"So, what's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Sex with her. What's it like to fuck her?"

Silence for a moment, Then another moment. He shifted uncomfortably beneath his 20-year-old skin.

"She's your sister, man," he said, feigning confidence, trying to make his outsides appear as collected as he wished his insides were.

We had just met, but I didn't care. I dispensed with formalities. She was asleep upstairs, he was a guest in my parents home, and I was the older brother. He was cornered and alone, and I was the older brother. Cliche, yes. But satisfying, too.

I really had no desire to find out what it was like to fuck my sister--that could lead to unwanted mental scars from vicarious thrills--I only wanted to be impudent for the sake of impudence. The rare opportunity to interrogate a nervous boyfriend on his first encounter with the fam' had presented itself... and I moved like a circling vulture.

"So you are fucking her, then."

A twinge of anger in my voice (But of course I wasn't angry, why would I be angry? I didn't care that they had slept together, I couldn't care less if they had fucked one thousand and one times on my parents mattress sans condoms. What stake had I in the love life of my sister? She was free to do what she wanted--and I was free to watch this young house guest writhe in pain with every additional word).

The lights were dim, so I couldn't discern the reaction on his face clearly. I left him that comfort, darkness, though I flirted with the idea of flipping the lights on and bathing the cold basement room in pornographically clear fluorescence. Then I could have seen the sweat drip from his forehead.

"No, I'm not, I mean, that's not what I meant."

To be in his position, oh, I couldn't even imagine. I tried to imagine, I had dreamt about it: meeting her family, meeting the older brother, meeting the father. Basically getting grilled by the two of them until you could smell the shit in the air (Coming from my pants, of course). Those were just dreams, though. This was his reality, and my nostrils were beginning to pick up a pungent aroma... enough already.

"I'm just fucking with you, man."