He started to smell things, the leaves around him seemed thick with a scent of decay. The smell of the earth filled his nostrils, but not the dirt of ...ome, but a rotting smell more like the compost pile his mother kept and spread on her garden. He was hot, the air was hot and almost seemed full of steam. His mother’s garden was small, but he loved helping her, and loved the vegetables she grew, and the juicy sweet cherry tomatoes. In the fall she would take a cutting and put it in a jar, placed. “It is big.”I reached for the covers and pulled them over my lewdness. She gave me a playful pout and a wink as she stood and walked out. I fell back on my pillow with a deep breath. Shaking my head as I swung my feet off the bed and sat on the edge. What the hell, I thought as I pulled my joggers. She is my cousin, and way younger than me. What the hell was I thinking?I rubbed my hand over my belly and felt the dried semen flake away. I shook my head as I walked to the bathroom for a shower.. “Are you high?” he asked as his sister closed her door."No!" Deana said. "I only tried weed once, and after I finished laughing at everything and nothing, I was so paranoid I couldn't stand to be in the same room with myself.”“Then why are you wearing that, and only that? It's so obvious there isn't anything under that shirt. I saw your—”"No you didn't," Deana said. "Besides, who else is gonna know?"“Um, well, I saw your goodies, and your nipples are—Mm, never mind, but you better hope Mom. “I’m sorry. I never meant for my burdens to--”“No. Stop. It’s okay.” She took a step back to maintain distance between us and also held up both hands. “It’s alright. I’m not mad at you. You’re being honest, and I appreciate that. You’ve shared some pretty intimate details of what’s going on in your life, and I’m glad you think enough of me as a person to do that. It’s good that I know where I stand with you. I didn’t sleep with you that first night intending for us to fall in love with each.