Sister Has a Plan

At the end of June, I took her out for her nineteenth birthday. It was the only meal she had eaten out since she moved in with me. I gave her a Walmart gift card. I would have rather given her some clothes or music, but I knew what she wanted was money to spend on Owen.

"Thanks, Ryan!" she said after she opened the card with the gift card. She gave me a brief hug. "I've been having trouble staying on budget and this will be a big help."

Nicole was very tight with what little money she had. The Corolla she had bought was nine years old. She bought most things at garage sales or off Craigslist. I had been shocked at how much stuff babies require.

I tried to figure out how to phrase asking about how much money she had. Before I could decide on the phrasing, she obviously figured out what I was thinking about and told me firmly, "DON'T. ASK."

Several days later, Nicole asked me, "Why aren't you dating anyone? And what happened to you and Mandy? You had been over the moon about her Christmas before last."

"I was very happy with Mandy for a long time. She was a ton of fun and super cute. She's from Madison, so she had tons of friends here whereas I didn't know anyone." She had been a freshman at Madison College when I had met her. We both had been working as wait staff at a big-chain restaurant. "We started dating in October and we moved in together in January. Her dad moved in with us too."

"Her dad?"

"Yeah. He's disabled and in a wheelchair. Mandy wanted to be able to take care of him if he needed help. He had one bedroom and we had the other. Life was good."

"He didn't mind you screwing his daughter?"

"I was going to screw her whether he lived with us or not."

"So what happened?"

"I flunked out of Electrical Engineering. It was the first time I had ever failed at anything I tried hard at. It was a big blow for me, but Mandy didn't consider it a big deal. She was struggling in her classes at Madison and it didn't bother her. At the time, I blamed her because I neglected my studies to do stuff with her."

"And you don't now?"

"No. I never got double-E. Last fall, I switched to Civil Engineering and I get Civil Engineering." I sighed. "However, if I was going to graduate this year, I had to up my hours from twelve to fifteen. I didn't want to fail again, so I cut way back on the partying and stuff to study hard. Which is pretty ironic considering that I picked UW-Madison because of its reputation as a party school. Mandy didn't like me studying all the time. New Years Eve was the beginning of the end as she wanted to get shitfaced and I didn't want to get drunk. When I got serious about my studies again in January, we had lots of big fights. She said I wasn't fun anymore. We broke up, I moved out and moved in with Curt."

"Was it hard splitting up your stuff when you moved out?"

"It wasn't bad. We were adults about it. She wanted the big screen TV as her Dad spent most of his day watching it. We finally agreed that I would get the bed and the couch and she would get everything else."

"It's a great couch and a great bed." Nicole had been taking naps on my bed since shortly after she had arrived as Curt's old bed was so crappy. "I know this is a big favor, but would you mind if I slept in your bed tonight until you get home? Wake me and I'll go to my bed. That way I can get a least some good sleep."

"That'd be fine. Anyways, I switched restaurants once I broke up with Mandy so I didn't have to work with her anymore. By that time, it was too close to the end of the school year to start dating someone new at school. There are a couple of good-looking girls where I am working now, but the only thing they talk to me about is how much their lives suck. I don't think I want to date another waitress. So I probably won't date again until the fall. "

By this time, Nicole had finished nursing Owen. She set Owen down, got up and give me a big hug. "I am proud of you, Ryan."

"Proud of me?"

She let go, but stayed next to me. "Yes. You could have taken the easy way and stayed with Mandy. Instead, you took the harder road that will benefit you in the long run." She gave me another quick hug.

"It was kind of like that for me," she continued. "As soon as I thought I was pregnant, I decided I was going to be a great mom. I quit smoking, drinking and doing drugs. I stopped partying. I started eating right and exercising. I read everything I could about pregnancy and being a mom when I hadn't been a reader before. It sucks now, but I think it will all pay off long-term."

Nicole looked down and saw two small wet spots on my shirt.

"I leaked on you!" she said. "I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it. I may never have another chance to be leaked on by a half-naked woman." I pulled her towards me and gave her a big hug back. "You're a great mom, Nicole. Owen is lucky to have a mom like you."

"Thanks." I could see her tear up. I held her tightly as she cried for a little bit. After a few minutes, she pulled away.

