I didn't mean for it to, but that night established a precedent for the ones that followed.
Three or four nights a week, I would have one or both of them sharing my bed; sometimes they wanted a little mutual pleasuring, other times it was simply for the comfort and reassurance of having another person next to them… I was fine with either, and it was always their call which it was. After school started, the girls were drawn the rest of the way out of their doldrums by the various activities they were involved in. Both remained better-behaved that nearly all the other kids their ages, and about the only time I had to "get after" them was for perfectly normal teenage girl things — letting their room get too messy, not wanting to do a particular homework assignment, and that kind of thing; but even those didn't happen often. For their part, they readily assumed the kinds of duties that they'd had when living with Andrea — cleaning up after supper, doing laundry, and helping with housework.
The school knew (approximately) what had happened, and we got a visit from one of the school counselors to make sure everything was on the up-and-up; as I'd figured, the girls having the master bedroom and bathroom immediately settled any concerns — just as it did when I got visits from two of Andreas relatives in the months that followed. Both told me that if Andrea had asked, they'd have taken the girls in, though it would have been something of a challenge for them; after seeing how Emma and Gail were living, and how happy they were, both relatives admitted that it probably was best that they were staying with me.
It was a Thursday night, and I'd let the girls stay up later than usual because of a school holiday the next day. Both had left to go to bed while I stayed up a little longer — but not by much.
When I went into my bedroom, I found Emma waiting for me; they never said anything to me about whether or not one or both of them would be spending the night, so it wasn't a major surprise to find her there. I got undressed and into bed with her, and we were spooning with her in front of me and my arm around her when I heard her ask "Gary? Would… would you make love with me?"
I'd completely forgotten about any plans or designs on them after Andrea had asked me to take care of them, so hearing her ask me that was totally unexpected.
After scooting back a little, and then getting her to roll over onto her back so I could look at her, I asked "Is that what you really want, Em? Are you sure?"
Her expression was solemn, and her gaze steady, when she answered "Yeah, I'm really sure that's what I want."
"I'm sorry, dear, but… why?"
Her voice was calm as she told me "Because I've realized how much you love me, and how much I love you. When they were here, Uncle Ed and Aunt Betty both told me and Gail that they would have taken us in if Mom had asked them to, so I know you didn't have to do it — and that means that you really do love us, even more than you say you do. This bedroom isn't that much smaller that ours is, so we could have stayed in here; but you gave us that one so we'd have a little more room, and so we'd have our own bathroom. The bathroom isn't that big of a deal, really, except that with me and Gail having one to ourselves like that, people don't bother us about being here — they see that we have our own bathroom and everything, and they just figure nothing is going on with you and us, and leave me and Gail alone about it. You didn't have to get new beds for me and her, but you did, so we'd have even more room. When we've had to get clothes or stuff for school, or anything like that, you spend more money on us than Mom did; I know Mom didn't have as much, but that doesn't mean that you have to spend as much as you do. And… and now that we're staying here with you all the time, I see how you treat us different than Mom did. She never BEAT us or yelled at us or anything like that, but you're still nicer to be with than she was — I'm kinda starting to understand what she meant when she told us that she hadn't been raising us as good as she should have, now. I'm not glad she's gone, 'cause she's still Mom, but it IS nicer being with you than it was her. So, because of all the stuff you do for me -
and Gail, too — I know how much you love us, because you take such good care of us. And that makes me love YOU, too, even more than I did before. When you talked to me about when I stop being a virgin, you told me that it should be something special, and that I should make sure it's with someone I care about, and that you wanted me to be happy about it afterwards. I've really, really thought about it, and what I want is to be with you first — because of how much I love you, and you love me; and I know it will be special with you, so I'm happy after."
Looking into her eyes, I could see that she meant every word she'd said, and was sincere about why she wanted to give herself to me that way. Still, it took a couple of seconds for me to ask
"Aren't you afraid it's going to hurt? I'm a grown man, and you didn't turn fifteen until not so long ago. And what about the chance that I might get you pregnant? I don't think either one of us wants that!"
"I know you wouldn't hurt me on purpose, Gary — you'd even try to make the hurt as small as you could, so I know that it'll hurt as little with you as it ever will. And I don't have to worry about getting pregnant; before she left, Mom took me and Gail in to see her doctor. They talked about it, and after he did some tests, he started both of us on birth control. Mom said that if you ever asked about it, I should tell you that you were right, and that she took us in so that you wouldn't have to explain anything to anybody."
Neither of them had ever said anything to me, and the religious nuts in our area had passed a law requiring parents to be notified of any birth control prescriptions; I hadn't gotten any calls from any pharmacies, so I couldn't figure out how they were being protected. I finally came out and asked "What kind of birth control are you and Gail using, Em? I should have gotten a phone call or something if you were on birth control pills."
"Oh, the doctor told Mom about something new he called Northplant? Norplan? Something like that, anyway. He made this tiny little cut, and put these little sticks under the skin. They're right here, on the inside of my arm. He said that because they work different than pills, they wouldn't do anything to mess up us going through puberty, and that they'll last, like, five years."
Turning on the light, I had her show me; about halfway up the inside of her upper arm, I could see where a small incision had been made. When she pulled the skin taut, I could just barely make out the shapes of the "sticks" she'd said were inserted. With the evidence there in front of me, I couldn't doubt that Andrea really had taken them in, and that they weren't going to get pregnant. Still, I resolved that I was going to find out the particulars of what she was talking about the next morning; it seemed prudent to know what she was using, and how it might affect her. Until then, I still had her naked and nubile body stretched out in front of me.
Looking down at her, I saw that she was still waiting for my answer to her original question -
would I make love with her? Emma was still easily as lovely and sexy as she'd been when I first began thinking about being intimate with her, and as I looked into her face and eyes, I realized that what I felt for her and Gail had gone from simple lust and affection to actually loving them… the kind of love that made me want to take care of them, and protect them against being hurt by the world, and all the rest. She'd said that she knew that I would try to avoid hurting her if we made love, and I knew that was true — and that made it just as certain that being deflowered by me would cause her the least amount of pain possible. She wanted to give herself to me because of what I meant to her; knowing how much I cared for her, and cherished her, I knew that if I was the one she was with first, it would be special for her, and that I would make her happy about it when it was over.