Vice Versa

"But you'll get to know your cousin's family so much better. And vice versa."

These were the words of my mom, giving me yet another reason why I should feel good about spending three nights in the guest room of a family who were practically strangers to me. Tina isn't actually my cousin; she's my mom's cousin. And though I'd been introduced to her at the obligatory family functions over the years, she blended into a sea of unremarkable middle-aged relatives. If I'd seen her on the street I might have recognized her as someone I'd met before, but it's doubtful I'd peg her as a relative, and I'd almost certainly be unable to come up with her name.

It was bad enough to have to take time off work and fly all the way from Raleigh to Green Bay on someone else's schedule, but then to have to stay in an unfamiliar house took away any semblance of fun this trip might have had. But it's a family wedding. And of course I'll go to Wisconsin for a family wedding. Never mind that the bride is a daughter of another one of those distant cousins I might not recognize. After all, if it weren't for these obligatory family functions, when would I ever see these people?

Fortunately I was able to convince David to come with me. Dave, my rock. The trip would have been excruciating without him, but with him along it had a chance. I've found that, for some reason, the worst of times usually can be brightened significantly if you can have sex.

My mom, the one who was excited about this trip, wasn't even going. She and Dad already had plans to go on a cruise the same weekend, and not even a family wedding was enough to get her out of a cruise. I think she wanted to make my visit a success so I could be her proxy.

"Tina is such a fun person! We grew up together," Mom had said. Fine. No problem. We'll stay with Tina. Such are the ways of the hinterlands of northern Wisconsin, where I was born in a tiny town still crawling with relatives. My parents moved us away when I was only 2, but if you ring a random doorbell in town, odds are you'll find a cousin with an available guest room.

Dave and I touched down at the airport in Green Bay and found an Uber. Green Bay is far enough north for most people, but we rode another half hour north, watching out the window along the way as the late July sun sank over endless green farms.

It was almost 9:00 by the time we pulled to the curb in front of Tina's house, but the sky was still light in the west. We unfolded ourselves from the back seat while the driver went around to unload our bags. A creak from the house caught my attention, and as I turned I saw the front door opening to reveal an unremarkable middle-aged woman. She walked out and pushed the creaky door closed behind her, hollering, "Sara? David? Is that you?"

"Tina! Yes, it's so good to see you again," I said, mustering enthusiasm from somewhere. She padded to the street in her slippers and the three of us exchanged hugs. The Uber driver wasted no time making a U-turn and heading back toward the airport.

"Please come right in, and let me help you with your bags. We are just tickled that you could stay with us." The Wisconsin accent still caught me by surprise on every trip. She pronounced "bags" like "baigs."

"We're glad you have room for us," Dave put in.

The brick house was smaller than I'd expected, white trim surrounding four front windows, two on either side of the front door. Tina led us up the front walk while Dave and I each rolled a suitcase along behind. As we got closer to the house I noticed the windows were open, but this didn't seem all that unusual at the time.

Tina opened the door again with another creak and we hoisted our luggage over the threshold, finding ourselves directly in the family room. Two couches, upholstered in a patterned green fabric, one larger than the other, were set at right angles to each other. Ahead toward the back of the house I could see a light on, and to the right and left, hallways led away from the family room.

"Make yourselves at home while you're here, guys," Tina said. "Leave your bags for a minute while I show you around."

Tina kept going straight back toward the room with the light, and we followed her to what turned out to be the kitchen. The kitchen had a window looking out to the back yard, and I noticed this window too was open. Thin curtains were only partly closed over the window, dancing slightly, but the breeze was so faint I hadn't noticed it when we were outside.

"Anytime you're hungry or thirsty, please help yourself to whatever you find in the fridge," she went on, the dutiful hostess. She pointed out the cupboards where we would find glasses and plates, the pantry, and the silverware drawer.

"Sara," Dave whispered to me discreetly as she went on, "it's hot."

I hadn't noticed the temperature until he pointed it out, but it was kind of warm, especially for 9:00 at night in a climate so cool. I turned to look at him and caught his eye, giving him a nod and a look I hoped would say both Sorry and Suck it up in the same expression. A rivulet of sweat on his forehead was threatening to trickle down to his eyebrow.

