Hindsight

Chapter 1

Mary Ellen Jakowski sat in her kitchen with her good friend Dana Carter having their usual morning coffee. The two women had been friends since the Carters moved into the neighborhood five years ago. Their husbands, Richard and Drew, had become buddies as well. They were "backyard" friends, as their privacy fences were connected. In fact, they rarely went to one another's house through the front door. It was a one-block walk around the neighborhood to get to the front door.

The two women normally shared a lively morning conversation but today for some reason, Mary Ellen seemed quiet. She had just had her 35th birthday and was feeling a little down. However, it wasn't only the age thing that was bothering her. It seemed that her relationship with Richard was losing its spark. She knew that that wasn't unusual for a twelve-year marriage and after two kids, but it was difficult to accept nonetheless.

Suddenly, as the women sat at the kitchen table, the door from the dining room flew open and the two Jakowski children came running through. "Leslie and Brett, slow down," Mary Ellen yelled as they chased each other out the back door. "Summer vacation is getting near and they will be home all day soon," Mary Ellen lamented, adding, "There goes my peace and quiet."

"Why aren't they in school today?"

"Some teachers conference or something like that."

They're getting big," Dana said with a smile, remembering how fast her daughter had grown.

"Brett had his tenth birthday two days ago and suddenly he thinks he is grown up," Mary Ellen laughed.

"Leslie is eight now?" Dana asked.

"Yes, going on fifteen. She is quite a handful already so I don't know what I'm going to do when she becomes a teenager."

"I know all about it. We had a tough time with Jill at that age," Dana said, speaking of her 19-year-old daughter who was now away at college. Dana had gotten pregnant with Jill when she was eighteen and just barely out of high school. Sometimes she regretted having a child that early. However, the advantage was that now Jill was out of the house and she and Drew were still young.

Drew was in his twenties when they met and married and he had wanted children right away. Dana had refused at first but she was young and eventually gave in to his pressure. It had all worked out for them anyway. They were financially well off now and life was good.

Mary Ellen sighed and gazed out the window at the children playing in the back yard. At least the kids were happy and well adjusted, she thought.

Rockmont was a great upper-middle class community with good public schools and plenty of public parks for kids to play. It had been a strain when they had bought the house eight years ago but it had been worth the struggle. Richard was making great money now with his PC support business and they had even joined the local country club. She knew that she should have been very happy but, unfortunately, there was a price to pay at home for Richard's success. He was rarely home since he started the business. He had promised in the beginning that the long hours and hard work was only temporary, until he got the business going. However, that was five years ago and he still worked eighty hours a week.

While Richard's work was a big part of Mary Ellen's problem it was not the entire issue. Sometimes she thought he worked just so he didn't have to be around her. It seemed they rarely even touched anymore. Then there were the issues in the bedroom. It had been a long time since they had been intimate. For a while she thought that maybe Richard was having an affair and even considered hiring a private detective. However, deep down she knew that there was a major gap between their desires for sex. Unfortunately, the gap was about as wide as it could get now. Besides that, Richard had always been hung up about sex and refused anything but the basic missionary position. She had tried to talk to him about it but he refused to even discuss the subject.


On the other hand, it appeared to Mary Ellen that Dana had the perfect life. Drew seemed to be around her all the time. The fact that he worked out of the house had something to do with it, however it was more than that. She could see how loving the two of them acted around each other. They were like newlyweds, always touching and whispering little secrets to one another. They just seemed compatible. Besides that, Drew was incredibly handsome and sexy. He was in his forties but looked younger, even with his slightly graying hair around the temples. He was tall and well built as well-the rugged outdoors type. He owned some kind of marketing company and appeared to make it work by the sheer power of his personality. Mary Ellen was envious. Not because he was so handsome, but because he was so attentive to Dana.

Dana knew that something was bothering Mary Ellen. They had been friends too long. She knew it had something to do with Mary Ellen and Richard's relationship because there had been several strong hints. While she didn't want to pry, she was her best friend. "What's the matter?" Dana finally asked.

"Oh nothing." Mary Ellen sighed and looked into her coffee cup.

"Sure something's the matter," Dana responded. "I've known you too long not to see it. We have always been able to share our problems. Come on."

