Why Did We Have to be Cousins Ch. 03

Six months later, I found myself standing at the arrival gate of Ellen’s flight at LAX late morning on a Thursday. We had kept our promises to each other. Letters describing our lives… and yes those occasional dates. Dates where nothing serious or anything beyond a goodnight kiss occurred.

Earlier that spring, Ellen had moved into her own one-bedroom apartment that was probably a mile from her parents. She felt that she needed the freedom to do what she wanted. It wasn’t like her mom and dad had set rules. She did pay some rent, as my aunt and uncle wanted to instill a sense of responsibility that one needed to ‘pay their way’. She had finished her first year of teaching with a sense of accomplishment and pride when she received praise from her colleagues and some of the parents of the students that were in her third-grade class.

She was ready for a break. The plan was that she would be staying with me for three weeks, longer if she wanted to, as there wasn’t anything awaiting her back home. In my letters, I laid out various places and tourist attractions that we could visit. She was really looking forward to the wine tasting, as it was something that was totally alien to her. At that time, wine was not all that popular in Northern Wisconsin. Once I got settled, I quickly discovered that in Southern California the selections were enormous with numerous vineyards and tasting outlets.

I had only accrued eight days of vacation time so, there would be days that Ellen would be at the apartment by herself. She didn’t have a problem with that; she felt it would be nice to just lounge around the pool and read. In one of my letters I reinforced the need for some heavy-duty sunblock, as I found out that, for some reason, the sun seemed more intense than in Northern Wisconsin. Ellen’s response was, ‘Good. Because I’m going to have lots of skin exposed’. I think that my heart skipped a beat.

We had shared photos of ourselves over the past six months, however as she came through the arrival gate, my heart stopped. Her strawberry-blonde hair had grown a bit and cascaded down to her shoulders, which were bare due to the straps of the soft yellow sundress that graced her delicate body and hugged her apple-size breasts. The bottom hem of the dress stopped mid-thigh showing off lots of her smooth creamy-white thighs and calves.

A broad cheek-to-cheek smile appeared the moment her eyes found me. The feeling of her body against me, as she wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, was like nothing we had ever experienced. Ellen never cared that most of her smooth thighs were being exposed to a terminal of complete strangers. What she cared about most was in her arms… finally.

On the way to my apartment, Ellen was in awe that there appeared to be no real city boundaries. Everything just blended together to make one continuous metropolis.

The plan for the day was to get her settled in my apartment, hit the winery, and grill a couple of steaks over a bottle of wine. And finally, relax in the warm, swirling, and bubbling water of the Jacuzzi.

Opening the door to my apartment, Ellen stepped in, stopped, and turned. We were now face-to-face in my apartment for the first time… truly alone by ourselves. Her hazel-colored eyes were soft and relaxed.

Ellen draped her arms over my shoulders.

“I’ve waited for this moment for so long. We never spent time in your apartment, and I know why. And I was fine with that. Let’s just see where this goes. Let’s just enjoy being together, have fun, and whatever happens… happens.”

I was about to say something, but Ellen put her fingers to my lips.

“Don’t say anything. You don’t need to say anything.”

She was right… “Let’s just have fun.”

The wine tasting was fun. It was just a small brick distribution building that was close to my apartment. They knew me pretty well. Ellen discovered that she liked dry wines over sweeter wines. She especially enjoyed the boldness of Cabernet Sauvignon and the light and crispness of Chardonnay. We got three bottles of each.

After a full meal of medium rare steaks, baked potatoes, green salad, and a couple of glasses of Cabernet, we relaxed in the warm and bubbly water. Earlier, when Ellen emerged from the bathroom, in one of my longer t-shirts that came to rest just below where I envisioned the bottom of her bikini came my heart leaped. Those creamy white thighs were so smooth they glowed in the dim light of my apartment.

Sitting in the warm water and watching as she first fiddled with the side ties of her bottom. Then, Ellen looked at me, gave me a gentle smile, crossed her arms, grasped the bottom of the shirt, and in one fluid movement pulled the t-shirt up and over her body. Her body was outstretched as she momentarily held the no-longer-necessary t-shirt over her head causing her firm breasts to rise and slightly flatten. Ellen’s midsection was pulled in exposing the underside of her rib cage, a flat tummy with a petite navel.

