“What the fuck?” I finally said after the coughing fit.

I brushed a couple of drops of coke from my T-shirt that had spilled when I’d heard my younger sister’s request.

A grin spread over Christy’s face, “You heard me! Well?”

“Jane wants me to take her virginity?” I repeated the question that had almost caused me to drown on my drink. The two of us were sat in the gazebo at the end of the garden as the sun was starting to descend over the woods behind our house. I’d been suspicious when she had asked me to come with her ten minutes earlier; the truth was the two of us had barely tolerated each other over the last couple of years and her demeanour when asking me was out of character.

“Yeah” she replied simply, “Don’t worry I tried to talk her out of it but you're headed away to university and for some reason she thinks you’re fit and I guess won’t really have the opportunity to brag.” She turned in her seat and leaned forward staring into my eyes, “And you know I will castrate you if you do!”

I looked back at Christy fully understanding that her last statement was at least genuine in its intent and still processing the rest. Of course, the request wasn’t in the least abhorrent; I’d watched Jane blossom over the last couple of years and although the way she dressed didn’t advertise it I knew from the last couple of months that the redhead had a very fit body when she’d sunned herself in our garden with my sister.

My mind’s eye imagined my sister’s best friend without the modest bikinis she wore. She was just over five foot with lush red hair that reached halfway down her back towards a gorgeously proportioned ass; her breasts I reckoned were at least a C-cup and at least twice I’d noticed what looked like a very chewable pair of nipples poking through her top. She didn’t tend to turn many of the boy’s heads in school due to her shy nature and I knew I was one of the few she felt comfortable with and actually was a calming influence between me and my sister whenever she was around and therefore very welcome by our parents.

My sister was the opposite of her best friend! Outgoing and vivacious; a couple of inches shorter and almost boyish being very slim with only an A-cup up top and generally flaunting what she had been given. I had no doubt that her cherry had been well and truly popped albeit on her terms and her terms alone. She’d had at least two boyfriends since turning sixteen and with our parents’ relaxed outlook on life, the second and current of them had spent quite a few nights staying over and generally strolled downstairs with a big shit-eating grin in the morning.

There were two other factors that saved her from being labeled a slut whether justified or not and the first was her willingness to defend herself both verbally and physically to anyone, boy or girl, who would offer such an opinion. The other was me; I had taken after my father and although we were Irish Twins separated by just over eleven months I towered over her (and most others) by fifteen inches cresting at six foot three and with a frame that served me well on the rugby field. Whatever friction existed between us evaporated whenever an outsider gave her any type of grief even though she was perfectly capable of defending herself.

Personality-wise though I was far more like Jane than my sister to the extent that my approaching attendance at university was beginning to fill me with doubt and a little dread. Academically I knew there wouldn’t be a problem but I’d taken years (literally) to build up my circle of friends and the idea of having to make a whole new set was daunting. Somehow I managed to fake confidence but I feared that ‘new’ people would see straight through my façade. Even Christy had no true idea of the self-doubt within my head; I knew when she went in a year’s time she’d adjust socially easily if maybe not quite so well academically.

“You’re serious? She’s serious?” I asked as I got my head around the thought.

“Me serious? Who are you and what have you done with Paul?” she quipped back.” As for Jane…yeah!”

I shuffled on the bench within the gazebo as I became aware of my cock stirring within my shorts. “Fuck,” I breathed.

“Yep, that’s what the girl wants,” she shot back.

I looked back at my sister as she looked towards the house absent-mindedly twirling her black hair. I shook my head and felt my cheeks beginning to glow as I blushed.

She turned back and stared at me, a quizzical look spreading across her face; “What’s the problem?” she asked, “Not as if you don’t fancy her! A no-strings fuck, popping a cherry too, thought this was the stuff you boys fantasized about?”

“Some boys maybe,” I defended myself.

“Damn you’re so mature Paul,” she replied sarcastically.

It was true about fancying her; Jane had fuelled numerous wank sessions including looking down from my bedroom window as she lay beside my sister topping up her tan. In one way her being a virgin did indeed make the scenario even more palatable but not for the reason my sister believed.

“I don’t know… I’m not sure this is a good idea,” I hesitantly replied.

Christy stared at me with the familiar look she often adopted of “her weird alien brother” although it seemed completely genuine for perhaps the first time. “Mom and Dad are away this weekend and, damn, if you want I’ll make myself scarce too if that’s what you want; so what’s the problem?”

I stood up turning away from Christy and faced towards the house leaning against the wooden pillar wishing I had a cigarette so that I could delay answering and have more time to think. “Err… doesn’t she want the first time to be special?” I asked.

