Raymond Travis - The seductive sister-in-law

"Oh, you're just impossible," Betty shook her head and opened the refrigerator door for the butter.

"No, I've just learned," he kissed her on the cheek and drew quickly away. "Well, I'd better get at that new apartment."

"I hope I never learn that much," Betty said dourly, but he hadn't heard her; he was already out the door. The screen door swooshed softly closed and she heard his footsteps shuffling across the patio before she raced to the window to watch him jump into his sports-car. She stepped back quickly so he wouldn't catch her in the rear view mirror as he pulled out the drive. She pulled her toast out of the toaster, buttered it, and sat down at the kitchen table in front of her coffee. What was Bob talking about? she asked herself. It all seemed so confused, and she had found herself reading significance into words that probably hadn't been meant the way she interpreted them. First Shirley had suggested she satisfy herself… and even that was unclear… then both Shirley and Bob had insinuatingly invited her to take part in their raucous love-plan, and now… now Bob, of all people, seemed to be volunteering himself as a possible lover! It was all hints and insinuations, and she knew they didn't mean she should do any of the wild things they kept talking about. Yet she couldn't help wondering… were they one of those modern couples she had read about in magazines who freely exchanged husbands and wives to participate in wild orgies? The idea sickened her, all the more so as the mere thought of it sent her tummy tingling and made her realize totally what kind of exotic pleasures they were indulging in.

She stirred uncomfortably in her chair. They must have gone very far afield, she decided, for Bob to talk so lightly of sexual relations between a sister-in-law and a brother-in-law. Yes, one thing was certain and that was that Bob had changed from the reserved and sensible young man he had been in college. His jeans and sweatshirt and the sports car suddenly reminded her of the happy days when his fraternity and her sorority had sponsored many social functions together. She and Bob were in the same class and had been the same age, but she had been in love with Kent who had graduated and already made a big success of himself in the business world. Or, at least she had thought she had been in love with him, she bitterly reminded herself as her thoughts jumped back to the present and Kent's heavy drinking and possible infidelity.

A knot formed in her throat but she swallowed it painfully as Shirley walked into the room. Shirley had entered the kitchen just at the right time. Betty sighed with relief and formed a thin smile, two seconds later and there would have been the embarrassment of Shirley finding her crying. She motioned lamely to a chair and stood up to get the girl breakfast as she knew she must. Lord, the girl dressed like a professional prostitute, a high-class one but still a whore. This morning she had pulled her long dark hair back into a pony tail and her sun dress was so short it looked more like a long blouse.

"You certainly went to bed early last night," Shirley plopped into a kitchen chair and yawned luxuriously, stretching out her long tanned legs for a moment and studying them with an air of casual self-satisfaction.

"Y-yes. I-I was tired," Betty's blood froze.

"We didn't even realize you had gone to sleep. We kept hoping you'd come back and we sat up for quite awhile waiting for you in the living room. Just talking and generally messing around," her voice drifted off and she bent her leg in the chair, hugging it to her chest like a small child. The long tapering leg dropped to the floor and she chuckled oddly as Betty's eyes caught on the brazenly exposed strip of panties. "I can see now why Bob is so crazy about you," she smiled and added in a level voice.

"Thank you," Betty said tartly, drawing to a close the discussion for a moment.

The girl made no moves to help her at all, although Betty was obviously preparing a lavish breakfast. Betty moved to the refrigerator, taking out oranges for orange juice and bacon and eggs. She had heard Kent stirring in the bedroom and now that he was up too, she thought, she might as well cook one large breakfast. She hated playing the servant to this little slut, but on the other hand it gave her something to do and gave her an excuse not to talk with Shirley. Besides, she had to drop by at the sewing lady's house at one o'clock, and a large meal now might suffice for Kent's lunch since Shirley obviously wouldn't bother to prepare one. The elderly seamstress was making a lovely formal evening gown for her; Kent's job required that they attend so many social functions and Betty felt it was her duty as a wife to always have a new dress ready in case of any sudden unexpected gatherings.

Betty brought the girl coffee and she accepted it without so much as a "thanks". Shirley sipped on it contentedly and stared silently out the back door as though she hadn't yet woke up, indicating to Betty that she had a lethargic disposition, if she were not downright lazy. A good quarter of an hour passed with an unfriendly silence between the two women, and Betty prepared bacon and eggs and squeezed out a quart of orange juice before Shirley's soft voice again cut into her thoughts.

"Shall I go wake Kent up for you?" she said.

"Why… no!" Betty replied and furiously scraped the scrambled eggs into a serving bowl.

"I just thought it would be an amusing way to meet him," the girl yawned.

"There's no need to do that," Betty said. "Why, he's already up. I heard him in the bedroom. He'll be here any moment… Aren't you going to give Bob any help painting the apartment?" she heard her words rise with a definite note of irritation in her voice.

"No. He likes to do that sort of thing," Shirley stretched her arms, lifting her dress as high as the bottom of her panties again. "I think I'll just loll around the swimming pool."

God, the unmitigated selfishness of the girl was astounding! Betty thought and lifted the drained bacon piece by piece onto a platter. There was no denying that Kent kept Betty in good style but she certainly tried to do what she could to help him.

"Besides, I think it's best to give him some time alone," the girl went on, chuckling in an almost lewd way, and then winked at Betty. "You've got to give a man a little rope."

Betty's blood curdled at Shirley's presumption in giving her advice and the intimate tone she had assumed that made Betty feel suddenly like they were two streetwalkers exchanging cheap confidences. But Kent stumbled into the kitchen before she had time to react and she searched uneasily for the mood his hangover had put him in. He stood moodily at the door in bermudas and sandals, scratching his unshaven chin before his gaze caught on Shirley.

"Well, well, well," he exclaimed loudly and lifted his voice. "I'll be damned! So this is my new sister-in-law!"

With one quick leap, the lethargic Shirley had crossed the room and was spinning like a small dangling child from his neck. The two hugged and kissed and kissed again while Betty leaned back against the counter, a smile playing over her lips at the relatives' spontaneous affection and the general uproar. She grinned as she felt herself slip through Kent's gaze as he put Shirley down.

"You don't look like Bob at all," Shirley exclaimed, panting and stepping back to look Kent all over. "Of course, I've seen some pictures."

"Christ, and you don't look like anything Bob would pick," Kent said and smiled thickly as he appraised his new sister-in-law with obvious approval. "He never had any taste at all. But I guess he finally learned something from his older brother… I approve."

"Oh, you do?" Shirley smiled flirtatiously.

"Very strongly," Kent laughed and kissed her again. "The first thing I thought of was a Goddamn Geisha."