When I was six my parents split and quickly married new spouses. I found myself as part of a new blended family when I shared time at my father's new house. We weren't the Brady Bunch by any stretch, but we all got along well. My new step brother and sister were somewhere between my siblings and close acquaintances. In many ways we grew up together and over the years we came to think of each other like brothers and sisters do. We sometimes played. We sometimes argued. But mostly were just each doing our thing.
The Marsha in this family was my slightly older stepsister Carrie. As a younger brother, imagine my confused interest at watching my new sister grow up before my eyes. There was an extra level of intrigue to all things involving privacy. While seeing my real sister undressed seemed perfectly boring, getting peeks at Carrie in various stages of undress was an ongoing pursuit. Apparently Carrie felt the same confusion. I had the pleasure of experiencing it on a family trip we made one summer to my grandparents house. I was 16. Carrie was just a few months older.
With such a large group, there weren't bedrooms for everybody at the house during our visit. Sleeping accommodations for the kids was a series of cots set up in the living room and den, side by side by side, bunkhouse style. Girls in the living room. Boys in the den. After the usual day of family activity... sightseeing, shopping, visiting local relatives, etc., we all returned to the house and prepared for an early bedtime. Grandma and Grandpa were early to bed, early to rise kind of people. So.... when in Rome... off to bed we went. Cots were set up and everyone retired to their quarters for the rest of the night. After a long period of unwinding and fooling around, pushing my father's patience to the brink, my brothers and I finally settled down and drifted off to sleep.
A short time later I was awakened by someone standing over my cot. After the fog of my sleep cleared I could see it was Carrie. She was standing there in her large t-shirt quietly nudging me awake. I started to speak, to ask her why she was bothering me, but before I could get the words out she crawled onto my cot with me with a quiet "shhhhhh..." She climbed above me,straddling my torso with her legs while facing me. Her long hair dangled down into my face. She slowly moved her head down near mine and asked in a whisper, "Do you want to kiss me?"
In my stunned amazement I managed to quietly blurt out "yes." I didn't know what to do so I simply followed her lead and kissed back.