May(3)

The walk home was mostly silent. Roman apologized several times for leaving Angelica to get in trouble and she denied the need for any apology, reminding her brother it was her idea for him to escape through the window. Fortuitously, the ploy had worked. Though it was technically against the rules for students to go off-campus for lunch, the rule was seldom enforced unless some other incident occurred to cause the administration to crack down. Roman just blended in with the rest of the students returning from their daily lunch break. The Principal knew that one of those boys had to be the right one, but none of the suspects were any more likely than the next, and, at least to the uninitiated mind, Roman was far, far less likely to have been the one eating his little sister's pussy.

As they walked, Angelica couldn't help but let Principal Chalmer's words marinate. "He's taking advantage of you," she'd said. "He doesn't care about you." It made her feel guilty to even consider her brother in a bad light. She knew he was good. To even contemplate that he might not be what she knew him to be made her soul feel sick. However, she continued to ponder the seasoned woman's unsettling words to her discomfort.

Besides that, Angelica thought about how her secret had almost been discovered. How their lovely, cushy incest-adjacent bubble had almost burst. She would need to be much more careful in the future. The perceived danger of being caught when there was no real threat might have been exciting and fun, but the near-reality of being exposed scared her half to death. Angelica couldn't fathom how she could ever find pleasure in taking such a risk ever again. She resolved to protect their secret at all costs from then on.

As they drew near home, Angelica's anxiety swelled. Her mother, who flipped when she saw Roman kiss her, would surely have a conniption after hearing about her slutty little romp with some strange boy at school. And her father! He would be so angry. He'd want to know who the boy was so he could slam him into the ground. No longer would Angelica be his innocent little girl, but a rebellious teenager. This would change everything, forever. All because she couldn't keep her brother's hands out of her panties in a public place. And worse, what if their parents had deduced who the mystery man was!? Both their lives would be forfeited. Once Angelica and Roman reached the porch, she was nearly in tears again.

Roman looked at her before entering. He hugged her. "Everything will be okay. I'll be with you the whole time. If they try to shame you...I- I won't let them." He kissed Angelica on her soft, pouting lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," Angelica said, feeling tiny. She savored one last comforting kiss with her brother and they entered the house.

Mrs. Day sat at the table and looked up from her mug of tea when the siblings entered the kitchen. "Hey, Mom," Roman said, trying to sound normal.

"Hi guys, how was school?" Mrs. Day said evenly. Does she know? Did Principal Chalmers not call? Angelica reluctantly let the possibility of relief settle in. Roman rattled on about something or other, playing it as casually as ever. Angelica added a thing or two here and there, trying to make the day sound uneventful. She went to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water just to give her shaky limbs something to focus on. When the small talk was finished, there was an awkward silence. Angelica took a long swig of her water, nervously surveying the room after she drank. Mrs. Day sat calmly, seemingly waiting for something. Roman waited too, reluctant to leave his sister alone with their mother. Angelica started to coolly stroll out of the kitchen and away from the center of tension, taking another sip of water. "Hey, Angelica, why don't you come and talk to your mom for a bit, hon'?"

Angelica choked on her water, coughed, and cleared her throat. "Uh, okay," she said uneasily and started back toward the kitchen table. Roman, who had begun to follow his sister out of the room, came back too.

"Not you, honey," Mrs. Day said sweetly. "Girl talk." Roman hesitated. "I'm trying to talk to my daughter about the facts of life here, Roman. Y'know, periods and the pains of childbirth and such."

"And boys?" Roman added, accusatorily. He didn't care to hide his meaning. "Principal Chalmers called, didn't she?"

"Jesus, Angel, is there anything you don't tell your brother?" She turned her gaze back to Roman. "Yes, I know about what happened. Now leave the room so my daughter and I may properly discuss it."

"Mom...go easy on her. She was just-"

"Roman, go away," Mrs. Day cut him off, half exasperated, half giggling. "I'm not gonna stab her with this teaspoon, for goodness' sake. I'll return her to you in the same condition. I promise." Roman regarded his mother with a curious gaze. She didn't sound mad, but Mrs. Day had a temper that could flare up at any moment. He looked at Angelica beside him, who gave a little nod. He then kissed her modestly on her lips and went to his room.

"Geez, that boy's so protective," Mrs. Day scoffed. "But it is sweet. Kind of reminds me of my brother... Well, kind of." She took a pause, sipping her tea. "Anyway, back to the issue at hand. Mrs. Chalmers told me you were found in a room with a boy. Naked. Is this true?" Angelica nodded guiltily. "And she said that when the teacher found you, the boy's head was between your legs?" Angelica nodded again. "And she told me the boy escaped out the window and that you refused to tell them who he was." Angelica nodded again, looking down and averting her eyes away from her mother's. All she could feel was shame. "Why didn't you tell them?"

Angelica took a deep breath. "I didn't want him to get in trouble." Her voice was small and scared.

