Just as something on the show happened that made her laugh with twisted glee, the door to the living room opened, and he dejectedly walked in, locking it behind himself.

"What are you still doing up?" he asked her exasperatedly, as he plopped himself down on the sofa next to her.

"I couldn't sleep...I'm watching TV."

"Eh."

"How was your night?"

"I got stood up."

"Same girl?"

"...yeah." He sighed unenthusiastically. She snuggled up next to him.

Charlie was 22. A college student. But in the summers, he lived at home with his parents. His parents were not the most responsible of people, to say the least. Adeline had lived next door for six years. She was 12, but very mature for her age...she could pass for his at least his peer once she started a conversation. Her parents were out of town that week, for a conference, so his parents had agreed to take care of her. But, as irresponsible as they were, they had just remembered they had a vacation planned from Thursday to the weekend and took off in the middle of the week, leaving Adeline alone with Charlie. It wasn't as if he couldn't take care of her himself...and it wasn't as if they didn't get along...she was damn near like a little sister to him. But it was, admittedly, a little weird being alone with her in such a big, empty feeling house. She usually just read, or watched TV, and every now and then they played cards...but he still wasn't used to the house being quiet, and him not being alone. It was awkward. And a little frustrating...can't get some secured privacy, time alone...well...and he wouldn't want her to walk in on something like that. Her parents wouldn't take well to that.

But here the two of them sat on the couch, she in the little tank top and shorts she slept in, leaned against his chest, holding onto his arm, watching late night TV.

"Aren't you a little young to be watching this...?" he commented, as a particularly raunchy joke became the focus of the scene.

"No..." she said defiantly. "I'm young, but I'm not naive...I watch this show all the time..."
She chuckled, eyes still transfixed on the screen.

He smiled. He knew her parents...they were probably oblivious to her late night habits. He'd caught her up several times, reading, drawing, getting a soda from the kitchen...impressed by her ability to sneak around like that at night.

Unaware, his hand had comfortably found itself resting on her softly curved hip. She didn't seem to mind. It had been a long night. A commercial for a late night hotline came on. Overly dolled up silicone pumped girls sang a siren like 900 number, imploring sexually frustrated men to pick up the phone for overpriced aural sex.

"God, I've seen those commercials for years...I wonder if anyone ever calls them." She remarked, none too phased.

Having not touched his porn stash, or himself, and having not gotten to be near his soon to be ex-girlfriend for almost a week, he could've been 30 seconds from giving into their commercialized siren cries and making that 5 cents a minute rip off.

"Hmm..." he struggled for something to appropriate and unawkward to say "Obviously, someone must, i-if they've been on for years, as you say, Ad..." he found himself unconsciously very subtly petting that shapely hip.

"Eh...I guess you're right. Or maybe those girls just work other jobs too..." She smirked and leaned a bit closer against him. Out of the corner of his eye, he found himself peeking into her loose black tank top, noticing her growing chest...just barely finding a nipple peeking underneath that cloth...his hand began to slide up just a little more. She shifted her weight around again as another useless late night TV show came on.

"Meh...I'm going to get a drink or something...see if you can find something else on, Chuck..." She sat up and smiled at him. "D'you want anything...?"

Yes. A few hours alone with my girlfriend, or at least alone time with some porn....

"I'll have a glass of ice water, I guess." He managed to say.

"Okieday." She turned and straightened up her clothing a little and sauntered off to the kitchen.

As she walked away, he found himself noticing that over those six years she'd lived next door, she'd grown a great pair of legs. And they had really started to make girls shorts short. Kids shouldn't dress like that, no, no...he was not a sexually frustrated pervert checking out what may as well have been his little sister, no, not at all...no...and he didn't think she was cute at all...right.

Look for something else on, right...like she said. He began to mindlessly flip through channels. The Spanish channel had some girls gyrating to endless Latin music. As usual. No premium cable, because the parents won't pay the damn bill, then we could be watching Cartoon Network, and he knew for a fact she likes Adult Swim, and Cowboy Bebop and you know Faye has really short shorts too...

And no, no you're not turned on by this little girl who you've known since she was in first grade and here she comes with your water dump it on yourself you damn perv.

The channel had ended up on one of those dating shows. Dear god...

Adeline smiled as she set the ice water on the coffee table in front of them, and sipped her own glass of milk. He watched her absentmindedly lick off the milk mustache. The white liquid dribbled for a moment off the corner of her lip, down her chin. She wiped it off slowly, looking back at the TV and licking her lips like nothing. Damn, she's good. He took a long drink of water.

"TV sucks, doesn't it? We already missed the Simpsons' reruns tonight..." She switched off the TV, sighing.

A little girl with good taste, indeed, she was. She wouldn't have been such a good little sister if he hadn't always thought so.

"You going to bed?" She asked.

Well, ya can't sleep now, he thought...awake, getting more awake in his other head...

"No, I guess not...you?"

"I told you..." she sipped the glass of milk "I can't sleep. So I'm trying a glass of milk." She grinned playfully. "It does a body good! And makes bones strong and healthy, and prevents osteoporosis! Got milk?" She chuckled.

"You have just recited every single milk endorsement I have seen in my ENTIRE life in 30 seconds, Ad. Impressive." He couldn't help but smile for her. She was so cute. Her brown eyes, her cupids bow lips, her petite figure and her subtle little smile...and he was proud of her for growing up so well. He pet her black-brown pigtails lovingly and kissed her forehead. It wasn't anything new, he'd even carried her around since she was just a little kidlet...but lately, since he'd been so busy with college, they hadn't had time to just stay up late nights and play video games like they had when his parents used to babysit her and then forget they had dinner plans...so he'd get stuck babysitting her anyway, and never got paid...and impromptu baby sitting is a lot to ask of a high school boy...and as his mind wandered, his hand did also slide down her back a little.

She laughed and edged out of his grasp amusedly. "22 years of milk ads, and aren't they effective now? I've hardly lived through all of them and I know 'em..." She took another gulp. "And I don't doubt they're true at all. I've never fractured anything..."

He just smiled, taking another sip of water. He noted in the back of his mind that the arc of her spine just felt so inviting...he hadn't held her for years....she's growing so fast, he realized.

"Y'know what, Adeline?"

"Yyyes, Mister Charles?" She giggled.

"We haven't played video games since I got back last semester..."

"And I can still kick your ass, I bet. I have my own console now...Got it for my birthday..."

"Oh please, I've told you all the games my roommates brought...I remain the champion, sis."

"Prove it." She smirked.

He paused, realizing there was a lapse in his memory. His roomates had royally fucked over his controllers, that's why they hadn't played since he'd come home.

"Er...actually...I think I'm just gonna go to bed..."

"Chicken...? Afraid a 12 year old little girl will usurp your title...?"

He sighed. He really would have wanted to play with her...any other time...but his mind was drifting, he hadn't had a good night, at all, and that dribble of milk she had just wiped off her chin really wasn't helping.

"No...but, back at school, my controllers really got screwed up...sorry, sis."

He called her 'sis' enough anyway, they may as well have been siblings, but right now he felt he really needed to just to remind himself she wouldn't be an outlet for his pent up desires.

The smile faded from her face. He cringed inwardly...that smile had always brightened his day.

"Oh...yeah...I think you told me in an e-mail...I guess I'll just go to sleep too." She yawned. "I think the milk is working..."

"You go get in bed, Ad, I'll take the glasses back to the sink."

"Thanks..." She downtroddenly proceeded to the spare room she was staying in, and quietly shut and locked the door behind her.

This really wasn't Charlie's night.

--

Part 2 in progress

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