PRINCE CHARMING: A Secret Baby Stepbrother Romance (29 page)

I paused, looking down at my phone.
Shit.

Amy:
I like you too, but it’s too late. Our parents are married. Just find someone else and leave me alone.

He didn’t text me back, and part of me was relieved. The rest of me was devastated. This summer would go by so slowly, and I just wanted it to be over. I called Sarah, crying.

“Girl, what’s wrong?” she asked, her voice sounding so especially familiar and comforting right now.

“I fucked him,” I said.

“Whoa. No way! That’s great,” she squealed.

“No, no, it’s not. Remember? He’s my stepbrother now. It’s actually official. Our parents tied the knot today—one of my mom’s random, crazy fucking ideas,” I said through tears, crying hysterically.

“Okay, listen. Try to calm down. I’m sure you’re not the first person this has happened to, and you won’t be the last,” she said.

“I’m pretty sure I’m the first! Who is weird enough to have sex with their future family member? To make it worse, he is my family member now. I just wanted him so bad. I’ve never felt like that before.”

“It’s called being horny, and people have done worse things.”

“Really?” I asked, sniffling through tears.

“Of course! It’ll be okay. Just keep it a secret and try to keep your distance from him for a bit, I guess,” Sarah replied.

“I think your psychology studies are paying off. That’s pretty solid advice.”

“It’ll all be okay. Just breathe. Have you spoken to him since it happened?”

“Yes… I told him to find someone else and that it was over,” I said, noting how sad my voice sounded.

“Good. You did the right thing. I mean, you can’t totally pretend it didn’t happen, but for now, just act like it didn’t. For your sake and your parents’ sake.”

“I just want to go home. I miss you, my dad, and our friends at school. Maybe I should just come back early. But Mom would be so upset, though. I don’t know what to do!”

“Just relax for this weekend. Make decisions tomorrow,” Sarah said.

I took a deep breath. “All right.”

“My boyfriend is about to get home, so I gotta go,” she said. “I’ll talk to you later. Text me if you need anything.”

“I will. Thanks, Sarah. Goodnight.”

We hung up, and I felt so cold and alone. The bathroom had a Jacuzzi, thank God. I turned the steaming water on and felt soothed by the scents of lavender I poured into the tub. I ripped my clothes off, feeling dirty and unclean. Perhaps I could wash away my sins, and none of this would have ever happened. I cried softly as I scrubbed my hands and feet with the soap, the roaring of the water spout hiding my angst.

I wrapped myself in a fluffy towel and put on my robe after an hour in the bath. My phone pinged. I had a friend request from none other than Ash. With shaking hands, I accepted.

ASHTON

I was rarely uncomfortable in a car, but the ride home had been hostile. My dad and Emma wanted to sit together, so I was forced to sit with a highly uncomfortable Amy. She stared pointedly out the window, her arms crossed tightly.

“How did you like the beach, Amy?” Emma inquired.

“It was beautiful. Thanks.”

“How about you, Ashton? Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Very much so,” I answered, deepening my voice, trying to hint to Amy that I had enjoyed our sex together. Amy’s face was slightly pink. Fuck, I loved it when she got nervous like that.

“Ah, I am so happy that we are finally married,” Dad said, putting his hand on Emma’s thigh.

“If only the stress of the formal ceremony wasn’t still there, but I think having it at the bed and breakfast will help. I also think we’re going to need a handyman,” Emma hinted, smiling at me.

“I’m happy to help. Seriously, it’s not an issue,” I offered.

I was hoping this would make Amy think I was less of a dick, but she still didn’t look at me. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I pulled out my phone and texted her.

Ashton:
What is your issue? I thought you would be okay with what happened?

Amy’s phone vibrated. She looked down at it, then over at me, and sighed. She typed back.

Amy:
Seriously, now that our parents are married, it’s over. Just stay out of my way the rest of the summer. Go hook up with one of your groupies I saw on your social media.

Women could be so crazy sometimes
, I grumbled inwardly.

Ashton:
Really? Wow. Okay. Consider yourself ignored.

We finally got home. I picked out my things from the trunk and saw Amy’s rather heavy purple suitcase and grabbed it as well. She looked for her luggage. When she saw me carrying her bag, she scoffed and followed me up the stairs.

“I could have carried that myself, you know,” she said with an icy voice, so different from her usual sweet, soft one.

“Whatever. I’m just leaving it outside your door.” I plopped her bag down and put mine in my room. I walked back out to see Amy walking out of her room with her shower caddy.

“You can take a damn shower up here. I’m not going to walk in on you, you know,” I said indignantly.

She rolled her eyes at me. “I’ll do what I want.” She stomped down the stairs with her nose in the air.

An ache came over me—the kind I hadn’t felt since my mother left. “Fuck her. Who cares what she thinks?” I mumbled to no one.

I needed to do something—to fix something. Tinkering with my car would work. I threw on an old tank top and some sweatpants, my work clothes. I trudged down the stairs, passed one of the main bathrooms where I knew Amy was fiddling around behind the closed door. The cool air of the garage hit me, and I found it soothing. I closed the door behind me, sealing myself from the world.

I rummaged through some of my tools and rolled myself partially under my car. I began fixing a leak.
The
leak. The one that had been evading me, the one I could
fix. I liked machines and cars because they weren’t complicated. If you had the right parts and the right amount of work ethic, you could fix it. People were far more complex. If something was broken, sometimes you couldn’t fix it, even if you tried.

I didn’t think I could fix things with Amy.

A good hour went by. My phone vibrated. I rolled myself out from under the car and pulled off my gloves, which were covered in grease. Jen, a girl I had known from high school, had texted me. She always did have a crush on me.

Jen:
Hey Ashton. Can’t wait for our date tonight. I thought you’d never ask.

