A Summer to Remember

[Lucifers Tongue]

Closed for ilikeitlikethat18


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Brady shifted the contents of the trunk around to accommodate his large black suitcase and two smaller bags, one full of dirty clothes, the other filled with shoes. Once he had managed to fit everything in, he reached up and placed a hand on the hood of the trunk and slammed it shut. As he turned back toward the frat house, he saw two of the sorority girls from next door, Casey and Melody, walking up the sidewalk towards him.

"Hey Brady," the girls said in unison, each of them smiling and waving. Both girls were dressed in short, casual shorts and tight t-shirts with their sorority letters on the front.

"So, is it true?" Casey asked, her long, blond ponytail swaying from side to side as she walked. "You're not staying in town for the summer?"

"It's true, unfortunately," Brady answered, slipping his car keys from the pocket of his blue jeans. "I've got to go back home to Portland for the summer. My parents are going to be in Europe all summer and they want me to watch over the house and keep an eye on my little sister."

"Well, that sucks," Melody said, cocking her head to the side slightly. "You're going to miss the Tri-Delt's big July 4th party, and all the beach parties."

"Believe me, I'm not happy about it," Brady admitted. "My sister is eighteen, I don't see why she can't take care of herself for a couple of months."

"Well, we were just about to change into our swimsuits and take a drive over to the beach. Do you want to come along?" Casey asked.

"I wish I could, but I've got to hit the road," Brady explained. "I promised my parents that I'd be home tonight."

"Okay," Casey said, sounding disappointed, but smiling nonetheless.

"Group hug," Melody announced as she and Casey stepped close to Brady and wrapped their arms around his waist. Brady put an arm around each girl's shoulders and gave them a squeeze.

"Well, drive safe," Casey said as she pulled away.

"Cya soon," Melody said, making an exaggerated sad face as she waved goodbye.

"Have fun this summer," Brady said as he walked around to the driver's side of the car. "If I can, I'll try to come back for the 4th of July party. I don't want to miss that."

"That would be awesome," Melody said, both girls waving as they continued on down the sidewalk.

Brady sighed with frustration as he watched the beautiful girls walking away. Resigning himself to the fact that his summer was officially going to suck, he climbed into the car and started the engine. As he pulled out of the driveway he said a mental goodbye to campus life in southern california, and gave a mental middle finger to the thought of spending his summer baby sitting his little sister in dreary Portland.

[ilikeitlikethat18]

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Amanda was absolutely livid when her parents told her that they were going to Europe, but that she couldn't stay alone. They made an exciting anouncement into an upsetting one by telling her that Brady was going to come home and stay with her for the entire summer.

Brady and Amanda had always been the fueding siblings. They each did whatever they could to make the others' life hell. From ruining his chances with girls, to putting bleach in his shampoo before prom, Amanda had been a little devil to Brady during his time in highschool, when they were living together. Brady hadn't exactly done her any favors, though. He pushed her around, made fun of her, told her boyfriends things that made them never come back...he claimed he was looking out for her.

Amanda walked by Matthew, the hot 30 year old next-door neighbor who was, sadly, married.
"Hey sweetie, how are you?" he said from his porch, where he stood, watering the plants.

"Could be better." she sighed, "My parents are going to Eurpoe for the entire summer."

His eyebrows raised, "And this is a bad thing...why?"

"Because they're sending Brady from college to 'take care of me.' Do I LOOK like I need taking-care-of?" she brushed her hands down her side, guestering to her body. His eyes glanced up and down, and she noticed the hose was still on, but wasn't even on the plants anymore.

"No. Definitely not. Here, let me put this away and I'll get us a couple of beers and we can talk."

"Thanks, Mr. Stevens."

"Hey, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? You know what? Come back in half an hour. I'm gonna grab a shower. Just come in the back door." She nodded and walked into her own house, straightening a few more things.

