When I pulled up to the apartment in my beater car, Danielle came down the stairs to greet me. Cherys waved hello from the front door on the second floor and went back inside after I waved back.

“Hey squirt." Danielle reached up and hugged me.

For some reason, the nickname had stopped bothering me. There was just something about that big sisterly love in the way she said it. "Hey

Dani."

“How're mom and dad?"

“They're fine." I let her go and took a deep breath, looking around.

"So? You here to help me move in?"

Danielle snorted. "Hell, no. You're a big boy. You can't have that much stuff in your car!" She laughed and then went back up the stairs empty-handed.

I grumbled loudly and then turned around to start unpacking. But by the time I got the first heavy suitcase out of the trunk, Danielle and

Cherys were both already fishing some of the Lighter items out of my backseat and carrying them up.

“Hurry up, squirt. There's a cold six-pack in the fridge and you're not getting any till this car is parked."

And so in the cold of January, I began my college career a quarter late.

The transition wasn't easy. All of my classmates already had a few months of experience under their belts. I'd missed out on the mass open-adjustment period, when all the freshmen were friendly with one another since cliques had yet to form. I'd missed out on the upper-classmen patience period, when they would willingly answer any dumb question a froshling asked because they knew the youngster didn't know any better.

Everyone else had their friends well established. I was the new guy and

I had to play catch-up. So in an instant, I'd gone from the top of the social pecking order to the lowliest outcast freshman. Not even football could save me this time. I'd already missed the Fall Quarter and with it the football season. No matter, I would have just been a walk-on anyways.

In retrospect, my emotional turmoil had a small silver Lining. I barely even noticed how I went from hometown big man on campus to lowly freshman at a big state University. I don't know how my ego would have reacted if I'd been paying attention.

Danielle and Cherys were my saviors, in more ways than one. At our new home, Danielle was constantly hovering over me, like a second mother.

Most guys would have hated it, especially little brothers. But I felt fragile enough inside that each time she checked in on me felt like a gentle touch of family love. I was alone often enough through self-imposed isolation and having her around reminded me that there were other people in this world.

Secondly, without her, I probably would have starved. At home, my mom constantly made sure I was fed. I had a habit of losing myself into video games and completely forgetting to eat. In our apartment,

Danielle was the master chef and ensured I took at least moderate care of myself. If she hadn't taken care of all the little details keeping me alive, I don't know how I would have ended up.

Cherys, meanwhile, bonded with me in a way I can't quite accurately describe. She treated me Like a younger sibling in some ways, as if I was filling the empty hole inside where her little sister used to be.

We talked as if we were family, without the verbal filters than unrelated people usually use between each other.

And thirdly, Danielle and Cherys were able to resurrect the physical, sexual part of me that had partially gone into hiding when I lost my favorite playmate.

Much in the same way I was a substitute to Cherys for her little sister, to me she was a substitute for my lost girlfriend. The physical resemblance was just the start. Cherys became much more casually physical around me, and I got a Lot more hugs and tender caresses on my arms or legs. Also, it was not uncommon for her to cuddle up to me on the sofa when we were watching TV, resting her head in the crook of my neck with my arm wrapped around her. If not for her satisfying my cravings for basic human affection, I would have been a Lot worse off.

And it was inevitable that Danielle and Cherys would return to their own physical intimacy. So once again I could hear them through the shared wall of our bedrooms.