"Thanks again, Ryan." She went to take a shower. Being a single mom is a tough life.

* * * *

When I came home that night, Nicole was asleep in my bed. She was wearing her usual sleeping clothes - a nursing tank top and sweat pants. She looked so peaceful that I didn't have the heart to wake her. As the bed was a queen, there was plenty of room for both of us. I quietly took all my stuff out of my pockets, slipped out of my clothes, put on my pajama pants and slipped into the other side of the bed.

I woke up in the middle of the night to find that I was on my side next to Nicole, who was on her side. My front side lightly touched her back side at a couple of places. My hand was on Nicole's thigh. This was how Mandy and I had always slept. I thought about turning over, but decided that I would wind up this way again regardless so why fight it.

Nicole was gone when I woke. I shucked the pajamas and pulled on underwear, shorts and a T-shirt as I always did. I went out to the living room where Nicole was reading baby books to Owen.

"I thought you were going to wake me when you got home?" Nicole asked.

"That's what I intended, but I didn't see the point when it came time to. The bed was big enough for both of us. I hope you didn't mind me snuggling on you."

"No, actually it was quite nice. Last night was the best night's sleep I've had since I moved in."

"If you want, you can sleep in my bed again tonight. No promises about not kicking you out."

"That'd be great."

For the next two nights, I slipped into bed when I got home and I always wound up snuggled next to Nicole. The next night I had off. I went to bed an hour after Nicole did. When I got into bed, Nicole rolled over and said, "Hey there."

"I'm sorry to wake you."

"It's okay. I go back to sleep easily."

I was in bed now, lying on my side facing her. Nicole backed up until her back side was lightly touching my front. I put my hand on Nicole's thigh like I did unconsciously while asleep.

"Good night, Ryan."

"Good night, Nicole."

That was our sleeping routine from then on. Nothing overtly sexual, but perhaps romantic. Each night as I waited for sleep to overtake me, I had definitely unbrotherly thoughts about Nicole. She was what I fantasized about when I jerked off, but that was fantasy. Snuggled up next to her, I wondered if she had feelings for me as more than a brother. We had never been close growing up, but now I felt very close to her. The only woman I had felt this close to was Mandy. I told myself to enjoy the friendly companionship as that was all I would ever get.

* * * *

Owen was a huge part of my life now. He was crawling and loved to explore every nook and cranny of the apartment. Everything was new and interesting to him. We had to child-proof all of the kitchen cabinets and drawers and we kept the doors to the bedrooms closed. Baby toys were all over the living area. Owen would crawl to one, play with it for a few moments, toss it aside and crawl to the next. He was a hoot to watch.

One thing I didn't do was change Owen's poopie diapers. They smelled and were nasty, I didn't want to get poop on me and I didn't want to wipe Owen's private parts. If Owen pooped while Nicole was working out, I would leave him in the poopie diaper. Nicole would seem disappointed when she came back, but she never said a word to me. However, it would throw things off as Owen would want to immediately nurse and Nicole would have to change his diaper first.

"You've changed so much," I said one day. "Did you suddenly one day decide to be a different person?"

"In a way. Over a year ago, I was in the Dollar General with some friends. They wanted to shoplift some stuff to give to their girls for Valentine's Day. I was supposed to distract the clerk while they hid the goods. The clerk was new and she seemed to know what we were up to. Out of the blue, she asks if I am Ashley Mueller. I said yes. She told me that she had gone to high school with Mom and that I looked just like her back then. Mom didn't have the lip piercing or the nose rings, but she had multiple ear piercings and had dyed her hair a similar shade of purple. I don't know if she was telling the truth or not, but she freaked me out. I wouldn't wish being like Mom on my worst enemy."

Mom was a fat, bitter semi-alcoholic. Our dad had been a long-distance trucker who had never come back while Mom was pregnant with Nicole.

"At least Mom didn't show up sauced for your graduation like she did for mine."

"Yeah, that was because she wanted to be on top lecturing form. She lectured me the whole drive to the graduation and the whole drive back." Mom could be such a joy. "After the talk with the clerk, I tried to think of reasons why my life would turn out different than Mom's and I couldn't think of a single one. That scared the shit of me. I didn't change that day, but I was ready to change after that."