Her parents had left that morning and now she was "preparing" for her brother to come in sometime in the hours that bled from afternoon to evening, as she liked to call them. She changed her clothes into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Even though it was evening, it was still warm. But as always, it looked like it could rain any minute. She slid her keys and cellphone into her pockets and then walked across the sidewalk and lawn to Mr. Stevens' house. She walked up the stairs and around his house to the back, where she opened the door.

"Hey." he was sitting on the couch with a beer.

"Hey. Here you go." he handed her another beer, which was just opened. She took a sip.

"My only drink of the summer, thanks to my brother coming into town. I was looking forward to all the parties and stuff happening. I probably won't even get to go out on any dates, knowing Brady."

"Aw, come here." she sat down next to him and he hugged her just slightly into his side.

"You can always sneak over for a beer." he winked. They finished their drinks and she headed back home. She and Mr. Stevens had never done anything inappropriate, always tiptoed on the line. The dangerous feeling of hanging out with him was the best part of it.

When she got back into her room, she took off her shorts and lay down on her bed; ended up falling asleep.

[Lucifers Tongue]

Brady spent the long ride home trying to convince himself that the summer in Portland wouldn't be as bad as he feared. There were bound to be a few of his old high school friends in town for the summer that he could hang out with, maybe catch up on their lives, talk about old times. And after his conversation with Casey and Melody he had decided he was most definitely returning to campus for the Independence Day party, even if it meant leaving Amanda alone for a couple of days.

It was a long drive, and he'd gotten a later start than he had intended, so by the time he pulled into the driveway of his parents' house, it was late and all he could think about was getting some sleep. He grabbed his suitcase from the trunk, not bothering with other bags. As he walked up the steps to the front door, he noticed the lights on downstairs, and assumed Amanda had probably waited up for him.

Brady started to slip his house key into the lock, but found the door wasn't locked as he squeezed the handle and pushed it open. As he shut the door behind him and sat his suitcase down in the hallway, he saw no sign of his sister. He laid his keys down on the hall table and turned back to lock the door behind him. Before he could turn back around, he yawned and stretched his arms and back, his body protesting the long drive.

"Amanda?" he called, as he poked his head into the living room. Despite the lights being on, the TV was off and the room was empty. Brady walked through to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the well stocked fridge before heading towards the stairs. As he reached the top of the stairs he noticed that the door to Amanda's room was open. Stepping into the doorway he found his sister laying on her bed, asleep. She was lying on top of the covers, on her stomach, wearing nothing but a shirt and her panties.

"Wake up, Einstein," Brady said, reaching down to wiggle her bare foot. "Do you realize you left the front door unlocked? Someone could have just walked in and found you like this. Then what would you have done?"

"God, no wonder mom and dad think you need someone to watch over you," Brady said in disgust.

[ilikeitlikethat18]

Amanda groaned and wiggled as her brother came in the room, grabbing her foot and talking to her in his deep, gravelly voice. "Wha...mmm..." she sat up, rubbing her arms. Then she looked down and saw she was only wearing panties. "Sorry...I had a beer next door and I came up to lay down...guess I fell asleep. That was hours ago." then she grinned, "Guess I won't be getting much sleep tonight...which means you won't be either!"

"I probably would have fucked him." she said, laughing. "I know, I'm incorrigable." she pulled herself to the edge of the bed, "God, you're an asshole!" she slapped his arm. "You've only been here for a minute and you're already disgusted with me and treating me like shit like you always have. Even when I was trying to be nice to you! And I don't need someone to watch over me. I'm just as mad about this as you are. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

She got off the bed, sliding on a pair of jeans that were laying next to her bed. "I cleaned my room for you, so you wouldn't have that to complain about." He was so annoying. She couldn't believe he was already bugging her.

[Lucifers Tongue]

Brady took a deep breath, trying not to let his sister's comments get under his skin, as he watched her slide out of the bed and grab a pair of jeans from the floor. She loved to say things just to try to get a rise out of him, like mentioning that she'd just had a beer, or her ridiculous comment about fucking an intruder. The last thing he wanted was to let her think she was going to be able to push his buttons all summer.