Mary Ellen took a deep breath. She was dying to tell Dana but didn't want to burden her with personal problems. It was now or never she thought. "It's... it's just that... oh I don't know, something's missing in our... in Richard and my relationship lately. He doesn't seem to pay any attention to me anymore." She knew that she was dramatically understating the issue.

"Have you tried sexy underwear?" Dana laughed.

"I'm serious," Mary Ellen said and a little tear came to her eye.

Dana saw her eyes start to tear up and realized that she was indeed serious. "I'm sorry Mary Ellen. However, I wasn't entirely joking when I said to try new underwear."

"It's more than that," Mary Ellen said and paused.

"What then? Don't tell me you're old. I'm older than you are. Besides, you have the body of a teenager." The older woman looked at Mary Ellen's slim form and sighed. "I would love to have your shape. Nice sized boobs and a dynamite ass," she said with a wide grin.

"Nice sized boobs? They're too small, especially compared to your 36C's. And, my ass is much too big."

"Well, 36C aren't all they are made out to be. Gravity has a way of taking care of that. You will never have that problem. As for your ass, Drew drools over it. And, when you wear those little pink short shorts in the yard... well, I practically get raped." The older woman laughed loudly. "I should buy all your clothes for you," she added with a coy smile.

"He does? Drew drools over my ass?" Mary Ellen asked and then realized that she was acting a little too interested in what her friend's husband thought of her. Her face turned red with embarrassment.

"Yeah. Last week you were out back planting flowers and he saw you from his office window. I don't know how long he was watching you but when I came in to ask him if he wanted lunch... well, I thought you would have heard me scream. Boom, right over the desk." Now Dana's face flushed as she remembered what had happened that day. She knew that Drew was an "ass" man from the time that they met. In fact, they had started to have anal sex the first year they were married. Sometimes she thought that that was all they did. Not that anal sex was bad... no she loved it... sometimes it just seemed that she couldn't satisfy his lust. She worried about that.

"I never knew," Mary Ellen said thoughtfully. "Sure, I see his eyes on me but every guy does that." Again, Mary Ellen realized what she was saying about noticing her friend's husband's admiring glances and added, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sure every very guy 'does' look at that ass of yours," Dana laughed. "Even I'm amazed by how trim and shapely your hips are after two kids. If I was a man..." Dana paused and then said, "Now I'm embarrassing myself," and she suddenly looked away from the younger woman and blushed. If she told her the truth, sometimes she had a difficult time keeping her eyes off of the younger woman. Dana had never had a thing for women but if she did, Mary Ellen would be on the list.

Mary Ellen blushed again as well. "Well, thanks for making me feel better."

After a long and somewhat uncomfortable pause, Dana took a deep breath and said, "I still think you should consider the underwear angle. I hate to tell you this lady, but you need to spice up your wardrobe."

"What's wrong with my wardrobe?" Mary Ellen said defensively.

Dana looked at Mary Ellen and bit her lip, trying to decide if she should go any further. This was a touchy subject, especially because she was already obviously feeling depressed. Dana didn't want to make the problem worse but she thought that if your own friends won't tell you the truth then who will. Finally she sighed and said, "It has been getting a little shabby lately. I think some new things would do wonders for your sex life."

At first Mary Ellen looked shocked and hurt, but then her face showed resignation. "I guess you're right. I have been neglecting myself lately and I'm probably in just as much of a rut as Richard. The truth is that I'm willing to try anything." She fell silent for a minute and then said, "Maybe you could go shopping with me sometime and help me pick out some sexy clothes?"

"I'd love to."

The back door suddenly opened and Drew came in. "Hi sweetie," he said as he walked over to his wife and kissed her on the lips. Then he leaned over and kissed Mary Ellen on the cheek. "How's my second favorite lady?" he said and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

Mary Ellen got a pretty pout on her lips and said, "Second favorite?"

"Well, only when my wife is in hearing distance," he whispered and then winked at her as he stood by her side and pulled her warmly to his hip.

