As they entered the grocery, Christina suddenly realized that she and Andrei were still holding hands. She tried to let go of her older cousin's hand without it being too obvious, and said, "Thanks."

        Andrei only nodded, but said nothing. Christina had been clinging to him as though he was a human life preserver, and he had no idea why. Yet, that wasn't what was bothering him. He found that his hand was missing Christina's hand, a terrible revolt on his hand's part. His arm had also gotten into the act. It missed the feel of Christina's arm wrapped around it. Even worse, was Andrei's neck. At some point, it had grown accustomed to the tickle of Christina's hair as it blew in the wind. Andrei could still smell his cousin's perfume on his collar. It was weird.

        "Christina," Alek called from behind the counter, "Did you find your bags?"

        "Yes, Uncle Alek," Christina beamed.

        "Andrei," Alek asked, "That took all day? I could have used you in the store."

        Andrei squinted his eyes angrily, but before he could start yet another argument with his father, Christina said, "Andrei took me to get my suitcase first thing in the morning. He was the one who found it. It slid down the mountain in the rainstorm." She looked at Andrei without any hint of resentment and added, "He was nice enough to climb down and get it for me. After that, he took me out to lunch."

        Alek looked back at his son, nodding as if in approval. That only made Andrei feel worse about how he'd behaved that morning. "You are here now," he said gruffly, "So come help me with the deliveries."

        Alek went back towards the stock room with his son in tow. Christina saw that there weren't any customers, and asked, "Can I come too?"

        "Of course you can, Tina," Alek smiled.

        Christina followed the men into the back room, which turned out to be a small warehouse with rows of slanted shelves reaching up to the ceiling. The floor was raw concrete, and the temperature was a few degrees colder than the front room. Christina saw stacked cardboard boxes separated by wooden slats.

        Alek opened a loose box on an unfinished wooden table. He wrote a note into a small spiral bound notebook and pulled a large pickle jar out of the box. "Twelve," he called to his son.

        Andrei begrudgingly took the jar from his father's hands and scanned the shelves. He asked, "Where do these go again?"

        Christina searched the shelves and said, "Up there." She took the jar from Andrei and went over to a ladder that was installed in a track against the shelves. Rolling it into position, she climbed to a shelf containing a few spare jars of pickles that was similar to the one under her arm.

        "Tina," Alek said, "Be careful, that is heavy."

        "It's just one jar," she giggled.

        "How did you find that?" Andrei asked suspiciously.

        Christina turned around so that she was facing her cousin from the fourth rung of the ladder. Pointing at the shelves beside her, she told him, "It's easy. This is where the canned goods start. By the look of it, they are ordered by size, with the larger items on the bottom. Then the jars, boxed dry goods there ... Looks like perishables are on the other side ..."

        "That is right," Alek grinned as he inspected the next box.

        Andrei grabbed the box of pickles and carried it over to his cousin. "But how did you know that?" he asked.

        Christina explained, "I've spent the last six months supporting and debugging a distributed inventory system. My meeting on Friday- I'm going to help a company set up inventory for their regional distribution center."

        "That is very impressive, Tina," Alek called to his niece.

        Christina positively bloomed under her uncle's praise. Stepping down two rungs of the ladder, she held her hands out toward Andrei.

        Andrei scrunched his face as he handed her a jar out of the box. How important she thinks she is, Andrei thought. He watched his cousin as she went up the ladder with the heavy jar under her slender arm. He was sure she said all that just to make him look foolish in front of his father. Christina came back for a second jar which Andrei fed to her. Who the hell does she think she is, his mind seethed. What was her game? Why was she wearing blue panties?

        Andrei lost his train of thought as Christina returned for another jar. When she climbed back up, Andrei realized that he had a perfect view up her skirt. Blue, he thought dumbly as he felt a stirring in his pants. He stared up at the round cheeks that were deliciously wrapped in blue gauze. Delicate lace adorned the elastic that kissed the girl's thighs. Christina returned again and again for jars which Andrei mindlessly provided. Each time his eyes followed the curvature of Christina's long, bare legs to the azure panties and the spot between her thighs.

        Coming back down the ladder, Christina held out her hand and said, "Give it to me."

        "Give it to you?" Andrei repeated.

        "Yeah," Christina said, pointing to the last jar of pickles.

        "Right," Andrei coughed. He handed Christina the last jar and looked across the room at a stack of detergent. Of course, there were no panties over there, so he glanced back up Christina's skirt. He immediately turned away as though the sight of Christina's petite underside had burnt his eyes.