"I cleaned my room for you, so you wouldn't have that to complain about," she said as she worked the jeans up over her hips and fastened them.

"Look, I'm not trying to be a dick, okay?" Brady said. "It was a long drive, and I'm really exhausted, and I don't want to fight with you, Amanda." As he spoke, Brady stepped over to his sister and gave her a quick hug.

"I'm serious about you needing to lock the door when you're home alone though," he added, placing his hands on her shoulders. "What if that loser next door had come over and found you laying half naked on the bed. Do you think he would have stopped at flirting? He's been perving over you since you were fourteen."

[ilikeitlikethat18]

As she worked the jeans on, she realized they were a little tight. She looked behind her for the tag, wondering if she'd gained weight. Then she shrugged it off. She still got hit on, so that must mean she was still hot. She knew that talking to Brady like that was a sure-fire way to start a fight. Some of the time she genuinely didn't mean to get under his skin, but often she did. She knew exactly what bugged him and used it against him.

She softened a little bit, "Okay, I know. I should cut you a little slack. You did have a long drive and I'm sure you weren't too happy about having to make it. Good, I hate fighting with you." she hugged him back, letting go as quickly as he did.

She looked up at him as his hands closed down on her shoulders, "I know. I'm usually really good at that, but I was just so tired." she yanked away, "He's not a loser! He's really nice to me." she rolled her eyes. "You're such a pervert! He would have covered me up or something. Wait, why would he have come right in anyway? He doesn't cross the line like that."

Then she paused, "Wait, what are you talking about? Perving over me? He's only ever been nice to me. He's married. And he has kids." she grabbed her phone and answered a text, but was listening to everything her brother said to her.

"Wanna get something to eat?" she asked, after he was done lecturing her.

[Lucifers Tongue]

When Amanda started to defend the next door neighbor, Brady couldn't tell if she was really as naive as she sounded, or if she just wanted to be argumentative for the sake of arguing. Either way, he decided it was best to let it drop for the moment.

"Wanna get something to eat?" he heard her ask just as he had started to turn toward the doorway.

"Now that you mention it, I am kind of hungry," Brady said turning back to face his sister. "What did you have in mind?"

[ilikeitlikethat18]

Amanda grinned, "I'm thinking we order in. Chinese?" she knew that was one thing they could agree on. "Or, oh my god, you won't believe it. There's this amazing Thai place that delivers now. And you know how obsessed I am with Thai food!" she giggled.

"OH, Mom and Dad left you something. Hold on." she ran out of the room and down the stairs, leaving her phone on the bed, her text message inbox open to where Brady could easily see it. She yelled up, "This might take a while...I forgot where it is."

After almost five minutes, she came back up the steps, stopping in the bathroom to check her hair in the mirror, something she'd always had the habit of doing. After rinsing her hands, she came in, holding a thick envelope and a small box that had a letter taped to it. "Did they tell you anything about these things? I didn't look in them, I swear. They said I should wait and give them to you."

[Lucifers Tongue]

When Amanda mentioned Thai food, Brady heard a distinct rumbling coming from his stomach. He could definitely go for some Chicken Pad Thai. Before he had a chance to say anything to Amanda, she was out the door, off to retreive whatever it was their parents had left for him. Most likely it was an envelope of money and a laundry list of instructions, he thought as he heard his sister heading down the stairs.

Brady moved over and sat down on the bed while he waited for Amanda to return. He noticed that she had left her cell phone on the bed. The phone was open and the screen still lit up. Brady considered taking a quick peek to see if there were any incriminating texts, pictures or names on the phone, but thought better of it. Ill wait until she gives me a reason to be suspicious, he thought, then I'll start snooping around if I have to.

