Stepbrother Forever: A Stepbrother Romance (5 page)
Read Stepbrother Forever: A Stepbrother Romance Online
Authors: Jessica Marx
Chapter 6
Just over an hour later,
the bar is closing. I take my time cleaning up and putting things away. I’m
procrastinating because I don’t want to go home at all. It doesn’t take long
before I run out of things to do and they want to lock up. I get my coat and
walk out into the cold. There are still some people lingering out in the
streets as I make my way back to the apartment. I walk slowly but I know
inevitably I am going to walk into something I don’t want to be a part of.
I walk
up the steps to the third floor landing as slow as I possibly can. I hear a
cackling laugh as I turn my key in the lock and brace myself for whatever I’m
about to see.
Luckily,
their clothes are on. The two of them are sitting on the couch, enjoying
another cocktail, and her hands are all over Ryan. I already feel like a third
wheel and I haven’t even taken off my coat. Ryan stands up when I close the
door and looks nervous like he’s doing something wrong—which he totally is not.
“Hey,
Eve,” he says awkwardly. “This is Jamie.”
Jamie
stands up and teeters slightly. She is cute. I have no good reason to be
jealous so I play nice.
“Nice
to meet you, Eve. Hope you don’t mind that I’m here,” she says, trying to sound
friendly.
“Not at
all,” I lie. “I’m going to get to bed, though. I had a long night, and I can’t
wait to go to sleep.” I know there is no way I’m going to sleep any time soon.
I walk
to the bathroom and close the door. I take some deep breaths as I wash off my
makeup and jump in the shower. I rinse off, put on the bathrobe I leave hanging
on the back of the door, and prepare to walk back through the small living
room. Hopefully, this will be the last time I have to see Jamie.
They
are still fully clothed, but Ryan is sitting on the couch and Jamie in on his
lap, straddling him. It appears she is trying to inhale his face, but I’m not
really looking. I rush past them into my room and quickly shut the door.
What
the hell? I’ve heard Ryan talk about many girls in the time we’ve been friends.
He’s not really a player, but he has his share of women. I’ve never gotten
jealous, or felt any emotion about any of his conquests. What is happening?
I hear
some more giggling and roll my eyes. I need to go to sleep and pretend this is
not happening—not just the actual situation in my living room, but the thoughts
in my head.
I lay
in bed, trying to focus on the television. I make it louder than usual, but it
doesn’t matter. I’m sadistically trying to listen through my makeshift wall to
what’s happening on the other side. It’s almost like I feel the need to punish
myself for having these feelings. I hear a lot of movement and realize they must
be changing venues to the bedroom. I freeze like a deer in headlights, like
they know I’m listening to their every move. It’s silly, because they are
surely not thinking about me at all right now.
I hear
light music and assume Ryan must have put on to drown out the noise they will
be making. I try focusing again on whatever show is on the television. Maybe it
will be boring enough to lull me to sleep.
No such
luck.
It’s
not long before I start hearing moans. They are making it impossible for me to
ignore. It’s not loud, but my wall is thin and our apartment is small. The
sounds are coming from Ryan, so in the scenario I concoct to further torture
myself, Jamie is on her knees, giving him a blowjob right out of a porn video.
I get
up to find my headphones, purposely banging a couple of drawers closed. I lay
down in bed with my phone and plug the headphones in. Before I get them in my
ears, I hear the repeated creaking of Ryan’s bed.
I don’t
know what the hell is wrong with me, but I found myself letting a hand drift
low on my tummy, slipping beneath the sheets. The music blasted from my
headphones was not quite loud enough to mask the sounds coming from the other
side of the wall. My fingertip brushed up against my delicate folds, already
wet with desire. Pleasure rolled through me as I listened intently, a scene
playing out in my head. With my eyes closed, I could almost see Ryan over me,
his muscles straining, his huge cock plunging so deep it would test my limits.
My
fingertips were insistent now. They drove me higher and higher as the cries of
pleasure poured through the wall. I plunged one inside me to try and fill the
void, but it wasn’t enough. I bit my lip to keep myself quiet and reached over
the edge of the mattress, pulling my vibrator free from its hiding place and
flipping the little switch. It hummed to life as I held my breath, my body
screaming for release.
“Ooh….”
I gasp as I bring the tip against my clit. “Ryan… Yes…” I whispered, careful to
keep my voice down. “Please…”
I
guided the vibrator down every so slightly, driving it deep. It’s not enough,
the slim device only partially satisfying my need. Despite its lacking girth, I
still loved the way it was filling my body with the mad thrumming sensation.
Every nerve ending screamed for more as I drove it deep. “Fuck me Ryan, oh God
yes,” I squeal, clamping my free hand down over my mouth as I begin to pump the
vibrator in and out of my willful body.
