Razor's Edge of Love

Disclaimer: This is a complete work of my own original work and fiction.

Author's Note: Two siblings in love basically sums this up, I guess.


Prologue:

"Come on, you've stalled long enough," tall, muscular and quite attractive twenty-three year old John Franklin said to himself as he climbed out of his black sports car and made his way into the mall.

It was a week away from his younger sister's eighteenth birthday and he'd been racking his brain for weeks trying to decide on something for her.

First he passed a jewelry store and when he saw a display of watches in one of the small windows, he could only mutter, "Right, just tell Julie I want to spend each second with her. Don't think so."

Next was a toy store, "If she were five I wouldn't be having these problems."

And then a lingerie store, "Now that's a joke. But then, she does like pink..." He shook his head kept walking.

He didn't even bother to glance into the music store, "In this state she'd figure it out in no time with what I'd choose. Come on, think." Then it occurred to him to look at the mall's map in one of the large standing displays to get a better idea of where he should be looking.

His brown eyes first fell on the column of teen jewelry shops. "If I'm getting her jewelry, it's going to be real," he muttered as he kept looking over the map. "Screw it," he said next as he made his way to the jewelry store closest to him.

His heart was on the verge of racing as he looked in the large glass displays. Not only because of the prices, but because he was afraid of getting something that would make her realize his somewhat recent attraction towards her immediately.

"Can I help you, Sir?" the man behind the counter asked him.

"My sister's birthday's in a week and I'm lost on what to get her," he admitted.

When he saw the slim, slightly older man nod hesitatingly, he realized he had walked into this place with his hair down, his lush chocolate locks falling to just below his broad shoulders. His slightly form fitting faded blue jeans and clinging short sleeved red shirt that did nothing to disguise his well muscled biceps that clung the most to his washboard abs probably wasn't helping. He knew he liked the outfit, as did many of the woman he came into contact with, but he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of this before he left the house. 'Thank God Dad has money,' he thought.

"Well, what does she like?" the man asked, unsure if John was really looking to buy or even could.

"Silver, white gold," he answered.

"Rings, necklaces, what does she wear most?"

"How about this?" he asked when a white gold heart bracelet caught his attention, suddenly forgetting his earlier fear.

"Very nice, it's one of our most popular items this summer," the man replied.

"How much?" he asked, not needing to see anything else.

"It's on clearance for $80," he told him. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"You guys take plastic?" John asked as a slight smile crossed his slim face.

The man nodded with a smile and began the paperwork. After a few seconds he paused and asked, "Would you like to have this inscribed?"

"You could do that with this?" he asked.

"With a short message or a name on the back of the hearts, sure," he told him.

"How many are there?"

"Eight," he answered.

He smiled again when he realized how pathetically simple this would be. "How about, 'Love John'?" he asked.

"Perfect," the man said as he went back to writing.

John had to shake his head slightly in disbelief. This was not how he had seen his day going or what he had anticipated getting her, but he knew at the very least she would be surprised. He could only hope it would be a pleasant surprise.

Night had just about fallen on Julie's eighteenth birthday a week later and she was seated beside John on their living room sofa, watching her favorite movie. Their father was at work and he had wanted them to wait for him before she got to her few gifts and dessert, but had agreed that if he wasn't there by eight then to start without him.

"It's eight," John commented.

"All right," she said, suddenly feeling her slim, petite frame shaking slightly in nervousness. "I'm ready."

He looked over the small pile on the coffee table their father had left and decided he'd let the one in his khaki pants side pocket be last. He didn't want her to begin with it and possibly disregard the others and have their father wonder why.

Julie ran a hand through her long dark waves before slowly tearing into the bright wrapping paper and smiled each time she found something she had hoped for. But then suddenly it occurred to her that she hadn't opened one from her one and only brother.

John glanced to the clock and saw it was ten after eight once she had finished unwrapping all the others. He knew their father would walk in any minute, but he didn't want to have to wait for her birthday to be over when their father would go to bed for her to get what was sure to be her favorite birthday present.

"Well, now that those are out of the way," John began, "I think there's one more that you have yet to open." He took the rectangular velveteen box out of his right side pocket and handed it to her.

"Is this from you?" she asked, unable to conceal the surprise in her voice.

"See for yourself," he replied with a soft smile, knowing he had turned the bracelet so his message was facing upwards.