"It's a lovely kitchen," I said to Tina when she paused to take a breath. "Thank you for keeping us fed while we're here."

She led us back to the family room, and we passed by our luggage and down one of the hallways. "This side of the house has my room and the boys' room," Tina said.

"How old are the boys now?" I vaguely recalled that she had several kids, but I couldn't remember names or ages. She rescued me by providing both.

"Timmy is 7 and Andrew is 5. They're already in bed, but you'll meet them in the morning."

We peeked in the door of Tina's bedroom at the back of the house, expressing appropriate admiration for her decor. Tina clearly had this bedroom to herself. I recalled that she had two ex-husbands, but apparently not a current one. I almost asked about the boys' father but thought better of it.

Two other doors were in this hallway: an open door led to a bathroom, and a closed door must have been the boys' room.

We padded back to the family room, the hub of the house, it seemed. "Bring your bags with you this time. Your room is down here," she said. Tina led us down the other hallway, which also had three doors. She led us to the middle of the three and flicked the light switch on. "Here it is, your home away from home."

We parked our luggage as Tina pointed out the features of the room to us: Alarm clock, TV, extra pillows in the closet. One corner of the room had a huge cache of toys; apparently this was the boys' ancillary play room when guests weren't using it. "There are some extra blankets in here too, but it doesn't look like we'll be needing them tonight, not with this heat."

This caught Dave's attention. "Yeah, so is it hotter than usual?"

"We've had a heat wave the last few days. And we were gone all day, so it got hot in the house with it all closed up."

"That's global warming for you," I said. I could tell by his face that Dave wasn't thrilled.

Tina chuckled. "It'll cool down in here now that the windows are open. We don't have AC since it hardly ever gets this hot. I hope you don't mind."

Dave was ready to say something, but I cut him off, "I'm sure we'll be fine. It can't possibly be as miserable as North Carolina this time of year." Dave's look said Maybe, but at least there's AC in NC. I can read him like a book.

The guest room window was also open, looking out the side of the house toward Tina's next door neighbor. It wasn't much of a view, but I was grateful for what little cool air it would bring us.

"Yes, well, Sara, David, I'm so sorry, but you've obviously noticed that our guest room only has the one bed. But it's a king size, and I hope you can get by with it for just three nights."

"Of course, we'll be fine, Tina," I said.

"I could set something up on the floor for one of you if you'd feel more comfortable. I know it's kind of awkward."

"No, no, we're adults. This will be fine." Tina certainly wasn't the only relative with such antiquated views about who people should share a bed with.

"I know you are, dear. How old are you now, anyway?"

"I'm 25."

"Oh my goodness, that old? I can't believe how quickly kids grow up these days. And Dave, what about you?"

Dave said, "I'm 27."

"Sara, I remember when Timmy was born you were graduating from high school. Somehow I always picture you at that age."

"You and my yearbook both," I said.

"Sara, I like having you in the family, dear," Tina said with a chuckle. "Now, let me just show you the last couple of rooms."

We stepped back in the hall and Tina pointed to the left, where an open door led to another bathroom. "You guys can use this bathroom while you're here." Instructions on towels and soap followed.

Then we went back into the hall, past the guest room door to the third door on this side of the house. "This," said Tina, "is Zack and Alyssa's room."

I'm sure I must have had a puzzled look on my face, because I couldn't figure out who on earth she was talking about. I surveyed the room for clues. It was about the same size and shape as the guest room next door, but it had two twin beds on opposite sides of the room, both outfitted with neutral colors that would be appropriate for either a boy or a girl. But the rest of the furnishings led me to believe that this wasn't a little kids' room at all. There were no toys, no posters, no colorful wallpaper. Instead, there was a desk with two laptops, on the wall a framed map of the world, and on the floor a pair of sneakers for adult-size feet.

I glanced at Dave to see if he knew whose room we were in, but his raised eyebrows told me he was as clueless as I was. "Zack and Alyssa," I finally said.

"Yes, Zack is 21 now, can you believe it? And Alyssa is 18. Isn't that funny? She just graduated from high school, the same age as I just said I remember you being, Sara."

"And they both still live here?" I asked.

