One and Done (Two Outta Three #2) (8 page)

Chapter 11

It was worth it.

Who knew learning how to cook could change your life so dramatically? It wasn’t just the food that I loved (though getting to taste test was a highlight of the activity) but more so the ability to make something so beautiful out of scratch. It was probably the same reason Rocky loved drawing so much.

Rocky.

Not a day went by when I didn’t think of her, and though I wanted to deny Dad’s advice, he really did have a point. We truly brought out the worse in each other, at least at this point in our lives we did. As much as it pained me, I knew I had to bite the bullet. We had to give each other space. It wasn’t long before our phone calls and texts began to waste away, but it wasn’t Rocky who grew distant—it was me.

Time flew by, and before I knew it a whole year had passed since I first moved to Charleston. In this one year I found myself changing, but I wasn’t sure if it was for the better. Sure, I felt older and wiser, but I also felt complacent and empty. There was a void inside of me, but I wasn’t sure how to fill it.

“How do I look?” Dad yanked at his stupid little bow tie and blotted away a bead of sweat that threatened to spill off his forehead. He was dressed to the nines in a tailored tuxedo and newly shined shoes, but something seemed a bit off about his ensemble. It was probably his swollen face, which had broken out in nervous hives just minutes before.

“You look fine,” I lied, fidgeting in my own monkey suit. I groaned and yanked at my collar. “Why’d you have to get married on the hottest day of the year?”

Ignoring me, he smoothed out his cuffs and cocked his head in curiosity. “So, I forgot to ask…”

“What?” I sighed.

“How do you feel about finally seeing Jason today? It’s not every day you get a new brother.”

Ah, Jason—my infamous stepbrother to be. I’d heard his name spoken but never exactly met him. It wasn’t as if he were in a hurry to see me either.

I grimaced and turned away. “Whatever.”

Before he could respond, Dad suddenly spun around and grinned toward the door. “Ah, speak of the devil. How are you?”

I turned to see a blond haired, grey-eyed man walk into the room. I knew he was only a year older than me, a sophomore in college, but this was ridiculous. He looked as if he were skirting twenty-four. He was also a lot bulkier than I was, looking as if he juiced up every morning. His muscles threatened to split his tight jacket open at any moment. Luckily my height made up for our total difference in muscle mass. I towered over him. No way I’d play little brother to his steroid pumped ass.

“Hey, Richard,” he replied blandly.

“Richard?” I snorted. Didn’t know my dad was okay being called on a first name basis. He nearly had a cow when my Stepford wife looking stepmom-to-be told me to call her Teresa.

He shrugged me off and brought Jason in for an awkward hug. Once my dad released his grip, Jason practically jumped three feet away. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was even doing in the room if he hated my dad so much.

Tugging at his too-tight suit, Jason looked up and caught my eye. “Hey, are you Jesse?”

“Yup,” I answered with a pop of the P.

“Oh! Forgive me for being rude. I’m sorry for not introducing you two. Jason, this is Jesse. Jesse, Jason.” My father’s gaze bounced between us. “Wow, both J’s! You two already have so much in common.”

Dad’s poor attempt at a joke made me cringe. I extended my hand and was surprised when Jason reached out to shake it. Up until that point I had already written him off as a douche.

“Guess this means we’re brothers? Bro?” His eyes hardened. Something in the way he looked at me made my skin feel as if it were on fire.

Not wanting to show my discomfort, I lifted my chin and threw him a fake smile. “Guess so, bro.”

His lips twitched in amusement. “Welcome to the family.”

***

Open bar almost always spells catastrophe. It’s even worse when the bartenders are completely lax about checking IDs. I’m not sure exactly how Jason pulled it off, but somehow our bartender had been shoveling top shelf liquor to Jason and his friends all night long. It wasn’t even an hour into the reception before everyone in his entourage was completely hammered.

Choosing to sit out, I remained seated in a far table near the exit. I watched enviously as my father danced with his new bride. They looked…

“Perfect,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Hey, you!” A glass of amber looking liquid was slammed down on the table in front of me, splattering the brew against my face. The familiar stench of alcohol was both disgusting and comforting. Feeling uneasy, I pushed the glass away from me.

“Really? I’m stuck with a pussy for a stepbrother?” Jason slid the drink back toward me. “Don’t tell me you’ve never drank before.”

I could have told him that I grew up with an alcoholic mother and had my first drink at seven when I mistook her beer for apple juice. I could have told him a lot of things, but the meathead standing in front of me wasn’t worth my time.

“Really? You mute now too?” His colossal body loomed over me, permeating a nausea inducing stench of whiskey, body odor and cheap aftershave.

BZZZ.

Fighting an urge to dry heave, I ignored Jason’s drunken bewilderment and grabbed my phone.

Haven’t heard from you in a while…are you okay?

“Rocky?” Jason swiped for my phone, but I was too quick for his drunken ass. He lurched forward a bit and slurred, “Are you gay?”

“Seriously?” I grunted, slipping the phone back into the front pocket of my blazer.

“Hey, nothing against your orientation. It’s cool, man.”

“It’s a nickname for Raquel, dipshit.”

Jason broke out into laughter. “Oh, okay. I mean I have no problem if you swung that way, but geez, what a way to get to know your new brother, you know?”

“We’re not brothers.”

“Not yet.” Jason narrowed his eyes and once again nudged the glass toward me. He nodded toward my pocket. “Are you whipped? Is that why you don’t drink?”

Rocky’s face flashed in my mind, and once again I was reminded of all the reasons why I could never be whipped with her. The familiar weight in my stomach returned, churning at my intestines, further souring my already bad mood. “Just leave me the fuck alone, man.”

Jason stared at me quietly for a few moments and finally broke out into a shrug. “See you around.”

