Too Close for Comfort (closed)

Morris' abrupt departure set her on edge again, and leaving crossed her mind more than once, but ultimately it was her grumbling stomach that convinced her to stay. And the impressive view. Then she heard the shower running and Khepri had a new dilemma, and again her empty stomach settled her conflicted mind. Cooking provided the perfect distraction, especially when she decided to prepare his portion to appease his OCD.

Their father told her of Morris's condition on one of his secret prison visits. He was in the midst of his second bout with cancer and was afraid that leaving him alone with his mother would be disastrous to his already fragile state. That was one of the biggest reasons Khepri decided to go straight. She'd promised Morris she'd always be there for him and she couldn't do that going on federally sponsored vacations every few years. The trust he set up for her in his will was only added incentive. Fifty grand if she stayed out of trouble for two years after her release. He even made Morris the executor of his estate so his wife couldn't cut her out when his time was up. Khepri was shocked when her uncle came to visit a few months after that visit to inform her that her father had passed but she was happy to hear that Morris was doing well on his own. That didn't change her plans of going legit. With the help of her paternal family, she achieved her goal of becoming a productive citizen. The two years flew by after that and Khepri assumed that she would see Morris when it was time to sign the paperwork. When he didn't show, she assumed he didn't want anything to do with his convict sister. He was already wealthy in his own right by then and had effectively exiled himself from the family, she figured any attempts at contact would read as a money grab and she had zero interest in that sort of confrontation. So she let him be, used $15000 to pay her rent for a year and enroll at community college, the rest she left for when she really needed it and hoped Morris might notice.

But time passed and she had all but forgotten about her father's concern for her brother but she continued to live her life on the straight and narrow. Sure she still smoked pot and had casual sex, but that was tame by comparison. Khepri had ambition now to go with the survival skills honed over years of living on her own. Finally she had life that her father would be proud of, how he might feel about his children fooling around was something different.

All thoughts of Morris Daniels Sr. evaporated when Morris Daniels Jr. reemerged. She could smell the quality pot rolled into the three neat blunts he laid on the counter but Khepri was more taken by his bare chest and low slung lounge pants. Lounge pants with nothing underneath. Her eyes followed the wispy tuft of hair that ran down the center of his abs before it disappeared beneath his waistband and her tongue came out, absently wetting her lips, as her eyes settled on the outline of his cock barely concealed beneath the thin layer of cotton.

"I hope you're hungry," she said as her eyes finally met his, her pouty lips slowly spreading into a grin.

"I wasn't until now...thanks for this...all of this," he said and her smile widened. "Come on eat. We'll talk and figure all this out."

And talk they did, about everything and nothing. Khepri made a conscious effort to keep her teasing to a minimum and Morris seemed to appreciate it as much as the meal she prepared. By the time the plates were empty things had returned to normal. As normal as things could be between siblings who clearly had the hots for each other. There were plenty of lingering glances from the both of them and when Khepri got up to load the dishwasher, Morris stopped her with a hand low on her hip.

"I'll take care of this," he said as he stood, his hand slipping down to cup her ass a moment as he brushed past her. The feeling of his bulge was unmistakable on her thigh and she glanced down in time to catch a glimpse of his half hard cock as he moved around the counter. "There's a lighter on that box on the coffee table. Incense already in the burners. Do me a favor and spark 'em up so we can burn these down."

"And to think you used to call me bossy," she said with a snort as she did his bidding, putting flame to the frankincense stick and nubs strategically placed around the living room.

"Yeah well you also used to be taller than me KP...things change," he said with a shrug and Khepri rolled her eyes as she flopped down on his couch and kicked up her feet. "Comfy," he asked with a grin as he plopped himself down beside her, lifting her feet so they settled in his lap.

"Very."

"Good," was his smirking response as he leaned over her outstretched legs to reach the tablet on the coffee table before putting his own feet up and lit the first blunt. From the tablet, Morris turned on the TV, dimmed the lights, and lowered the blinds.

"Well that's efficient," Khepri teased and her brother gave her a cocky wink as he blew a thick plum of smoke from his nose.

"I got Netflix, Hulu, and Prime on top of premium cable with on demand...Ladies choice," he said, passing her the blunt and Khepri sat up, draping her legs across his lap.

"Nothing with subtitles...or that might make me cry. Something mindless, funny...maybe a few explosions. Gratuitous nudity is always good..."

"Sounds like Fast and Furious..."