        Christina came back down and walked over to her uncle to see what was next. Andrei watched his cousin and checked out how her ass moved as she walked. He shouldn't be doing that. Christina was his cousin. Cousins' don't look at each others' asses. He was pretty sure it was against the law, or at least not well thought of. But, it was a pretty good ass. No, it was wrong. Christina was his cousin. That, and she looked a lot like his sister. That made it feel even more weird.

        Christina called Andrei over, straining as she pulled a large box of peanut butter jars to the edge of the table.

        "We've got thirty of these," she said, referring to the peanut butter. Pointing up the ladder to a high shelf, she said, "I'll get on top and you can handle the heavy lifting underneath."

        "Excuse me?" Andrei choked.

        "I think we work better as a team. I mean, I guess we're almost done, but I think we can get there faster if we do it together."

        Andrei stared at his cousin, wondering if she actually said that or if he was just hallucinating. "No, I can't do that," he said.

        Alek looked up from his ledger.

        Andrei said, "I've got to pick up Nina from school."

        "School is not out for another forty-five minutes," said Alek.

        Andrei took his keys from his pocket and said, "Yes, but Nina hates it when I'm late." He made a break for the door, leaving Christina and his father with puzzled looks.

        "Andrei is always full of excuses when it is time for restocking," Alek complained.

        "I don't think that's it," Christina sighed. "He just doesn't like me."

 

        Andrei returned an hour later with Nina. Normally, he dropped her off at home, but Nina insisted that she be taken to the store to spend time with her cousin. Alek and Christina had already finished putting away the new inventory, and Alek was showing Christina how to work the old fashioned cash register behind the counter. Christina was loving every moment of it.

        Nina and Christina spent the rest of the night helping the store's customers. Christina found that Nina took an even greater delight in introducing her to the patrons than Misha had done the day before. Andrei passed the time in the back room, safely outside his cousin's orbit. After the family closed the grocery store, they all rode home in the old green truck. Christina offered to squeeze into the old truck with Andrei, but he insisted on riding in the back.

        When they returned home, Misha stopped Christina as she came in the side door.

        "Christina," Misha said, "Would you like to help me cook tonight?"

        "Sure," Christina answered, "But I'm really not a very good cook."

        "Nonsense, child," Misha laughed, "You made an excellent breakfast this morning." Christina nodded, but Misha could tell the girl was unsure of herself. "Come," she insisted.

        "Can I help too, Mom?" Nina asked.

        Misha replied, "You should do your homework, Nina."

        Nina put down her book bag, taking out her math books and a spiral notebook. She normally did her homework in her room, but tonight she set up a makeshift workspace on the kitchen table. If she couldn't join in, she would at least watch.

        Misha cracked open the oven and directed her niece's attention to what was inside. Christina peeked into the oven and saw a chicken roasting in a shallow pan.

        "What should I do?" Christina asked.

        "You," Misha said as she gathered a bag of flour and a stick of butter, "Will make the gravy."

        Christina stared at the flour and the butter and failed to visualize how that magically became gravy. She said, "I don't know what to do."

        "I will show you," Misha grinned. She cut the stick of butter then dropped a portion of it into a saucepan on the stove. She turned up the heat, and Christina watched as the butter liquefied. "Now that the butter is melted," she instructed as she poured some flour into a measuring cup, "You whisk in the flour."

        "Whisk." Christina repeated. "Does that mean like, pour it in?"

        "No Tina, like this." Misha took a metal whisk off the counter and poured some of the flour into the melted butter. She showed Christina the proper wrist technique, then handed the girl the utensil.

        Christina took the whisk and imitated her aunt.

        "Very good," Misha encouraged.

        "Are you sure I'm doing it right?" Christina asked. "I don't want to ruin it."

        "You are doing fine, dear. Keep adding the flour until you have used it all."

        "Ok," Christina grimaced.

        "Relax, Tina. All the women in our family are excellent cooks."

        "And by that logic, I am too," she muttered.

        "Let it sit," Misha advised. "You must wait for it to combine." Once she was satisfied that the mixture was ready, she handed Christina a cup of chicken broth. She said, "Add this in, dear."

        Christina poured in a portion of the broth and swished it around violently in the pan. Some of the mixture spilled over the side and into the burner. The liquid crackled and hissed as it hit the open flame. Christina winced, "I'm sorry,"

        Misha took the cup from Christina. "It's alright Tina," she assured. "You must add it gradually." Misha poured the broth in slowly as she stirred the mixture with a wooden spoon. "Did your mother not teach you to cook?"