"Ohmigosh," she breathed as her large brown eyes widened, feeling the wind had been knocked completely out of her. For long seconds she just stared at it, incapable of comprehending what was in her hands.

"You wanna try it on?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"It's so beautiful," she said as she looked to him.

"Is that a yes?" he asked with an uncertain smile.

"Yes!" she answered excitedly as she lifted it from the box.

"I'm glad you like it," he said as he fastened the clasp at her left wrist.

"Why this though?" she asked.

"You're eighteen," he answered. "It's cause for celebration and you deserve something like this. And who better to get it for you?"

"Thank you, John," she said as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and hugged him tightly, taking the time to look at the bracelet again as he returned the embrace.

"Am I late?" they heard their father's voice ask as he came in.

The two released their hold quickly and said in unison, "Barely."

"Well, did you like what you got?" Mr. Franklin asked his daughter.

"Yeah," she answered as she glanced to John beside her.

"Which one's your favorite?" he asked.

Again, she glanced to John as she pulled the long sleeves of her white shirt down to her knuckles and answered, "It's hard to say, there's so much here."

John wasn't offended, he knew she was trying to protect them both from questions neither was prepared to answer. In fact, it was the opposite because of that. That she liked it so much she didn't want to have to share the sight of it with anyone else but him. At least not so soon after having received it.

Just under two months passed and it was finally time for Julie to repay John with a birthday present with as much sentiment as what she had hardly taken off since that night. It seemed unless she was showering, exercising or sleeping, she had it on and it managed to make John smile each day.

"Okay," Julie said with a deep breath as she made her way into the mall. Immediately she began to scan the stores just as John had and her thoughts were quite similar.

As she passed the jewelry store, she thought, 'We'll see. It would only be fair.'

The music store, 'Songs for possibly unrequited incestuous love? I don't think they have that aisle.'

The lingerie store, 'Now there's an idea,' she thought with as a sly grin crossed her slim, slightly pale face. She thought about it for a few seconds, but decided the jewelry store might be a better idea.

"May I help you?" the slightly older woman behind the counter asked.

"Watches," Julie said immediately.

"Uh huh," the woman said. "For whom? Your father, husband?"

"Someone I want to spend each second with who doesn't even know it," she answered.

"Right this way," the woman said with a knowing smile. "Now, what kind of metal are we looking at here?"

"White gold," she replied as she glanced to her bracelet.

"Price range?" the woman asked.

"$200 to $400, I guess," she replied nonchalantly.

"This boy must be something," she commented.

"I've known him for a long time," she replied.

After a few minutes she found one she could see John wearing and when it came time to pay, she was greeted with the same question, "Would you like this inscribed?"

"What I'd want it to say wouldn't fit on the back of the face, so no," she answered.

"All right then, here you go," she told her.

John and Julie were almost mutually thankful when Mr. Franklin told them that he wouldn't be home in time to share in John's birthday celebration, so to have it without him. It was Julie who was more thankful however as she knew then she could now truly show her appreciation.

"Julie?" he called when he came home on the night of his birthday and found the house dark.

"You're home," she said with a smile as she emerged from the kitchen with a tall, glass encased candle in her left hand.

"Didn't Dad pay the electric bill?" he asked. But then a familiar scent wafted out into the living room. "Do I smell steak?"

"Dad paid the bill, I just thought this would be better, you should see the dining room," she answered, deciding to take his questions one at a time. "And yeah, I cooked. "Ready to eat?"

Even in the candle light he could see she had on a slightly form fitting pink shirt and matching mid thigh length skirt. It was her favorite color and his favorite color on her, a perfect contrast to her pale skin. And that coupled with the scent of his favorite dinner filling the air kept him from being able to reply. He also couldn't help but feel a bit underdressed in his sleeveless white denim shirt and blue jeans.

"Just one thing," Julie said as she moved closer towards him. But instead of saying another word, she brought her right hand up to the back of his head and gently pulled down his hair tie, letting his shoulder length chocolate locks fall free. "Much better," she said with a lust-filled smile she couldn't repress.

He could only smile when he saw the desire burning in her eyes almost as brightly as the flame from the candle she still held. She began walking again a few seconds later and followed her into the candlelit dining room, a gorgeous tan glow dancing all over the room as the candles stretched from the kitchen counters to the dining room table.

