The Bloodline Geometry

“Morning, sunshine. Thought I was gonna be waiting all day, Sleeping Beauty.”

“Flora?! What the hell are you doing here this early? I could’ve had someone over, you know?”

“Pff. A virgin like that? I can’t even believe it. But… Mom’s thing, remember? You dumbass.”

“Ah… right. Shit… I was hoping she’d forgotten about it, but looks like no such luck.”

“Unfortunately…” — Flora sighed slowly, tired — “Mom’s super anxious about this… And we’re gonna be her ‘golden children’ to pull off this mission… I didn’t say anything because the situation’s already delicate enough. So why go looking for trouble, right?”

Before answering, I looked at the window she’d already opened, then at her, sprawled out on the couch.

The year was 2018, June to be exact. Here in São Paulo the seasonal cold was already giving mild signs in a few corners of the city, and even though it was only nine in the morning, the sky was completely cloudless and the asphalt was already holding the heat. How can I put it… Brazil: hot in summer, hot in fall, hot in spring, and hot in winter… Always a goddamn oven.

Flora was in my apartment with the air conditioner circulating the air, trying to clear out some of the stuffiness I guess. It was a hot, heavy atmosphere that honestly felt like a sauna, just without as much humidity. I’d just woken up and already felt the thick heat.

I thought this was gonna be a good way to start the day—just get up, eat something, crack a cold beer, and lounge on the couch while playing something. But Flora was in the living room with news that ruined my day before I even got a word out. This early, I hadn’t even fully woken up yet and there she was… sprawled on the couch like some guy trying to look as casual as possible at a friend’s place.

She was wearing an old, baggy pink pajama set with Hello Kitty faces repeated in rows—the same sleep set she hadn’t even bothered changing out of to come over to my apartment.

The pajamas were a total disaster… they were short, and the way she was relaxed on the couch, they’d ridden up her thigh. The messy position forced the thin fabric to clearly outline the dividing line of her pussy in a completely blatant way.

I looked away after that, disgusted, but I took too long… whole seconds that unfortunately burned that indecent image into my retinas forever. I have to admit there was an excessive vulnerability there, a rawness in the exposure, and the fact that she was my sister only made it more messed up. I get that on one hand she had full family intimacy freedom not to be so guarded, but on the other… it was weird. I wouldn’t feel comfortable if I had my dick tenting my shorts in front of her, obviously—that would be fucking weird, a real thin line between extreme comfort and even more extreme lack of sense, especially because the shape drawn in the fabric looked, for a second, strangely detailed. The contour of the mound, the curve of the edges, the slit. Plus higher up, the thin tank top molded the slack under her porcelain-white skin from lack of sun, revealing in a very subtle but still visible way a darker translucent color of her nipples that stood out because of the thin fabric.

It was an uncomfortable exposure she wasn’t even aware of, too busy checking messages on her phone. She opened her mouth in a slow yawn, eyes half-lidded and her hair tied up any which way.

Not that I could say much. I was only in shorts, no shirt, but come on, it was my place after all, my right. I’d just gotten up. And she was already there, invading my space.

I went to the kitchen to catch my breath from that mess, where in the irony of it all, it wasn’t even mine.

“There’s only beer and cold pizza in the fridge,” I said, staring at the sad emptiness of my fridge with a half-eaten box of pepperoni pizza and four bottles of beer.

“Single guy life is rough…”

“Bet your fridge is packed with food, huh?”

“Alan, I’m responsible. And I’m a woman.”

“Big deal…”

“No problem. Bring it over,” she answered without looking away from the screen. “I’ll bring you a home-cooked meal later. Don’t know how you’re not malnourished.”

I grabbed the four slices from the box and put them in the microwave. It hummed and spun the plate, the smell of grease and cheese filling the air. Meanwhile I grabbed two beer bottles by the necks.

There was only one couch, right where she was sprawled out. I tried to find the smallest bit of space, but the gap was smaller than a cat.

“Move it, Flora. You gonna make room for me to sit?”

“Ah… there’s plenty of space,” she said in a drawn-out voice, finally looking away from the screen at me, and I didn’t miss her checking me out.

“Been working out, looks like. Even got some abs.”

“Yeah… I drink a lot of whey to make up for the shitty food.”

“Knew it! Good thing you don’t have a nutritionist, she’d kill you. You’re just missing a tan… you’re as pale as Edward, just without his looks.”