He laid back on the bed, his feet still on the floor, wondering whether his body's need for sleep was going to overpower the hunger he felt. As he lay there, he started to second guess his decision not to look at Amanda's phone. She'd already admitted that she'd been drinking, and she certainly made it sound like it wasn't the first time. Wasn't that reason enough? His parents had asked him to keep an eye on her afterall.

Just as he sat up and started to reach for the phone, he heard his sister coming down the hallway. He drew his hand back as she entered the room carrying several items. Amanda handed Brady the box with the letter taped to the top, as she assured him that she hadn't opened it. Brady opened the letter, recognizing his mother's handwriting.

"Brady, we are leaving you the keys to the SUV. It's up to you to decide whether Amanda can drive it or not. We trust you to make that decision. We are also leaving you an envelope with $1000 dollars, and the key to our bedroom. There's another $1000 in the dresser of our bedroom if you need it, but please manage your money wisely. You can call us on your father's phone if you need anything. Love you."

After reading the note, Brady slipped the letter back into its envelope and handed it to his sister. He opened the box and verified that the keys to the car, and the key to his parents' bedroom were both inside. Setting the box down on the bed, he accepted the other envelope from Amanda, counting the money to make sure it was all there.

"So, thai food?" he asked, looking up at Amanda with half a smile.

[ilikeitlikethat18]

Amanda squealed. "You're totally going to let me drive it, right? And ohmigod, that's a lot of money. We totally have to have a PAAARRTTTYY!" she giggled. Then she looked down at her phone, which was still on the bed. She narrowed her eyes, but not wanting to arise any suspicion in him, she snatched it up, stuffing it in her pocket.

"Yeah, Thai food. I'm sure you want Pad Thai, right? I'll order. Do you want some soup too? I'm dying for some." she motioned for him to follow her downstairs, and as they descended the stairs, she smiled back at him, "By the way, Serena called for you here a couple of weeks ago."

Serena was Brady's ex-girlfriend from most of Junior and Senior years in highschool, who had cheated on him and completely fucked him over. She had assumed he still hated her, since she'd heard nothing different. "So I kind of told her that she could go choke on a frat boy dick and get an STD, because you don't give a fuck and she should never call you again."

She paused, looking at him. "Cause you still hate her, right?" she bit her bottom lip, hoping she hadn't done something wrong.

[Lucifers Tongue]

Brady laughed at his sister's reaction to the note. He was actually a little surprised that she reacted the way she did. He had expected her to balk at the idea of her older brother deciding when she could and couldn't drive their parents vehicle. Maybe she just assumes I'm going to let her, he thought to himself.

Still smiling, Brady followed Amanda out of the room, listening as she explained that Serena had called for him. He paused half way down the stairs when she told him what she had said to his ex-girlfriend, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"Why did you say that?"

"Cause you still hate her, right?" Amanda said as she reached the bottom of the staircase and turned to look up at Brady. He saw her bite her bottom lip as if she were afraid how he might react.

Brady paused for a moment before finally responding, "Well, yes I do still hate her, but I still can't believe you would say something like that to her. I mean, granted, it's pretty much what I would have said to her if I had answered the phone, but still."

Brady continued down the stairs, "Not that it will matter. Serena's not the type to stop until she gets what she wants. Besides," he added as he reached the bottom of the stairs, "I told all my high school friends that you had tourette's syndrome, and that they should just ignore anything you said to them."

[ilikeitlikethat18]

Amanda listened cautiously, letting out a long sigh of relief. She was so glad her brother wasn't furious. She'd almost been afraid he might hit her. But by his words, she could tell he was annoyed at the most.

"So? If you would have said it anyway, then it doesn't matter. Don't act shocked, I know what a bitch she was. She treated you like trash so why shouldn't I treat her like trash?" she continued down the stairs with him.

