Stepbrother Forever: A Stepbrother Romance (11 page)

“Should
we finish packing?” I ask, breaking the silence.

“Nah. I
don’t feel like packing anymore,” Ryan says. “Can we just curl up and watch a
movie, or something?”

“Sure,”
I reply with a smile. I reach over, propping a laptop up on the edge of the bed
and flipping it over to Netflix.

I can’t
help the awkward feeling of being naked in front of Ryan after covering up for
so long, but I wrap myself in the sheet and smile to myself at the thought.

We
settle in on the bed as if nothing had happened. Of course, usually we are on
opposite sides of the couch when we do this, so we adjust to a new position
here on the bed, together. I snuggle up against Ryan with my head on his chest.
He rests his arm over me and pulls me close. Everything about this seems so
right. I can’t believe we have such a short time left here together. The movie
starts and we watch quietly and contently, my hand absentmindedly stroking the
length of his powerful thigh. It’s not long before the movie is just background
noise, my fingertips brushing softly higher and higher, until they are touching
the length of his pulsing shaft.

“This
is nice,” Ryan says softly.

“I know
something even nicer,” I reply, giving his cock a soft stroke.

“Another
of your secret talents?”

“You
might say that,” I reply, shifting my position until I’ve engulfed him in my
desperate and yearning mouth.

Chapter 17

I wake up fairly early
and we are still nestled in the same position we fell asleep in, his body
spooned up behind me. I don’t want to wake Ryan, so I lie still for a bit and
then slowly roll over. I’m surprised to see his eyes open. He’s awake and just
lying there, holding me close.

“Good
morning,” he says with a smile.

“Morning,”
I reply.

Ryan
kisses me gently on the lips and smiles again.

“Would
you like some breakfast?” he asks. “I don’t want to rush you, but I’ve been up
for a while already. I still have to finish packing and go our parents’ house
for lunch.”

“That
might be awkward…” I reply.

“I’ve
been hiding my feelings this long, I think I can manage one more day,” he
replies.

I
understand completely, but I’m still disappointed. After last night, I don’t
want this to be a secret anymore. We don’t have much time left at all, and I
selfishly want to have Ryan to myself.

“Cool.
I’m not that hungry yet, but I’ll have a cup of coffee and join you,” I answer.

We walk
into the kitchen and I put on a pot of coffee. Ryan takes out some cereal and
milk. When the coffee is done, I sit at the table with him.

“So,
what are you doing tonight when you get back?” I ask.

“I
thought maybe we could all go out for dinner together. Nothing crazy—just some
pizza and beer,” he replies.

“Sounds
like fun,” I say dully.

“Really?
Because you don’t seem too excited,” Ryan replies, sounding hurt.

“I’m
sorry. I really am. I look forward to spending every minute with you until you
leave. I just don’t want you to go. Especially so soon. I’m so, so, happy for
you, but I’m a little sad, too,” I finish honestly.

“I get
it, Eve. I feel the same way. Just come with me,” he says, presenting me with
that tempting offer once again. “It doesn’t have to be tomorrow, just come.”

The
emotion in his plea tell me that he is serious, and I believe that he wants me
there—I just don’t know. There are so many things to consider. Ryan will have
so much going on, especially in the beginning. He doesn’t need me tagging
along. Maybe a couple of months down the road it would make more sense, but all
of this is happening too fast to make a big decision like that now.

“I
promise I will consider it. Let’s just give it some time—give you some time to
adjust to your new life before I come barging into it,” I resolve.

“If
that’s what you want to do, that’s fine. But I want you there. The only way
this whole experience could be more amazing would be to have you there by my
side,” Ryan says. “I love you, Eve.”

“I love
you too,” I say hesitantly. I do love Ryan, but I have a much harder time
expressing my feelings than he does—obviously.

We
finish our coffee and Ryan gets up to put his bowl in the sink.

“I’m
going to pack whatever I have left. It shouldn’t take long. Wanna come and keep
me company?” he asks as he walks into his room.