“Come on… if I were a vampire I’d easily be Alucard, not some ‘vampire’ that sparkles in the sun.”

She laughed loud. “You dream big, huh!”

With no real choice, I sat in the tiny leftover spot on the couch, the space so small my hip bumped against her legs. And even then she didn’t move a muscle, just let her body give way with that feline laziness, in no hurry to close her legs even halfway decently while she was forcing herself to sprawl even more on the seat like it was a territorial dispute.

I felt the heat of her skin right against mine, got a light shiver while the pink of her shorts contrasted with my black ones.

I set the plate with the four slices on my lap and the beers on the floor.

“So…” I said, already biting into a slice. “We’re going tomorrow for real, right?”

Flora stayed looking at the ceiling for a few seconds, the thin strap slipping a little from the slack.

“As far as I’m concerned, yeah, it’s pretty convenient, I know, but the company’s doing some technical shutdown. They’re changing the office structure, so we got a memo. Only essential services stay. The rest… two weeks paid.”

“Wait, but aren’t you a secretary or something? I thought that was essential.”

“I am. But you know how it is,” she finally took her eyes off her phone and scratched her nose with the back of her hand. “Honestly, I don’t even fully get it. I just know I got the two weeks. And I’m not about to complain. What if they think twice and drag me back, you know? I was even a little sad about having to take vacation just to go visit Aunt Camila, but… look at that. The universe smiled on me.” — she said with a weak triumphant smile while taking a generous swig of beer.

“Yeah… makes sense, I mean, it feels like plot convenience, but it makes sense.” — I took a big bite of the pizza, stretching a string of cheese with my teeth.

“What about you? You free?” — Flora turned her head on the couch, resting it on my arm, showing a lazy smile. “I mean… you don’t even really work.”

“Hilarious… I was gonna start an Assassin’s Creed marathon. Starting from Altaïr and…”

She lifted her face, looking at me with an expression that perfectly said “are you serious?”

“Ah, you know what?” — I stopped, the pizza hanging in the air. — “Fuck it. We’re going tomorrow.”

“Settled, then.” — Flora stretched her arms up, causing cracks, the movement pulling her top up, exposing a strip of belly skin and tensioning the fabric more clearly. Below, her open legs made the pajamas even more crooked, her thighs showing the forced muscles and keeping her shape even more obvious.

“Ah, Flora… get it together.”

I looked by reflex; she didn’t even care about my discomfort.

“And how many followers do you have already?” — she asked, lowering her arms. — “Four hundred thousand?”

“Five hundred ninety-eight thousand. I’m just waiting to hit six hundred to do a special. A live stream, interacting. Haven’t really thought it through yet.”

“Ah, Alan… that’s the kind of worry I wish I had…” — she said in a drawn-out voice, her eyes almost closing from sleepiness.

“What time are we leaving then?”

“Hm…” — I grabbed another slice with a laziness that was almost scary. — “Look… honestly… I really like traveling at night, you know? But… I’m not up for taking a road I’ve never been on before, and at night, so… how about ten in the morning?”

She raised an eyebrow, sighing deep.

“Works for me. So it’s set. Tomorrow we leave at ten. And… your car okay? Mine’s still in the shop…”

“Which pole did you hit this time?” — I asked with a mischievous smile appearing on my face.

“Go fuck yourself, Alan.” — she flipped me off, laughing, but it was true. Flora was kind of reckless, she’d already racked up so many speeding tickets it could fill a whole album, and her last accident was into a pole at an intersection. Lucky it was just a bump on her forehead that took three days to go away.

“I just hope you bring your driver’s license because I’m not taking points because of you…”

“You got it! I’m gonna go pack my bag then.” — Flora got up, bare feet sinking into the rug.

She walked to the apartment door, holding the half-empty beer bottle. Opened the wooden door and left. The condo hallway outside was dark; only the yellow light of the motion sensor came on, cutting through the gloom.

My tired sigh echoed in the living room as I watched her cross the threshold and disappear past the door.

“Jesus… hope nobody saw her in those pajamas in the hallways… that’s way too much lack of common sense.”

The rawness of that messy pajama set and her complete lack of awareness made the air in the room even heavier. I looked at the plate—only one slice left. I ate it in one go while downing the beer, trying to push away the heat, already turning the air conditioner up to max.

“Better go pack my bags too.”

I thought while trying to shake off this beautiful start to the day.