"So very true, in such a gross way. She was so clingy and so...pushy. Manipulative." She hopped the last step, stumbling slightly. "Ohh my gosh, you didn't! That's soooo horrible of you!" she bit her lower lip, a habit she had formed quite young. She slapped his stomach, then flinched, finding it super firm. "Umm..." she stumbled, losing her train of thought.

She took a breath, quickly composing herself. "You're mean. And what happened to you?" she lifted his shirt, running her fingers from his ribs down to his belly button. "You're...in shape." She looked up at him and giggled.

[Lucifers Tongue]

Brady was surprised when his sister lifted his shirt up and touched his stomach with her hand, but he didn't try to stop her. He'd spent the last year really working on his physique and he wanted girls to notice, even if it was just Amanda.

"Hey, I've got to keep in shape for the ladies," he said, flexing his bicep, an exaggerated smile on his face as they headed into the kitchen. "Seriously, it's southern California, we practically live on the beach, so I've got to look good. Besides, there's a free gym on campus, so why not take advantage, right?"

Brady opened the drawer where his parents kept all of the restaraunt menus and found the one for the Thai place that Amanda had told him about. He passed the menu to her so she could call in the order. As she looked at the menu, Brady took a moment to look at her. He wasn't the only one who had changed over the last year. Amanda had a new hair style, a new tan and he couldn't help but notice that her chest had really filled out too. She looked more grown up than he remembered.

"Do you want to help me get my other things from the car while we wait for the food to get here?" he asked as she finished placing the order and handed the menu back to him.

[ilikeitlikethat18]

"Yeah...you're keeping really in shape for the ladies...uhm, I approve." she rubbed her hand over his stomach a few seconds too long. "I bet they're all over you." she giggled, "Oh, that makes sense. If I was in college, I would totally take advantage of the gym. And of course! I wouldn't dare go to the beach fat in a bikini."

She followed him into the kitchen, sitting herself up on the counter, letting her smooth tan legs hang down. Even though she was staring at the menu, she totally knew that her brother was looking at her. As well he should have been. She was looking good this summer and she knew it.

"Yeah, sure I'll help you." she slid down and followed him out to the car. Then she surprised him by picking up one of his heavy bags, and carried it towards the house.

"Whoa, you got that?" he called after her.

"Yeah, I'm not a wimp." she carried it all the way upstairs and set it in front of his door, before realizing it was all dirty laundry. She sighed and ignored him laughing at her from downstairs, knowing that he knew all along. She hoisted the bag up again and carried it down the stairs, putting it down in the laundry room.

"'Anything else?" she smiled, putting her hands on her small hips.

[Lucifers Tongue]

Brady watched in amusement as his little sister carried the larger of the two bags up the stair case, hugging it tightly to her chest. He didn't have the heart to tell her that it was dirty laundry that needed to stay downstairs, but when she realized it, he couldn't help but laugh at her. He was a bit surprised when she immediately picked it back up and lugged it back down the stairs to the laundry room. The Amanda he remembered from their childhood would have left it upstairs, or at the least cursed him out for letting her carry it all the way up there. Maybe my little sis is growing up.

She certainly looks all grown up, he thought as she came to stand in front of him, her hands on her hips. Her shirt was unbuttoned, leaving her cleavage exposed, and Brady felt his glance drawn down to her breasts before he realized what he was doing. He quickly glanced back up at her face, wondering if she had even noticed.

"Well, I'm going to go ahead and throw some of those clothes in the washer. You could come keep me company, or you could go find something for us to watch on TV," Brady suggested as he sat the bag of shoes down at the base of the stairs.

[ilikeitlikethat18]

Amanda breathed heavily for a few moments, but as inwardly as she could. That bag was heavy! Then she noticed her brother staring at her chest. She glanced down slightly to see if she had spilled something on herself. Nothing. But her shirt was gaping open, showing tons of cleavage...

She shrugged. Brady wouldn't be staring at her tits...she shook off the thought and looked at him again.