"Is this part of my present?" he asked finally as he took a seat at the table.

"Consider it a thank you for what you gave me, but this isn't all," she said as she set the candle in the center of the table she had already set and brought the food out to only moments before he walked in.

"Aren't you a little worried Dad might come in?" he asked.

"The light switch is directly behind you if he does," she replied as she took her seat across from him. "Besides, we're not doing anything really out of the ordinary. At least nothing out of the ordinary for your twenty-fourth birthday.

"Will there be a cake following this?" he asked.

"That had better be a joke from our resident fitness expert," she told him.

"It is," he said as he began to laugh. "So what is for dessert?"

"Something I think you'll like," she said.

Nearly an hour later they finally finished their dinner, having talked, joked and laughed much more than they ate and as they began to clear the table and blow out the candles they could tell how much closer they were getting to one another. And both were finding it increasingly more difficult to pull away.

"How about you go put the movie on while I bring the dessert out?" Julie suggested.

"Okay," he said as he made his way out into the living room.

It had become a tradition that on the night of their birthdays they would watch a movie during their dessert that unless it was their father's birthday was always a healthier alternative to the standard cake and ice cream most others seemed to fawn over.

"I'm back," she said as she brought out two bowls that in the darkness resembled their favorite form of fruit salad.

"How did you manage to do all of this?" he asked as he took his from her hand as she sat beside him. "I was only out for a couple of hours."

"I got started on dinner and dessert last night," she answered. "And I did the set up with the candles almost as soon as you left and lit them when I heard you pull up."

"But how?" he asked again.

"I had the time," she answered. 'I made the time,' she thought to herself. "And you earned it."

"For what I got you in July?" he asked.

"For being you," she said with a soft smile.

It was almost impossible for John to lean over and kiss her right then. He couldn't know what he had done to deserve her or this night, but he was thankful, whatever the reason.

Julie caught the appreciative look in matched with lust in his brown eyes and couldn't help but want to kiss him, too, but she couldn't bring herself to. "I almost forgot," she said suddenly as she shook herself out of her daze. "Presents."

"There's more?" he asked with a slight laugh.

Julie motioned to the small collection on the coffee table their father had left and smiled as he tore into them one after the other, decided she'd let the watch be last as he had done for her.

"Anything else?" he asked, still surprised from all she had given him already.

"My gift to you," she answered as she lifted the square box from beside the sofa where she was seated handed it to him.

John could tell from the type of box it was what she had gotten him and already he couldn't believe it. He saw the card taped to the top and decided to read it first, the blue glow from the TV giving him enough light.

'Because the time I spend with you means more than any time I spend with anyone else,' the note read, in her handwriting. His heart skipped a beat at the message, finally realizing that his feelings for her were in fact reciprocated. "Julie," he gasped when he saw the watch.

"Do you like it?" she asked, suddenly afraid she had made a mistake in getting it for him as she couldn't read his tone.

"I love it," he answered, slight shock beginning to set in as he realized this had to have been how surprised she was. "Thank you. Julie, thank you," he told her, secretly hoping she would know that he was also thanking her for loving him back.

"You're welcome," she said softly.

Their eyes became locked on each others' for a brief moment before they began to slowly dance between each others' eyes and lips and soon they began to lean into one another.

Their soft lips brushed against each others' before finally connecting in a long tender kiss.

They parted a few seconds later, just to see if the other was as sure as they were about moving in for another.

"I've been wanting to do that for a while now," John said with a deep breath and soft smile.

"Me, too," Julie replied with her own smile.

At that they each began to move it again, their lips soon swept up in another tender kiss that barring an interruption promised to become much more.

But only for what seemed to be a mere second as their father appeared, apparently having being summoned by the thought as their front door opened and Mr. Franklin asked, "So how was the celebration?"

The siblings quickly sprang apart from one another and turned to face their father, the darkness thankfully hiding their slightly flushed features.

"Great," John said quickly. "Julie cooked, yours is still in the oven and your dessert's in the fridge."

"Good, I'm starving," he told them as he headed into the kitchen and flipped on the light.

"That was close," Julie said softly.

"A little too close," John said as he pushed his long dark hair back with both hands. "But it was worth it," he said with a soft smile to her.

"It was," she said in agreement as she returned the smile.

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A/N: I know this was mostly a tease, but I wanted a timeline. Lemony goodness does follow, though.