        Christina shook her head.

        Misha handed the cup and the spoon to Christina and made her try again. As Christina stirred, Misha sprinkled in some thyme, parsley, and peppercorns. Misha asked, "Why do you not still live with your Mother? Nineteen is very young for a girl to live on her own."

        Christina frowned and stared into the saucepan with sad eyes. "It's no big deal," she lied. "Things are just different in the city, I guess."

        Misha could tell that she was probing a sensitive topic and decided to let the girl be. She watched for a few minutes as Christina stirred. "That is enough," Misha smiled. "Now we let it simmer until it is ready." She motioned for her niece to sit down.

        Christina put down the spoon, going over to sit next to Nina. Looking over the girl's shoulder, she offered, "If you need any help with your ..." Christina examined Nina's notebook and asked, "Are you doing Trigonometry? I thought you were still in Junior High."

        Nina said," I am. I'm in advanced math." She motioned for Christina to lean closer and whispered, "I'm thinking of taking regular math next year."

        "Why would you do that?" Christina whispered.

        "Because Cindy says that guys don't like smart girls."

        "Well, that's just not true," Christina laughed. "Boys like girls, period. Is there a boy in particular you're worried about?"

        "Maybe ..." Nina grinned.

        "And I take it he's not in advanced math?"

        Nina shook her head as she checked to see whether her mother was listening.

        "Well Nina, I don't think you have to pretend you're not smart to get some boy to like you."

        "Listen to your cousin," Misha said. Had she turned around, the girls would have seen her wry grin.

        When the gravy was just about done, Misha showed Christina how to skim the leftover butter off the top. After she and her aunt finished preparing the chicken, Christina enjoyed another family meal with the Levchenkos. The fact that she had played a small role in its preparation only made it better. Andrei was no longer openly hostile, and she felt more relaxed than at any other point in her time with her relatives. They stayed late at the table, talking into the night. Christina listened to her aunt and uncle as they told her about Nina's and Andrei's childhoods. Christina added anecdotes from her own history, altering her gender where appropriate.

        After the evening had wound down, Andrei went to the barn to work. Alek relaxed in the living room and Nina went to her room to do finish her homework. Christina tied an apron around her waist and helped her aunt wash the dishes. She had a glow about her, and felt a contentment that she'd only known when her father was still alive. She felt as though she had a family again. She didn't even mind doing women's work in the kitchen. On the contrary, she savored the appreciative response it elicited in her aunt. She would gladly wash the dishes every night if she could just hold onto that feeling.

        Alek walked into the kitchen and kissed Christina on the cheek from behind. He then kissed his wife.

        "Thank you for helping your aunt," he told Christina.

        Christina blushed at her uncle's affection. "It's no problem at all, Uncle Alek. I like helping out."

        Alek smiled at the girl and then turned to his wife, "Misha, I am going to bed."

        "I will be along soon," Misha replied, "I just have to get Christina's clothes out of the dryer."

        When Alek left the kitchen, Misha descended the stairs to the basement as Christina happily stacked the dry plates and put them into the cabinets.

        Nina sneaked into the kitchen and tapped on Christina's shoulder. She whispered, "Do you think we can have our pajama party tonight?"

        "Oh I dunno," Christina stammered, "You have school tomorrow and-"

        "But you're not going to be here for much longer!" Nina looked up into her cousin's eyes, pouting.

        Christina felt very guilty. She didn't want to have anything to do with her new, girly sleepwear, but she wanted Nina to be happy. She'd grown so close to her very quickly. It was going to be hard on the both of them after Friday when Christina Chase would disappear forever.

        "What is this about a pajama party?" Misha asked with a sly grin as she put a basket containing Christina's clothes down on the floor.

        Nina said, "Christina bought us new pajamas yesterday."

        "She did, did she?" Misha grinned at her girls. "Well," she continued, picking the basket back up, "Let us go upstairs and see."

        Christina felt her throat run dry as the three of them ascended the stairs and went to Nina's room. Misha closed the door behind them and Nina pulled her green babydoll nightie out of a drawer and held it up.

        Misha gave Christina a look of mild disapproval and Christina gritted her teeth.

        Nina stripped all her clothes off and put on her new nightie. Christina had her eyes closed by the time Nina had pulled her panties up over her bottom.