I could
stop myself. I could open my eyes and pretend this never happened. Oh God I
need to stop myself! The cries of passion from beyond the wall seem to go on
forever as I bring myself higher and higher. There was nothing I could do. My
body demands release. I need this. The last of my restraint evaporates as an
incredible orgasm tears through my body with the kind of force I’ve never
experienced before.
My
vision draws into tunnel vision as I arch my back and enjoy the waves of
pleasure sweeping through my flesh. In my mind, Ryan is standing over me… And
he’s smiling.
Chapter 7
I wake up with music
still playing through my headphones. It takes me a few minutes to recall what
was happening last night, and I immediately get annoyed. I don’t want to walk
out of my bedroom and see her in my apartment. She’s in my territory, so
technically, I shouldn’t care, but I have no desire to make conversation with
her this morning. I shouldn’t have to—I’m not the one who fucked her.
I lay
motionless in my bed until I can’t wait any longer. I really have to pee, and
it’s my apartment, so I shouldn’t be the one hiding in bed. I slowly pull the
headphones off and listen for any sound from the rest of the apartment, but I
don’t hear anything. Hopefully, they’re still sleeping so I can use the
bathroom and clean myself up. I tiptoe to the door, quietly open it, and walk
out toward the bathroom.
“Where
are you sneaking off to?” I hear Ryan say from the kitchen.
I turn
toward him and breathe a sigh of relief when I see he is alone. “Thought you
were sleeping, so I didn’t want to wake you,” I answer.
“Nah.
Been up over an hour already. Coffee?” he offers, holding up a mug.
“Sure,
thanks. I’ll be out in a minute,” I reply and walk into the bathroom.
Damn. I
shouldn’t have agreed to coffee. What if she is still here? I didn’t even ask.
I don’t know what to say to Ryan. Suddenly, I feel like I’m the one doing the
walk of shame.
I come
out of the bathroom and take a few strides to the kitchen. Ryan is sitting at
the table, reading something on his phone and drinking coffee.
“Is she
still sleeping?” I ask, thinking that sounds better than asking if that girl is
still lurking somewhere.
“Jamie?”
Ryan asks, looking up. “No. She left early this morning, or late last night,
depending on how you look at it.”
“Oh,
she didn't want to stay?” I ask, matching his relaxed manner. I pour some
coffee now that I know I can sit and enjoy it.
“She
didn’t,” Ryan replies.
“That
wasn’t nice,” I say with a smirk. “You two seemed to be having a good time...”
“Nah. I
don’t think so,” he answers, placing his phone down and looking at me. “I think
she was just looking to hook up for the night.”
“You
seemed pretty into her, from the look of things,” I reply with a short laugh,
trying to sound indifferent. “And from the sounds.”
“Were
you spying on me?” Ryan asks, feigning shock.
“We
have some very thin walls. Trust me, I tried not to hear,” I reply.
“Noted,”
he says sarcastically. “What’s your plan today?”
“Not
sure. Probably just gonna chill, maybe run a couple of errands. You?”
“Same.”
Then he gives me a weird look, pursing his lips, head cocked. “Hey, are we
cool?”
I
fidget a little, shooting him a version of that same look. “What do you mean?”
“You
just don’t seem like yourself. I don’t know,” Ryan says, averting his gaze with
a frown. “If this is going to make you uncomfortable...”
I
laugh. “Dude, please. We’re roommates. You can bring home as many sluts as you
want.” It sounds good, but I’m cringing inwardly. He is
not
cheating on
me. Ryan is doing nothing wrong. Hell, I know full well we can’t be together...
Deep
down, I know I’m lying through my teeth.
“Yeah,
I guess you’re right. It was just weird having you in one room and her in the
other, you know?” he asks.
Yes, I know exactly what you
mean,
I think to myself. “It’s just different now,
Ryan. You used to just tell me when you hooked up. Now I’m here witnessing it.
I’ll get used to it.”
“Okay,
Eve,” Ryan concedes. “As long as you’re cool, I’m cool.”
“Yup,
we’re good,” I reply, “I’m going to shower and try to get something done, I
guess.” I want to get away, be anywhere but in the room with Ryan right now.
There are way too many questions and strange feelings making my head spin.
“I’m
going to go for a run,” Ryan informs me. “Maybe we can hook up later?”
“I’ll
see where the day takes me,” I reply with a smile and walk to the bathroom to
take a shower.
I take
my time again, waiting to hear Ryan leave for his run before I come out of the
bathroom. I need to figure out what’s going on and get my shit together, or I’m
going to spend half my time hiding in my own apartment.
Chapter 8
We agree to have dinner
together and order some Chinese food. Neither of us feel like going out after
barely sleeping the night before. We talk like there is nothing out of the
ordinary and pretend last night’s events and this morning’s conversation never
happened. By the time our dinner arrives, we are back to our regular routine
and all is forgotten—kind of. We’re both
acting
like it is, but I’m not so sure. This is comfortable, though, so I have no
intention of bringing anything up. It’s officially in the past.