"Please no," Khepri croaked with her lungs full of smoke, shaking her head vigorously, making her brother chuckle. "I can only take Vin Diesel in small doses..."

"Something Marvel...Deadpool maybe," he asked with a raised eyebrow and Khepri slipped the smoldering blunt between his lips.

"I already saw it twice but that just doesn't seem like enough..."

"Covers all the bases," he said with a shrug and Khepri settled back to prone.

Even if it was one of her favorites of the Marvel Universe, Khepri didn't watch much of it. Whether he knew it or not, Morris was terribly distracting with his constant fidgeting and adjusting of her legs in his lap. Khepri tried to move away but he wouldn't allow it, catching her ankles in his large hands and pulling her closer. And his erection didn't help either. She could feel it throbbing against her calf, twitching and jumping every so often. And as the movie progressed, Khepri noticed that those seemingly involuntary movements always came with the feeling of his eyes on her.

"Could you stay with him after all that," he asked quietly as Deadpool reunited with the love of his life. "I mean, aside from the whole saving your life bit, could you still love him looking all fucked up?"

"Of course," she said, brows furrowed and arms folded across her chest, making Morris laugh a little as he looked at her with hooded eyes. "I'm not so superficial that aesthetics could change how I felt about a person...I'm also not so deluded that I'd say I'd have fallen for him if he looked like that when we met."

"So permanent disfigurement not a deal breaker for you huh?"

"Please, good people are hard to come by...like genuinely good people...especially when you have a past as checkered as mine," she said with a shrugging smile. "I dated a guy in a wheelchair once. One leg amputated below the knee and paralyzed from the waist down. Met him when I was dancing...he was a regular but he was sweet, you know? He used to come in for the "girlfriend package". Lobster and filet mignon, champagne, and a private dance for a cool 1500. I wasn't his usual girl but I'd danced for him before so when his regular girl was out he asked for me. I didn't even dance for him that night, we spent the whole three hours just talking and laughing. Still the best first date I've ever been on. He wasn't some pervy loser...just lonely...and after the fourth date without him asking for a dance I started feeling bad for him paying to hang out with me when I was having just as good a time, so I gave him my number. We almost got married," she said, swiping away a tear before it fell and Morris slipped his arm around her, kissed the top of her head.

"So...umm...if you don't mind me asking..."

"He wanted kids and I couldn't...I can't," she said with a hard sniff and Morris pulled away to look at her. "But that's a story for another day," she said with a forced smile and slipped out of his embrace, but he caught her hand and held it. "I'm okay...really I am...I just need a minute..."

"And a cigarette," he said, letting her go.

"I'm okay Duece...it's just...this is a lot being here with you...like this," she said, trying desperately to hide the tears in her voice as she riffled through her bag with shaky hands. Even though her back was to him, Khepri could feel him watching her and his attention only made it worse.

It had been years since she talked about her ex-marine, Staff Sergeant Brent Gainer. In the story of her life, he would be Khepri's one that got away and losing him was the indirect cause of her slipping back into a life of crime. He provided her with the stability she so desperately needed and helped her realize that her life meant something. Even when they found out she couldn't conceive, Brent continued to love her but Khepri felt like she was cheating him again. He insisted they could adopt but she knew he wanted babies of his own, a product of their love and devotion to each other. When she gave him back that emerald cut 2-carat diamond ring, Brent was devastated but Khepri believed in her heart of hearts that she'd done the right thing. He was a good man and he deserved to have a whole woman. And when she got arrested again, Brent made the trip upstate twice a month until Khepri told him to stop coming. She didn't deserve him and seeing him only reminded her of her worthlessness. She implored him to move on, to find a woman that could give him everything he needed, and eventually he did. She got a letter sometime during her last year informing her that he was getting married and moving across the country. And worse, he thanked her for proving that love was not an impossible dream for him.

Her tears though, had very little to do with him but the confronting of her infertility. It wasn't something she thought of often but it was there, guiding her avoidance of monogamy. Nobody in a casual relationship talked about having kids so she didn't have to worry about having that painful talk. Now here she was, having it anyway with a man she wasn't even supposed to procreate with, and still it hurt.

Cigarettes in hand, Khepri shuffled over to the patio door making sure to keep her back to Morris as she headed outside. There were two chairs around a table off to one side and a chaise on the other. All were made of sturdy wood with thick cushions covered in weather treated canvas. Khepri took the chaise, lay back with her sun in her face, lit up her smoke and cried.
 
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