Charles Tate and I had been childhood sweethearts. Everyone within the bayou of Houma, Louisiana thought we were the perfect couple. But we discovered a terrible secret that tore through our love and hearts.

We were half brother and sister.

How could this be? How could this possibly happen? When we were eighteen years old we demanded to know the truth from our parents. My Mama told me that Charles’s father, Emmet Tate, had been a few years older than she and seduced by his charm and good looks and wealth. And they both swore never to let the truth be told to me and Paul for they didn’t think we’d become childhood sweethearts instead of just being friends.

When Charles and I met up at the bench one hot summer’s day by the swamp where the alligators laid still on the bank of the swamp or slithered through the water to catch prey he told me he demanded the truth from his parents.

I held my breath, “what did they say, Charles?”

“My father told me that your mother was the one who seduced him by wearing a very revealing summer dress and let him make love to her in his office,” he said.

“My Mama said it was him who seduced her and not the way round,” I told him. “Oh Charles, what are we going to do?”

Charles had brown hair combed back with tints of golden blonde on the top from the sun that lightened his hair. His eyes were blue like mine and were two or three inches taller with muscular biceps and body.

He grabbed hold of my hands in his as we looked lovingly into each other’s eyes.

“I love you, Laney, I don’t care if we’re half brother and sister all I know is that I love you and we belong together. We’ll get married and have children and live in a huge house where people don’t need to know who we really are,” he said.

Oh, how I wish that could be possible.

Charles and I threw our arms around each other and embraced tightly unwilling to let go. Our hearts beating fast against our chests.

I felt his warm lips kiss my left earlobe then run down my neck to the valley between my heaving breasts. I was wearing a light pink summer dress that was above the knee with short sleeves.

It had buttons right down the middle.

All around us were big thick sycamore trees and Spanish moss. A few feet away from us a large black and white heron flew down on top of the water of the swamp and put its beak into the water and then brought it back out again looking for fish. Within the trees a deer flicked its ears back and forth as it gazed upon us and knew what Charles and I were and how we felt for each other.

I stood up quickly from the bench knowing that we couldn’t do this to ourselves anymore. We couldn’t let this go too far. But as I stared into his crystal blue eyes I melted. I wanted him.

Charles stood up and kissed me passionately on my lips, down my neck, back down the valley between my heaving breasts and his fingers unbuttoned the first few buttons on my dress. He pulled me down beside him in the long green grass and I let him unbutton every single button on my dress. Charles pressed his body against mine while we kissed passionately and I felt him grow hard. His right hand grabbed hold of my pink lacy knickers and pulled them down my legs and over my feet.

I watched as Charles widened my legs and slipped in between them and then pulled his shorts down and I gasped aloud as I felt him enter me.

As he made love to me I couldn’t help thinking that this was a sin we were doing letting this happen. But the more we made love and the intensity grew stronger by the minute, the doubt and thoughts of this being wrong were erased from my mind.

I closed my eyes as I moaned and moaned in pleasure as our bodies rode together as one fast.

“Oh, Laney, my darling sweet Laney. The apple of my eye, the love of my life, oh, how I love you so,” Charles said as his breathing increased and he panted as he rode over me.

Tears were beginning to form at the corners of my eyes as our lovemaking grew stronger by the second. I gritted my teeth as I felt myself building up to an orgasm.

Charles and I climaxed together our bodies trembling with delight. Sweat dripped and dripped from our bodies.

We stared into each other’s eyes breathing heavily and only believed what was in our hearts that we loved one another.