. I know it’s impossible to turn a beast into a beauty, but I’m pretty happy with how I turned out.”

He knelt next to her. “I wanted to say you looked a lot better than ‘nice’ but I didn’t want you to think I was, you know, throwing lines at you or something.”

“Yeah, whatever.” she said, still clearly not convinced.

Jeff was fed up with her attitude and frosty exterior. He shut off her monitor and she finally glared up at him, furious. “What the hell?” she barked.

“What’s up with you today? Talk to me.” he said, taking her hand in his.

She turned to him and he finally saw her straight on. She did look beautiful. He lost his train of thought for a second before reeling himself back in. Even with her polished exterior, she seemed vulnerable and unsure. Unhappy.

“You look beautiful. I mean that. If I wasn’t your cousin and had the balls to say more, I’d say it. Now, answer me. Are you sure that what your mom said didn’t irk you?” he asked.

“How could it not, Jeff? Little Miss Perfect is sitting right there, afraid to eat and getting ready to get even prettier by going to some salon and there I am, sucking down burgers while my mom basically tells me that I’m a fattie that needs to wear make-up in front of everyone.”

“You know she didn’t mean that. And stop comparing yourself to other people. You’re beautiful, inside and out. If you don’t believe it, believe me.”

She softened before his eyes. “So, how was your day?”

The thoughts of Caitlin and his discovery rushed back at him. He stood, walking over to her bed and plopping down. She stood up and sat down on the floor in front of him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Jeff didn’t know whether to tell her or not. It’d just be more ammunition to use against him. “I think—I think that Caitlin is cheating on me.”

Lizzy’s face lit up in a strange, fascinated way. Heart-broken, crushed, but as if she’d had a revelation. Unbeknownst to Jeff, Lizzy was cheering inside. Part of her, most of her, well, all of her, wanted him to leave her. Whether she knew it herself or not, Lizzy wanted to be the only female in his life.

It’s like two female dogs fighting over territory; one leaving its scent and the other marking over it, and so on and so forth. To Lizzy, Jeff was her territory and Caitlin was the cancerous intrusion into her territory. She wanted to root Caitlin out and get rid of her and she realized that this knowledge was probably the best bet she had. 

She prodded him on it. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I found an open condom wrapper in her purse. We haven’t had sex in months and I don’t ever remember using that brand.”

She played coy, playing along very carefully. “Do you think she’s cheating?”

He let his head hang low. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Are you going to break up with her?” she pushed.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know how I would.”

She rubbed his leg. “I’m sorry. She doesn’t deserve you.”

She thought for a second, knowing what she wanted to say but not knowing if she had the courage to. Finally, she managed. “If you weren’t my cousin, I’d probably offer to do something for you but you’d probably think the idea was disgusting.”

“Like what?”

She didn’t know what she was doing. She’d never seduced anyone much less come right out and offered oral sex, ESPECIALLY not to the boy she’d grown up with. But, having brought it up, she had dug herself into a deep hole.

“I don’t know. Caitlin doesn’t do anything for you.”

Jeff was sure she didn’t mean what he thought she meant. “I don’t—do you mean...”

She felt the conversation getting awkward and wanted to bail out. “It’s nothing. Forget it.”

Jeff certainly didn’t want to forget it. He had a beautiful angel of a girl kneeling between his legs that he thinks just offered him oral sex and he was not going to ‘forget it’. He leaned forward, resting his hand on her shoulder. “No, wait. What did you mean?”

He could see she didn’t have much of a follow-up. She didn’t think past her initial offer. He caressed her soft, round face in his hands. “I’m just going to go out on a limb. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong, but did you mean something sexual?”

She looked to the side, unsure. “I don’t know. It’s not like Caitlin satisfies you.”

“Can I ask you something?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Why did you really go and get all done up today?” he asked.

“Look, I just got tired of looking at myself in the mirror and seeing a ten-year old boy in a girl’s body. Guys are into girls that do this crap, put make-up on and do their hair and nails. I know you’re into girls that do that kind of stuff.” she accused.

“You know what I’m into?”

“What?” she asked.

“You.”

Her eyes lit up, not expecting to hear that.

“You’re just so special, you have no idea. The guy that lands you just won’t know realize how lucky he is to have you.” he professed.

“Well, right now, that guy is you.” she said coyly.

“Do me one favor, though.”

“What?” Lizzy asked.

“Don’t ever even tease about offering me anything sexual. I have willpower but looking as cute as you do right now, if you ask me again I don’t think I’ll be able to turn you down.” Jeff suggested.

She smiled. He crawled onto the ground and into her arms. They embraced.

“So I got all dolled up for nothing?” she asked, not realizing how seductive it was.

“You did all this to torture me. The only girl on the planet I can’t touch is the one I spend most of my time with.”

“Yeah, well, the same goes for you.”

They chuckled at the absurdity of it all.

“So, what are you doing tomorrow?” she asked.

“I didn’t have plans.”

“Want to go out with me tomorrow?”

“Don’t you have work?” he asked.

“I took your advice. I quit. I don’t need the money anyways and I was getting real sick of taking all that crap from my manager. Plus, I want to take you out.”

“Where are we going?”

“Shopping?”

“For what?” he asked.

“I don’t know. We’ll just go waste some money. I’m buying. So, how ‘bout it?”

Jeff looked down to see those large, dark, coercive eyes. Eyes he could never say no to. It didn’t help that at the angle she was leaning, he could see right down the collar of her sweater and to the unmistakable cleavage that lay therein. He blinked, trying to hide his enthusiasm.

Smoothly, he nodded. “Okay.” 

*******

CHAPTER TWO

The next day, Jeff waited in his car as Lizzy walked across the street. She looked just as cute as the night before, still wearing her sweatshirt and jeans. She hopped in the passenger side and immediately leaned forward, digging into his pants pockets. His body locked up, not knowing what Lizzy was doing. As she dug into his pockets, her breasts mashed against his arm.

Lizzy finally found what she was looking for: his cell phone. She quickly fiddled with it, shutting it off and tossing it on her floor mat. “Okay, let’s go.”

Jeff took a quick glimpse out the window, seeing the glaring sun. “Liz, it’s like ninety degrees outside. You sure you want to go out dressed like that?”

He noted her sweatshirt.

“I’m not gonna dress down and have weirdoes staring at my boobs all day.” she said.

If Jeff were drinking something at that moment, he would’ve spat it out. Lizzy snickered jokingly.

A few minutes into the car ride to the mall, Lizzy unzipped her sweatshirt and peeled it off. She exhaled frustratingly. “I hate to say it, but you were right. It is so piss hot out today.”

The instant Jeff glanced over at her, he almost swallowed his tongue. She was wearing a tiny, baby blue t-shirt under her sweatshirt that barely contained her breasts. Her tits protruded boldly, stretching at the fabric and jiggled whenever Lizzy moved even the slightest bit. From his angle, Jeff got a perfect view down her low-cut shirt. He winced at the beauty of her cleavage. 