Mary Ellen felt a little chill run through her when her shoulder touched Drew's hip. He was wearing a pair of shorts with sandals and a muscle shirt on top. His body showed the hours he spent at the gym and his bicycle riding. He was everything that Richard wasn't she thought. Mary Ellen sighed quietly. She knew that Richard wasn't a bad guy. He had provided them with a pretty good life and was never abusive to her or the children. Then, a little flash of guilt went through her. She loved Richard very much, but he was stuck in his ways. He came from a traditional Polish family and still held onto many of the old ways. Plus, he had begun to let himself go physically. Unfortunately, with his work, he didn't have time to work out and had let himself gain a good bit of weight. However, she tried not to nag him about it but she worried about his health.

"Hey, earth to Mary," Drew said with a laugh.

Mary Ellen shook her head and smiled up at Drew, admiring his handsome face and shining smile. Mary Ellen liked Drew. He was personable and funny. They had always shared good-natured kidding, often involving sexual innuendoes. Suddenly, after what Dana had said, the innuendoes took on a new dimension. That thing about him being an "ass" man struck a chord deep inside her. She felt a sudden pulsing in that secret place. That "place" that she could never mention to anyone.

Drew looked at Dana and asked, "I'm going up to Home Depot to get some things. Do you want to come along?"

"Yes, I need a couple of things at the linen store next door," Dana answered and got up.

"I'll see you at the car," Drew said to Dana and then kissed Mary Ellen on the cheek again.

When he pulled away, she felt his lips still on her cheek. Stop it! she scolded herself.

Both women watched the sexy older man walk out of the kitchen door. When Mary Ellen looked up, she saw Dana looking at her in a funny manner. Her face turned red again.

"Nice butt there huh?" Dana laughed.

Mary Ellen didn't answer. She couldn't without embarrassing herself even more.

"Tomorrow okay to go shopping?" Dana asked.

"That works as long as we do it before the kids softball practice at three."

"Let's do it at ten. I'll arrange everything and drive. See you tomorrow sweetie," Dana said and bent over and kissed the same spot that Drew had.

Mary Ellen thought she was losing her mind as her face burned with the touch of her girlfriend's lips. "Uh... yes... yes fine," she stuttered and then watched the older woman leave.

Chapter 2

Mary Ellen cleaned up the dishes and looked out in the back yard to see where the kids were. They were playing with a wiffle ball and bat. Do I have time? she thought as the pulsing down below continued. Making her decision, she hurried up to her bedroom, quickly closing the door and turning the lock. Suddenly, she felt so naughty. It was the middle of the morning.

As she passed the mirror on the back of the closet door she stopped. She was wearing a pair of baggy shorts and old shirt. A frown crossed her pretty face as she saw herself in a different light. She reached down and pulled her baggy shorts tight and turned so that her buttocks were facing the mirror. The shorts outlined her shapely rear, her panty line showing through. Maybe some new clothes would help! she thought as stared at the contours of her backside. Then she turned this way and that, bending slightly forward. She could feel her vagina continue to pulse with excitement. So Drew drools at this? she thought and a chill ran down her spine. On impulse, she pulled the seat of her shorts upward until the seam buried between her cheeks. "Ohhh!" she moaned when she felt the material touch her "there".

She bit her lip and she felt embarrassed as she looked at the drawer where she hid her pleasure devices. Making her decision, she rushed over and searched in the back, behind her underwear and various other "toys," to find the vibrator she had bought from a mail order catalog. It was long and tapered toward the end with a battery control device. There were rounded ridges up and down the shaft. The commercial said it was ideal for anal pleasure. It was!

Mary Ellen found some lubricant and rushed over to the bed. Her hands were trembling as she stripped off her clothes. She climbed onto the bed and got onto her hands and knees. When she looked back at the closet mirror she gasped. Her buttocks were pointed straight at the mirror and her tiny anal hole was almost pulsing between her cheeks. It was so obscene... but so exciting. Quickly she lubed up the shaft of the clear blue vibrator. Without touching her vagina, she placed the tip on her anus. A moan escaped her lips as she began to press the shaft into her tight hole. She pushed her hips backward and the long shaft began to slip into her.

