Chapter 1: Hard Times

I should have known I was biting off more than I could chew when I signed the lease to this apartment. Actually, the word apartment is really not adequate to describe my place, penthouse is more like it. Although technically I'm not on the top floor, I might as well be.

Glass walls with a sunken living room overlooking the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge plus 1500 feet of living space, it's more like a house sitting on top of the city.

After I saw the steam room, the gourmet kitchen and wine pantry, I was putty in the leasing agent's hands. It was the height of the dot-com boom and I foresaw no difficulty in meeting the rather steep leasing payments. After all, I was on top of the world, a rising writer in one of the nations' leading e magazines. I signed a five-year lease to mitigate the payments a little and settled in to a style of life to which I was rapidly becoming accustomed.

Now, three years later with the benefit of hindsight, I count myself lucky to be working at all. 'Still employed, but not quite making ends meet.

I'm not standing on the street with a sign or anything, but the apartment is eating me alive. I had to do something. My situation was getting desperate, and the view… Oh God, I can't believe that I'm asking my sister to share the space with me.

I should be happy and grateful that she wound up landing a job in the same city I live and work in. I thought after she finished school in Texas she'd be moving back to Chicago where our parents live. Turns out her new employer made her an offer she couldn't refuse. Good for me, I guess…

THE THORN

(WHY I WORRY ABOUT THIS ARRANGEMENT)

There are two very good reasons I find myself nervous about this arrangement.

First, my lifestyle is, well, somewhat libertine. That is to say, one of the primary reasons I took out the lease on this mansion in the sky was to get laid as often as possible. I'm happy to report that for the past couple of years have seen a steady stream of young women fall prey to the atmosphere and ambience I have so painstakingly cultivated. But unfortunately, I'm sorry to say my sister Gretta, with one or two notable exceptions is a bit of a prude. We came from a rather conservative family back in Chicago and I'm afraid she may not approve of my rather randy lifestyle.

The second and utterly secret reason is that… Well, I have always been attracted to her. Maybe not always, but for a while now. I'm going to explain the circumstances that caused this situation and you will understand that there are reasons why I'm more than a little nervous about this arrangement.

Now, don't misunderstand me, I'm no pervert and I would never actually consider initiating any kind of sexual thing with Gretta, but the attraction is definitely there and has been every since an incident occurred about four years ago. Not only is it there, but I'm pretty sure the attraction is still mutual.

Gretta knows what I'm talking about and hopefully she has thought long and hard about the ramifications of our decision and is approaching living in the same apartment with the iron resolve necessary for such an arrangement.. We made a promise to each other four years ago that so far we've been able to live up to.

Let me explain…

Four years ago when we both lived at home Gretta and I were flying back from visiting an aunt and uncle in Las Vegas, Nevada. We had been in the air about forty five minutes when the pilot announced the plane was being diverted to Denver, Colorado because Midway was snowed in.

When we arrived at Denver International, we called home and our parents booked a room for us at an airport hotel in Aurora. When we went to pick up our bags, we discovered they had been placed on another plane bound for Chicago Midway and that flight had been diverted to New Mexico. Long story short, the only clothing we had was in a bag I was carrying with me. The only clothing Gretta had she was wearing.

I should mention that this was one of those days I would define as a "horny day." For those of you who are long past adolescence, this means that I was very aware of every female in my visual range and I'm ashamed to say this included Gretta.

My sister's a couple of inches shorter than I am, but despite her slender athletic figure, she is utterly feminine. While nature has not given her large breasts, her long legs more than make up for any perceived shortcoming of cleavage. She accentuates her legs by wearing skirts that show them off to their best advantage and was doing so on the afternoon in question. Add to these assets, long blonde hair, green eyes and a killer smile, and you have a girl who would stand out in any crowd.

As we made our way to the hotel van, her lips were turned down in an uncharacteristic pout as she considered the next sixteen hours without a change of clothes.

"Don't worry Gretta," We threaded our way through the milling crowds to the terminal exit. "I've got an extra nightshirt in my carry along that you can borrow. After all, maybe it's for the best, I've seen some of the outfits you sleep in at home…"

Gretta laughed, her frown disappearing like a rain shower in a beam of sunlight. "I guess I can survive one night without my wardrobe."

Sitting next to her in the van, I couldn't help but notice the way her skirt rode up on her firm smooth legs as she crossed them and leaned back, waiting for the van to get to the hotel. I should say that I noticed this in the dispassionate and very proper manner that any brother would notice such a thing. Besides there were two other women who boarded the van with us and I spent the remainder of the trip watching them, especially one who was wearing a V neck top that showed just the hint of the tops of her breasts. As I said, it was indeed a horny day for me and I was alive to the sexual possibilities… Even the most remote and unlikely chances seemed… Well, possible.