She’d become instantly distracting, but not in an exhibitionistic way. She wasn’t trying to be sexy. Usually, she seemed to try not to be. With her body, though, anything less than a thick sweater would come off as exhibitionistic.

She looked at him. “You okay?”

He was still trying to dig his tongue out of his throat. “Is that a new shirt?”

She looked down at it. “Not really. I’ve had it lying around. I just don’t like wearing it much because it’s kind of tacky. I call it my skank shirt. Doesn’t do much of a job of keeping my girls indoors, huh?” she sniggered.

Jeff tried to laugh along with her. He was pretty sure she saw through it and realized his laughter was bullshit, though. 

Sometimes Jeff realized just how cute and tempting his cousin was. She wasn’t the kind of girl who was everybody’s kind of coffee but she was the perfect cup of coffee for him. Feisty, funny, silly, immature, but also very deep, complex and emotionally needy all the same. She was a very strange dichotomy. What Jeff found most appealing about her, though, was that she found safety and security with him and only him.

She never did anything out of character. She was consistent in almost everything she did. Predictable. Jeff would never, one day, find out that she went out to a club, got drunk and fucked some frat boys. In fact, her trip to the salon was the most uncharacteristic thing she’d ever done, but upon closer inspection, Jeff realized how it was so typical of her. Jeff knew that Lizzy, deep down, wanted his approval about everything she did. Now, that was bleeding over into how she looked. She wanted to please him, even if it meant doing things she wouldn’t do for herself.

In many ways, Lizzy was the female version of himself, except she was the initiate in everything. The one to say where they were going, what they were doing. Very much how a couple works where the woman is in charge.

Having said all that, Lizzy was very emotionally unsure and dependent on her cousin. She had latched onto him since they were very little and, for some reason, never let go. They were always two peas in a pod. Jeff suspected that he was the only one she could ever be so rowdy and unruly with. Deep down, she was a shy girl who didn’t like attention. Well, she fancied Jeff’s attention, but their relationship wasn’t the common type.

Jeff figured that Lizzy must’ve been completely oblivious to how the male mind worked. So many times over the years, the two would have ‘sleepovers’, much the way two teenage girls would. Many a time during these sleepovers, Lizzy would walk around in her room or Jeff’s in just a small top and pajama shorts. She would wrestle around with him, lean over him to reach for a soda can or use him as a pillow and lay her head in his lap as they watched movies. 

Maybe for her sexless mind these moments were completely uneventful but for Jeff they were strangely exciting, awkward and confusing moments.

A few times Jeff even thought she was making a pass at him but he couldn’t be sure. He never attempted to act on these suspicions. He knew that if he had and his suspicions were unfounded or misinterpreted, what followed would be a very bizarre, crushing life experience. Lizzy would also probably have punched him in the balls for it.

Jeff didn’t know any better back then. He was just a dumb kid whose dick was eager to get into almost any pussy. It wasn’t his fault that his attractive younger cousin would lay all over him, inadvertently swinging her tits in his face. Hormones do what they’re made to do: trigger that re-productive instinct. That was the conundrum that faced Jeff. Instinct versus logic.

Suddenly, he got whacked in the head. It was Lizzy with an open palm.

Jeff thrashed around. “WHAT THE HELL?!” he barked, overacting.

“I’ve been talking for, like, five minutes and you’ve just been staring off into space. You thinking about some girl’s tits or something?”

He actually froze, wondering whether she was reading his mind. Then he realized telepathy isn’t real. He breathed a sigh of relief before responding.

“No, I’m just driving. Focusing on the road.”

“You’re such a tit-head.” she said, disgusted.

“Is that your new buzzword? ‘Tit’? What’s wrong with you? Stop saying that.” he chuckled.

***

They both play-sulked until they arrived at the mall. With it being fairly early and a weekday, the parking lot was only peppered with cars. They parked and Lizzy threw her sweatshirt back on.

As they got inside, the cool breeze of the air conditioning swept over them and the soothing sound of mall music rolled out of the hidden, disembodied speakers. The two breathed in the smell of oversaturated consumerism and moved deeper inside.

They chitchatted as they walked past shop after shop, pointing out window items of interest. They finally approached the mall’s electronics shop. 

Lizzy got excited as they walked in. “Holy crap. I wonder if Armed Assault 2 is out.”

“You looking to get your ass kicked in that game, too?”

“Please. The only times you killed me was when you got lucky or you cheated.” Jeff taunted.

They perused the aisles until Lizzy came upon a game that she remembered Jeff talking about. The box featured a leggy, armor-clad babe wielding a sword.

“Hey, didn’t you talk about wanting to get that?” she asked.

He looked at the box. “Yeah. I don’t know. I think I’ll wait and get it next month.”

“Why next month?”

“I get paid.” he said.

“Jeff, I’ll get it for you.”

“Come on, Lizzy. I owe you like $200 in stuff you’ve bought me over the past month.”

She appeared almost insulted. “Jeff, you don’t owe me. Come on, I like buying you stuff.”

“It’s okay. I can get it later. It’s no biggie.”

She sighed and picked the box off the shelf. Jeff knew she’d do that. She definitely was stubborn, but in the sweetest way.

Lizzy paid for a few items, including the gift she got Jeff and they walked out. Feeling guilty for letting her buy him the game, he held the bag for Lizzy.

They passed a women’s clothing store and Lizzy looked up at the posters framed on the windows of the thin, sexy models. Looking in, they could see it was a fairly high-class women’s fashion: sexy, understated, classy but sensual. If Victoria’s Secret made clothes other than lingerie.

“Oh my Gawd. A whole store that caters to skanks.” she joked.

“I don’t know. It kinda looks like classy, sexy type stuff.”

She looked at him, ready to laugh. “You don’t think those clothes look whorish?”

“How can you see the clothes from out here?”

“Duh, I can see the billboards here. The models.” she stated.

“Well, you can hate on the models but don’t hate on the clothes. The clothes didn’t do anything to you.” he said.

She punched him on the shoulder.

“Weren’t you saying the other day that you wanted to get some summer clothes anyway?” he asked.

“Yeah, but just for, like, in the house. Just stuff to hang out in.”

“Well, this stuff seems pretty laid back.”

“I think this stuff is a bit too girly for me.” she confessed.

“You are a girl, Lizzy. Quit being such a wimp. Just go inside and try some stuff on. You already had your hair and nails done so complete the trifecta.” he said, goading her on.

She thought about it. Secretly, she wondered how she’d look if she really got dolled up. She had gotten her hair, nails and face done. She had the make-up at home. All that was missing was some clothes. Since Jeff was goading her to try on some of the wardrobe inside, she felt comfortable taking the leap and trying something different.

“Maybe I’ll just look.” she said.

Once in the store, Jeff tried to play as the trapped boyfriend. He made sure to stay close to Lizzy so that no women would think he was some weirdo loitering in a women’s clothing store.

Lizzy leafed through the racks. The clothes seemed very provocative to her, maybe too provocative for her sensibilities.