"Oh Jesus," she moaned as the ridges bumped past her tight sphincter. Suddenly, she began to tremble all over and a vision of her handsome neighbor came into her mind. He was kneeling on the bed behind her and he had his long penis in his hand. It was huge with a large red head that was shining with his sex juice. "Do you want me to lube it?" he asked breathlessly in her fantasy.

"No, just fuck my ass! Please!"

Another groan escaped her lips as she pressed the vibrator deep into her anal canal. She pressed the button that made it squirm. Suddenly, she could feel it vibrating and twisting deep inside her. Her eyes closed tightly as she imagined Drew sliding his large penis into her virgin ass. "Ohhhhh God," she moaned as chills ran up and down her spine. She began to pump the long vibrator in and out between her spread ass cheeks as she spread her legs even wider. The tips of her naked breasts rubbed on the cover making her nipples swell with pleasure and sent ripples though her body. Suddenly every muscle in her body went stiff as waves of pleasure began to consume her. It felt like she might pass out as the long tip of the vibrator brought on spasms deep inside her bowels. It started with little shock waves in her stomach like it always did. Then they began to grow in strength until her entire groin was electrified and her anus pulsed, squeezing the invading tool. Her vagina pulsed as well and juice dripped to the bed. She squeezed her anal muscles on the squirming vibrator and her mouth opened as if to scream. Instead of screaming though, she bit her lip hard-the kids could be in the house now. She gasped and shook as a strong climax consumed her.


Finally, the satisfied woman fell exhaustedly to the bed. The long vibrator was still humming deep inside of her. As she lay gasping for breath, the twisting device began to slip out of her rear hole. Then, she heard the kids playing in the back yard and sighed contentedly. It was always the same when she had something up her rear. The climaxes were strong, almost earth shattering. However, in the after glow, like now, she always began to feel embarrassed and guilty. It was so against everything she had been taught. After all, she was a grown woman and for her to sneak into her room and do something like this... well, mothers didn't do that. Yet, she knew that she would do it again.

Mary Ellen had been very young when she first realized that she got a special thrill from her anus. It had happened almost by accident. She was masturbating with her fingers one time when she touched the tiny rear hole. It brought such a shock that she had to do it again. She felt nasty but still she pushed a finger inside. The feeling was so intense that she pulled it back out right away. She did it again, leaving it inside longer. Deep inside her, the muscles of her canal reacted, squeezing down onto the invading finger. At the same time, chills of pleasure like she had never known began to ripple through her. She began to move her finger in and out slowly, building speed until her hand was a blur. Within minutes her body began to tremble with an incredible climax. It went on for a long, long time until she collapsed onto the bed.

Over time Mary Ellen experimented with various means of pleasuring herself vaginally, but none equaled the times when she used her finger... or something else on her anus. She often thought that she was sick and that maybe she should see someone. However, she knew that she would be far too embarrassed to ever admit to a stranger that she loved paying with her anus. She would have to admit all of her little secrets. Like the times that she would go to the mall with Dana and walk around with those little vibrating balls up her butt. (Dana would certainly be shocked if she knew.) Or, how she fantasized about her ass being violated by a room full of men in a wild bacchanalia of anal pleasure.

The guilt that started long ago was still with her today as she lay on her bed in the afterglow of a very satisfying orgasm.

Chapter 3

"I told Mary Ellen how you drool over her ass," Dana said out of the blue as the two of them drove to the store.

"You told her what?" Drew asked incredulously.

Dana laughed. "We were talking about how depressed she was and I was trying to cheer her up. Besides, it's the truth."

"Yeah, but you don't have to tell my best friend's wife that I ogle her ass," Drew said. However, there wasn't any anger in his voice and he had a smile on his face.

"She needed some cheering up. It seems that Richard isn't taking care of her."

"The man must be crazy," Drew said as the smile grew on his handsome face.

"I guess it's not unusual for sex to get stale." She reached over and took Drew's hand. "I'm glad we're not like that anymore."

"Me too sweetie. I love you."

She squeezed his hand and said, "I love you too."

"So what else did you tell her... maybe that I like anal sex?"

"No, but she did seem to get pretty excited when I told her about you looking."