"Hm, so you like this boy?" Her mother didn't sound angry. A good sign.

"I do," Angelica said, feeling a bit more comfortable.

"I understand." Mrs. Day took another sip.

"You do?" Angelica couldn't imagine her mother in her situation.

"Of course. I'm almost forty-five with two children. Before your father and I got married, we got into all kinds of trouble. We couldn't keep our hands to ourselves, no matter where we were. There were a few times we were caught in, uh, precarious positions." Mrs. Day raised her eyebrows at the word 'positions.'

"Ew, gross," Angelica giggled, feeling relieved.

Mrs. Day shrugged. "Just want you to know that you're not the only girl with a secret adventurous side. Honey, if you knew some of the things I got up to when I was your age, you'd blush even harder than you are now. I say that to say, don't you be ashamed of your sexuality. Ever. And especially if it's with someone you like. Maybe you won't get married like your father and I did, or maybe you will. I don't know. But either way, it's okay for a girl to have some fun now and then."

"Are you saying...that you approve?"

"Let me tell you, the first time I got caught in the act, it was my face in his crotch, not the other way around. So - and I know I shouldn't say this - but when she told me the boy was giving you oral sex, I felt...proud."

"Proud!?" Angelica was shocked.

"Yes. Proud. Do you know how many girls get caught in high school bathrooms or back stairwells on their knees? Or giving up their cookies to some jerk, or even to multiple jerks at once? I don't shame those girls, by the way. The guys, the girls, they're all getting the same thing out of the deal, but it's the girls who get branded as sluts and whores. I just thought it'd be nice to hear of some boys getting caught on their knees for once. So when they told me, God forgive me, I thought, 'good for her.'"

Angelica blushed and giggled. "Wow, Mom. If only I would have known sooner."

Mrs. Day laughed and sipped some more tea. "Well, now you know. You are very much allowed to explore your sexuality. As long as you stay smart about it and don't let a boy do anything to you that you don't want him to do. And no one but us needs to know about this, okay?" Angelica nodded. "I didn't tell your dad and I didn't expect you to tell Roman, but I guess I should have known better. The secret can stay between the three of us."

"So...you don't want to know who he was?" Angelica was curious.

"If you really like him, I'm sure I'll meet him eventually. But if not...," Mrs. Day shrugged, "enjoy it. Just be sure that he understands whatever it is too. I don't want you to be careless with this boy's feelings, the same way I wouldn't want him to be careless with yours."

"I understand, Mom. And thanks for not being mad at me. I was so scared."

"Aww baby, I'm sorry." Mrs. Day got up to hug her daughter. "You're fine. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing you did wrong was to get caught."

Angelica beamed a huge smile as she hugged her mother.

"One more thing," Mrs. Day added with a huge smile after their embrace. "How was it?"

Angelica reddened, smirking. "It was so good, Mom." They both laughed, Angelica unable to believe she just rated her brother's coochie-licking skills to her mother.

"So," Mrs. Day seemed to pause abruptly, "you're not a virgin anymore?"

"I...I am. I mean, I never had, like, intercourse before."

"Oh. Well, why? Not that you have to. Just curious."

"I don't know. I just...." Angelica thought about Roman. Why haven't we had sex? she wondered. The reasons she gave him just didn't seem to fit exactly. "I think I'm still just a little shy." The admission made her blush just as much as her confession of being caught in a sexual act.

"And there's nothing wrong with that, hon'. Remember this: you are always, always the one in control."

Angelica nodded and smiled.

Mrs. Day had promised her that her secret would remain between the three of them. Unfortunately, there was no such code of silence at school. There had been students traversing the halls when Ms. Whitlock caught her. Some of them had stopped to see whom the teacher was talking to - whom she had apparently caught naked in the copy room. Angelica had looked at the floor for the whole walk to the office, but she was vaguely aware of students standing around, snickering and making hushed comments. Several girls and boys had been caught in lewd acts within the school building, and Angelica had heard several rumors of different girls, including Mariah. It wasn't much of a shameful thing, really. It was more just a topic of gossip, bringing the subjects (especially the girls and the gay boys) more popularity. And for Angelica, there was an added shock factor that left many students in disbelief.

When a student was bold enough to ask Angelica if the accusations were true, she wouldn't deny it, only blushing and giggling and shyly confirming that it was. By midday Tuesday, Angelica felt her popularity had tripled. Boys and girls who had hardly noticed her all year were more friendly to her. Leo was more flirtatious with her than usual. His words were a bit more suggestive and his hands a bit busier on her body. She loved it. Being the center of attention for a risque moment made her feel sexy. She felt more comfortable with her sexiness too, enjoying herself more than she had all year (not even considering the time spent with her brother.) She wished she could have felt this way all through high school, but was glad that her senior year would end with some good-hearted memories.