She looked over her shoulder at Jeff. “You think professional escorts buy their clothes here?”

“Maybe. The clothes look nice.”

“’Nice’ is one way to say it.” she said, chortling.

“Stop being so afraid of being sexy, Lizzy. Why don’t you try something on?”

“Like I know what sexy looks like.”

“Well, I know what sexy looks like so I’ll help. Here. Let’s see…” Jeff said as he leaned past Lizzy, looking into the rack. Jeff saw a few tops he thought would look cute on Lizzy so he took them off the rack.

Lizzy followed him around the store and soon, she started seeing things she was curious enough about to try on.

After a few minutes of perusing the racks and shelves and picking a few choice items, she decided to try on what she’d picked. She saw Jeff turn the corner of the aisle holding several tops he’d chosen for her.

“Hey, Lizzy, if you’re going to try stuff on, here.” he said.

“Well, just come in here with me so you can tell me what you think.” she said as she opened the changing room door.

Jeff wasn’t sure what she meant by that. Clearly she didn’t imply he stand in the dressing room with her while she changed. But as he wandered over to her, Lizzy tugged on his shirt, pulling him inside the dressing room and shutting the door behind them. 

Jeff was a bit taken by her assertiveness. She was always assertive but this was of a different sort, a sort he couldn’t put his finger on. They dumped the clothes into a pile on the floor. 

Jeff handed her one of the tops he’d chosen. “Here, try this one first.”

She picked it up, holding it outstretched it front of her. “This? You think? It’s tiny.”

“Just try it.”

“Okay.” she said, putting the top down and moving to unzip her sweatshirt.

Jeff got a bit antsy. “Hey, do you want me to turn around or something?”

She didn’t seem to care. 

“You can close your eyes if you want. If you’re scared of seeing a girl’s bare back.” she said, looking over her shoulder and grinning.

Jeff wasn’t going to allow her to emasculate him. He kept his eyes open and just looked to the side as she took off her sweatshirt, and then her undershirt.

“I’m not wearing a bra so don’t throw a hissy.” she said as she leaned over, picking up the top Jeff had chosen. 

Having heard “no bra” Jeff ‘accidentally’ glanced down and saw the outline of her breast as she leaned forward. His first thought was extremely juvenile, excited at seeing a ‘boob’. The man in him was impressed at how smooth and flawless her olive skin was… and how plump and shapely her breast looked for that split second he caught a glance of it.

She slipped the top over her head and pulled it down over her midsection.

She spun around in the cramped changing room, presenting herself to him, hands out at her sides.

“What do you think?” she asked.

Jeff looked up at Lizzy’s cute, eager face before his eyes were immediately drawn to the massive amount of cleavage being presented before him. He forgot to breathe for a few seconds.

Jeff thanked himself for choosing the orange, low-cut top that she was now modeling for him. Being the red-blooded male he was, Jeff couldn’t just see the craftsmanship of the top, though. All he saw was the large fleshy protrusions that had stretched and deformed the decal on the front of the shirt. His heart actually skipped a beat at suddenly being confronted with her perfectly curvaceous frame. 

He’d watched her grow up and, over the years, had become a master at containing his enthusiasm whenever Lizzy asked him to look at a new top or shirt of hers. He developed a technique to remain smooth under the evolution of her ever-growing bra sizes. 

She was still waiting for an answer. Lackadaisically, he spoke. “The shirt?” 

Lizzy spat back. “No, my invisible tattoo. Yes, the shirt.”

“It’s cool.” he said. 

She studied him for a few seconds, trying to determine what he really meant. She immediately got flustered. “I knew it. I look like crap.” she said, turning around to remove the shirt.

Jeff realized his response was too languid. He stood up and moved towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her towards him. “You look really cute in that top.”

“Yeah, that answer wasn’t canned.” her eyes trailed off as she answered.

“Come on. I meant it. You look really cute in it.”

She wasn’t convinced. “You’re just saying that ‘cause you’re my cousin.”

He tried to dismiss her accusation. Looking down at her petite, yet voluptuous frame, it wasn’t hard for him to say how cute she looked.

“Well, I am your cousin so it’s a little difficult for me to come out and really say how cute I think you look without you getting weirded out, but, yes, I think you look really, really hot.”

That answer seemed a bit more convincing. She was still vulnerable and Jeff could see it. He tried to push the envelope a tiny bit more.

“Okay, put it this way, if you weren’t my cousin, I’d want to sexually assault you right now.” Jeff said.

A tame smile spread across Lizzy’s face and she spun around, her back to Jeff and started pulling off the shirt. 

“You sure you don’t you want some privacy?” he probed.

She looked over her shoulder, rolling her eyes. “Just because your girlfriend never shows you any skin doesn’t mean I can’t. Besides, we used to get undressed in front of each other all the time.”

“Yeah, when we were four.” he retorted.

Lizzy’s back was to Jeff, but he could hear her sigh as she pulled the shirt off. She tossed the top on the small pile of blouses and tops they’d gathered from the racks. She reached for another one and slipped it up over her head, pulling it down past her chest. 

Jeff realized he was going to be there for a while and, while he was crying with glee inside, he had to maintain his composure. He stepped back and sat on the bench built into the wall, getting into a comfortable position.

He quickly practiced loosening up his face. The last thing he wanted was for Lizzy to turn around and find him sporting his stupid, giddy grin. She was his cousin, luscious rack or no.

She pulled the top down and fixed the sides, ironing out the wrinkles with flat palms. Then, she turned around. Jeff took in a deep breath. Stunning. She was wearing a thin, lavender top that clung to every contour. The short sleeves had this frilly fabric that extended a few inches from the sleeve, not to mention a fairly low cut front that displayed a generous amount of cleavage.

Lizzy looked down at the shirt, pulling it down here and there, picking off pieces of lint. Then, her eyes moved eagerly to his. “Okay, what level of sexual assault would you classify this as?”

Jeff, trying desperately to sound uninterested, answered. “Umm, let’s see: first date, after a movie, in the woods making out in my car and ending in forced sex resulting in an unwanted pregnancy?” 

“Really? I look that good in this?” she said as she looked at herself in the mirror.”

“I think so. Where you going to wear these? Dates?”

She seemed offended. “Dates? No.” Her eyes swirled around, thinking. “I don’t know. Like, around the house. Just something comfy to wear. It’s already getting warm out. I could always wear these under a sweat shirt when we go out, too.”

“Oh, okay.” he said. He was thinking ahead as to how pleasantly uncomfortable the coming days and weeks were going to be with her getting this new wardrobe. He was thinking of all the cleavage he was going to be enjoying while she just being ‘comfy around the house’.

She had pulled off the lavender top and was pulling on a skimpy tank top. She turned around and Jeff was taken aback once again, astounded at just how full and perfect her tits looked. 

“Is it my birthday or something? You’re letting me stare at your chest all day.” he chuckled, feeling his pants tightening.