“Yeah, of course, daftly part the reason she’s picked you but she wants it to be good first and foremost; not some fumble shit at a party! She trusts you, Paul, plain and simple!” she answered the exasperation plain in her voice.

“I mean doesn’t she want it to be someone she loves?” I replied.

“Christ!” Christy exclaimed, “How very… Victorian of you, Paul!” I listened to my sister chuckle before she continued, “Us modern girls can be practically minded; we’re not all sunsets and romance and tall dark handsome strangers for fuck’s sake!”

“Oh, practical am I?” I shot back looking over my shoulder.

“No… well, yes but that’s a good thing and a fucking compliment!” she answered shaking her head. I watched as her head stopped moving and her eyes rose to mine; “Do… do you love her?” she asked tentatively.

“No!” I shot back and then considered my reply, “Well, yes but like a sister… well, no, not like a sister” I gave Christy my own familiar hard stare that I used when she was irritating me. “I care for her very much, yes love like I love you but without the… irritation and yes, I fancy her but I really think it’s a bad idea.”

I stepped down off the gazebo and took a step towards the house as I heard Christy rise behind me; “I just don’t get it!” she began, “It’s been three months since you broke up with Lucy… I’d figured your balls would be the size of dark blue melons by now!”

I stopped and shook my head. My sister was half right in the fact I was dying to have a fuck but not quite for the reason she thought. I took another step and then heard her simply say “Paul?” the question in her voice obvious.

“What?” I answered as I took another couple of steps.

“Are you a virgin?” she asked without any hint of accusation.

Too damned smart I thought to myself as I once again stopped remaining silent as no words came to me to answer the question. I knew any denial I made she would see through instantly as my cheeks burned with embarrassment.

“Oh!” she replied to my silence, “But Lucy…. I thought… I knew you were. You weren’t; fuck!”

I heard Christy sit down heavily and I turned to see her staring absent-mindedly at the opposite side of the gazebo. Part of me just wanted to march away and hide in my bedroom and I almost did but then she turned her head and looked at me and there was no judgment in her eyes, just love.

I’d half expected derision but instead, she reached out her hand and I found myself walking back and taking it as I climbed back into the structure and sat down opposite her hanging my head as she took my other hand and held them softly. Her thumbs lightly massaged my knuckles for a few moments before she spoke. “You and Lucy never?” she asked.

I shook my head in response still looking down at the wooden boards beneath our feet. “But I heard her moans when she stayed over,” she stated; I glanced up and saw Christy’s cheeks blushing at the admission.

“Hands… fingers… nothing more,” I admitted before dropping my eyes once again.

“Ahhh!” she responded, “Err… is that why you broke up?” she asked softly.

“Part I guess… also me heading all the way to Edinburgh rather than more locally. I think ‘long distance relationships don’t work’ were her words.”

Christy pondered my response for almost a minute before she asked “Tell me truthfully Paul; would you want to… sleep with Jane?” I chuckled at my sister’s choice of words wondering if she had been going to use ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’ before deciding on a less evocative term.

“Oh god yes!” I admitted.

I shot my sister a hard look as she burst out laughing; her hands gripped mine tightly as she shook her head in apology as she struggled to regain her composure. Finally, she took a deep breath, “I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you… well, I guess I am but it’s just that I had the conversation I think I’m about to have with you two days ago; with Jane!”

“What?” I asked annoyed.

“You’re worried about your first time… you don’t want to disappoint?” I nodded, “I’m guessing now I know there isn’t anyone else you would rather have this convo’ with?”

I looked into my sister’s eyes and again saw the unusual look of love within them. “No,” I laughed, “I sorta had it with Dad as is started going out with Lucy.”

Christy licked her lips and leaned forward, “And what was that like?” she asked.

“Well for all our liberal parent's tolerance he asked me if there was anything I’d like to know but I could see the dread in his eyes if he had to answer. For a moment I was tempted but he looked like he would just curl up and die of embarrassment if asked.”

Christy burst out laughing, “Damn that would have been priceless! Mom didn’t even wait to be asked… sat me down as soon as she suspected I was thinking about it, handed me a pack of birth control pills and pretty much gave me a list of do’s and don’ts and basically said ‘we’ have what all the boys want, never forget it! She was damn right!”

“Well that at least was useful!” I commented.

Christy smiled back at me, “What made me laugh was that I had a conversation two days ago; not quite as general as the one mom had with me but still practical.” I raised a questioning eyebrow. “With Jane; even though she wants it she’s still nervous about it and god knows why but she wants to please you!”