I don’t
answer, but follow him in anyway. The sheet on his bed is a mess, and our
champagne glasses are perched on the nightstand from the night before. I smile
as I’m reminded of last night, of Ryan’s body on top of mine, of us making love
for the first time.

“You’ve
been doing a lot of smiling since last night,” Ryan remarks with a smile of his
own.

“It’s
just been an amazing couple of days,” I reply.

Ryan
starts putting his things in boxes and some in the suitcase. I just help
organize and label things. He is finished in under an hour. He really doesn’t
have that much. Everything fit neatly into the suitcases and two medium sized
boxes. He puts it all in the corner of the room and looks around.

“Holy
shit, Eve,” Ryan murmurs. “I still can’t believe this is happening.”

“Believe
it. You’re going to be a star.”

“Maybe.
You better be there to walk the red carpet with me, if I do,” he insists.

“Of
course. I would love to be your arm candy,” I say with a wink.

Ryan
walks over and stands in front of me. He places his hand on my chin and tilts
my head up. He looks into my eyes, and I when I stare back, I can see that his
are filled with happiness.

He
places his lips on mine. They are warm and soft and I’m reminded again of last
night. Ryan runs the tip of his tongue along my lips. I slip my tongue out of
my own mouth to meet his, and we begin to kiss. There is even more passion
between us than the night before. I rest my hands on his hips, our mouths
pulsing together, sharing this fascinating new emotion.

Ryan is
still holding my chin when he pulls away, stopping to kiss me softly on the
lips several times before ending our romantic moment.

“I’m
afraid we’ll have to continue this later,” he says. “I have to catch the train
soon. I’m sure mom and dad are going to want me to stay for a while so the
sooner I get there, the earlier I will be back. You sure you don’t want to
come?”

“I’m
sure. Besides, you need me to make sure everyone can get together tonight.”

“Tony
is in, and I think Adam, but if you can rally up some of the girls, that would
be great,” Ryan answers. “I’ll see you later. I have to leave if I want to make
the next train.”

“See
you later,” I reply.

With
that, Ryan puts on his jacket and a hat and leaves. Hopefully, he’ll make it.
Surely mom will want him to stay for a while, even if she was a little eager to
see him fly the nest. He might have been her stepson, but she did care about
him. He’ll be lucky if he can make it to dinner with us tonight. I wonder what
he’ll say to her? I’ve been so caught up in my own feelings I haven’t spoken to
her all week. I can’t tell her about me and Ryan, though. There’s no reason to,
at this point.

Come to
think of it, I don’t know if I should tell anyone about me and Ryan. Not that
it matters, but I don’t feel like hearing a bunch of “I told you so’s.” I also
don’t want to answer all the questions that will come along with it. This is so
new. I wouldn’t know how to explain it to anyone else—especially the “what now”
part.

It’d be
easier if he was just my friend…

I send
a text out to Tara and Keira about dinner tonight. I can’t call Tara. She’ll
immediately know something is up. She can read me better than my own
mother—although I think my mother may like to just play dumb sometimes. They
are both available, so we’ll all meet and hope that Ryan will be able to get
there in time for pizza. We plan it on the later side, so he should have time.

I
wonder how we are supposed to act tonight. Ryan and I didn’t discuss it at all.
Do we act as friends, like we always have? I know I would rather keep it
secret, since he is leaving tomorrow and I don't want to deal with the added
stress of people asking about us after that. Ryan is much more open and
probably doesn’t care who knows. I guess we should have figured that out, but
there really wasn’t any time to think about it. I’m not even sure what we are
at this point. If he was staying, we would probably try dating, but he’s not…
Then again, if he was staying, neither of us would have recognized our feelings
in the first place.

I keep
busy for the rest of the day. I clean up and straighten the apartment. I glance
over at our little Christmas tree several times. There are no gifts under the
tree and it will be lucky if it survives until Christmas, but I love it anyway.
Ryan and I almost had a little life together here. We make such good friends,
we know we can live together, and we also know now that we make very good
lovers, too. Maybe I
will
go to
California. Maybe I should take the chance. I really have nothing to lose. If
things don’t work out, I can always come back. I don’t know though, that’s a
lot of ‘maybes’ for me. I’ll keep thinking about it, and in a couple of months,
if things are going well, I’ll know better what to do.