Lizzy giggled. “Well, you’re not complaining so you can sit there and stare some more.”

Jeff didn’t have a problem with that at all, although he was pleasantly surprised at how seemingly flirty she was being.

Over the next twenty minutes, Lizzy tried on half a dozen tops, all to the silent joy of Jeff. He played the role perfectly, lethargically approving of all of them. 

He always knew Lizzy to be very private, shy, and even prudish when it came to being feminine around him. She never discussed ‘girl issues’, never brought up the issue of periods, tampons, and stuff like that. She was even fairly paranoid about getting undressed in front of him in the past. The most she ever did was take off a heavy sweater revealing a hefty, baggy t-shirt underneath. He might’ve caught a glimpse of armpit but that was it. Now she was being extremely candid. 

After she tried on the last top, a seed of a mischievous idea grew in his mind. As she looked at the price tags, mentally tallying up the total, Jeff made a suggestion. “Are you only getting tops?”

She stopped, turning around. She glanced at her choices, thought about it for a few seconds. “I don’t know. Should I get shorts or something?”

Jeff calmly pushed forward with the strategy. “Might as well. It’s going to be getting warmer, like you said.”

He could tell she was buying into it. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s go look.”

In his mind, Jeff screamed, “Yes!”

They left Lizzy’s tops in the changing room and went back out into the main shopping area. 

Jeff followed Lizzy as she perused the racks. She was looking at a variety of bottoms; thin sweat pants, shorts and the like. Jeff was looking at everything she was, only smaller versions of them. 

Many articles caught his eye, especially the cute, tiny sleep shorts and the foldover-waist women’s shorts whose bottoms ended only 4-5 inches from the crotch. He could imagine Lizzy slinking around the house in those thin-layered shorts, perfectly displaying her round bottom and her smooth, healthy legs.

He pointed out a pair of small shorts to her. She looked at them, not immediately dismissing them, but looking back at Jeff for advice. “You think they’ll fit me? They look small.”

“Try ‘em on if you’re not sure.” he suggested coolly.

He could tell she thought it was a good idea. After a few moments, she plucked them off the rack. He knew that if he wanted to see the good stuff, he couldn’t be too blatant. He had to pick some bottoms that weren’t as provocative. He suggested a few sweat pants, although the ones he suggested were far sexier than the over-sized, sloppy hand-me-downs that Lizzy usually wore.

After a half hour of picking and choosing, they retreated back to the changing room. Jeff sat down, preparing himself for the exhibition of perversion he was about to experience. Up to this point, he’d felt himself playing a role: boyfriend, female friend, gay groupie. He was there to support her and help her, and if he got his jollies off in the process, what was wrong with that?

Lizzy started unzipping her jeans. Jeff spouted a few joyous expletives in his mind, willing her zipper down. She dug her thumbs inside the waistband before looking at him. “You’re not gonna get grossed out, are you?”

“By you trying on the bottoms in front of me? Are you embarrassed because you don’t want me to see your butt floss?.” he chuckled.

“No, jerk, I don’t wear g-strings.” she blasted back jokingly.

“I’ve already seen your back-skin today, so go ahead.” he replied lightly.

As she yanked down her jeans, he saw the cute panties she was wearing. “And don’t think I do this in front of everyone. If I hadn’t grown up with you, there’s no way I’d be doing this.”

He couldn’t help but enjoy the view of her smooth, bare legs that ran all the way up to an ass that he never realized was so round and delicious.

He chuckled. “You’ve got a cute butt.”

She glared over her shoulder at him. “Stop it.”

“I’m serious. You have a nice butt. It’s too bad you cover it up so much.” he said, with an expression that Lizzy couldn’t tell if he was serious or mocking her.

“Asshole.” she said, clearly insulted.

He tried to patch things up, straightening up. “Hey, I was serious. You have a nice butt. Didn’t mean to insult you.”

She stopped, studying him. She could tell he was genuine. She was touched, not knowing how to respond. It wasn’t everyday she undressed in front of a guy and he complimented her.

A restrained “Thanks.” was the only response she could come up with. 

He tried to make a suggestion. “Why don’t you try on the tops with the bottoms?”

She liked the idea. “Okay. I won’t do every combination or we’ll be here all day. Just one top with one bottom.”

Jeff sat in radiant enjoyment as Lizzy swapped one slinky, sexy ensemble for another. He asked her to turn around, to show off the shorts when all he wanted was a clear view of her rear. He gave out constructive criticisms such as “Oh, that’s cute.” “Really nice.” “Spin around, let me see how cute they look in the back.” He was really lapping it all up.

Lizzy was really loosening up. She was ‘girling’ out on him, something most girls do when they’re twelve or thirteen. She was receptive to his every suggestion or comment. She didn’t care that she was undressing in front of him. In the course of an hour, modeling clothes for Jeff had become second nature.

He thought he’d take it one step further. He stood up as Lizzy was looking at the back of the pair of shorts she was wearing. “You know what?” she said. “I don’t even know where the price tag is on these.”

He moved up behind her, gently placing his hands on her hips. She quietly gasped at the sensation. “They’re right here, I think.” he said as he re-positioned her hips. His hands ran along the waistband of the shorts until he found the tiny tag. Lizzy just stood there, looking forward, a bit conflicted.

“$25.50.” he stated. Lizzy was still a bit bemused by his sudden hands-on approach. 

She tried to answer without sounding nervous. “Oh, okay. How about the shirt?” She already knew the price but it was her first instinct to not let on that she was a bit excited and confused.

He remained behind her, pushing her hair over the front of her left shoulder. He found the tag hanging behind the collar. 

He was inches from her when he spoke. “Umm, $21.50. Man, looking cute isn’t cheap, is it?”

The two chuckled, but Lizzy’s was slightly timid. “Do they really look that good on me?” she asked.

“You look really cute in them, yeah, definitely. Remember? I told you? Rape?” he stated, looking down at her. She was glaring up at him with a faint, restrained amorousness. 

It was a tense few moments before Jeff stepped back. “So, you think that’s it? You gonna get all these?”

“You think I should?” she asked with a timid wince.

“Sure, why not?”

“So you don’t mind me looking girly for a change?”

“I won’t be complaining as long as you just wear this stuff when we hang out.” he chortled.

She smiled warmly. “Okay, promise.”

“Hey, when’s the old hardass Lizzy going to come back?” he joked.

“I’m still the same hardass. I just want to look like a girl for a change.”

“Lizzy, you always look great. Now you’ll just be wearing cute clothes.” he offered. 

She blushed at the off-hand compliment, beaming generously. “That was a line if I’ve ever heard one. You trying to get into my panties or something?” she asked jokingly.

He chuckled, sticking his thumbs down her hips and past her panty waistband. She gasped, wide-eyed. 

“I’m already in your panties.” he said. 

She laughed heartily before stopping herself, realizing how loud she was. Her eyes bugged out, looking to the changing room door. “We should probably pay for this stuff and go. People are going to think we’re messing around in here or something.” she said as they both chuckled.