“Oh!” I blushed.

“So—” she began but then our mother called us in for dinner. The two of us glanced at the house and stood in unison, just before we left the gazebo I hugged my sister to me making sure my hips were twisted away as my cock was semi-hard within my jeans. She hesitated for a moment and hugged me back; in my head, I wondered if either of our parents had seen us at that point would they have canceled their trip in fear that their children were apparently possessed by ‘nice’ spirits.

“We’ll have the talk tomorrow after mom and dad leave and before Jane arrives. Okay?” she whispered.

“Thanks Christy.” And I planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

She smiled up at me, “This is just a truce you understand… I’m sure hostilities will resume soon enough!”

“I’m sure,” I agreed and the two of us headed into the house only letting go of each other’s hands as we entered.

****

The two of us stood at the door waving goodbye to our parents. Generally, we were trusted by them not to have wild parties or such when they were away but after the previous night, I could see the uneasiness in our dad.

Dinner had been the usual affair of discussing each of our days; Christy and I going with as little information as our parents would allow, the standard operating practice which half the time would result in one or the other of us ‘narking’ on some event about the other just for spite or to detract from our own guilty secret. Still, it wasn’t totally uncommon for the meal to pass without incident and our parents were starting to act like stereotypical teenagers in anticipation of their romantic weekend away.

What happened next was unusual. The two of us cleared away the dishes without request (mistake No.1) and with barely a word between us loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the tops foregoing our usual terse negotiations (mistake No.2). We were already getting suspicious looks from our father and a hopeful smile from our mother at this point but it was when we retired to the living room and found something on the television that we were both happy to watch (mistake No.3) along with our parents that really made both of them take notice.

By this point, after an exchanged glance between us, we silently agreed to confound our mutual ‘enemies’ and sat together on the couch without a single sly jab or poke; I even put an arm around Christy as she leaned against me. When the news came on and neither of us objected as we usually did allowing our father to catch up on the day’s events was when the two grown-ups rounded on us and wanted to know what was up.

The two of us managed to hold in our laughter as our dad completely ignored the latest government cock-up and wanted to know what the two of us were playing at! “Nothing”, “Fine”, “Just a good day at school” wound them up even more and when Christy offered that I had helped me out with a difficult piece of homework we could almost hear the cogs jarring within our father’s head as all he wanted to do was send us straight to bed.

The car reversed back out of the drive and we could see our parents conversing as they looked back at us before with a final wave they drove off. We stood at the door as the vehicle disappeared around the corner, “You know I never knew it could be so much fun being nice!” commented Christy.

“True, inducing paranoia is damn funny… although we still need the contrast. We need to misbehave every so often or they’ll just enjoy the peace and quiet,” I answered and got a gentle poke in the ribs as Christy closed the door. “Yeah, that sort of thing… I reply 'Mom! Christy’s being a bitch' and then get warned by dad!”

My sister laughed loudly as she walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch twisting so her back was against the arm and her left leg folded beneath her. I looked down and she motioned to the opposite end of the seat with her eyes; I felt myself blush and walked over to the sideboard first and opened the drinks cupboard. “I feel I need something, you?”

She smiled softly, “Trust me you don’t need anything but why not; vodka and coke please Paul.”

I poured Christy her drink and then poured myself a shot of neat rum before returning to the couch and sitting opposite my sister. I took a sip as I watched her swirl the dark liquid in her glass as she contemplated her words.

“Right, a couple of things right of the bat to put your mind at rest, okay?” she asked.

I nodded dumbly in response as I felt my cheeks blush.

“You don’t need to worry about birth control as Jane is on the pill; I… err…have already let her know that you’re clean so it’ll be her choice whether or not to still use condoms. You have some?” she asked as the thought popped into her head.

“Err…no” I confessed.

“No worries I’ll throw you a couple” she replied and within my head, I was glad to hear my sister was being careful. I wondered what she had said to assure Jane that I was ‘clean’ as she put it. “Okay I haven’t told her that the two of you are both virgins,” she smiled softly as she saw the blush rise in my cheeks. She leaned forward her hand reaching out and softly gripping my shoulder. “Look if it comes up before; be honest, if it doesn’t admit the truth after; okay?”

I pondered her words for a moment and replied “Okay.”

“Right, other preparations beforehand! You got clean sheets on your bed?” she raised her index finger noting the point.

I grinned and nodded enthusiastically having been the first thing I had done as I rose that morning along with a general tidy-up of my room.

“Good. You also need to clean yourself; so as soon as we finish… chatting it’s the shower for you!” I nodded but could see there was more to her...