Words on Skin

Words on Skin: A little sister can't say some things out loud

*~*~* Part I *~*~*

Lizzie watched as her best friend Jessica brushed past her brother again on her way through their kitchen. The house was packed full of people and there was plenty to eat and drink in every room but Jess still managed to find a reason to swing through the kitchen every fifteen minutes to flirt with her brother.

"Heya stud," Jessica smiled, "it really is nice to see you back around these parts again. I kinda missed you." She winked, nodded at Lizzie and wandered off again with a few gratuitous wiggles of her curvy hips.

Lizzie's brother leaned into her with the question she saw coming, "Okay, what's with Jess? Does she like me now or something?"

Lizzie smirked and waited until Jessica turned a corner out of earshot. "Let's just say she likes the kinds of things she could do with you."

"And what kinds of things might they be?"

"You're the dumbest smart guy I know but even you're not that dumb. Either take that frisky cheerleader friend of mine upstairs and find out for yourself or stay down here and hang out with your adorable kid sister. Sounds like a close one. Want me to get a coin for you to flip, Scooter?"

"Don't bother dog-girl, I'm going with plan A."

Lizzie watched her brother toddle after Jessica. As consolation, she took a long swig of her beer, swallowed, and howled softly to herself, "Bawoo."

Her brother Richard was a year older and actually was the dumbest smart guy she knew. Sometimes she swore he couldn't see the nose in front of his face. He was pure book smarts from head to toe. He'd steamrolled through high school - racking up the highest GPA in the school's history then nailed a perfect SAT. He'd even be finishing up his undergraduate ahead of schedule. Less than three years for a physics degree at one of the best programs in the country? Who the hell could compete with that?

Lizzie sighed. She was proud of her big brother but sometimes he made her feel small. All she could do was run. Ba-frickin'-woo.

The "dog-girl" and "bawoo" thing? That started when her middle school track coach came to visit their house after school eight years ago. Lizzie and her brother snuck to the top of the stairs to listen to the grown-ups talking down in the kitchen.

"You have a lovely home, Miss Robbins, and I appreciate your agreeing to see me. I know you're a busy woman so I won't take up too much of your time. I'm happy to tell you that you have a very gifted child."

"I'm quite proud of Richard, but I thought..."

"I'm not here to talk about your son. I'm here to talk about Elizabeth. I'm her track coach. I thought you should know that Liz is an excellent runner. In fact, she may just be the best I've ever seen."

"Really? I mean, I guess she has always been quick on her little feet. If I look away for a second she's gone."

Lizzie remembered beaming proudly at Richard upstairs. She took this as a big compliment.

"It's more than just that, Miss Robbins. Look, middle school kids? Even the fast ones? They're a mess when they run, all of them pushing and shoving to get up front, to lead right from the beginning. It's complete chaos. None of them have the maturity or the patience to pace themselves. To hang back and wait for the right time to make their move. Hell, most of them won't even figure that out in high school. But not Lizzie. She's... she's very special."

"How so?"

"You need to come to our track meets. To support her and see what I mean at the same time. Lizzie doesn't run. She... well... she chases." The coach's voice grew more excited, "She does it every race. It's a beautiful thing to watch. Less than halfway through, Lizzie falls in a few yards behind the lead girl. She tracks her. She... she drives her. Heck, she even baits her. Then at the very end, Lizzie simply runs her down. Honestly, I don't think I'd even call what Liz does 'cross-country.' She's not just running. She's hunting. Like a... like a little dingo."

Upstairs, Richard hugged her with one arm and teased her softly, "Sweet, Mom's going to buy you a flea collar, sis."

"Bawoo," Lizzie howled quietly into his shoulder and giggled.

It was her very first bawoo.

Of course, the coach's offhand nickname stuck with Lizzie and "Li'l Dingo" would eventually be stitched across the back of her track uniforms.

As the years went by, Lizzie ran and ran and her body changed. By high school, the quick little blonde pixie became a sleek and slender young woman. Lizzie looked like a gazelle but she still ran like a predator. Chasing. Hunting. Winning. In fact, she would win state finals in cross country each of her four years in high school, a feat unheard of before Lizzie.

