After his birthday, the influx of money was staggering. Boone had known that it was going to be a considerable sum, but the actual reality of the amount was far beyond anything he could have imagined. He toyed with the idea of purchasing a condo and moving from his rented apartment, but Shannon had just become used to her new digs and overcome most of her nervousness at having to cover the short walk from the subway to their door, so he put the plan on the back burner, instead investing the funds; his only splurge a big screen TV, and monster sound system. He'd been surrounded by wealth his whole life, and it had never brought him any kind of happiness. Boone had come to view excessive possessions as more of a curse than a kindness, and lived far more austerely than he needed to, something he intended to keep doing, regardless of the burgeoning size of his bank account. It had become who he was, more than rebellion against who his mother thought he should be.
Boone wasn't surprised when, a few days after his birthday, the mail room cart stopped outside his office door and a small Fed Ex package was placed in his in-tray. He thanked the intern for dropping it off; the company had a co-op programme arrangement with one of the local colleges, and reached for the oblong item with a sigh, already knowing exactly what was inside it. The label identified the shippers' address as Sabrina's office, just as he'd been sure it would. Once the shipping and gift wrapping were removed, he shook his head at the "Mont Blanc" embossed pen and pencil set case that was revealed. Boone snapped open the lid and pulled one of the writing instruments out. It was, of course, engraved with his name, just as the other one would be, he couldn't even regift them if he'd wanted to. When he got home, he'd toss it in the drawer that already held almost half a dozen of the identical items; his mothers' assistant always bought him exactly the same thing for his various annual 'events.' Boone couldn't blame the girl; she'd never even met him, so how the hell was she supposed to pick something personal for him?
His landmark birthday behind him, Boone got on with his life, and dealing with the ever present temptation of Shannon.
His infatuation with her had started innocently enough shortly after she and Adam had moved in. Once it became apparent that Sabrina intended to resent and ignore Shannon and continue her practice of barely tolerating Boone only acknowledging him long enough to criticize; their alliance had been formed. At ten he loved her as a comrade, someone who would finally let him love them, and who loved him back, at thirteen he added the love of an adolescent just discovering girls, and at sixteen he'd become truly lost as she became his first and only crush.
Her brother had a girlfriend; Shannon knew that, he'd talked about Amanda often over the past six months, the amount of time during which they'd been dating. Shannon had seen pictures of the girl, unsurprisingly a leggy blonde, and even talked to her on the phone, when Amanda had called the apartment looking for Boone and Shannon had answered, but she'd never actually met the girl. Boone was fairly serious about Amanda too, Shannon thought. He'd never been much of a one for casual sex, and she knew that there were several nights, usually on the weekends, that his bed wasn't slept in. He always left her a note "I'm staying at Amanda's tonight, if you need me call my cell," was all it ever said. If Shannon saw him the next day he often seemed a bit embarrassed or guilty; she knew the reason why, just as she'd always known, but as usual chose to pretend it didn't exist.
Amanda had of course, always known about Shannon, Boone mentioned her often. She hadn't been pleased to learn that his younger sister, or rather step-sister, had come to live with him. She'd discovered that the girl was in fact only his step-sister when she'd seen a picture of the two of them together and had asked why there was no family resemblance whatsoever. Thinking simply that it would put a bit of a crimp in their love lives with the girl taking up residence, she could not possibly have had any idea of the far reaching consequences it would eventually have on their relationship.
The first problem arose when Boone suddenly always found an excuse not to have her to his apartment. Amanda had been there many, many times, for dinner, to stay the night, maybe just to watch TV, but suddenly there were any number of reasons that she couldn't come by; Shannon was sleeping, he hadn't done the laundry, there was no food in the fridge, the roadblocks always seemed innocuous enough, but finally she'd had it.
"You're making dinner for Shannon tonight, aren't you?" She asked him at lunch on a Saturday.
When he replied in the affirmative, she told him she'd be joining them. When Boone protested that he'd only bought enough for two, Amanda answered that they'd just go by the grocery store. When he said that they were going to watch a movie he was sure she'd hate, and after hearing the name knowing he was right, she simply replied that it was time she broadened her horizons.
Cringing a bit, but knowing he wasn't going to be able to get out of it this time, he smiled a bright, false, smile and said, "Well, I guess I'm cooking for three then."