Late in
the afternoon, I decide it’s time to leave and go meet everyone. I lazily take
a shower and get dressed. It’s still so cold outside, so I put on my coat, hat,
and gloves and head outside for the short walk to our favorite pizzeria. Tara
and Keira are there waiting already, beers in hand.

“Hey,
girls,” I greet them as I walk in.

“Hey,
stranger,” Tara replies, giving me a hug.

“Yeah.
What’s up, girl?” Keira says, hugging me next.

I
laugh. “It’s winter. I’m not a fan of being outside. Call me when spring is
here.” I order a beer and see Tony walk in. He sees us by the bar and comes
over to join us.

“Hello,
ladies,” Tony says trying to sound suave.

“Hey,
Tony,” we each reply, giving him hugs as well.

“Three
of you and one of me. This could make for an interesting evening,” he jokes.

“You
wish,” Keira says with a laugh.

We
clink our glasses and make conversation for a while, and then I spot Ryan
walking in with Adam. My heart stops momentarily. I wish I could give him a
signal—like, “hey, let’s not tell anyone what happened,”—but all I can do is
make faces at him trying to convey my thoughts. I know it’s not going to work,
but there’s a chance we’re on the same page.

Ryan
and Adam walk over to the corner of the bar where we are gathered and say their
hellos. Ryan kisses me on the cheek. It’s not our “normal” behavior, but not so
over the top that anyone notices. Tara may have seen, but I’m sure she’ll wait
until we’re alone to say anything. We let the hostess know we are all here and
she takes us to our table. We all sit down and Ryan takes a seat next to me.

I feel
the electricity between us and hope no one else notices. We are all laughing
and talking like every other time we’ve been together. I feel completely
different, though. Ryan and I have this secret, and I feel like it’s written
all over my face, but it appears no one knows. I’m glad Ryan decided to play it
cool instead of telling everyone. I would have felt completely awkward. They
all think we have something going on to begin with—at least, that’s what it
seemed like when we announced we were moving in together. So I’m sure telling
them we slept together wouldn’t shock anyone. The “love” part might, though.

We
enjoy our “last” dinner all together. There are lots of laughs and many toasts
to our soon-to-be famous friend. Everything seems so surreal—last night seems
almost like a dream. If it wasn’t for Ryan sneaking his hand on my thigh for a
squeeze every so often, I may not think it was true. Then, with everyone
toasting and talking about what Ryan’s new life will be like with all his new
Hollywood friends, it brings me back to that whole reality. I try not to listen
when they talk about all the starlets and models Ryan will be “boning,” but I
know that it’s a strong possibility. Between all these mixed feelings—our
hidden romance, and uncertain future—I might explode.

Our
group leaves the restaurant together and walk in the direction of our
apartments. Tony and Adam are going out for more drinks, and hopefully some hot
hook ups. They try to convince Ryan to go, but he says he wants to stay home
for his last night here. The boys say their final goodbyes, at least for now,
and give big bear hugs to each other before parting ways. Tony and Adam walk
toward the bar they’re going to and the rest of us continue on.

We walk
a couple more blocks and reach our building. Ryan says goodbye to Tara and
Keira, who both start tearing up when they hug him. They wish him luck and make
me promise to call this week to hang out.

Ryan
and I walk up the stairs to our building. He takes my hand in his as we near
the doors, and when he opens them, I see Tara looking at us curiously. She will
definitely be calling me tomorrow to ask what’s up.

Ryan
keeps my hand in his as we ascend the stairs to the third floor. I don’t know
what’s going to happen with us tonight, but I’m nervous and excited.

Ryan
unlocks the door and pushes it open. We step inside and remove our coats and
hats and shake off the cold. As I begin to remove the sweater I’m wearing over
my top, Ryan struts over to me. He helps slip it up over my shoulders without a
word and takes a step closer. With his hands on my shoulders, he bows his head
down and kisses me. It’s not soft or gentle like the other times—it’s rugged
and needy, and I like it.