My wife’s sister, Isabel, and I had been growing closer to each other for months. We had been friends for years, we were even roommates for a short time after college and before I started dating my wife. She confessed a few years ago, after my wife and I were in a committed relationship, that she had felt like she was in love with me during that time. She had dropped subtle hints that she was interested and I had always misread them as friendly gestures. I had felt the same way but never said anything since I thought she was out of my league and I didn’t want to introduce any awkwardness into the friendship.
Isabel and I started spending time together about 6 months prior. Her long term boyfriend had broken things off and my strained marriage had taken a significant turn for the worse, so we were able to offer comfort and companionship in the way that longtime friends can. We also had many shared interests and spent time together hiking, running, playing games, and generally being a bright spot in each other’s lives during dark times. We talked about everything, good and bad. We each had other friends, but no one we felt we could really open up to. Sexual frustration was a relatively common topic since neither of us was active, we openly talked about our needs and how we were stuck self-fulfilling them. They were friendly conversations, but I could not help but get riled up at the thought of her pleasuring herself.