5: MEGARA

I love my house, it was the first thing I purchased after the Anders studio started turning a profit. The one time the Saunders expressed pride in me was when they finally deigned to come to see it (and steal my sister back).

I have to say though, I’m nervous. More so than showing the place to my birth parents, I’ve never brought a woman home, not one I was interested in anyway. My home is my sanctuary and Kitty Cat was one of the few visitors/houseguests beyond Whisp and Nique. Occasionally Adriana would come out to sketch from the glass-enclosed loft but that was the extent of my guest list.

I live off the beaten path, outside of town near the state park. I love the woods and my ability to get lost there.

“Don’t doubt yourself for a second, Meg,” Kitty Cat whispered from her spot beside me. Her hand found and held mine for the duration of the drive while Gretchen chatted with her nephew in the seats behind us. “If she doesn’t like your house, she’s an idiot and you don’t need her.” Kitty Cat always had the most empowering pep talks for me… “But I really don’t think it’s going to be an issue.” Her breath sucked in along with mine as my home came into view. The glass and wood building was one of my greatest points of pride and Kitty Cat was right, anyone who couldn’t see that wasn’t worth my time. No matter how pretty.

“Oh wow, I didn’t realize houses like this existed outside of movies!” Gretchen’s awed praise was the boost my ego needed.

“Welcome home,” I said softly, feeling completely at peace until I realized how that must have sounded to the two practical strangers in the back seat. “To my house!” I hastily corrected as I internally berated myself. I parked by the front doors and cut the engine as I attempted to steady my breathing.

“You had it right the first time, Megara, this isn’t just a house, it’s a home,” she sighed breathily and Kitty Cat threw a smirk in my direction. “And it’s lovely, thank you so much for inviting us to stay the night.” I nodded distractedly and let myself out of the car and popped the trunk of my “in-town” car. If I’m not transporting work things, I prefer to take my much smaller car, but for the next week, I’d be in my work van, such a shame. The seating was far cozier in the car…

“Go on and open up, Meg,” my sister offered as she opened the trunk for our guests. “You don’t have to be Wonder Woman, I can carry things in if they want or even need help.”

“Actually, I just need our overnight bag, everything else can stay. We’re only here for one night after all.” Why does that feel like a warning?

“Can we go up dere?” Kit pointed to the black, wrought iron staircase that wrapped around the side of my home and gave access to the second floor.

“If your aunt says it’s okay and someone goes with you. It’s pretty high up and I’m not sure how childproof it is. You’re the first little one I’ve had over.” It was the unvarnished truth, not even Mellie had been over in the past.

“Annie?” He turned his huge green eyes on his aunt and clasps his hands together in front of his chest. He was clearly not in the mood to play fair. Had it been up to me, I would have given him whatever he wanted, that’s how precious a picture he made.

“I can take him up if you like. It’s where I usually hang out anyway.” Mal assured Gretchen it wasn’t a problem. Right before it looked like she was about to agree, baby sister broke into giggles again. “Plus, it’s really weird hearing him call you ‘Annie’.”

“Her roommate is named Annie,” I clarified, not sure if it had come up earlier or not.

“Anita, technically, but she discourages us from calling her that,” Kitty Cat laughed again and I joined her this time. A less likely Anita than Annie Silber wasn’t anyone I could name. “Like Ana’s preferences and why we don’t call Addie Dee like Whisp does. Though I think maybe she just does that to get under her skin. They are so weird.”

“Yeah, we’re a much better example of how sisters should act,” I smirked at her and received a loving smile in return. Some days little sis was the bigger person.

“Go ahead, I trust you with him,” Gretchen gave her blessing and took Kit on her hip once more.

“Take your time,” the wicked girl smiled knowingly at me. She wasn't wrong, just because we weren’t sleeping together didn’t mean I couldn’t have a little something to hold me over until we were alone without any risk of distractions…

“Is this the part where you take advantage of me with our respective families within hearing distance?” Gretchen gave me a very naughty look as she asked the innocent-sounding question.

“No,” I said simply, throwing her off. I stepped forward into her personal space, pressing her against the side of my car the same way I once saw Josh do to Cagey-- Ana. “But I am going to kiss you.”

“Good, because I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it through the night if you didn’t.” It was all the permission I needed, but I wasn’t fast enough to keep her from making a liar out of me. She made the first move, reaching for my head and dragging me closer and kissing me!

Generally, I don’t like people touching my neck, but when she didn’t it, I didn’t freeze up, just leaned into her, parting my lips. All concerns for interlocking jewelry were quickly cast aside with the moist heat of her tongue tracing my lips before slipping past. The briefest brush of our tongues meeting showed we had at least one piercing in common…

“How did I miss this before?” I asked myself and wondered if the words actually escaped or if they were just that loud within my own head.

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“I use short bars and low visibility ends because of my job. Affects my speech less that way too, with the bonus of being an added surprise when things…” she paused dramatically and fluttered her eyelashes sweetly. “Heat up.” I need a moment to remember her career, I know it was brought up at least once, but the way she was looking at me made it damned near impossible to concentrate or pull up the memory. Right when I was about to give up, it came to me.

“Goodness, aren’t you full of surprises, Nurse Gretchen?”