People even came to track meets to watch her. And who could blame them? She was hotter than hell in her school's skimpy little track uniforms, long, sleekly muscled legs and bobbing little breasts. Her finishes were always spectacular too. After loping along patiently at the number two spot for three miles, she'd get this crazy little grin. Then her legs would stretch, they'd quicken, and Lizzie would start her race. Without fail, she'd chase that poor last girl down like something small and tasty.

Two months ago, when Lizzie broke through the yellow tape at her last high school race, she didn't have to howl for herself. Her coaches, her family, and classmates were doing it for her, for their favorite little dingo, "Bawoo! Bawoo!"

Lizzie snapped out of her reminiscing when Richard reappeared with Jessica. The curvy, raven-haired cheerleader winked at Lizzie as she led her brother upstairs. One of Jessica's hands was already playing at the bottom of her tight tank top, obviously itching to get it off. Jessica liked to show off her body and Lizzie didn't blame her. Speaking objectively, Jessica's breasts were spectacular and she had every right to be proud of them. Of course, half the guys in their high school class could draw them from memory. Perhaps Jess was a little too proud of her boobs.

Lizzie took the next couple of minutes to finish her beer then she set it down. She chewed her lip again, pondering, then decided to follow them. She was more than a little curious and she knew her brother well. Odds were that he'd be too distracted by Jessica's charms to shut his sticky bedroom door completely.

She crept up towards his bedroom and she was right. There was a quite peekable gap left. She sat herself tipsily down on the floor for a little bit of perving. Okay, a lot of perving.

From the look of things, Richard was having one of the best nights of his life. Jessica had always been that perfect cheerleadery mix of flexibility and eagerness that drove guys crazy.

At that moment, Jessica was topless and cupping her oversized, flawless breasts in her hands with her lips wrapped around half of Richard's cock. Lizzie gaped. Her brother's erection was impressive and while Jess was working her mouth down on it steadily, she was definitely struggling. Her full lips strained to fit around his shaft. When she finally swallowed his entire length, she groaned from her chest and bobbed slightly.

Lizzie had to admit, Jess knew how to please a guy. The curvy brunette never forgot to look up and keep eye-contact with her brother even as her hands slid down from her own tits and under her skirt to quickly drag a small white thong down and off.

Yep, Jess knew what she was doing. Lizzie watched as her gal pal ditched her skirt then scooted onto the bed on her back and spread her legs. Lizzie and her brother's eyes were both drawn to the same place. Jessica was shaved completely bare. Her tiny glistening sex was a perfectly smooth and pink invitation. Scooter paused only long enough to finish getting his pants off and quickly slid on top of her.

Lizzie watched her friend's mouth fall open as Richard eased himself into her. Jess shifted and pulled her legs up very high, limberly hooking them over Richard's shoulders. Yep, flexible and eager. Damn cheerleaders.

For the next half hour, Lizzie watched her brother make love to her best friend. She was appalled and excited at the same time. Jessica shivered through three separate and very satisfying-looking orgasms before Richard groaned his own release. Lizzie assumed they were done.

But they weren't done.

Jessica slipped herself off the bed and did something Lizzie didn't expect -- not from her eighteen year-old friend. Jess stood, turned, and bent herself forward at the waist with her upper body on the bed. She swished her little cheerleadery bubble butt temptingly.

"C'mere Scooter, I've got this other hole you missed."

Out in the hallway, Lizzie's eyes slowly widened. Partly because Jessica had just used Lizzie's nickname for her brother. And partly because Jessica offered what she did - Lizzie had no idea her friend did... well... that.

Mostly though, Lizzie was astonished because her big brother, her sweet and gentle Scooter who used to read her bedtime stories when they were little, didn't hesitate. He simply stood and moved behind Jessica and then gave her just what she asked for, pressing himself into her ass with no more than a nod. Jessica whimpered at the invasion but didn't move away. Worst of all, the bastard was good at it, judging from the very happy groans Jessica made over the next ten minutes.

It was wrong and dirty and nasty and... hot.

Peering through the crack into her brother's bedroom at the gleeful sodomy scene, Lizzie's surprised face slowly spread into the same determined expression she wore at the last 100 yards of every race she'd ever run.

Lizzie would chase. And she'd win. She always did.