They strolled up to the cashier and handed over the clothes. Jeff reached for his wallet. Lizzy looked at him, perplexed. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’ll pay.”

She was surprised, knowing the clothes would probably cost close to $300. “Jeff, no, why would you do that?”

He smiled. “Look, you got me stuff today. Plus, I’m probably going to get more enjoyment out of seeing you in those clothes than you will wearing them.”

A wide, toothy grin spread across her face as she blushed again. “See, how am I supposed to be a hardass when you say things like that?”

The cashier, a woman in her 40s, grinned at them, having heard their exchange. “There’s nothing wrong with a guy paying for clothes for his girlfriend. You should feel lucky you’ve got a guy like this, young lady.”

Lizzy and Jeff looked at each other, close to bursting into laughter.

“Yeah, Lizzy. You should feel lucky to have me.” he said sarcastically.

He laughed, throwing his arm around her and pulling her close. She looked up at him. “I’ll pay for lunch then, okay?” she asked. “Okay.”

Getting outside the store and back into the mall, Lizzy felt conflicted, searching for words. “I hope I didn’t make you feel too uncomfortable back there, in the dressing room.”

“No, it’s okay. I haven’t been that close to a naked girl in a long time. It was exciting.” he chuckled.

She snickered. “I know. I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“Like, undress in front of a guy?” he asked.

“Yeah. I mean, I know I’ve undressed in my bathroom with you in my bedroom but never, like, right there in front of you.”

“I wasn’t complaining.” he said with a smile.

“Yeah, I know you weren’t. You were doing a lot of looking though.” she said with a glance.

“Guilty as charged.”

“So, you liked what you saw? I wasn’t too disgusting?” she asked.

“It was the most fun I’ve ever had in a clothing store. In fact, I was hoping that, maybe, we could do that again someday.”

“You want me to model clothes for you again?” she asked with a peaked interest.

“If you feel comfortable with it.”

“I’ll think about it. You might get lucky” she offered with a sly grin. 

He chuckled, putting his arm around her.

The two had lunch at a cozy, Italian eatery. They were placed in a booth in the corner where they had privacy. Jeff was having a spaghetti plate with garlic bread and iced tea. Lizzy was having lasagna, salad and a coke. They picked at their plates as they talked.

“This is nice, isn’t it?” Lizzy asked as they took in the sunlight pouring in through the window.

“Very.”

“Let me ask you something. Have you ever had days like this with her?” she asked cautiously.

He thought for a few moments. “Maybe for the first or second date. Recently? No. Not in a long time. I think the first few times weren’t as nice as I thought. I was just happy to be with a girl, any girl.”

“Are you just happy to be with any girl right now? With me?” she asked as she sipped her soda.

“Lizzy, you know it’s not the same with you. We’ve been best friends since we were little. It’s not like going out on a date with some chick I met at the park.”

“How is it then?” she asked with an intense curiosity.

“What do you mean? It’s the same way it always is. It’s nice. That’s why I really like hanging out with you. I don’t feel pressure to be any certain way. We’ve grown up together and you accept me for what I am. I’ve never wanted anything more from you than what you give me everyday. I guess that’s the difference.” he confessed.

“So when you’re with Caitlin or some other girl, in your mind you always want more than they’re giving you, right? Like, sexually?”

“I won’t lie. It’s not a big secret that sex is all guys think about. I don’t know if I feel guilty about it, though. Girls are probably the same way.”

Lizzy pondered his statement for several seconds. “I don’t think girls think about sex as much as guys do. I know I don’t. I think we care more about affection. I think about affection more than sex.”

“Really?” Jeff asked, somewhat surprised.

“Yeah.” she answered. “So, if you’re always thinking about sex and we always hang out, do you ever think of it when we hang out?”

Jeff was walking the tightrope now, the fine line. He knew he had to answer carefully. “Lizzy…”

She smiled. “It’s okay. You can be honest. I won’t get mad either way.”

He was pained at having to answer. “Lizzy, you know, I really respect you. It’s usually pretty tough to think of you as just a girl.”

Her face sunk slightly. “Because I’m ugly, huh?”

He quickly tried to fix the situation, leaning forward to console her. “Lizzy, no, no, not at all. It’s just—it’s just not easy for me to come out and admit that kind of stuff with you. You’re my best friend and if things ever got weird with us and I lost you, I could never forgive myself. I wouldn’t risk what we have just because I couldn’t control my hormones.”

She seemed to understand. Her face lit up slightly. She certainly wasn’t the badass she usually was. The Lizzy Jeff was used to would tell him to go fuck himself and then she’d kick him in the shin. 

“So all that stuff you said back in the clothing store was all bullshit then?” she asked bluntly.

“No. It wasn’t. I was being honest. I guess we were both being playful so it was easier to say it. You know, being spontaneous, otherwise I probably would’ve been afraid to say it. The last thing I want is to compliment you and you get weirded out and not want to talk to me anymore.” he confessed.

“Well, better than feeling a certain way and not ever telling the person.”

“For you, maybe. You’d be in the position to reject me. You have nothing to lose.” he said.

“I have nothing to lose by you never saying how you feel about me? Jeff, your opinion is very important to me. Your opinion is more important than anyone else’s opinion is to me. If you feel like saying something, I don’t want you to hold back. I’d never reject you or make you regret being open with me.”

“Well, I do find you attractive. But I can control myself with you. I can be attracted to you and not hit on you constantly. It’s because I respect you as a person. I don’t see you as a hunk of meat I want to put my dick in.”

She spoke softly. “I didn’t know you found me attractive.”

“Well, now you do.” Jeff blurted out, slightly frustrated at having been exposed.

Lizzy reached out and took Jeff’s hand in hers, looking him in the eyes. “You shouldn’t be mad or ashamed. I think it’s sweet, everything you said. I feel the same way about you, by the way.”

“Such a tease.” he rattled off.

“How am I a tease?”

“By getting those clothes and flaunting what you know I can only see and not touch.” he said with a joking scowl.

“Pfsh. Just because you don’t have the guts to touch me doesn’t mean I’m a tease.” she said, punching Jeff playfully on the shoulder.

“It’s not that I don’t have the guts to touch you, I’m just not a sexual deviant who gropes girls whether they want me to or not.”

“Well, why not just ask me if you can or not?” she said with an inquisitive glance.

There was no easy answer to that question for Jeff. He lowered his head, trying to answer gently. “Lizzy…”

“You know what? I think you’re afraid.”

He instantly was insulted by the accusation. “I am not afraid to touch you.” He reached out and touched the tip of her nose. “See? I can touch you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Such a child.”

They sat there for several tense, silent moments. Jeff was building his courage with every passing second. 

Finally, he exhaled. “Fine.” 

Jeff leaned over to Lizzy, gently turning her face towards his with his right hand and planted a soft, deep kiss on her lips. Lizzy’s lips went numb, she stopped breathing and her body froze with shock. 