"Yes, well, it would have been nice for everyone to have their own rooms, but this house just isn't big enough for me and all four of my kids to have a room to ourselves. So we decided that all the kids would double up, and that leaves an extra room you're using."

"It's kind of unusual to have a guy and a girl in the same room, isn't it?" I was choosing my words carefully.

"A little. I'm used to it but it does catch some people by surprise," Tina said. "Zack and Alyssa get along great. An adult brother and sister can share a room with no problem, Sara. You can see for yourself while you're here." She laughed again.

It appeared that neither Zack nor Alyssa was home at the moment, and Dave asked, "What are they up to tonight?"

"I try to give them their freedom as much as I can," Tina said. They're adults now, like you guys, so even though they still live under my roof, they come and go pretty much as they please. But tonight Alyssa is working and Zack is at band practice in his friend's garage. I'm so glad I don't have a garage!"

We laughed a bit and she continued. "You'll meet them tomorrow morning too." A gentle breeze rolled in through Zack and Alyssa's open window, gently rattling the blinds and drawing a glance from all three of us.

"Well, we can't wait to see them again," I said, trying to sound like I meant it. "Timmy and Andrew, too."

"We have plenty of time for that. For now, you two go get settled, then come on out and we can get caught up. Speaking of yearbooks, I'll show you some pictures of the kids. And I can't wait to hear what's up with you. I always hear the juiciest stories about your mom from her kids."

* * *

A clunking sound jolted me awake. It took me a beat to remember where I was, what bed I was in. Oh yeah. Wisconsin. Tina's house. The guest room. I looked at the alarm clock, which read 1:46. The room didn't seem to have cooled off much at all, despite the open window. Dave and I were sleeping naked, the only option at this temperature, with not even a sheet covering us.

I lay in the bed and contemplated the clunking. At first it sounded like it was coming from outside the window, but as I listened more, I thought it might be coming from inside the house. In the dark, I tried to picture the floor plan of the unfamiliar house according to Tina's tour. It took me a minute to figure out in my half-asleep stupor, but my eyes popped open when I realized the noise was coming from right next door. Zack and Alyssa's room.

I tuned my ears to the noise, trying to decipher it. Every house has strange noises, and you get used to them after a while if you live there. I felt a twinge of guilt for eavesdropping so attentively. Perhaps, I thought, it doesn't count as eavesdropping when you can't hear any words. Just clunking.

Finally, the squeak gave it away. A bed spring squeaking has its own unmistakable sound, and by then it was clear that one of those twin beds in the next room was getting a serious workout. I felt a grin emerge as I thought about what was happening next door, and I looked over to see if the lovers had wakened Dave too.

They had. The moon wasn't shining directly in our window, but there was enough light so I could see Dave's eyes open. He was on his back, a thin sheen of perspiration coating his naked body and making it reflective in the dim light. He caught me looking his way, and the corners of his mouth turned up too.

"Sounds like fun," he whispered.

"I wonder whether Zack brought home a lady, or Alyssa brought home a guy."

"I don't know, but whoever it is, they're enjoying themselves."

The squeaks got a bit louder, and I could start to make out heavy breathing. Now that I knew what the noise was, I had to admit that it was erotic just to lie there and listen.

I rolled over to face Dave. In this light, unlike any other, the hair on his arm and chest looked pale right where the light reflected the sheen on his skin. I reached my hand to his chest and felt his muscles, crisscrossing from left to right, then down to his belly. I found the tip of his cock right near his belly button, and my hand trailed down the shaft to find it throbbing and stiff.

"Seems like you're enjoying it too, lover," I said.

"If you close your eyes, it's like the sound is right here in the same room as us."

"Do you wish they were in here with us, Dave? So you could watch those young bodies thrashing in the heat?"

"You know, Sara, that yours is the only body I want to thrash with."

"Yeah, but that's not what I asked. I asked if you wanted to watch them."

I felt a surge in his cock even as I spoke, which told me his answer without a word.

"I don't know, I never really thought about it," he said.

"You know, Dave, right now there are two naked bodies right on the other side of this thin wall, thick, stiff meat pounding hard into a wet pussy." I stroked his shaft lightly as I continued. "And they're so young. Wouldn't it be fun to watch them so deep in passion?"

