"Justin... do you really love me? Would you still love me without... without the sex?"
"Oh, Alex...." Justin gave his little sister a squeeze, then kissed her cheeks, tasting her tears. "Yes. I love you, with or without the sex." Freeing one arm, he rolled to the side, held her against himself, started to stroke her hair with the now-freed hand. "Listen to me. I've always loved you. I always will, no matter what."
He paused a moment, kissed Alex on the forehead, then pulled back to look her in the eyes. "If you don't want to, it's okay. I'll still love you. Okay?"
She swallowed and nodded, clinging to him tightly, and he kissed her forehead again, then gently pulled her head against his shoulder and held her, continuing to kiss her on the side of the head every few seconds.
After half a minute or so, Alex's sobs stopped, and then she pulled her head back, wiping at her tear-streaked face. "Do... do you have any Kleenex? I must be a mess."
"Here," he said, reaching backward to the desk to grab the box he had there. Justin pulled out three and handed them to Alex. "And you're not a mess. You're beautiful, like always. You're perfect."
Justin lay in silence, watching as Alex wiped her face, holding onto her loosely, wondering what she was thinking. Then she was done, and he reached up carefully to her cheek, stroked it with a feather-light touch. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said, nodding. "I... I'm sorry about that. I guess I'm not handling all this as well as I thought I was."
"I'm sorry." Justin shifted a little, to a more comfortable position to hold Alex in. "I know it's hard. I never meant to stick you in this situation." He sighed, then went on, "Sometimes I think we should make everyone forget me again. At least now I'd have a place to sleep regardless."
Alex giggled a little then. "I don't think I could stand hearing any more about how you look just like Uncle Ernesto. But thank you." She slid up a little, planted a kiss on Justin's cheek. Smiling, he turned his head and kissed Alex on the forehead.
"Well, yeah." He shifted again and scooted down on the bed, bringing his face level with Alex's, then stroked her cheek. "I wish I could make it all better for you, though. I love you."
Alex smiled at that, moved her face forward and kissed him on the lips. "I love you too. And you do make everything better." She pulled back and looked into her brother's eyes for a few moments, smiling, then stopped. "Okay, we need to stop this before we get so sappy someone taps us for syrup."
Grinning, Justin pulled Alex closer and kissed her, sliding his tongue into her mouth, then broke it almost immediately. "Well, you do taste sweet. Are you feeling sticky anywhere?"
"Ewwww." Alex made a face, but kept smiling even as she did. "Don't be gross. Little brothers are supposed to be gross, not big brothers."
"Okay, I'll make a note of that." He moved back a little, swung one leg off the bed, then the other, so he was kneeling beside the bed, looking at his little sister. "All right. Get off the bed -- you and I are going to go have some non-sexual fun. Because I love you, and not just for that. Okay?"
Alex made a doubtful frown. "Are you sure? I'm okay now -- I don't want you to hurt or anything. We can go ahead if you want to."
"I'll be fine." Justin leaned forward and kissed Alex softly. "Waiting a few hours won't kill me." He grinned and ran his hand down Alex's side, following the curves of her waist and hip. "But when we get back, I am going to do things to you that'll have you sore for days."
"Promise?" Alex gave him a teasing smile as she sat up on the bed. Justin handed Alex her skirt, and she pulled it back on, then stood. He had the scarf then, and she took a minute with his mirror to get it tied back into her hair. Standing behind her, Justin ran his fingers through her hair as she did that.
"You have the most beautiful hair I've ever seen. Even when we were little, it was always so nice." He leaned forward a little, putting his nose in her hair, and breathed in the scent of it.
"I know," she said, preening a little in the mirror at him. "It's because I'm naturally wonderful." As Alex spoke, she picked up her tank top, put it back on over the ribbed top. "Okay, I'm ready. Where are we going?"
"Come here and stand on my feet and you'll see."
"Wow... that sounds like a really bad pick-up line." She smiled, stepping onto Justin's feet. "You know, you've got to find a better way to do this. It's good for you that I don't like to wear heels."
*
Justin ducked just in time to avoid a face-full of water, laughing as he did. "Oh! I'm gonna get you!" Alex yelled, trying to splash him again. A wave pushed her forward as she did, though, and she stumbled forward as Justin lunged to try to grab her. The two of them fell down with a splash, then came up a moment later.
"Ahh! I've got salt water in my eyes!" Alex randomly flailed with one arm, feeling for Justin, and he grabbed it, then stepped in closer to her.
"Keep your eyes closed. I'll carry you to the shower." Alex didn't answer, but put her arms around Justin's neck as he picked her up. She let her head lean on her brother's arm, her eyes tightly shut.
After a few moments, Alex grinned. "You know, I can't tell where you're carrying me. You could be taking me back into the trees to do bad things to me. Are you going to do bad things to me, Justin?"
"Wow, someone's feeling better already. Why don't we get the salt water out of your eyes first, and then we'll see. Here we are," he went on, setting Alex down on her feet. "Just tilt your head back while I turn the water on."
"Yes, sir." Alex smiled. "I love how you take care of me, and -- oh!" Alex shut her mouth as the water turned on, then reached and started wiping at her face.
A minute or so later, she stepped out from under the shower and into Justin's arms. "Thank you."
Hugging Alex tightly, Justin smiled. "It was nothing -- couldn't let you stumble up here with your eyes hurting."
"No -- I mean, for this whole thing. How'd you find this place anyway?" She looked around at the beach they were on, taking in the blue crystal water, white sand, gently swaying palm trees. A scattering of people were visible up and down the beach, but it wasn't crowded at all, with the nearest group perhaps a hundred yards down.
"I found it on Google, by searching for private beaches. We shouldn't be here, really, but...." He made a lopsided smile, then shrugged.
"Awww... you broke rules for me. That's so sweet." Alex stretched up to kiss her brother on the cheek, hugging him again. "And thank you for the bikini." She kissed him again.
"Well, that's as much for me as for you," he answered, looking her up and down. "And may I say, it looks great on you." Alex blushed a little, but smiled back at him. There was a moment's pause as they looked at each other, and then Justin leaned his head down and kissed Alex, moving one hand to the back of her head, holding her in the kiss as he played with her lips, pulling lightly on them with his own.
She kissed him back, pressing against him, the bare skin of her belly against his, and she felt like squirming suddenly, feeling warm and safe in her brother's arms, and suddenly excited as well. Her kissing became enthusiastic, and Justin responded in kind, tightening his arms around her, almost lifting her.
They broke the kiss after almost half a minute, looked into each other's eyes. "Justin?"
"Yes?" He brought a hand up, brushed at Alex's wet hair, pulling it back where a lock had fallen into her face.
"Let's go home." She blushed then, suddenly. "I mean... your home."
"It's okay. It's your home too." He paused, seeming on the edge of saying something, then nodded. "Okay," he said, looking around. "Let's get our clothes, and then you can stand on my feet again."
Going up on tiptoe, Alex whispered into Justin's ear, saying "Mmm... yes, sir. I'll stand on your feet anytime you want." Then she burst into giggles. "That still sounds like a bad pickup line!"