“You have no idea…” she purred in response.

“I will,” I vowed. “By the time we’re done with each other, I’ll know everything there is to know about you.”

“That may take a while,” the warning was back in her tone again, I wasn’t a fan.

“I’ve got all the time in the world for you.” I wasn’t exaggerating, I was going to thoroughly explore and enjoy every inch of this woman at my leisure… soon.

I nipped at her lips, capturing the fuller lower one between my teeth. I ran my tongue across the width of it, slowly tracing each dip and rise as I savored the taste of her. With every ounce of willpower I owned, along with one last press of my lips against hers, I stepped away. “Until tomorrow,” I promised. “For now, let’s get you settled in the penthouse with your nephew.”

“Right, the penthouse. On the second floor.”

“Blame my sister, it was her choice.”

“I would have gone with ‘greenhouse’ personally.” I could see her point, the only walls were made of glass, zero privacy and the only reason why I didn’t have my bedroom up there. I have a very “clothing-optional” policy when at home. Unless I have guests, of course. Living in the woods didn’t grant me any immunity when it came to the occasional voyeur. I discovered that one the hard way. The same way they learned about my zero-tolerance policy for rudeness. I’m not shy about my body, but I am adamant about consent and boundaries! Gods preserved me from drunken frat boys hunting in the Rockies and thinking me to be an easy target.

“If the windows make you uncomfortable, sleeping downstairs would also be an option for you.” I made the offer and hoped she’d take me up on it.

“Show me your home, Meg, I don't want to be making an uninformed decision.” It was the first time she called me Meg rather than Megara! Have I become a real person to her? “Starting upstairs though, we’ll need to get Kit. Because he’ll be disappointed if he missed anything, not because I don’t trust your little sister,” she hastened to add.

“Sounds good to me, Kitty Cat needs a little torture anyway.” I offered her my hand and together we climbed the stairs to find our youngest relatives playing, or more accurately, “playing” a board game.

“You are the worst chaperone ever,” I teased her once we were inside.

“Me?” Kitty Cat’s surprise was entirely fabricated. “I owe my entire relationship to you and your abysmal supervisory job that first semester of school!”

“Nique was on guard duty, I was a free agent,” I reminded her with a grin.

“Hmm, is that why our parents never heard about the stuff you let me get away with last year?”

“I let you get away with whatever you needed to in order to become this amazing version of you and you love me for it.” Every single word of that was true.

“That I do. Mom and Dad were shocked when I took my boyfriend home to meet them, but not as shocked as I was to find out they knew nothing about the guy I’d been dating for close to three months by that time!”

“Better coming from you than me!” I reminded her. To Gretchen, I sarcastically clarified, “I’m a terrible influence and will likely corrupt their sweet, angelic, baby girl.”

“Pffft,” her response was directly on cue.

“Oh no! It’s starting already! The horror!” We collapsed in a fit of giggles, yeah we do that a lot, but we had a lot of time to make up for!

Our parents hate just about everything about me, from the fact that I reminded them of their high school horniness and stupidity in not wearing protection to my profession, hair color, and orientation. Fortunately, I don’t actually care, even better, neither does Kitty Cat. What I do care about is how they were snuffing out my poor sister's fire with their overbearing rules out of fear that she’d turn out like me. I simply had to get her free of them and their stupid rules and now she was. Thank goodness it happened before it was too late!

“Oh how terrible for your baby sister to grow up with such a strong, successful, gorgeous role model,” Gretchen snorted derisively. “Corruption indeed!”

“C’rupt’shin!” Kit chimed in adorably.

“Oh, little man, it’s terrible I tell you! My big sister is into tattoos, piercings, motorcycles, and… gasp! Girls!”

“I didn’t know about the motorcycles,” Gretchen frowned in response. I couldn't tell if she disapproved in general or didn’t like not knowing something about me.

“Is that a problem?” The only way to know was to ask, after all.

“Not as long as you wear proper safety gear and aren’t taking dangerous risks,” she replied primly before her smile returned.

“Yes, Nurse Gretchen,” I grinned stupidly in response. Crisis averted!

“Are you sly a nurse or is this something I’m better off covering your nephew’s ear over and humming loudly to save my own?” Kitty Cat eyed us suspiciously and I burst into laughter.

A year ago she never would have said anything remotely like that! But I had to set the record straight before she started looking at me differently… “Of course she’s actually a nurse, you brat!”

“Charge Nurse, actually,” Gretchen corrected softly and I let out a low whistle.

“Extra fancy… mom and dad might forgive the whole ‘being a woman’ thing if you tell them about her Charge Nurse status first!” Kitty Cat was in a rare mood tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her laugh (or cackle) so much in my entire life!

“Did someone caffeinate you after six pm?” I teased her with a raised eyebrow. The poor kid actually cannot handle caffeine. Another thing they restricted her from, so now that she had free access… it was fun to watch. Most of the time.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve heard worse,” Gretchen reassured me easily. “Now then, please show me around the rest of this beautiful home of yours, Meg.”

“Whatever you want,” I purred happily and took her hand once more.

“I’ll hold you to that,” she replied softly but it was loud enough for Kitty Cat to put her hands over her ears and start “la-la-laing” very loudly.