For Love of a Brother Ch. 02

With her parents blessing, Serena invited Sergei to their house for Thanksgiving, but he declined. He felt it would be extremely awkward for him since they had been dating for such a short amount of time. Serena argued with him about it, especially since he wasn't going home to Springfield, but finally gave up when she realized how strong he felt about it.

They had gotten closer in the time since their first date and Serena learned little bits about him almost daily, but it was going very slowly between them. That was okay with her because she knew the absolute worst thing to do with Sergei was to rush him into anything. Truthfully, she was quite content with the speed of their relationship and didn't wish for it to get serious anytime soon. They studied together nightly and it was rare when Christy would find her in their room after supper.

He was doing his best when it came to dating Serena and she appreciated his effort. She knew his parents warped ideas of love influenced him at times, but he tried very hard to overcome all of those learned traits. When he did lapse into indifference, Serena would gently remind him and he would change immediately. There was no way he wanted to be his father's son and he had to change if their relationship was to survive. After a few weeks, the times became so infrequent that Serena became surprised when it did happen.

Thanksgiving turned out to be a great time for the Burleson's. Being home for a few days made Serena realize how much she truly missed being around her family every day. She missed talking to her mom and dad whenever she felt like it and she missed her and Andy's late night talks. She made up for it as best she could while she was home. She even went out with Andy and Jenny a few times, whether it was going to the movies or just hanging out together. Once it became time for her to go back to school, the sadness returned all over again. However, she knew Christmas break was right around the corner and winter exams and Sergei would keep her occupied until then.

She was pleasantly surprised at how much she was looking forward to seeing Sergei again. Even though being with her family for a few days was great, she did miss him and wondered how he was doing. He hadn't gone home for the break, but that wasn't an unusual thing for him. He had been on his own since the summer of his high school graduation and he would visit his parents periodically, but painful holiday memories made him reluctant to visit during those times. Even the times he did visit were almost always very short, and he left before they got on each others nerves and the yelling started. He had no other siblings and just a smattering of cousins scattered here and there.

Serena was also glad to see Christy again. She was becoming almost as close to her as she and Jenny. Christy was starting to see what Serena saw in Sergei and was giving advice and counseling to her whenever things in their relationship puzzled her. It was a disappointment, but Serena was still unable to find Prince Charming for her, although it wasn't from lack of effort on her part. She suggested a couple of guys she knew to Christy, but she wasn't interested in any of them.

Serena saw Sergei the first Monday night in the library after she came back from break. Alone and at a corner table with his back to everyone, he didn't notice her behind him until she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him lightly.

His head turned quickly in her direction and he smiled broadly. As soon as she left the campus to go home, he regretted not taking her up on her offer to come for Thanksgiving dinner. Even if was awkward, he thought, it was better than being alone. But, he caught up on some much needed studying and that was a good thing. If he wanted to get into a good med school, he had to get straight A's. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

They didn't speak, but his smile spoke volumes to her. She knew he missed her as much as she did him and that comforted her. After she got settled in a nearby chair, they went about their studying.

They finished early that night, partly because it was the first day of classes, but mostly because they wanted some time to themselves to talk.

"I missed you," he said as they walked to the student union. His arm was around her shoulder holding her close. "I should have come to dinner when you asked."

"I missed you, too," she replied as she looked up to his face. "I thought about you quite a bit. I wish you would have come."

"Anyway, I got some studying in and got caught up in everything I needed to. With exams coming up, I can't afford to get behind inanything." He breathed in the cold air as the wind picked up a bit. He looked back at her and was very glad she was back on campus.

They sat down in one of the lounges and talked for a long time. For the first time in their relationship, Serena noted that Sergei's attention was focused on her the entire time, a breakthrough she wasn't expecting. His steel-blue eyes watched her every move, dancing across her face and taking in her features. For the first time in his life, he was really trying to get to know someone and let that person inside his personal being. Admittedly, it was hard for him to fathom, but he was starting to care for Serena in a way he never thought possible and he hoped she was feeling the same about him.