While we eat, we talk about the
class we have tomorrow at AGR. Ryan, Tara, a few other friends, and I signed up
for a six week class. Tomorrow starts our fourth week. It’s been a very long
time since we’ve all done something like this together, and it is proving to be
a lot of fun. Not only is the class itself enjoyable, but having my friends
there makes it that much more entertaining. The class is really small so there
are only a couple of people in there that we don’t know. We haven’t play acted
together very often, and interacting like this makes for a lot of laughs. After
each class, we go out together for food or drinks and continue the shenanigans.
I’m glad we are getting along
and back into the friend zone. I love my time with Ryan. We always make great
conversation and share much of the same interests and sense of humor. We make
some jokes at Tony’s expense, and it’s the only time last night is brought into
the conversation. We watch TV for a little while and then decide to get to bed
early. We’re both pretty exhausted, and I’m happy to end things on a good note.
[W1]
***
Ryan wakes up and goes
for a run. I exercise with some online workout videos, since joining the gym is
not in my budget right now, and then enjoy another relaxing day. I never work
on Mondays—most of us don’t—which is why we are all able to take this class
together.
Tony
stops over around lunch time with a bag full of sandwiches and we happily dig
in. I let the boys hang out for a while and go out to pick up a few things at
the store. I get back in time to get changed and ready for class. The three of
walk to the studio together. We don’t bother waiting outside for anyone
else—it’s too cold. We take off our coats and make ourselves comfortable as the
others file in. Tara comes in, says hello to us, and sits next to me as we have
done every week so far.
Our
instructor, Sarah, is an acting coach. She is down-to-earth, honest, and very
knowledgeable. This week, we are practicing cold reads. We have to perform an
unrehearsed scene and she asks us to pair up. Tara and I choose each other as
we usually do but the coach says since the class has the same number of men and
women, we should pair with the opposite sex because it will better fit the
scenes we’re reading. We are goofing around trying to decide who will be with
who, so Sarah decides to choose for us, and Ryan and I wind up as a pair.
In all
the classes we have taken, we rarely pair up. I’m not really sure why—we just
always choose someone else. We look at each other and shrug.
The
first pair steps in front to read their scene. It’s Keira and one of the people
we don’t know. Everyone gets quiet and focuses on their scene. It takes about
two minutes and ends in a kiss. They do a great job, and the kiss is somewhat
believable so we all clap.
No. No, no, no.
While I’m clapping, all I can think about is how I’m going to get out of this.
Ok, maybe it’s not Sarah’s fault. She doesn’t know he’s my stepbrother…. But… I
can’t kiss Ryan—I
can’t.
Sure, I know it’s acting, but I do not want to
cross that line… Especially after the emotional whirlwind I went through last
night.
The
next pair steps in front and reads their scene. It is completely different, but
ends in an emotional embrace. I take a deep breath. That, I can handle. Maybe
there is only one kissing scene. Maybe I’m worrying about nothing. I hear the
coach call us up front. I might be mistaken, but Ryan looks a little nervous
too.
She
hands us our lines to read. There is a lot of intensity before we begin, since
we have no idea what we will be reading or how it will end. Ryan clears his
throat and starts to read. We are pretending to be a husband and wife seeing
each other for the first time after a tour in Iraq. As we read through, there
is a lot of passion behind our words that I would like to attribute to our
acting skills, but I’m sure it’s more from the fear and anxiety of not knowing
where this short conversation will lead.
Just
before our final words are spoken, my heart is racing. I am perspiring and my
hands are shaking. I shouldn’t be. I’ve done a racy performance or two—this is
no different than if I were going to kiss Tara for a scene. Ryan gently takes
me by the shoulders and looks me with his piercing blue eyes as if to say,
“Don’t worry,” and we kiss. Our lips touch, linger for a moment, and then we
really
kiss.
Ryan’s
warm tongue enters my mouth and begins massaging mine. I can’t help but return
the motion. For a brief instant, our mouths are connected, our tongues
entwined. We are moving as one, and I forget where we are. Slowly, we bring our
kiss to an end and simultaneously back away. Everyone is silent for a moment as
we just stare at each other, confused by the emotions we are feeling from the
seemingly innocent kiss we just shared.
The
coach begins to clap and the rest follow after. I’m pretty sure that every one
of our friends is thrown off guard just as we are. They appreciate that we can
act, but what they just witnessed went a bit further than the scene called for.
Ryan and I are still in front of everyone, but break our gaze, take a bow, and
silently return to our seats. The next pair steps in front to take their turn,
but my mind is still reeling from what just happened—and I know Ryan felt it,
too.