"Ha, funny. Laundry or find something for us to watch? What a hard choice." She emphasised the word hard, and then giggled. "I'll go with TV, for $500." She flopped upside down onto the couch, did a flip, and then sat down on the left side, grabbing the remote.

"We have new detergent. Upper left hand cabinet." She called to him as he went to get started on his laundry. "It's liquid and really strong, so you don't need as much."

Her phone beeped with a text. It was Matthew, her neighbor. "Hey pretty girl, how are things with the brother?" she rolled her eyes.
"Fine. He's being nice. Gtg. Ttyl!"

[Lucifers Tongue]

Brady turned his laundry bag upsaide down in the floor, dumping the contents out into the floor. He sorted the whites to the side and loaded the rest of the clothes into the washer. He added a small amount of the detergent that Amanda had mentioned and then started the wash cycle. Stuffing the whites back into the bag, he sat it on top of the dryer.

Just as he was about to join his sister in the living room, he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He'd gotten a text message from his college roommate, Dustin:

"Did you make it back home okay? How's the little sis?"

Before Brady could type in a response, another text came in from Dustin:

"Call me tomorrow so I can tell you about the party I'm at. Serious chickfest."

Yep, that's exactly what I want to hear about, some party full of gourgeous, horny college girls...a party that I can't be at, he thought to himself as he walked into the living room and flopped down onto the couch beside Amanda. He typed off a quick message to Dustin to let him know that he'd made it home okay, then slipped his phone back into his pocket.

Brady glanced over at Amanda, his eyes once again drawn down to her breasts, which from where he was sitting, were even more exposed than before. He noticed that she had her phone in her hand, and wondered who she'd been talking to, but decided it wasn't important.

"So, what are we watching?" Brady asked, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table.

[ilikeitlikethat18]

Amanda smiled at Brady as he sat down on the couch next to her. She was actually kind of happy that he was home, even though it probably meant less parties, less boys and less fun. Since Brady wouldn't be able to attend any of his college parties, he would try to inflict the same punishment on her. That's just the way that they worked.

Then she noticed he was staring at her again. She really was starting to wonder if she had something on her face or a stain. But she brushed the thought aside again, and went back to watching the screen. "I don't know what's on right now, but there's this really awesome documentry coming up next." She never would have liked this sort of thing before, so she hoped he was at least slightly impressed. "It's about drugs in the past 5 decades."

She picked up her phone as it buzzed again. She glanced down. This time it was Derek, one of Brady's close friends from college. She refused to tell Brady that she talked to Derek, and she knew Derek was way too scared to say anything to him about it.

"Hey darling, how's having Brady back there?" she texted him back,

"It's okay...but I'm sure he's pissed about missing all those parties. So he may be taking it out on me."

"Ouch, sorry. Anyways, I gotta run. I'm at one of 'those parties'. See ya, babe."

"Have fun." she sighed, and slid her phone onto the couch next to her. She was about to say something to Brady when the doorbell rang. "Food!" she exclaimed, holding her hand out for money. After he'd given her cash, she ran to the door.

"Smells great, thanks." she took the two bags from the delivery guy and handed him the money. "Keep the change." she slammed the door and came running back into the living room, setting the bags down on the table.

[Lucifers Tongue]

Brady was too tired to move when the doorbell rang, so he was more than happy to let Amanda answer it. He reached over to grab the remote control for the TV but his hand closed on her phone instead. Curiosity got the best of him and before he could stop himself he had the phone open and was checking her text messages.

The first one he scrolled to, the message she'd received just before the food arrived, was from one of Brady's friends, a college aged friend, Derek. Why would Derek be sending a text to Brady's little sister? He read the message from Derek and then read Amanda's response. It seemed friendly and innocent and yet, why hadn't either of them ever mentioned talking to one another? Why would they hide it from him? Unless there was more going on between them.