Much to Amanda's surprise the girls got along famously, she quite liked Boone's step-sister, but Boone fidgeted in his seat, trying to hide his discomfort, successfully from Amanda, but as transparent as glass to Shannon, just as he'd always been. She knew just what was going on, but it was a subject she'd never broached with him and certainly didn't intend to in front of the other woman. Shannon smiled at him often, mentioning several times that Amanda was nice, trying to put him at his ease. He'd always been anxious anytime she was in the company of one of his girlfriends though, so her attempts, as always, were unsuccessful. She found herself thinking that maybe she was more okay with that than she wanted to admit.
After dinner, they helped Boone clean up, then popped the DVD into the player and sat down to watch some animated Pixar thing the two siblings had viewed together over half a dozen times. That was when Boone finally relaxed, immersed in reliving the good times he associated with the film. The two of them anticipated certain scenes, pointing and laughing at the screen, making comments well before the action unfolded, affecting different voices and bringing each other to hysterics. Shannon leaned into him several times, grasping at his arm, his thigh. Though initially Boone tried to remember to include her, eventually Amanda became all but forgotten by them both, her earlier ease quickly dissipating.
Once the movie was over Amanda announced that she was going to bed. Boone looked at her, clearly startled, "Here?"
"Of course here, you think I'm going home now?" She replied with a laugh, trying to push away her dark mood, looking at him like he'd just suggested she spend a weekend naked in Central Park.
"Oh, yeah, right, of course not. Sorry." Boone replied awkwardly.
"Aren't you coming with me?" Amanda asked, holding down her hand.
Shannon shifted back in her seat in the corner of the couch, the feel of the room, suddenly quite different.
"Um, sure," instead of taking her hand though, he turned to Shannon, "You okay if we go to bed?" Boone seemed to be begging her with his eyes to say 'no.'
She frowned "Of course, you doofus." The night had been decidedly odd and she'd felt things she wasn't really ready to accept.
"Okay then," Boone turned back to Amanda, and smiled briefly, then turned back to Shannon leaning in and kissing her cheek, "Night Shan." He rose quickly.
"Night Boone; Amanda," she watched while the woman lead her brother to his room, a bitter edge of jealously unsuspectingly encroaching on her yet again.
It hadn't been a good idea for her to come to live with Boone in New York, Shannon had been quick to realize, but she'd committed herself and was determined to see things through, besides, with her father dead, Boone was all she had, there existed no immediate Rutherford relatives.
Back in California their relationship had been quite different, more…safe. He'd left for University when she was quite young, because he'd also been quite young, his intellect fast tracking him through public school. Returning for summer vacations, they'd renewed their bond to a certain extent, but he was out and about in his car a lot of the time, desperate to escape from her for the most part, forcing himself away, until he just couldn't stand it anymore and would return to be glued to her side for days at a time.
Boone was obviously maturing, as was she, but the setting of their parents home just reinforced the fact that they were brother and sister. In her eyes he was still cast in the roll of the perfect older brother, but as the years passed Shannon increasingly sensed that there was something more, ignoring it however, always just too caught up in the joy she felt that he was back, if only for a few short months.
Once she'd moved to New York however, things were different. They were adults, on their own in the world, and once again together. It didn't help that Boone was the only friend she had. There was far too much competition among the interns for any friendships to develop, and the older dancers looked down on them like vermin. The hours she put in prohibited her from forming any outside relationships at all. Shannon found herself watching him, thinking about him in ways she never had.
She pushed the jealousy away, and changed the channel on the television.
'It's Boone,' she told herself, 'it's your brother, whatever he may feel, whatever you may feel, it's wrong.' It was becoming increasingly difficult to listen to that inner voice, however.
In his room, Amanda rounded the bed to the other side and started to disrobe, while Boone did the same. He was down to his boxers and t-shirt when he turned; Amanda already had her bra off and was just about to push her panties down as well.
"What are you doing?" he hissed.
"I'm taking my clothes off; it's kind of difficult to have sex when you're dressed." She spoke in a normal tone.
"Shhh, keep your voice down, and we're not having sex!" Boone advised her.
"Why not?" Amanda asked, reasonably.
"Shannon's just on the other side of the door." He said, like she was an idiot.
"I seriously doubt that your sister still thinks that you're a virgin, Boone." She'd stopped taking off her clothes, and was facing him with her fists on her hips.
"Still, it doesn't seem right. I can't. She's my little sister." He pled.