A few days later, Owen pooped while Nicole was working out and I decided that I would try to change his diaper. I had seen Nicole do it enough times to know what to do. I took Owen to his room, put him on Curt's old bed which served as a changing table and changed that diaper. I didn't enjoy it, but it wasn't as awful as I'd imagined. I soon had him back in the living area, exploring away.

When Nicole was back and nursing Owen, I told her that I had changed his poopie diaper.

"You did? Thanks, Ryan! That was so sweet of you."

Nicole finished nursing Owen and set him down.

Of course, Nicole was topless as usual after her work out. Her hair was longer now, down to her shoulders. Her workouts had done a lot to tone and firm her body. She was definitely hot now.

"Come here, Ryan. I have a little reward for you. Owen left you some milk."

I couldn't believe at first that Nicole was actually suggesting that I nurse on her. I stared dumbly at her. I had dreamed of foundling her tits so many times, but never nursing from them.

"You may never have another chance to be nursed," she said.

What the hell. I moved over to the couch and sat down next to her. Nicole guided me so my feet were over one end of the couch and my body was reclined over hers. I turned my head and there was a nipple. I put my mouth around it and gently sucked on it like I had seen Owen do so many times before.

"Be careful with your teeth," Nicole warned me.

Warm milk flowed into my mouth. It was different than milk from the store. It was body temperature for one thing. Very creamy and sweet. I liked the taste.

After I had nursed for ten or fifteen seconds, I realized that this was my big chance to make a move on Nicole. My right arm was pinned against Nicole, but my left arm was free. I moved my free hand towards her other tit...

"I think that's enough of a reward."

Nicole pushed me firmly upwards, I opened my mouth and released her nipple and soon found myself sitting normally on the couch. Nicole got up and walked off to our bedroom to shower. She had stopped using the shower in Owen's room so that there was less to clean.

I sat on the couch, confused. Should I try to join her in the shower? I knew what would happen if I did - she would tell me to go watch Owen. Maybe tonight when I came home from work, we would pick up from where we left off.

That night when Nicole snuggled against me in bed, she didn't say "Fuck me now, big boy," or "Make me your cum slut, stud." Instead, she said, "You're a great big brother, Ryan."

"You're a great sister."

I felt so deflated. I wanted Nicole and I felt like a pervert for wanting her.

* * * *

I got no further rewards after that, even though I regularly changed Owen's poopie diapers. Nicole never mentioned it. I guessed she considered the nursing thing was a one-time lark. Should I ask for another reward? She never seemed in the mood to give me one.

If Nicole was interested in me, she was hiding it very, very well. She didn't flirt with me. She frequently complimented me, but always along the lines of I was "so sweet" or "so considerate". She apparently had satisfied her interest in my love life as she never asked about it again. My compliments on how her workouts were firming up her body were greeted with a ho-hum "Thanks".

Towards the end of the summer, I asked, "Why do you go to all of these mom functions?"

"Lots of reasons. One is that as much as I love Owen, I'd go crazy if I spent all day with only him. It's great to talk to people I have something in common with. The other moms know I am struggling for money so they let me know when they see any bargains. Also, I'll watch one mom's baby while they go shopping and they do the same for me. And I was hoping to find a mom to watch Owen while I go to school."

"Why not daycare?"

"Daycare costs so much and babies in daycare are sick all the time. That's why I didn't work this summer. If I had worked, most of my pay would have been for daycare and medical bills." I hadn't known that daycare was that expensive. "Talking with the moms has strengthened my belief that to be a great mom, you have to be a great wife. Being a mom is too big of a job to do by yourself. All the other moms are married and I ask them lots of questions about how to make a marriage work. Once I find a dad for Owen, that's it. I plan on being with him forever. Mom taught me squat about how to make a relationship work."

"Squat" was a major overstatement.

"At least she taught us lots of things to not do."

Nicole snorted. Then her face turned serious. "One thing that bugs me," she said, "is that all of the moms look down on me for having a kid so early. The other moms are in their late twenties or older. So many teenagers have sex and no form of birth control is one hundred percent effective, but they seem to think only an idiot would have a baby in their teen years."