Hearing Amanda close the front door, Brady quickly closed the phone and sat it back down on the couch. As she returned with the food, he did his best to hide his confusion and his growing anger. He watched quietly as Amanda opened the bags up and started pulling the contents out onto the coffee table. All the while his mind was running over every interaction he'd ever witnessed between his baby sister and his friend. Could there actually be something going on there?

The more he thought about the two of them talking to each other behind his back the more angry he got. "So why exactly would my friend, Derek, be sending you text messages? Is there something you want to tell me?" he said more harshly than he intended as he sat up on the couch and reached for his food.

[ilikeitlikethat18]

Amanda had been setting the food out of the bag and pulling out sauces and silverware and napkins when her brother asked,

"So why exactly would my friend, Derek, be sending you text messages? Is there something you want to tell me?" And he hadn't asked it nicely. He looked and sounded furious. She gulped. Amanda hated when Brady got mad. Opening her soup, she stirred it and spat back,

"Why would you care? You've had sex with half of my girl friends." She let her soup cool off. "And you know what? Fuck you. Fuck you for accusing me like that! And fuck you for looking in my phone, you fucking snoop. I don't go meddling and spying in your business! I've been nothing but nice to you since I got out of bed when you got in and you turn it around by looking in my phone and then taking my texts and accusing me?" She grabbed her food and stormed into the kitchen, pulling out a stool and sitting down. She sighed. She hadn't meant to get so angry, but it had just been so rude of him to go in her phone and then talk to her like that.

Then she thought about what he must be thinking. He must have building paranoia about every time the two of them had hung out...talked...everything. But why would he grab her phone and look? She set her head between her hands momentarily, hating herself for yelling at him like that instead of just trying to get him to calm down and explain what was going on in his head.

[Lucifers Tongue]

Brady didn't try to stop Amanda as she grabbed her food and stomped into the kitchen. He was actually glad she left the room. It gave him the chance he needed to calm down. She was right. About everything. Well, almost everything. He had fucked most of her friends, but the difference, in his mind, was that he hadn't tried to hide it from her. Not that she's fucking Derek, he thought to himself. Derek wouldn't do that, he tried to convince himself, but the more he thought about, the less and less he believed it. Why wouldn't he fuck her if he could? She's eighteen, she's beautiful and sexy and Derek would be crazy not to want to sleep with her.

Shaking his head from side to side, trying to clear his mind, Brady pushed his food away, too pissed to eat. No matter what he thought about Amanda talking to his friend behind his back, he knew it was wrong to look in her phone. He realized as he sat there that he was as pissed at himself as he was at Amanda. Ever since they were kids, everytime they started to enjoy being around one another, Brady found some way to screw it up. Frustrated, he sat back on the couch, sighing. If I could just cut her a break once in awhile, she might not hate me so much.

Finally, deciding he should swallow his pride and apologize, Brady stood up and walked into the kitchen. Amanda was sitting at the counter eating. "Look, you're right. I shouldn't have read your texts. It's none of my business who you talk to," he wanted to say more, to try to explain that he cared about her, that he was just trying to protect her, but every explanation that came to mind just seemed lame. "I'm sorry, Amanda. I'm tired, I'm going to go upstairs and lay down."

[ilikeitlikethat18]

Amanda had to bite her bottom lip to keep herself from bursting into tears, "No, no...everything you said is right...but I should have given you a chance to talk. And don't think you can get out of it this easily. We set out to have a nice dinner and TV together, but I think we need to talk first. Thanks for your apology, but we're going to have hell the whole summer unless we really sit down and talk. We don't have to do the whole thing tonight, but we should at least...confront a little bit of this stuff."

She carried her food back into the living room, setting it down next to his still warm food. "First, eat something. If we're both hungry, this will never go. And meanwhile, you can listen. We need to set some boundaries....some rules. You haven't lived here for a while and I'm eighteen, you know. I'm not a baby!" She put her hands on her hips, but not menacingly.