He caressed her cheek as he kissed her and after a few seconds let his right hand roam from her face down to her tummy. Then, he brought his hand up, resting it atop her left breast, cupping it. She purred into his mouth.

Jeff finally pulled away from her, sitting back and exhaling with proud fortitude as he began picking at his plate again. 

Lizzy finally looked at Jeff, still stunned, and wet her lips. She tucked her hair behind her ears and nervously started trying to eat again. She tried, but she couldn’t. She’d just experienced the most arousing, exciting sensation in her entire life. 

For the first time, she was speechless. No pithy comebacks or smartass remarks.

The moment wasn’t revisited again that night as they drove home. In fact, the ride home was painfully awkward. As they neared home, Jeff felt he had to break the ice.

“See, Lizzy, I told you you were going to be weirded out.”

She spoke softly, cautiously. “I’m sorry. I was just… surprised, that’s all. Maybe we can talk about this more when we get home?”

He glanced at her. “You mean you don’t hate me? You don’t think I’m some pervert?”

She scooted closer to him, taking his right hand in hers. “I don’t think you’re a pervert. It’s just I’ve never had anyone do that before. Especially not in a restaurant.” 

He broke down, smiling. “Well, you challenged me.” he declared.

Lizzy was happy and content, a glued-on smile on her face. “I didn’t mind. I actually liked it. I just kind of wish you would’ve told me before you did it so I could’ve enjoyed it more. By the time I realized what you were doing you stopped.”

Jeff was touched by her confession. Finally, they’d arrived at home. He pulled into her driveway and shut off the car. They sat there in silence in what was another awkward moment. “I guess my parents are still at work. Their cars are both gone.” she said.

Jeff looked around the driveway. Theirs was the only car there. “Yeah, looks like.”

Lizzy turned to him, telegraphing the question. “So, did you want to come up?”

He tried to play it cool. “Yeah, sure. I think I left some stuff in your room, anyways.”

As they got out of the car, Jeff reached for her bags. “It’s okay…” he said. “I’ll carry them inside.”

It was an all-around uneasy situation for them. From the previous events of the night, it didn’t seem prudent for them to act as their normal selves. Normally, Jeff would offer to take her bags, then run into the house laughing and then Lizzy would call him a ‘fucker’ and throw her keys at him. Now they were walking on eggshells.

They quietly made their way up to the front door. Lizzy shuffled for her keys, finally fishing them out and opening the door. It was dark inside the house. Excitingly still and quiet. She locked the door and they made their way upstairs.

They walked into her room. Lizzy locked her door, took the bags from Jeff and emptied them onto the sink counter. Jeff picked up the remote control and plopped down on her bed, turning on the TV. He noticed his cell phone on her nightstand and picked it up. Lizzy saw him turning it on and got instantly on defense.

“She call you?” she asked pensively.

Jeff stared into the screen. “Yeah, like eight times. Sent me ten texts. She seems pissed.”

Lizzy sighed. “You know what? Fuck her.” 

Jeff could tell Lizzy was agitated. He popped to his feet and moved to her. “Hey, look, don’t let her get to you. Please?”

She looked up at him. His smile softened her. “Can you turn your phone off again?” she asked. 

He instantly switched it off and tossed it onto the bed. Turning back to Lizzy, he could see she still wasn’t terribly happy. He took her hands in his. 

“Don’t be mad at me.” he pleaded restfully.

“I’m not.” she conceded. “I’m going to take a quick shower, though.”

“Okay.”

She dug through the bag of recently acquired clothes, picked a top and a pair of shorts before moving to her dresser, fishing out a pair of panties and retreating to the bathroom.

Jeff laid back on her bed and began watching TV.

After Lizzy got out of the shower, she laid out her pajamas that consisted of one of her new little tops and a pair of small sweat shorts. She got dressed and looked at herself in the mirror. She was surprised how much skin she was sporting. She felt embarrassed for a second but remembered how Jeff had put her at ease. She was only going to wear these clothes around Jeff when they were hanging out and relaxing, so it was appropriate, right?

For some strange reason, being faced with this new version of herself, she felt compelled to get dolled up. To make the rest of her look as nice as the clothes made her look. She stood in front of the mirror and brushed her hair. It took a good twenty minutes, but she got it as straight and smooth as it looked when she left the salon.

She didn’t want to go overboard but she remembered having this chap stick lip gloss stuff and decided to find it. She dug it out of the sink drawer and applied some liberally to her lips. She looked in the mirror at her glossy lips, her brushed hair and her scantily-clad get-up and she realized the obvious: she was doing all this for Jeff. Lizzy, the smartass hard case had gone lipstick softy.

“I’m not doing this for Jeff.” her mental voice declared. “I’m doing it for myself.”

She finally drew up the courage and emerged from the bathroom. She wandered into the bedroom where she noticed Jeff was lying on the bed. She tried not to call too much attention to herself. Jeff, though, noticed immediately how done up she looked. His curiosity was peaked. 

Without a word, she laid down next to him, facing him but watching the TV. His eyes roamed her curves. “Wow. Sexy. See? You look great.”

“It’s so much cooler in them.”

“Yeah, because they don’t cover up much.” he chuckled.

“I thought you liked that about them?”

“I do, definitely.”

She watched TV, feeling Jeff’s eyes on her. She was beginning to get addicted to the sensation of being desirable.

“So, am I still allowed to give you hugs or are you too sexy for your shirt now?” he asked.

She scooted forward and into his arms, glaring up at him with that innocent, irresistible gaze. “Never too sexy to turn down hugs from you, no. But you have been making me feel very sexy lately.” she said.

“You’ve been making it pretty easy for me.”

“See, you feel me up once and you think you can just start sweet-talking me?”

“If I have to sweet-talk you to get some lovin’...” he said.

“You don’t need to sweet-talk me for that. I love giving you affection, even though you hardly ever ask for it.” she said back in her normal, rebellious tone. 

The two were getting good at playing these roles. Lizzy rested her head on Jeff’s chest, he rested his chin on top of her head. 

She contemplated for a few moments, building courage to speak. “So, was the whole kissing me thing a fluke or is it something you’re going to try again?”

“I pushed my luck once already, now it’s your turn to kiss me, if you want to. Unless you’re afraid.” he grinned.

“I’m not afraid.” she said as she bit her lip, leaning towards him. She pressed her soft, wet lips against his and opened them slightly, gently nursing them.

She yearned for his lips, becoming loose in his arms. A growing passion between them was kindled with every passing second. After a few minutes of quiet, fervent affection, their lips parted, their bodies still tangled together.

“I’ll bet Caitlin wouldn’t be too happy if she walked in on us right now.”

He thought about it. “Yeah, she’d probably bitch me out.”

“Jeff, I hope I’m not overstepping my boundaries, but I don’t see why you don’t just break up with her.” she said. 

Jeff didn’t have an immediate answer for her. 

“Is the fact that there’s a chance she’ll give you sex the only reason you stay with her?” she asked.