He walked her to her dorm as was his custom and they were arm in arm on that frigid night. Thinking back to when he manhandled Mark, she no longer feared he wouldn't be able to defend her. Serena felt safe and secure beside him with their arms linked. They walked slowly and leisurely, almost strolling through the blustery winds that swept across the campus.

"Do you want to come up for a minute?" she asked when they reached the entrance. "I know Christy won't mind."

"No, that's okay," he replied, "it's getting late and I have an early class tomorrow."

"Well, I'll let you go, then," Serena said. She didn't want him to go so soon, but she knew how important his studies were to him. He was one of the most intense persons she knew when it came to his schoolwork. It was something she really admired about him.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

"Gee, I don't know," she teased. "I don't know if I'll have any homework to do tomorrow."

"Right," he replied.

Serena took his long, lean hand in hers. "I really did miss you," she said earnestly.

"I know you did. "I missed you, too."

"I'll see you tomorrow. I'm sure I can did up some homework fromsomewhere," she laughed.

Sergei laughed along with her. He liked her sense of humor. It was something that was grossly lacking in his life up until then. He squeezed her hand gently before bending down and kissing her lightly on her cheek. He got a whiff of her light fragrance, immediately fell in love with it, and committed it to memory. He felt like keeping his nose there forever, but he thought better of it.

Serena looked at him in surprise. "Why Sergei, I never knew you had that in you." She smiled before she moved forward and kissed his rough, stubble-filled face. It scratched her lips slightly, but she didn't care. They looked at each other briefly, smiling, before Serena turned and went inside.

* * * * *

Andy continued his workout regimen throughout the late fall as he prepared himself for the baseball tryouts that were approaching within the next few months. He weighed about ten pounds more than what he did before he became sick and he attributed that to his normal growth pattern in the past year and his weight training. Jenny continued to join him in the basement for the workouts and she was gaining strength as well. She looked leaner in the middle, but toned everywhere else. It was hard for Andy to concentrate on the weights whenever she was around, but he always wanted her there with him, distraction or not. He always wanted her with him. Sure, they had disagreements about things, but they were never truly angry with each other. Andy knew how lucky he was to have her as his girlfriend, his best friend besides Serena, so being angry with her for whatever reason made no sense to him.

As he approached his six month anniversary of his transplant, his chemistry readings continued to stay in the normal range and Dr. Venkata was pleased with his progress. His blood drawings were cut back to once a month and Andy was delighted with this small victory. The doctor still cautioned him about his workouts, telling him not to over lift and strain himself, but to try more for toning instead of bulk. This is what Andy wanted to do anyway. He did not have a big frame, so bulking never entered his mind. Besides, playing second base and shortstop required speed and agility. He was now 5'9" and 170 pounds and he felt better about himself than he had in years. He couldn't wait for the tryouts to start to see how far he had progressed. He had only one year left of high school baseball and he wanted to make the best of it.

Seeing Serena again during Thanksgiving break was great for him. Like his sister, he really missed their talks together. He also missed her waking him up in the morning. His mother did that now, which meant him getting up earlier than he was used to, but he still hated alarm clocks and this was the only solution. He also missed driving to school with her, bantering with her in the morning and afternoon. Although writing to and receiving letters from her was the next best thing, he became depressed at times and wished she was home permanently. He was almost jealous of Sergei, him being the male person in her life now. Andy was truly happy for her even though she downplayed his importance in her life. Andy knew his sister very well and he could sense how much she really liked him.

As Christmas approached, Andy faced a dilemma as to what to get Jenny for a gift. He wasn't sure if he should keep it light with clothes or books, or go serious with jewelry of some sort. He wasn't going to give her an engagement ring or anything like it, but he wanted to buy her something special that would have a real significance to it. He asked his mom for her opinion and she thought a ring was much too serious and thought maybe a necklace with a special charm would be more in line. Andy tended to agree with her on this one, but he had already given her a necklace for her birthday.