Bawoo.

She wandered back downstairs quietly for another beer.

*~*~* Part II -- One year later *~*~*

Twenty-years and two days old, Richard woke to the sounds of sea gulls crying and surf lapping at the beach. But it wasn't either of those things that drew him out of his sleep. It was a slender little finger that did it. That finger was tracing letters across his back. It wasn't all that odd, his kid sister Lizzie liked to wake him up this way - writing words on his skin.

They'd written messages like this for each other since they were children. It was their mother's idea. When they were young, their family went on long car rides to visit their grandparents. Little Richard and Elizabeth would get noisy in the back seat along the way -- two hours of nonstop tickling, poking, fighting, laughing and crying. Normal kid stuff, really. Unfortunately, their father was a bit high-strung and those long drives to see his in-laws only made him more tense.

Their mom did what good moms do. She buffered. She taught her children skinwriting to keep them occupied. "Give her your hand, Richie," his mother nodded at his sister from the front seat. "And close your eyes."

"Okay, now you think of a word, Liz. A small one. But don't say it out loud, honey. Ready? Now spell it on your brother's palm."

Liz nodded and traced each letter of her word with her tiny seven year-old finger. She had to write it twice before he could get it.

"Cat?" Richard finally guessed.

Liz giggled and their mother smiled. "Very good, you two. Lizzie, keep going until Richard guesses wrong. Let's see how many words you can get him to say."

Over the next two hours, their parents listened to the more peaceful sounds of elementary school vocabulary coming up from their backseat. "Dog." "House." "Truck." "Chicken, but you forgot the other 'c'."

Their mother's strange little improvised game was one of the many things that built a strong bond between Richard and Lizzie over the years. They had their tiffs and their struggles but they stuck by each other more than other siblings they knew. That bond grew even tighter when their family shrank a few years later. Their father died of a heart attack. No one was surprised -- he'd always been wound pretty tight. Their Mom missed him but she was leading an active, happy life again.

Richard focused on his sister's finger as it traced the three quick letters of her ritual puzzle before moving on to what she was going to make for breakfast.

The puzzle? He'd never solved it. Feeling what was for breakfast? That was easy.

"Pancakes," he muttered into the mattress.

"Good boy. And the other thing?" she scratched the thick brown hair at the back of his head.

"I still have no fucking idea what the hell 'imu' means."

"Ooh, poor little Scooter. Don't worry, you'll get it someday. You're the smartest dumb guy I know," she patted his back and left him alone to get dressed.

Stupid "imu" puzzle.

Eight years ago, he'd told her that she'd misspelled 'emu' and described the little ostrich-like bird. She'd laughed and shook her head, "Uh uh."

Seven years ago, he'd guessed that she'd cheated and skipped the apostrophe for "I'm U." Some sort of funny poetry thing. This of course made no sense. She'd laughed harder.

Lizzie's hardest laugh came three years ago when Richard, fresh from his first few weeks of high school physics had figured out that "I" was the letter for electrical current and the Greek letter "mu" was the symbol commonly used for a coefficient of friction. Thus, "I mu" meant "current friction" referring to how her finger was rubbing across his skin.

Lizzie had nearly wet herself laughing, "Dumbass, I wrote that for you when I was ten years-old. I barely understood what you just said now. How the hell could I have meant that then?"

She had a point.

Richard sighed into his pillow. He knew he was smarter than average and that he was pretty good at figuring things out. The fact that his little sister had stumped him for so long was a sore point.

Well, Lizzie was right about one thing -- pancakes sounded perfect for their first day at the beach.

By the time he splashed some water on his face and pulled on a bathing suit then made it to the kitchen, Lizzie had already finished cooking and was pouring coffee.

Amend that, pouring coffee in a bikini. Good god, his heart skipped several beats.

Lizzie's back was turned to him and the little black bikini's strings were knotted loosely at the middle of her back, her neck, and each hip.

Richard had long since made peace with the fact that his kid sister was far and away the prettiest girl he knew. Blonde with gigantic, soft, bambi-brown eyes, she was a gifted long distance runner and it showed. Basically, everyone agreed she looked like a gazelle. Her long, slender legs swept up into an equally sleek little ass. Her slim, tight upper body matched her lower half.