“Not the only reason, no. I’d like to think I’m not quite as superficial as that. I mean, we get along. Sometimes.”

She looked up at him, disgusted. “That’s your basis for a long-term relationship? That you get along? Sometimes? Don’t you want more than that?”

“What do you want me to do? Break up with her? And then what? Go back to being single? I’m not the type of guy who can just scoop up girls. It might be years before I find someone else.”

“Jeff, that’s crap and you know it. I know for a fact you could get a girl ten times better than her and just as good-looking.” she declared.

“And how do you know that?” he demanded to know.

“Because if I wasn’t your cousin, I know for sure I’d want to be your girlfriend.”

The statement stunned him. The fact she said it stunned Lizzy. Jeff didn’t know what to say. 

She continued. “Isn’t what we have enough for you? Isn’t the time we spend together enough?”

“Liz, it’s not as simple as that, okay?”

“Then simplify it for me. Explain it so I understand.” she pleaded.

“Look at it from my perspective. A heterosexual male, me, growing up with my female cousin, seeing you go through all those changes and being attracted to you. My hormones didn’t exactly make it easy growing up with you. Sometimes the mind makes the body want things it can’t have.”

She retorted, “You think things were tough for you? My hormones weren’t exactly going easy on me, either. There were times I had to pull myself back, too.”

“I-I didn’t know.” he stuttered. “Lizzy, it’s like this. If I don’t have a girlfriend and have to be with you everyday, I’ll go insane.”

She looked at him, slack-jawed, devastated. He realized that his words had come out all wrong.

“No-no-no-no. Wait. That didn’t come out right.” he explained. “What I meant is that if I have a girlfriend, I have someone to distract me from you. Okay? Does that make sense?”

She mulls it over. “I think so. Are you saying that if you’re with someone else then you won’t be as tempted by me?”

He sighs. “Yes. That’s exactly it.”

“I want to ask you something.” she said.

“Okay.”

“The only thing keeping you with Caitlin is the chance she’ll have sex with you, right?”

Jeff didn’t want to admit it. He shifted in place.

“Right?” she pressed.

“I guess.” he finally admitted.

“If you found someone else that would give you what she isn’t willing to, would you break up with her?”

He didn’t seem to understand the concept. If he did, he seemed to deny understanding it. “If another girl would agree to be with me and give me sex on a regular basis would I break up with Caitlin?”

Lizzy nodded.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I could look at myself in the mirror. It’s just wrong.”

“What if this other girl actually liked you and you actually liked her, got along, hit things off?” she asked.

“You mean, if she was actually good for me, aside from the sex?”

Lizzy nodded again.

“I don’t know. I might be more inclined, yeah. I mean, if we had lots in common, got along well, generally were attracted to each other, maybe.” he said.

“How big a maybe?” she asked.

“Well, it’d depend.”

“Okay, well, how about this? How about if, all the stuff you want to do with a girlfriend, you just did with me?” she offered.

Jeff stared at her, eyebrows stretching to the top of his head. “You?” he asked in disbelief.

She looked at him so matter of fact-ly, like her proposition was a painfully obvious one, painfully obvious to everyone but Jeff. 

“Jeff, we both know we’re attracted to each other. You said it yourself that you only want a girlfriend so I won’t tempt you. So, if I give you what you want, then all of our problems are solved, right?” she deduced to his horror.

“Lizzy, that’s just it. We-re—we’re cousins. Even though I’m attracted to you and you’re attracted to me, it’s still--”

“Don’t give me that. You felt me up tonight. You kissed me. We just made out. We both admitted our feelings. It’s all out in the open.” she said. 

Lizzy continued as Jeff tried to rationalize her plan. “Look at our situation. How many cousins are practically best friends, have tons in common, hang out 24-7, almost never argue AND are attracted to one another?”

“I’d feel like I was using you.” he said.

“How could you be using me when I’m the one making the offer?”

“How would we even get away with it?!”

She sighed. “Uhh, we’re practically alone in your room or mine all the time. No one seems to give a crap, do they? We could do whatever we wanted. No one will know, period. Okay, here, try this. I’m going down on you right now…”

He’s confused. “You are?”

She sighed again, frustrated. In her usual condescending way, she explained it to him as if to a toddler. “Okay, there’s this crazy thing your brain can do. It’s called imagination…” she said as she waved her hands with a magician’s nuances. “…And with your imagination, you can imagine me going down on you, right here and now. Okay, now look at the door. Do you see a bunch of angry parents barging in here?”

“No.” he said.

She stands up, walks over to the door and flips the lock and flips it back, then looks at him with frustrated disappointment and impatience. “Another thing. Locks. Scientific marvel. They keep people on the outside from coming inside. And there are such things are hotels. You know that, right?”

His head began to throb. He clutched his face as a headache came on. “This is—I think I’m getting a headache. How long have you been thinking about this?”

“Like, five minutes.”

“Lizzy... this is just—crazy. It’s crazy.”

He still seems unsure and on the brink of a migraine. She exhales, at wit’s end, and walks over to him, crawls onto the bed, leans forward on all fours and gives him a quick peck on the lips. She looks at the door. His eyes are bulging. “See? No parents. No adults. No one.”

He glared lovingly into her eyes. “You’re such a tease.”

She bit her lip. “I’m not teasing.”

The two leaned forward and their lips met. They started to kiss softly and in earnest. After a few minutes of kissing, they pulled apart.

“I’m not used this side of you.” he confessed.

“Do you like this side of me?”

“I like it a lot.” he said, rubbing her lower back.

“If I wanted to do something for you right now, would you be okay with it?”

He looked down at the scantily clad temptress completely enveloped in his loving embrace. She glared up at him hungrily, eagerly.

“Like what?” he said with a gulp, his penis beginning to swell in his boxers.

She was still the shy teenager. “You know…”

Inside, Jeff was boiling over with joy. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You mean—“

She nodded.

He had to make sure. “Are you sure you want to do to this?”

She nodded. “I want to try. I want you to see what it would be like if I was your girlfriend instead of her.”

Jeff’s cock was swelling at an alarming rate, almost fully erect. Being that he was tightly pressed against Lizzy, this wasn’t comfortable. He didn’t want her to know exactly how she was affecting him but he didn’t know how she’d react. It was too late for his doubts now, though, because his erection was now digging into her belly.

The expression on her face as he studied her confirmed that she could feel it. “So, I guess that means you want me to, then?”

His tongue failed to execute. “Uhh—I—…”

“My door is locked, so it’s okay.” she whispered seductively, picking up the remote control and shutting off the TV. Lizzy could see that Jeff wanted her. He was weak and vulnerable and she wanted him. She wanted to spite Caitlin for being such a horrible girlfriend but she also wanted to shed those years of repressing her sexual cravings for Jeff. She wanted to please him in a way that he’d never forget.