        Misha walked over and stood behind her daughter. She placed her hands on Nina's shoulders, then looked Christina in the eyes. "It is a bit grown up for you, Nina," she said.

        Christina hung her head. She didn't want to disappoint her aunt.

        "But I suppose it will do for a pajama party," Misha added with a smirk.

        Christina raised her head in shock. She would have preferred to have been scolded.

        "Christina," Misha continued, "It is your turn now."

        "Excuse me?" Christina blurted.

        "Did you not buy one for yourself?" Misha said, getting into the spirit.

        "Um yeah ..."

        "I picked it out," said Nina enthusiastically.

        Misha said, "Let us see."

        Christina trembled as the three of them walked to the door of the large bedroom.

        "Uh ..." Christina fluttered, "I'll be right back." Christina leaped into the bedroom and closed the door. Her mind raced as she pulled out her yellow satin chemise. Holding it in front of her by its spaghetti straps, she wondered how she was going to pull this off.

        She stripped quickly down to her underwear. She couldn't wear her bra with the chemise, but if she took off her bra she wouldn't have the illusion of breasts. Placing her chemise on the bed, she ruffled frantically through her underwear drawer. She pulled out a strapless bra- it had to work. Removing her bra and panties, she put on the bra, shoved her foam breasts into the cups, then faced the chemise.

        Christina pulled the chemise over her head and wiggled it down over her body, then pulled the matching panties up, tucking herself between her legs.

        Christina studied herself in the mirror. The yellow chemise had a square top, wreathed in light green lace. There was a long, dainty bow where the right shoulder strap met the top of the chemise. Christina tugged at the bottom, trying to make it longer, but it stopped merely inches bellow her butt. The bottom of the chemise had a tiny border of light green lace that continued up the slit on the left side, showing off her outer thigh. Her chemise exposed her frail shoulders and her long, thin arms.

        Her fake breasts sensuously filled out the front, which was thankfully just high enough to obscure her lack of cleavage. Turning, she looked at herself from behind in the mirror. The chemise barely covered her tight bottom, and put her long, silky legs completely on display.

        Christina stared at her reflection. She was a knockout, wearing clothes that would drive any man crazy. As she posed for herself in the mirror with her hands on her hips, she tried holding her hair up and looked into the mirror with seductive eyes.

        "Now blow a kiss!" Misha called from behind.

        Christina spun around on her heels and saw Nina and Misha standing in the doorway. Misha was dressed in simple cotton pajamas and a robe, and held a slinky silk robe in her hand. Nina was giggling happily in her babydoll and a robe of her own.

        Christina blushed furiously as she walked over to her aunt, and gratefully accepted the robe, which she tied tightly around herself. Misha led the girls downstairs to the kitchen, where she took out three bowls and produced a tub of chocolate ice cream from the freezer. The three of them laughed and chatted as they sat together around the table.

        "You know Nina, you are still too young to wear clothes like that," said Misha.

        "Mom, I'm fifteen years old!" Nina rebuked.

        "Yes, and you are still my little girl."

        Nina wrinkled her nose in consternation and turned to her cousin. "I am not even allowed to date yet," she complained.

        Christina giggled and stroked Nina's long, brown hair. She reflected on her encounter in the electronics store. "Listen to your mother, the men in this town are trouble."

        "Do you have a man in your life?" Misha asked as she placed a spoon full of ice cream in her mouth.

        "A man?" Christina stammered.

        Nina answered for her cousin before she could recover from the question. "She was dating a boy named Aaron, but they broke up."

        Christina was forced to reiterate her relationship with Amy to her aunt, making sure to alter the story to make Amy the man, and herself the girl, and leaving out the part where they were living together.

        This prompted Misha to lecture the girls on the motivations of men and their responsibility to remain pure. Both of the girls blushed as Misha schooled them.

        "Christina, have you ever been with a man?" Misha asked plainly.

        Christina's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. "No!" she shrieked in indignation.

        Misha smiled and patted Christina on the hand. "See Nina? Your cousin is waiting until she is married."

        Nina nodded. Christina didn't mind being a role model to her cousin, but being an example of maidenly virtue was not a role she'd ever expected to find herself playing.

        Rebounding from her humiliation, she asked her aunt how she could fend off the advances and stares of men. She listened intently as her aunt imparted her motherly advice. Nineteen years of being a boy had done nothing to prepare Christina for even a single day as a girl. She was grateful for all her aunt's recommendations on how to handle the opposite sex.