Lizzie Robbins was built for speed. And bikinis. She looked amazing in that suit.

He snapped out of his daze when she turned, golden ponytail swinging, and handed him a cup of coffee.

"How late did you get here last night?" she asked as she slid into her seat at the table. The motion made her round breasts sway slightly in her top and he only looked away with effort.

"Oh, a little after two. It took me that long to sober up from the birthday party they threw me at school. I'm going to need a lot of coffee today. Thanks." As proof, he took a long drag from his cup. His eyes flicked down her body again before he could stop them.

This time she caught him looking. "Like my new suit?" she needled him a bit, eyebrow cocked coyly.

"S'not bad," he shrugged. "It's just funny seeing you wearing it in the kitchen. My shy kid sister used to wear t-shirts over her suit right up until we got to the beach."

"That had more to do with Mom being around than being shy, dummy," she half-smiled, "No mom around to harass me now."

They ate breakfast and stepped out the back door and onto a patio overlooking a beach that they had all to themselves. Lizzie said her fiancée's parents rented the beach house for them for the last month of the summer, but he'd gotten dragged away to help with his Dad's company.

Lizzie... and her fiancée.

Wow, it even sounded weird. His little Lizzie, just one year into college, was getting married? And she'd never even brought the guy home to meet her family. She'd always been independent and headstrong but this was ridiculous. He only found out when she called him late one night from school with her engagement news that spring. He'd answered the phone and, before he'd even said hello, she just blurted it out.

"I'm getting married."

"Wah - huh?"

His sister giggled over the phone. "Married, Scooter. I'm getting married."

"Who? When? Why?" A bad answer to that last question popped into his head, "Oh god, you're pregnant aren't you?"

"Relax silly, I'm not preggo. His name is... okay, don't make fun... his name is Chip."

"Chip?!" he laughed, he couldn't help it. "This is some kind of sick joke..."

"You're really going to talk smack about names, Scooter? For real, his name is Chip. And he's a great guy. We're going to get married this summer. At the beach."

"Lizzie, I told you -- pot or tequila. Never both. You really can't mix them and keep a grip on reality."

"C'mon Scooter, I'm sober. Well, mostly sober. But more importantly, I am serious. I really am getting married. He just gave me a ring tonight and everything. Wait until you see it. It's fucking huge."

It finally sank in, she wasn't kidding. "Wow. Okay. So what did Mom say?"

"I haven't told her yet."

"You called me before Mom?"

"Of course silly, you're my brother. And brothers come first."

Brothers come first. That one tugged at his heartstrings because there was some history to it.

Richard had given little Lizzie her first kiss. It had been her idea and it was very innocent. She'd said she was worried about making a fool of herself with her first boyfriend.

"C'mon Scooter, please?" She'd pleaded with him. "I brushed my teeth and used some of Mom's mouthwash and everything. No cooties, I swear." But then she'd looked at him seriously and said something that had never even occurred to him back then, "Just don't do anything gross like put your tongue in my mouth, okay?"

He did like she asked, he kissed her. Their young lips merged hesitantly in a tender way for a long moment. Actually, it was kinda nice.

Lizzie had smiled hugely afterwards. "See, that wasn't so bad was it? Now you'll always be the first boy to kiss me. Cool huh?" She darted in and pecked his cheek in a more sisterly way. "Thanks, Scooter. You know, I think brothers should always come first."

But that would change soon. She'd be someone's wife. It was all happening too fast.

Richard pushed these thoughts away and focused on the now as he and his sister crossed the beach then swam out about forty yards into the surf where the waves just began to curl. They were both comfortable in the water and Lizzie was practically fearless when it came to picking her waves. The bigger the better.

They picked out their respective spots, alternatingly bobbing, waiting and surfing. Later, when Lizzie came back from her last wave, she swam over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Mind if I hang on you, bro? Can't touch bottom here like you," she pouted, "not tall enough. And I see you're catching the nicer rides from here." It was true. The largest waves were just beginning to curl where he could barely stand. Just a few yards further in, Lizzie had to duck under them because it was too late.