40
“Don’t be fishing for compliments from me Nick,” Amanda scolded, but she was smiling so I knew her words were in jest.
“Yes Ma’am,” I said with a mock salute.
She simply shook her head, supressing a smile, then vanished into the house to get ready for our shopping trip. I grabbed my things, made sure all the equipment was turned off, then headed out the front to have a smoke while I waited for Amanda. I spied Erica in the living room with her feet up on the coffee table. She hadn’t changed from her work-out gear I’d seen her in before, and I couldn’t help but admire the curves of her body as she lounged. She was like an Egyptian queen, laying out for her servants to feed her grapes and other fruits. She spotted me as I stopped, and smirked.
I guess she was in a better mood. Maybe the fun could continue.
****
I waited outside while Amanda got ready and smoked a cigarette. I went through the messages I’d received over the last twenty-four hours and replied to them. They were mostly just friends making sure I had a safe trip, asking if it was as hot as they’d heard it was, and asking for photos of my sisters. The photo one’s I ignored as it was just my friends trying to get a rise out of me. I’d always tried hitting up their older sisters, and I would always say I was safe from them, since I was an only child. If only they could see exactly how hot each and every one of my siblings were. They’d probably be on the next flight to Melbourne.
“Hey Nick,” a voice pulled me away from my phone.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
I looked up to see Mel walking up the driveway with a duffle-bag over one shoulder. She looked like she’d been at the gym, wearing tight leggings, running shoes and a black top that hugged her body, leaving her pale stomach bare. I quickly fastened my eyes onto hers so she wouldn’t see me checking out her figure.
“Hey Mel, been to the gym?” I asked.
“Yeah, I like to go early each morning for a couple hours,” she replied.
“You’ll have to show me which gym, I’ll need to get a membership soon,” I said.
“Definitely, we can work-out together,” Mel smiled.
It was a genuine smile, the first I felt I’d received from the platinum blonde since we’d met. She had loosened up a bit when we were drinking in the pool last night, but she seemed less impressed with me than any of my new siblings. Amanda was openly friendly, while Emily was ecstatic to have a brother and Erica just seemed to want to tease and torment me. But Mel hadn’t really showed any emotion towards me. It could be she didn’t really care, or she could just be really good at hiding her feelings and emotions.
“I’d like that,” I smiled.
“Are you waiting for someone?” she asked curiously.
“Yeah, Amanda and I are going shopping,” I said. “Well she is, I’m mostly just tagging along to carry heavy shit.”
“That’s really nice of you,” she smiled, and my heart skipped a beat at how beautiful she looked at that moment. Her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail and her eyes seemed to glow. “Amanda does so much for us, I’m glad you’re willing to help her out.”
“Just doing my part,” I said.
“I know, but that’s what makes you a good person,” she replied. “Have a good day Nick, I’ll see you at the party later.”
Mel stepped passed me and through the front door just as Amanda stepped out. The sister’s stopped for a moment and traded words in a whisper, then Mel looked over her shoulder to give me a smile before heading inside.
“What was that?” I asked Amanda.
“Girl business,” she said.
“Girl business?” I asked.
“Yep, so unless you have something to tell me, you don’t get to know,” Amanda actually stuck her tongue out at me as she walked by.
She was wearing her tight jeans again and the urge to slap her on the ass as she walked by was strong-my hand even twitched-but I restrained myself and got in the passenger seat of the car. The engine started up and the music blasted through the stock speakers that were probably a little overdue for replacement, then we were on the road again.
I tried to keep track of turns and roads we took, but I was continually drawn back to how beautiful Amanda was. She had a small smile on her face as her head bobbed softly to the music. Thankfully she hadn’t noticed me checking her out, or if she did, she didn’t say anything. I ended up getting lost in my own thoughts, thoughts about each of my sisters and what my new life was going to be like. I thought it a blessing that we were all into the same sort of music and interests and I wondered how that had happened.
Back home it was rare to find someone who dressed in a similar way and listened to the bands I enjoyed, let alone an attractive woman. But here I was, thousands of kilometres from home, with my half siblings that all seemed to have went down the same path. Maybe it was our fathers influence that lead to the girls respect and love of the darker side of things, similar to how my mother introduced me to heavy metal when I was younger. In the end it didn’t really matter, each of them would have been a knock-out even without the aesthetic they’d chosen for themselves.
“Earth to Nick, you still there?” Amanda’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I realized we’d stopped.
“Yeah, sorry,” I said. “Zoned out for a minute.”
“All good,” she smiled. “Let’s go, I’ll let you carry the heavy shit.”
“Geez, thanks” I chuckled.
“I know how you guys love showing off your big muscles,” she laughed.
I shook my head and managed to keep my eyes off her ass as she exited the driver seat, which was a feat of extraordinary willpower on my part. I walked beside Amanda as we approached the supermarket, partly to keep my eyes from wandering at her impossibly tight jeans, and partly to be able to talk to her.
“You really did sound great earlier,” she said, grabbing a shopping cart.
“The sound dampening probably cut out a lot of my mistakes,” I laughed.
“Don’t be silly, I’ve been playing since I was eight and I know good guitar playing when I hear it,” Amanda replied.
“Who taught you too play?” I asked, knowing the answer already.
“Dad used to play when I was little, then on my eighth birthday he bought me my first acoustic and started giving me lessons,”