        The girls stopped talking when they heard the sounds of shambling footsteps on the stairs. They watched as Andrei stumbled into the kitchen. He stood there in a sleeveless shirt and boxer shorts. His muscled frame filled the entire doorway.

        "So this is all the noise," he said groggily.

        "Andrei," Misha said kindly to her only son, "We did not mean to wake you."

        Andrei looked around and saw that the three were engaged in some sort of female ritual. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and yawned," That's alright. I didn't mean to interrupt."

        "Can I get you anything dear?" Misha asked.

        "Uh ..." Andrei pondered. "A glass of water would be great."

        Christina was closer to the sink than her aunt, so she motioned for Misha to stay seated. "I'll get it," she said as she glided to the cabinet and removed a glass. Filling the glass, she took it to her cousin.

        Andrei snapped out of his stupor when he saw Christina's chemise through the open robe that floated around her shoulders. He was instantly wide awake. His younger cousin was the most sexy girl he'd ever seen, and currently the most undressed girl he'd ever seen. He spun around and left the room before Christina could even hold out his glass.

        "What's his problem?" Nina balked.

        Misha held her daughter's hand and said, "Sometimes people, even cousins, have a hard time getting along."

        Christina sighed. She'd thought that she and Andrei had worked their problems out, or at least had come to an understanding. She pursued him into the living room. "Hey," Christina called to him.

        Andrei stopped with his back to his cousin.

        Christina called again, "Hey," but Andrei refused to face her.

        Christina put the glass of water down and walked around Andrei to face him. Andrei again turned around, refusing to face her.

        Christina frowned and said in a wounded voice, "I thought maybe you weren't mad at me anymore."

        Andrei gruffly replied, "I am not angry with you."

        "Then why won't you even look at me?"

        Andrei stood in silence with his back to his cousin.

        Christina was tired of her cousin's moodiness. Steph was right about him, and she wasn't going to take it anymore. She placed her tiny hands on Andrei's broad shoulders and forced him to face her. As Andrei turned around, Christina felt something brush up against her tummy. She looked into Andrei's face to see whether he was angry. He wasn't angry; he was mortified.

        Christina confusedly asked, "What's that ..." but never finished the question. She looked down and saw that Andrei's member had swollen to gargantuan proportions and was tenting out the front of his boxers. The beast was standing at attention and poking into Christina's stomach! She looked up at her cousin in absolute horror.

        Andrei stood there, paralyzed in shame.

        Christina could feel the weight of the monster pressing into her. Did it move? She thought she felt it move! Christina took a step back and broke the connection from Andrei's throbbing manhood. She was flabbergasted and repulsed.

        Andrei forced his body to turn around. Once he was free from Christina's gaze, he ran up the stairs.

        Misha walked into the living room and hung her arm around Christina's shoulder. "Andrei likes you," she consoled, "He just doesn't know how to show it."

        Christina turned to her aunt and said, "I don't think he's having problems showing it anymore."

        Nina came in and told her mother, "Everything is cleaned up."

        "Good, Nina." She took both her girls by their hands and led them to the stairs. "Off to bed with you," she said. "It's very late, and tomorrow is a school day for you, young lady."

        Nina muttered, "Yes Mom," while Christina said, "Yes, Aunt Misha."

        Misha kissed her girls on their cheeks and sent them up to bed. Christina held Nina's hand and looked cautiously at Andrei's closed door as they rounded the top of the staircase. The two of them entered the bathroom and brushed their teeth and removed their makeup. Christina averted her eyes yet again when Nina pulled down her panties and sat on the toilet. That was exactly how this whole mess got started. Nina wiped herself and asked, "Don't you have to go?"

        Christina blushed and nodded. She sat down on the toilet first, then slid off her panties. She had trouble relaxing in front of her cousin, but she was able to go when Nina became distracted, posing for herself in the mirror. Christina wiped between her legs without getting up and slid her panties back up, tucking herself while Nina wasn't looking. Christina stood up, and she and Nina left the bathroom.

        Nina did not go to her own room, instead she skipped into the large bedroom at the end of the hall. Christina followed and saw that Nina was already getting into bed.

        Christina sighed before she took off her robe and climbed into bed next to her cousin.

        Nina whispered, "I'm really happy you don't have to leave yet."

        As Christina put her arm around Nina and relaxed, she smiled, saying, "I'm glad, too."

---

Edited into coherence by Holly H. Hart.
Hope you enjoyed it. If you liked it or hated it, please leave a tasty comment.
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