I snorted and flicked against the cool glass, watching a bead of condensation roll down its surface. I glanced up and spotted my dad looking as if he were having the time of his life. As happy as I was for him, I couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated. Why did he have the right to start his life over and win whereas I felt as if I were still in a losing race? He told me Charleston would make me into a better person, but why did I feel as if something was still missing?

It’s because you’re losing Rocky. You’ve already lost her.

“But it’s for the better, right? It’s the best for both of us,” I whispered to no one in particular. I eyed the fizzing glass of beer, tempted to chug it down, but thought better of it. Plucking it from the table, I held it out to a red-faced man dancing with a tie wrapped around his head. “Here. I don’t want it.”

Grinning, he scooped it right out of my hand and tipped it down his throat. I shook my head in disgust and continued to watch my dad and his new wife with both jealousy and sadness.

The reception carried on painfully, and just when I thought I couldn’t take the bullshit any longer, I heard a soft, “You alone?” in my ear. Startled to find a Rocky look-alike smiling down at me, I immediately pushed away.

“Whoa, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She shot me a sincere smile and placed her hand on my shoulder. My gaze fell down to her hot pink nails, following the length of her arm before finally resting on her face. She wore a dress that was a bit inappropriate for a wedding, but paid no mind that her nipples were on the verge of jumping out. I forced my gaze from her breasts and caught a knowing look in her eyes.

“You alone?” she repeated, brushing her other hand through her hair. It was the same color as Rocky’s mane, but not quite as beautiful. In fact, though this girl could easily pass as her sister, something was off about her.

It’s because she isn’t Rocky.

I merely shrugged and didn’t answer, eliciting a slight pout on her face. Seemingly not one to give up too easily, she gripped my hand tighter. “Well, I’m alone and was looking for some company myself. I was hoping I could sit with you?”

These girls were a dime a dozen—tipsy, lonely, and just looking to get laid. I didn’t know what it was about me that continuously attracted these types, but I really wasn’t in the right state of mind to deal with her that night. I was just about to tell her to take a hike when my jacket pocket vibrated again, my phone’s screen illuminating against the thin linen material. I’d grown accustomed to ignoring Rocky’s texts, but doing so still gnawed at my insides.

The strange girl glanced down and smiled quizzically. “You gonna answer that?”

I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth and sighed. “What’s the point? It’s not going to change anything.”

As if coming to an epiphany, the girl’s face broke out into relief. “I take it you’re in the middle of a break-up?” And just like that she grabbed the chair beside me as if receiving an invitation to pounce.

I shrugged again. “No…yes…what does it matter? It’s never going to work out.”

A sly grin spread across the girl’s face, making her look like the Cheshire cat. “Sometimes things fall apart so that better things come together.”

I cocked my head to the side and raised my eyebrows. Now I really did not know how to respond to that.

***

“Come on! Faster! Faster!” Sloan—as I later found out as I was ripping off her bright red bra—moaned into my ear. Though her breathy sighs were a big stroke to my ego, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was faking her enjoyment somehow. Her face curled almost comically in a frozen mask of ecstasy.

Now, I’ve messed around before. Had a girl’s lips wrapped around my cock, sliding up and down my shaft with slathered spit as makeshift lube. I’ve groped, licked, and sucked my way up and down a girl’s body, tasting their sweat, saliva and well, other things. However, despite what all my classmates back at home thought about me, I’d never actually done it—never gone all the way. Not that I never had my chances to. In fact, I often wondered why no girl ever accused me as being a premature ejaculating tease. Yet, as horrible as it sounds, there just wasn’t a single girl I wanted to give it up to who wouldn’t make me feel cheapened afterwards. After always being given the bottom of the barrel, I wanted my first time to be meaningful and…well, for once I wanted the best.

And now look at me…Jesse Tyler fucking up once again.

I could blame it on the wedding, the envy, and even loneliness brewing inside my soul, but that just wouldn’t be the case. The truth was that I finally realized that I’d never get the best. ‘The Best’ was up in Bethel Falls waiting for her best friend to text her back. Unfortunately, her best friend was a scared, insecure boy who feared that he’d remain the scum everyone expected him to be. As much as I wanted her I could never have her without being that boy again. She had always been my safety net, a reason never to make myself better. It took moving away to realize that I deserved more—she deserved more. So here I was, fucking a generic, second rate look-alike version of her instead.

Sloan’s dramatic cries softened into a hushed whimper. Our skin slapped together as I thrusted ‘harder’ and ‘faster.’ I tried to get into the moment, but it was no use, and slowly—painfully—I felt my dick going limp inside of her. This…this wasn’t how I wanted it to be. It was all wrong, but I was too far gone to turn back.

A trickle of sweat slid down my nose, dropping onto Sloan’s wrinkled forehead. Her eyes flung open as she grabbed the back of my neck, digging her fake nails into the base of my spine. “I’m gonna come! Let’s come together.”

No way was that gonna happen. I wasn’t even close.

Sloan’s soft sighs suddenly turned into loud screams. I cringed, glancing at the door, worried that somebody could barge into the empty conference room at any moment. Her vagina pulsated, throbbing against my dick, but sadly it did nothing for me.

Crap, I have to come now or she’ll think I’m some tool.

I shut my eyes and tried to remove myself from the situation, allowing my mind to wander to my deepest subconscious. Yes, I was nit-picking for anything to help me out at the moment, but nothing was working. Feeling frustrated, my eyes pried open and I looked down below me. As my gaze traveled up Sloan’s jiggling breasts, onto her glistening neck and to her face, something happened. The dark hair, dark eyes…it was no longer Sloan beneath me, but Rocky. The blood rushed to my dick and whatever block I was feeling was somehow lifted.