I too thought it was crazy to have a baby so young. But what other options does a young pregnant girl have? I guess abortion and giving up the kid for adoption, but I can see both of those causing regrets for the rest of their lives. What would I have done if Mandy had gotten pregnant? Or one of the girls I had screwed in high school?

"That reminds me," said Nicole. "I have a huge, huge favor to ask of you. I have found a mom who will watch Owen for four hours a day while I go to school. In return, I'll watch her kid two hours a day during the week and five hours on Friday and Saturday night. Would you help me on those nights? Watching one kid is tiring and watching two will leave me exhausted. I know you'll have parties and dates on those nights, but any night you can help me would be a big, big help."

"No promises, but I'll try."

"Thanks. I'll try to make it up to you during the week."

The way of making it up to me that came to mind involved her lying naked on her back with her legs wide open.

* * * *

My summer with Nicole and Owen flew by. Now that it was almost fall, I had some preparations to make. I was raised to take my civic responsibilities seriously and in Wisconsin, there was no higher civic responsibility than rooting for the Green Bay Packers. I was a firm believer in that rooting was far more effective in front of a big screen TV.

Go in debt to pay the rent when my roommate snuck out on me? Hell no! They weren't close to evicting me. Go in debt to immerse myself in Packers' games? Where's the closest Best Buy?

I scored the TV in time to watch the first Wisconsin Badgers football game. It was a challenge to get the TV set up so that Owen couldn't get to the wires or pull the set over. I tried to have Owen watch the game with me, but he wasn't interested. I decided to give him a few months to become a football fan.

After Labor Day, Nicole and I started college and our schedules changed drastically. We both left the apartment around 9:30. I stayed at school all day, studying and tutoring when I wasn't in classes. I got home around 7:30. I would play with Owen for an hour until his bedtime. I resumed studying while Nicole put Owen to bed. Once he was down, she would join me in studying and I would help her with her homework if she needed help.

Nicole got up around seven each morning to feed Owen. I slept in until eight and when I got up, Nicole would go work out. That meant no more views of her tits for me. I stayed up an hour later than Nicole. I spent some of that time playing computer games on my laptop. I spent the rest of the time jacking off while watching porn.

Tutoring was a much better job than waiting tables. The people I helped were so grateful when I helped them understand a concept that had been eluding them. My co-workers were fun and upbeat. The one time I got an idiot who thought it was my job to do his homework for him, my manager supported me by telling him to not come back until he had a better attitude about the services we offered.

Nicole had been slowly taking over the domestic side of my life and was now in full charge. She did all the grocery shopping, though I paid for my share. She made my lunch every day. She usually finished her homework before me and when she did, she would bake me cookies or brownies. I had a schedule of household chores to do, but she did most of the stuff around the apartment. She kept track of my assignments and made sure I was making good progress on my schoolwork.

Friday and Saturday nights were hilarious but exhausting watching Owen and little Jacob. Both of them would pull up on the furniture and cruise along it. For non-walkers, they could get around amazingly fast. They were always doing something new and/or funny. We were always beat when Jacob would finally collapse around nine. Jenny - the mom who watched Owen during the week - would pick Jacob up at ten.

Sunday night became "our night". After she put Owen to bed, we watched a movie on Netflix in our night clothes. The choices we could agree on all seemed to be romantic comedies. They seemed funnier and more romantic with Nicole sitting next me. Was it my imagination, or was she every week moving steadily closer to me? When the movie was over, we chatted for a long time about the movie or anything else that came to mind, then we turned in together. It seemed to me that she snuggled extra close on those nights.

Every night when I came to bed, Nicole would snuggle up to me and say, "You're a great big brother." I would always reply, "You're a great sister." It was a daily reminder that my wanting Nicole was wrong and would come to nothing.

One change I noticed was Nicole's compliments of me. She continued to regularly tell me "You're so sweet" and "You're so considerate." She started slipping in other compliments like "You're so strong" and "You're so wonderful to live with." When I complimented her on her looks, she sometimes countered with some like "You look pretty good yourself." The best was when she would tell me, "You're going to make a lucky girl very happy some day." The way she said it, I had hope she was picturing herself in the role of the lucky girl.