During lunchtime, Angelica sat next to Leo. His hand never left her body but was always on her lower back, her arm, or her leg. Her nerves perked up when his hand, that was on her knee underneath the table, started to rise up her inner thigh. She quickly shut her knees and pried his hand from in between. "Stop," she whispered. "You're gonna get me in more trouble."

"Sorry," he said, removing his hand from between her legs and holding hers instead. "It's just that, you're kind of hard not to wanna touch. And...I know what people are saying about you. Y'know, about yesterday, and nobody knows who the guy was. Is he...like, your boyfriend or something?"

Angelica smiled. "Maybe. Why?"

"Well, you know, I think you're really cute. And um, I was thinking... You wanna go to prom?"

"W-with you?"

"Yeah, with me," Leo chuckled. "I'm not asking you to go to prom with somebody else."

"Oh, um, well, yeah. I think...I think, yeah." Angelica was beside herself with glee but tried to hide her excitement. Since the beginning of the school year, she had imagined going to prom with Leo. Even in her previous three years of high school, she thought the pecan-skinned boy was cute but when he returned from summer break in senior year with his newly grown facial hair, his freshly grown and twisted locks, and his more muscular build, she fixated on him and developed a true crush. She never thought her fantasy would become a reality. She didn't even think she would attend prom, being so standoffish and aloof to the social scene. But here she was, being asked to prom by her longtime crush and accepting his invitation.

The walk home with Roman was again relatively silent. This time though, Angelica's mind wasn't plagued with the anxiety of facing an expectantly furious mother and doubts about her brother's loyalty. She was happy today, but her mood was dimmed by assessments of her loyalty to Roman. How much loyalty did she owe him? He wasn't her boyfriend and nor could he be. He didn't seem to mind at all when boys flirted with her and she flirted back. He had even told her he was happy that she enjoyed such positive and flattering attention. He loved her enough not to be selfish with her. Besides, Roman had been set to attend prom with his flirty friend Mariah for months, and Angelica felt okay about that, or rather, she forced herself to be okay with it. If she could live with her brother and lover being with another girl, she could allow herself to relish being chosen by Leo.

When Angelica got home, she told her mother about Leo and her resolution to attend prom with him. Mrs. Day was excited for her daughter, so much so that she immediately whisked her away to the shopping mall to look for a prom dress. After all, prom night was only one week away and Angelica had made no preparations. They bought what they agreed was the cutest pair of shoes at one mall, then traversed the land to search for the perfect dress at another mall. Having found the perfect dress there, they returned to the first mall to return the heels that didn't quite match the dress. And then they ventured off to a third mall, where they found the heels that would go perfectly with Angelica's dress. Luckily, they were able to find some jewelry that went nicely with everything at the same mall. Finally, around dusk, the Day women were headed home.

"So, this Leo," Mrs. Day began, sounding intrigued, "I assume he's the one you were in that room with?"

Angelica blushed, becoming instantly nervous. "Yeah, that's him," she accepted the lie offered to her.

"Is it serious?"

"I don't know yet."

Mrs. Day nodded in understanding. "That's okay, that's good. No need to rush into feelings prematurely." She paused before continuing. "Is he the only boy to see you naked?"

"Yes. God, Mom." Angelica smiled softly but folded her arms across her chest, feeling sweat begin to materialize on her skin.

"Was that the first time you two, y'know, fooled around?"

"Not really."

Mrs. Day exaggerated a gasp. "Really?" She looked at her with a big, open-mouthed smile, eyes wide. "Angelica, you little sexpot!"

"Mom!" Angelica said, blushing and giggling. "I am not!"

"I mean it as a compliment, honey. I just thought you were, y'know, a little on the chaste side - which there is nothing wrong with, by the way. But now, I see you have a nice, sexy little spark about you. Like a little flare."

Angelica smiled, glowing with pride. Her brother had sparked her 'flare' and her mother liked the result. And more importantly, she liked the result. She realized how much she had grown, how comfortable she was in her sexuality, and how much it contrasted with her previous sexual repression. She used to be afraid to think of herself as a sexual being, unable even to pleasure herself. She wondered how much her repression affected her self-image and loved her brother even more for uncovering some unexplored parts of herself. She'd have to find a way to thank him. She knew she could think of something.

"So," Mrs. Day said, preparing to probe further, "do you think you might lose your virginity on prom night?"

Angelica giggled, nervously. "I don't know."

"Well, it's totally up to you and you don't need to have your mind made up and you can change your mind at any time. But, when you were trying on dresses, I made a provision for you... A reservation... A hotel reservation." Angelica's eyes widened. "Again, you don't have to use it at all. But, if you find yourself in the mood, you don't have to come home and sneak past your dad and me and you don't have to go to some skeevy afterparty where everybody knows what you're doing. You can go to a nice, clean hotel room. Discreet. Safe. Just you and your guy."

"Thanks,...