"I love you, Brady, but come on...I never said a word, even when you brought my friends HOME TO YOUR ROOM and fucked them! And so what if I'm texting your friend? Who says I'm a slut who fucks every guy like you..." she trailed off, trying to calm herself down again. She had honestly set out to have a calm conversation and ended up getting upset again.

She started eating her soup, hoping that keeping her mouth full would keep her quiet for a few minutes so he could talk to her as well, keeping the conversation two-sided.

[Lucifers Tongue]

Once again Amanda surprised him, this time by not settling for a simple apology. Growing up, anytime they fought, one of them would inevitably apolgize and they would both pretend everything was alright, even when it wasn't. Brady nodded his consent and followed her into the loving room.

As he sat listening to Amanda, finally picking up his food and having some, he started to realize just how hard he'd been on her over the years. She really had grown into a remarkable young woman, and he knew it was time he started to accept that. The bratty little sister he'd known for so long, (and she was definitely a brat when she was younger) was gone, replaced by a smart, independent, funny woman.

"I guess I'm still adjusting to the thought of you being an adult," Brady admitted, taking another bite of his dinner. "Maybe this summer is my chance to finally come to grips with that. Maybe instead of both of us being pissed about having to spend the summer together...maybe we can make the best of the situation, find some common ground...okay now I sound like Dad and his psychology friends."

Setting his food back down on the table, Brady leaned forward placing a hand on his sister's knee, "I promise to stop treating you like a child, and to respect your privacy, but you have to promise a couple of things, too. You have to promise to be honest with me, and to keep in mind that I am your older brother and I reserve the right to be at least a little over protective."

"Deal?" he asked, hoping that Amanda understood how sincere he was.

[ilikeitlikethat18]

Amanda listened patiently and only spoke when he paused, not inturrupting him,
"You're right. I do think we need to get used to each other...we've changed. And we need to get to know each other...in some sense, all over again. It's okay, I totally know what you're trying to say."

She looked down at his hand on her knee, which he wasn't moving. "Uh, yeah...That would be really good. I think those are fair rules. I promise to be honest with you. And I promise to remember that. It's just hard since I'm not used to having you around like you used to be. But you're right. You should and can be protective of me. Just try to respect my privacy a little, and remember I'm not sixteen anymore.

Though I sometimes wish I was...

"Deal." she said, noticing his hand was still on her knee. She leaned over to kiss his cheek, just as he turned towards her, she ended up planting one on his mouth. And she noticed, as she pulled away, her cheeks flushing, that he hadn't pulled away. Amanda looked into her brother's eyes, forgetting to apologize.

"Um, so...this soup is really good." she picked her container back up, eating some more, cheeks still red with embarrassment.

[Lucifers Tongue]

Brady had glanced away from his sister for a moment, distracted by something on the televison, when he heard her say, "Deal". He turned back toward her, smiling, just as she leaned toward him. Before he realized what was happening, her lips were pressed to his. Brady was too shocked to pull away, unsure for a moment what had just happened. Even though the kiss only lasted for a split second, the moment seemed to stretch out impossibly. Everything seemed to be frozen, the closeness of Amanda's body, the taste of her lips, the feel of Brady's hand on her knee.

When Brady finally realized that Amanda had sat back, he saw the blush on her cheeks and felt his own face turn red with heat. It took him a moment to comprehend that she had been attempting to kiss him on the cheek and he had simply turned his head at the wrong moment. But why didn't she pull away immediately? Why didn't I pull away at all? We were both just surprised, he quickly told himself.

"Um, so...this soup is really good," he heard Amanda say, her voice sounding somewhat strained.

"Uh, yeah, mine is really good to," Brady said, taking a quick bite of his food and turning his body back toward the television. Brady ate faster now, feeling awkward about the accidental kiss. He also felt stupid for reacting the way he had. It was just an accident. What was the big deal. There was no reason to let it ruin the night.

"Well, I'm glad we talked this out," he said, setting his empty food container down on the table. "I'd better run and put my clothes in the dryer before I forget."