After several days of shopping, he finally decided upon a bracelet with many charms on it. There was a heart, a baseball, and other ones denoting her mom, dad, and sister. His mom thought it was perfect and Andy thought so, too. He also bought her a blue sweater that she had pointed out to him a few weeks prior.

Before they had their break, Andy and Jenny went to a Christmas dance held in the school gym. As they were driving to the school, Andy laughed to himself as he thought back to their prom, wondering if there would be a repeat performance at Jenny's grandparent's house.

Jenny noticed the wry smile on his face. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Just thinking," he answered.

"About?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about when we went to your grandparent's house after the prom." He looked over at her. "I don't know. The dance reminded me of it."

"I wish we could go there, but they're home," Jenny replied. "But," her voice getting excited, "they're talking about going to Florida sometime next month and I know they'll want me to take care of the house. Hint, hint." She winked at him and raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Andy smiled as he knew exactly what she was talking about. "Do you think you might need some help at their house?"

Jenny laughed. "Oh, I think I'll need your help at least a couple of times!" The thought of them being alone again, being naked and making love to each other sent shivers through her. She always knew their first time together would never be enough. Jenny really wanted to feel him inside her again to feel the closeness they shared.

The dance was casual dress and Jenny was wearing a loose fitting skirt and blouse, while Andy wore dress pants, shirt, and a sweater. The gym wasn't very crowded with perhaps only a hundred couples or so, but it was very nice nonetheless. They danced all of the slow dances and Jenny even persuaded Andy to try some of the faster ones as well. They left while it still had about an hour to go. Jenny had to work the next morning and she wanted some time alone with Andy before she had to go to bed.

When they got back to her house, it was only about nine-thirty and her parents and sister were still up watching TV. They excused themselves and went down to the basement to listen to the stereo. Jenny didn't want to hear anything soft that evening, so she found some Black Sabbath to listen to. Andy didn't mind and enjoyed listening to hard rock music once in a while. She didn't turn it up loud like she normally did in her room. Jenny knew they'd be kissing and maybe fooling around some and she wanted to be able to hear Melissa should she decide to interrupt.

Jenny settled next to him on the sofa as he held her close. He could never get enough of her scent as he put his nose near her neck and inhaled. "I've always loved that perfume," he murmured.

"Why do you think I always wear it?"

Andy merely shrugged and kept his nose there. Before long, though, he began nuzzling her neck with soft kisses, something he knew she loved. Jenny sighed happily and pushed her hair back for him. Soon, their lips met and they began loving each other as they had done so many times before. Jenny let him slip one hand inside her bra and loved the feel of his warm hand against her breast. She began to get moist as his finger brushed against her nipple, teasing her and making her squirm. Abruptly, she pulled away and stood up, leaving him confused and thinking he did something wrong.

"I'll be right back," she said mischievously and went to the darkened portion of the basement. She returned seconds later with a wide grin plastered across her face. She walked toward him and tossed something in his direction. He caught it neatly and looked at his hand which contained her white cotton panties, slightly damp from her excitement.

Andy's jaw dropped as he touched her juices on the soft cloth. He brought the panties to his nose and sniffed them. The scent was alluring and exotic and it was as he remembered when they made love.

Jenny giggled lightly and plopped down on the sofa next to him. She pulled up her skirt to her waist and once again, his eyes were treated to the wondrous beauty of her sex. She had trimmed her hair since the first time and Andy found it to be sexier. He could plainly see her hooded clitoris and he reached down to touch it. Jenny shuddered from his touch and opened her legs slightly. She turned her face to him and they began kissing as his hand went further down and found her slit, which was slick and slippery. He started to stimulate her clit with his forefinger by rubbing it in a circular motion. Jenny squirmed and moaned as he was hitting a good spot.