Ashton:
Hope you like smoking, because that’s what’s up. It’ll be fun.

Jen:
Yeah. Wouldn’t smoke anywhere else. You always have the best shit. And that new bong you showed me a pic of looks amazing. We’ll get so high!

Ashton:
See you here around eight. You need me to pick you up?

Jen:
Yeah. Same place. See you then. Kisses!

I remembered the last party I went to with Jen. We had kissed but nothing else. She had blonde hair, and though I wasn’t usually into blondes, I had to admit she was smoking hot. Her blue eyes and curly hair certainly made up for the hair color. At the end of the day, hair was just hair, anyway. It was the body that really counted, and boy, did she have a nice body.

I looked at my car, deciding I’d had enough for today. I threw my gloves down and took a swig of water. I bounded up the steps. When I opened the door, I saw Amy sitting with her mom and Dad. They were having lunch. My eyes met hers for a moment, and she averted hers quickly. I felt a pang of annoyance; she still
couldn’t look at me. What the hell was her problem?

“Hi Ashton! Would you like a sandwich?” Emma asked.

“I’ll take one to go. Have plans tonight I have to get ready for,” I replied, grabbing a salami and Swiss.

“With a girl?” Dad asked.

“Yeah, actually. Jen. She’s coming over. We’re going to play video games,” I said.

Amy’s head snapped up as soon as I said Jen’s name. She looked at me, pure hatred in her eyes. I was taken aback by her intense response. She really was shocked and hurt that I was going to hang out with another girl.

“Very nice,” Emma said, “have fun.”

“I...I will,” I stuttered nervously

No one had ever made me so nervous before, nervous in the sense that I couldn’t handle her negativity towards me. I turned and left, trying to get the image of her hurt expression out of my mind. She shouldn’t be hurt, anyway.

She’s the one who asked for this. It’s not my fucking fault.

I grabbed my coat off the coat rack and took my car keys. I needed to get the smoking stuff for tonight and get as far away from Amy as possible. It wasn’t fair of her to make me feel like I was doing something wrong. Besides, she didn’t even like to smoke! It’s not like I could invite her or anything. It was too awkward.

I would never love my Honda Civic as much as my old car, because my old car had too many perfect memories. This car was nice, though; it was red and had a powerful bass. I blasted my music, enjoying the hum of it. It rattled my eardrums as I shot down the driveway and into the afternoon. I rolled the windows down, feeling the air on my face. I felt free again, free from the pain of abandonment I promised myself I would never feel again. At the light downtown, I saw my friend Ryan walking across the street. I rolled the window down and beeped my horn.

“Hey, asshole!” I yelled.

Ryan took off his sunglasses and gave me the finger, smiling. At the green light, I made a left and pulled into a spot nearest him.

“What you doing?” I asked.

“Nothing. Just fucking around.”

“Wanna come to the smoke shop with me? I gotta get shit for a date tonight.”

“Sweet, bro. And fuck, yeah. Let’s head over,” Ryan said.

Ryan got in the passenger side. He was stoned, as usual. I wanted to be stoned, too. I sighed and looked at the mirror, waiting until I could back out of the parking spot.

“So what’s up, man? You never date,” he commented.

“Not usually, but I’m trying to get over this other girl I met. She’s really sweet, beautiful…But I can’t be with her.”

“Why?”

I pulled out of the spot and headed for the smoke shop. “It’s complicated,” I said honestly.

“That blows, man, but the only thing you can do is try to get it on with someone else. That’s the only way to get over it.”

“You think so, man?”

“No shit. Hook up with your date tonight, and you’ll be over it in no time.”

“I hope you’re right. I really do,” I said thoughtfully.

“Who is your date, by the way?” Ryan asked.

“Jen.”

“Ha!” Ryan said, slapping his thigh. “I knew she wanted you. And she’s a hottie. Nice one, man.”

I smiled, trying to convince myself I was happy and excited. My thoughts lingered on Amy a bit longer before my pride took over. I slammed on the gas to get to the smoke shop sooner. I hoped tonight would help me forget about her.

AMY

“A girl! He’s having a girl over,” I cried to Sarah, my shaking hand barely able to hold the phone.

“This is a good thing.”

“Good thing? How? The guy I lost my virginity to is having another girl over!” I bellowed.

“It’s good because you’re trying to get over him! What better way than him hanging out with someone! It’ll be fine,” she said, trying to comfort me.

“They’re playing ‘video games,’ or something. That basically means sex.”

“Not necessarily. They could be drinking or doing something else they’re not supposed to be doing. You can’t make assumptions,” Sarah pointed out, her logic making sense.

“I have to figure out who she is.” I pulled out my computer and put Sarah on speaker so my hands would be free to pry into Ash’s personal life.

Sarah sighed. “You know that doesn’t make anything better.”

“Her name is Jen…I’m checking his social media,” I informed Sarah. I looked at his wall; recently, a girl named Jen H. had left a comment.

Jen H.:
Can’t wait for 2night. Get the good stuff. Lol.

My eyes narrowed. I clicked on her profile. It was private, but I could see her picture. She was beautiful—freckles, blonde hair, and crystal-blue eyes. Some of her interests included movies and rock music. She also liked cars. Ash loved cars! She did seem pretty cool, dammit.

“Ugh. I found her. She’s really pretty and so his type,” I complained.

“Who cares? You aren’t going to date him, so it’s not a big deal,” Sarah said soothingly.

I took a deep breath and shut off my computer. I didn’t want to see any more. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter. I’m overreacting. He’s my stepbrother, for fuck’s sake. We already crossed the line, and now we need to take a step back.” I tried to convince myself of the truth of my own words. “I’ll just stay clear of the house tonight. I’m going out and having fun.”

“Yeah. Have fun, and tell me what happens,” she said.