Jeff’s voice box was malfunctioning. All he could do was gaze at Lizzy as she pulled away from him and slid off the bed. He sat up and scooted toward the edge of the bed. She went for the button fly on his jeans, trying to undo it. He helped her and got it undone. Literally shaking, he stood up and unzipped his jeans, pulling them off. Lizzy tossed them aside and reached up for his boxers. In one motion, she pulled them down to his ankles.

His thick, rock-hard erection sprung free from the confines of his boxers, flopping up. Lizzy gasped at the shock of seeing Jeff’s massive cock. She’d never seen one in person and definitely not one in these circumstances. She tucked her hair behind her ear and leered at it, astounded by its dimensions. She never realized they looked so rigid and striated with veins in real life.

Jeff sat down and took in the sight of his dangerously enticing cousin, scantily clothed, hair and nails primped and preened, lips glistening suggestively, eyes gazing up at him, eager to satisfy. The fact that his starved, turgid cock was suspended mere inches from Lizzy’s face made him want to bury it in her all the more.

She placed her hands on his thighs and scooted forward, looking to him for guidance. He wanted to be slow and gentle with her. He understood that this was probably the first time she’d done this. He pushed his stiff cock down towards her lips. Taking his cue, she wrapped her little hand around it.

An almost electric surge coursed through Jeff as he felt her feminine fingers wrap around his girth.

“You’re big.” she said, marveling at his member, perplexed on what to do with it. “I hope I’m okay. I’ve never done this before.” she admitted. 

Knowing that his was going to be the first cock she ever tasted was endearing but also fueled his fervent lust for her. 

She hesitantly leaned forward, sticking out her tongue and taking a quick lap at the head, tasting it. He shivered at the sensation while she made a funny face, mentally evaluating the flavor.

“So warm.” she noted, before leaning forward and wrapping her lips around the head of his cock.

Jeff closed his eyes and exhaled, taking her face in his hands and rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs as she sheathed his cock with her lips. He lightly directed her, pulling her towards him. Being a novice, she was only able to take a few inches into her mouth, but Jeff wasn’t complaining. In fact, he was drowning in bliss. His entire world had converged into the tip of his penis.

Sitting there in near darkness while his painfully luscious cousin guzzled on his cock, Jeff was in paradise. He wanted nothing more than to quench her thirst for him with a rampant flood of thick, viscous semen. He’d always been so delicate with her, even when they wrestled around, but now he wanted to viciously assail her mouth for dragging him to the brink of lecherous madness.

He started to understand where Caligula was coming from. Lizzy was slurping on his cock like she was trying to get a promotion at a high-paying executive firm. Her eyes were closed now, blissfully engaged in exploring every millimeter of Jeff’s length, willing him to orgasm.

Jeff was surprised how good she was at this. Either she’d sucked more cocks than his, was naturally talented at it or was just vigorously making an effort to please her cousin. He couldn’t believe the sight; Lizzy’s youthful, voluptuous breasts cradled in her miniscule top as her head awkwardly yet energetically nursed on his pulsating member.

Her amateur efforts were even more arousing to him, knowing her virginal lips were clumsily tasting cock for the first time. He felt the tinge in his balls that signaled the coming torrent. It was urgency, the best and most addicting kind. His mind was losing focus, his inhibition gone. He was ready to slather her tongue with his juices.

“Sweetie, you’re gonna make me cum.” he said, bending forward and corralling her head with his forearms, trapping her pleasure-giving mouth around his member.

She pulled off of him, breathing heavily, looking up at him with keen interest. “Am I doing okay?”

“Incredible.”

Tucking her hair behind her ear again, she softly held his swollen, purplish member. A more seasoned fellatio giver would’ve been madly jerking him as she stopped for a breather. Not Lizzy. She clearly wasn’t quite sure how to continue. Was he going to give her a clue on what to do? Was he just going to cum on her face? “You’re gonna cum soon?”

“Yeah.”

“Where do you wanna—you know…”

He could hardly think but instinct was telling him a dozen places he wanted to spill his seed.

“Can I cum on your tits?”

It only took her a second. “Okay.”

He badly wanted to feel her hot mouth clamp around his cock. He gently guided her head back to his cock and she took note, sliding his meat past her lips.

She picked up the pace, bobbing back and forth. He was in heaven. After a few more minutes, Lizzy pulled off of him, murmuring in surprise. He looked down and saw a thin, gooey string of cum stretched from her lip to the tip of his cock. “You’re leaking this stuff.” she said. “It’s salty. Is it cum?”

“Yeah, sweetie.” he huffed, gently but firmly inserting his cock back into her willing mouth. She went to work again. He was urgently making short, quick thrusts with his hips, fucking into her mouth. He could feel the warm ooze shifting in his balls, preparing to erupt.

Jeff grimaced; ready to unleash a blast of hot, slimy love-juice all over her. Then, it happened. No time to think. He felt the cum rushing through his cock. He quickly pulled his cock out of her mouth and started jerking it. The sudden movement startled her.

“Push your tits together, babe.” he uttered in lust-induced agony.

He was so urgently delirious, she quickly obeyed, sitting forward and pushing her tits together. Jeff looked down past his cock as he furiously slid his hand up and down its saliva-coated length only to see his target; Lizzy’s deep, creamy valley of cleavage.

He moaned, in pained ecstasy, squatting and aiming his cock downward. A ripple billowed up from his balls, surging through his cock. Jeff grunted spasmodically, his cock kicking in his hand and firing a powerful jet of creamy-white semen that splashed against Lizzy’s tits. She flinched at the sudden eruption of sperm just as the second glob spurted out, hitting her square in between the tits again. Jeff desperately whacked away at his cock, milking it ferociously. Spurt after spurt of the gluey ooze splattered against her chest, pooling inside her cleavage.

She looked down in fascination, thrusting her chest out, making sure that her tits caught every last drop. Finally, Jeff’s cock kicked its last, lazily dribbling out the last throes of fluid. Lizzy’s chest was a goo-encrusted mess, her top soiled with splotches of thick, goopy sperm.

Lizzy dipped her finger in the cum that had pooled in between her tits. The goop clung to her fingertip as she scooped it up. “It’s so slimy.”

Jeff was spent, out of breath. He pulled up his boxers and went to fetch a towel. She was still kneeling on the floor when he knelt down in front of here, toweling off her chest.

“I’m sorry.” he said apologetically. “I kinda got carried away.”

“It’s okay. So did I. So, was I alright?”

He exhaled. “More than alright.” Jeff stroked her face affectionately. “This was very special to me, because it was with you. I don’t want you to ever think I was using you, okay?”

“Yeah, but next time, you get to go down on me.” she grinned.

They both smiled. She looked down at her top. “I should change out of this.”

Jeff chuckled. “I think so, too.”

Later, Lizzy and Jeff were snuggling in her bed, watching TV. Lizzy broke the silence. “If for some reason you ever think I’ll regret what happened tonight, don’t. I wanted to do it. I wanted to make you happy.”

Jeff smiled on her, kissing her forehead. They lay there until both of them drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.

****

CHAPTER THREE – COMING SOON!