The dark blue material of the cups and the full hip-to-hip material of the bottom portion offered a stark contrast against the creamy whiteness of her skin, which glowed from the underwater lights of the swirling and bubbling water.

There were two other guys in the water on the other side of the Jacuzzi. I heard two ‘Oh shit’.

I had seen Ellen in modest bikinis many times over the summers, but not like this. There was something extra… different. I can’t explain it… sexy… erotic. Ellen gave me a soft smile as she watched as I drank in her body.

Settling down next to me with her creamy breasts just above the waterline, Ellen lets out a long sigh, “Oh my god… this is so wonderful.”

Scooting over such that our bare thighs were touching, she casually rested her hand on my thigh. It wasn’t the first time Ellen’s hand had ever been on my thigh, but this time it sent an unexpected wave of energy through my body.

We relaxed, as we sipped our wine from our plastic pool-safe glasses. I don’t know how long we were there, but between the wine, the warm water, and jet lag, I suddenly saw that Ellen was starting to wilt.

Arriving back at my apartment, we talked about sleeping arrangements.

“Ellen, I want you to be comfortable, especially after a long day. Sleep in my bed. The sheets are clean and I’ll sleep out here on the couch.”

“No way am I going to take your bed. This will be fine… Really. I’ll be fine. I’m so tired I think that I could sleep anywhere. But, thank you anyway.”

Having never seen Ellen in any kind of sleep-wear, when she came out of the bathroom I stood there breathless once again. A pastel yellow mid-thigh nightshirt with little Tweety Birds and a gentle scooped neckline. Even in the dim light of my living room, I could tell that she was braless, as her full B-cup apple-size breasts gently swayed and her nipples gave way to two distinct points. It was the first time that I had ever seen her so obviously braless.

Standing in front of me with her arms resting on my shoulders, “I know it’s early for you. I didn’t realize how tired I was. It just hit me as we were sitting there.”

“You’ve had a long day, and the wine and warm water will drain you. I know. I’ve almost fallen asleep in the warm water a few times.”

“So, what do you have planned for us tomorrow?”

“I was thinking of going to Marineland. I’ve never been there, but the guys at work say it’s pretty cool. It sits right on the coast and has a nice drive to get to it along the coast. There are some whales, dolphins, and stuff. It will be fun with the top down. Did you bring some sunblock?”

“Sounds like fun. And yes, I brought lots of sunblock.”

A parting kiss on my cheek and she turned toward the couch.

Lying in my bed that first night with Ellen in the next room, my brain was at work. Yes, it felt great to finally have her here. From the moment of her arrival, the afternoon at the winery, our dinner, the Jacuzzi… it all felt so natural. But… man, she looked good back there in her bikini. And then just a few minutes ago. Like I said earlier, yes, I had seen her in a bikini many times, but something about seeing her standing there. I’ve got to keep myself in check… She’s my cousin. She trusts me. Our parents trust us.

So that’s how we spent the first week. Saturday we hit Knots Berry Farm and Sunday was Disney Land. Even crowded, we had fun. All of the rides found my arm around her bare shoulders and her bare smooth thighs pressing against mine. Walking around our hands always found each other’s, with an occasional brush up against my arm of a firm breast. And then there were the smiles. Most of the time we found ourselves just smiling at each other for no particular reason. Each night, we relaxed in the warm swirling water of the Jacuzzi with a glass of wine.

Monday, I wanted to show her the ocean close up, so we drove down to Laguna Beach and hung out on the sandy beach, watched, and listened to the ocean waves. And, of course, ‘people watched’. Ellen commented on how fit everybody seemed to be. Which was something I observed shortly after settling in at the apartment.

The modest bikini from the first night at the Jacuzzi was history. It had been replaced with one that was three triangles in the front that put on display the gentle swells of her firm breasts and accentuated her Venus Mound. The back of the bottom hugged each of her firm cheeks. I was pretty sure that it was something that had not been worn in front of her parents.

She had to be careful with the sun, so I spent a lot of time applying sunblock to her smooth back, thighs, and calves. I had applied sun lotion to her back many times in the past. Somehow, here with the just two of us away from anybody who knew us, it was different… more intimate, especially when Ellen released the straps of this small bikini. She didn’t even try to tuck the sides to hide any ‘side-boobage’.