The sounds intensified bit by bit. The rhythm of the bed springs escalated and the breaths became louder, starting to betray their apparent desire to stay quiet. I started to match my strokes on Dave's cock with the speed of the springs. I could feel him pushing back against my hand at the same pace.

"Remember the family picture Tina showed us? I'm imagining Zack in the buff, flexing his powerful butt muscles in exactly the rhythm you're listening to right now, pounding his stiffness into a sweet young thing. Don't you wish you could watch her tits bouncing up and down while the whole bed shakes?"

I felt a droplet of liquid at the tip of Dave's cock, and I massaged it into the top of the shaft, hoping to make more.

"Dave, I bet there's going to be an orgasm in a few minutes. Wouldn't you like to watch it? Watch how his body tenses as he hits that last moment of ecstasy? See her bite down hard on her bottom lip to keep from crying out when the feeling washes over her?"

Between the sweat and the precum, Dave's cock was thoroughly dampened now, enough that I was making squishy noises with my hand on every stroke.

"Or maybe it's Alyssa who's naked right now, her long brown hair completely messed up all over the pillow. She could be lusting after a boyfriend, both of them so wild on hormones that they can hardly control themselves. You remember what it was like to be 18, don't you? And what 18-year-old women look like? When their bodies are intertwined with yours, just learning how it feels when you make love to them? When you give them their first orgasm?"

Dave was moaning very softly now, almost like a whisper, not loud enough to obscure the events next door. His cock practically reached off the bed into my hand, as slippery and stiff as I'd ever felt it.

Meanwhile, the deep breaths from next door suddenly changed. Instead of panting to the rhythm of the squeaks, I heard a voice cry out, faintly, and the squeal led Dave and me to look in each others' eyes. I'm sure I smiled as I thought about being practically an eyewitness to the ecstasy on the other side of the wall. In contrast, Dave's expression didn't have a hint of a smile-his face showed pure lust.

The bed squeaks gradually slowed, then softened to the same clunking sound I'd heard at first. I still had my hand on Dave's shaft, but my strokes slowed now along with the rhythm from next door. Every few strokes I swiped my thumb across his tip, using whatever fresh pre-cum I found to further lubricate my hand, though it was so slick this wasn't at all needed.

When even the clunking stopped, the house was immersed in quiet. I listened intently to the wall for more signs of life, but I heard not even the tiniest hint of sound. The squishy sound my hand was making quickly seemed too loud for the total silence. I stopped moving my hand but kept it grasped around Dave's member. He wasted no time and started thrusting his body against my hand. The sound was still audible, although soft enough that it probably couldn't be heard next door.

I knew one sure-fire way to decrease the noise level. I lifted my head from the pillow and moved my head to his midsection. I took away my hand and licked his cock like a popsicle, balls to tip. He stopped thrusting immediately but let out a soft moan instead. I pulled my tongue back just long enough to put my finger to lips in a Keep quiet gesture, and he obeyed.

I'd had Dave's penis in my mouth many, many times before, but I don't remember it ever tasting quite as delicious as right then. His precum is normally a delicacy on its own, but the extra saltiness of his sweat made it even more addictive, and I licked it several more times in succession. My tongue made no noise whatsoever on his shaft, and he was perfectly quiet too, but his body shuddered and I knew he wouldn't last long under this stimulation.

I grabbed his tool at the base and lifted the tip away from his body enough that I could pop it in my mouth. He shuddered again and his muscles rippled. I bobbed my head and felt his cock penetrating my mouth deeper and deeper, my tongue snaking around the head. I turned my head slightly left and then right, enough so he jabbed the inside of my cheeks, one after the other. My body was responding to his arousal and I craved stimulation between my legs, but instead I concentrated my efforts on him.

I lifted my mouth nearly all the way off him, letting my lips caress the base of his mushroom head, and when I bobbed back down I applied some suction, just the way I knew he liked. I felt his cock tense between my lips, his body stiffened, and I knew he was passing the point of no return. Sure enough, in seconds he exploded and warm cream flooded my mouth. He bucked off the bed a bit, but I was proud of him for staying almost completely silent as what looked like a strong orgasm took hold.