Just when it was starting to feel really good, she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps coming to the basement door. She straightened up quickly as Andy took his hand away and then smoothed her skirt down to her knees. Andy had her panties in his hand and looked at her in horror, not knowing what to do with it. The basement door opened and footsteps could be heard coming down. At the last second, he put the panties under his sweater and Jenny settled against his shoulder as if nothing was happening.

"Hey guys," Angie said as she got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey mom," Jenny said, trying to keep from grinning.

"I just need to get a nightgown." Angie flipped on the light to the laundry room and came back with her nightgown. "I'm going to bed," she said as she turned off the light. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, mom," Jenny replied.

"Goodnight, Angie," Andy said.

Angie went back up the stairs and closed the door behind her. Jenny collapsed in stifled laughter against Andy's chest as he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Geez, that was close," he sighed. He hugged her to him as she continued to laugh softly.

"Well, so much for that!" she said as she straightened up. "Damn, I wish she hadn't come down. You were hitting a great spot."

Andy's hand started to go towards her thigh, but Jenny tapped his hand. "No, no, lover boy. No more tonight. That was too close for comfort." Her inner thighs were still tingling and she knew she would have to finish what he started when she went to bed. Reluctantly, he pulled his hand back.

They sat back and listened to the rest of the music, kissing and snuggling as they did. Later, she walked him to the door. Everyone else had gone to bed and she should have been in bed already, but she just couldn't let him go.

"I had a great time," she said as she smiled at him.

"I'm glad," he replied. "I did, too, except for a few harrowing seconds there," he chuckled.

"By the way, could I have them back?"

"Have what back?"

"My underwear," she whispered with her hand over her mouth as she tried to keep from laughing.

"Damn, I forgot it was still there." He reached under his sweater, pulled them out and handed them to her. "Maybe we can do it again next time."

"I don't know," Jenny said, "that scared the crap out of me. Maybe we should wait until grandma and grandpa go to Florida."

Andy didn't want to wait that long, but what choice did he have? "Yeah, I guess we'll have to wait."

Andy left a few minutes later. True to her thoughts while in bed, she thought of him and wished he was there. Laying under the covers with her legs spread wide, she played with herself until she came to a nice, satisfying climax.

* * * * *

Christmas came and went as Serena stayed at home for a week before heading back for the next semester. Softball practice would be starting soon, much sooner than they ever did in high school. Their first game would be in the first week of February and they would play four to five games a week until May, with almost all of them being on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.. Depending upon how well they played, the team might be playing upwards of sixty games. The most she ever played in high school was nineteen. Serena knew it would be a test of her physical and mental strengths to be able to play that much and at the high level that she expected of herself. They would be traveling for most of their first two months of the season into the warmer regions of the States, being how cold and snowy February and March could be in Bloomington. Her family hadn't traveled much except for a family vacation once in a while and Serena was looking forward to seeing some of the country.

She had met most of her teammates and she found out there would be five total outfielders on the roster; two seniors, two juniors, and herself. She knew she could play well enough to earn a starting position. From what she had read and heard about Hoosier softball, the outfield was not one of their strongest assets the previous season. But she was taking nothing for granted and would play as hard as she could in order to earn a starting job. Unknown to her, Coach Sue Griffin had already penciled her in as the starting center fielder and had seen enough of her hitting to place her in the fourth position in the batting order. The coach felt she could have started for her team the previous year when she was still in high school. Sue felt blessed that Serena wanted to stay close to home and wanted to come to Indiana. Having one of the best high school softball players in the country literally fall into her lap didn't happen every day.

One thing Serena would have to get used to was the juggling of her class schedule, studying, and playing ball. Her time with Sergei would be severely curtailed on the weekends and that disappointed her. Having a boyfriend was something she really hadn't counted on when she arrived at I.U., but it happened and she was happy because if it. Now, she just had to find a way to throw him into the mix and be able to do everything else.