"Jesus Christ!" Amanda threw her hands in the air and crossed to his dresser, opening a drawer and angrily yanking out one of his t-shirts. After she pulled it on over her head she threw back the covers and got into bed, lying there rigid, clearly pissed right off.
Boone slid into bed beside her, "I'm sorry, it's just…"
"Stuff it!" She threw herself violently on her side, turning her back to him.
He sighed and turned the other way, the two of them lying far apart on the bed, sleep a long time in coming.
In the morning Shannon realized her stupidity when she checked her wallet before she left the apartment. She didn't have enough for subway fare, and the only money in the place was behind Boones' closed bedroom door, in Boones' wallet, on the chair beside Boones' bed where Boones' girlfriend was sleeping with him. She cringed.
Shannon had a bank card which tapped into his account, but there was no ATM between the apartment and the subway station and she didn't have the ten minutes to spare to go to the closest one. She approached the door hesitantly and rapped on it softly. "Boone?" She knew it was futile; there was no way she was going to wake him without actually entering the room. She toyed with the idea of trying to creep in and creep back out without notice, but that just seemed a little too skeevy to her.
Amanda was already awake, not that she'd slept much during the night anyway, her thoughts in a turmoil. She'd heard Shannon moving about in the apartment and her tentative attempt to get her brothers' attention.
"Boone." She shook him.
He just rolled his head to the side and gave a soft snore. He was a notoriously deep sleeper.
"Boone." Amanda repeated a little louder with a harder shove.
"One more minute, mom." He muttered.
She gave it one last try as Shannon pressed her ear against the door, aware of the voices beyond it, and not wanting to interrupt anything, and certainly not wanting to be met with the sight behind the door, no matter how innocent it currently appeared, but still needing the money.
He snorted himself awake with a start. "What?"
"Shannon's knocking on the door." She jerked her head in that direction.
He took a few seconds to try and process what was going on. Finally grasping what Amanda had said and where they were he panicked, and began blurted an absurd direction, "Get under the covers, hide!"
"Boone, she's not your mother; and she knows I'm in here." Amanda assured him.
"I don't want her to see me in bed with another woman!" He seemed more than a bit frantic.
"What? Has she seen you in bed with lots of women?" but then she realized he hadn't emphasized another but rather the word woman. It stilled her and made her think. "Come in Shannon." She called, watching him.
The door opened cautiously, and Shannon appeared looking decidedly sheepish and apologetic. Boone blushed furiously, clearly mortified, he winced and cringed, while Amanda eyed him appraisingly.
Shannon explained her monetary shortage situation. "I'm such a dope." She plucked Boones' wallet off the neatly folded pile of his clothes and extracted a twenty.
His entire demeanour had changed while Shannon had recounted her problem; he was now totally focused and concerned. "You've got your bank card, right?"
Amanda flinched, his question sounded unfinished, he'd even taken a small sip of air as if to add another word, almost as if the 'hon' or a 'babe' were there but left unsaid.
"Yes Boone! I didn't lose it." She rolled her eyes. There could have been only the two of them in the room for all that Amanda existed. She had the feeling that this kind of exchange, almost as if they existed in a bubble containing just the two of them, played out all too often.
"You know I didn't mean that," he breathed a laugh.
Amanda noted that the pause was there again.
"I just wanted to make sure you had lunch money, Shan. Take another twenty, if you need." He smiled and nodded his head encouragingly.
Shannon dipped her fingers into the leather pocket again and came out with another bill. She tossed his wallet on his jeans and crossed to the bed, leaning down and kissing his cheek, her hand falling to his shoulder. "Thanks Boone, you're the best." She pulled away, suddenly registering Amanda's presence again and realizing how inappropriate her actions probably were. "Sorry guys," she apologized, turning quickly and leaving.
Once Shannon closed his bedroom door behind her, she leaned back against it and buried her face in her hands for a second, cursing herself for a fool, then quickly left the apartment.
Boone was already getting out of bed before the sound of the outside door closing even reached them.
"Where are you going?" Amanda asked.
"To the shower," he responded.
"But Shannon's gone now, so can't we have sex? The only reason you said we couldn't last night was because she was here." Amanda pointed out.
He shrugged, "I'm wide awake now, and ready to get up. And besides, I'm really not in the mood." He crossed to the bedroom door and opened it leaving the room.
What twenty-one year old guy wasn't in the mood for sex? Amanda wondered, her suspicions mounting, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.