Stepbrother With Benefits 16 (Third Season) (5 page)

"Defensive guard mostly," he says.

"Do you do anything now?" I ask him.  "Like, uh... extracurricular shit?"

"I'm in the camping club," Caleb says.

"Uh... I didn't even know we had a camping club," I tell him.  "What's that?"

"We just go camping a couple times a year.  It's not a real club, I guess.  I mean, it is, and we make sure to rough it when we go.  Mostly my dad lets us use the campground during the off season.  There's four trips a year, to experience the outdoors in all its seasonal glory.  That's what our club advisor says.  One for spring, summer, then fall and winter."

"You go camping in the snow?" I ask.  "That's kind of badass."

"We go ice fishing, too!" he says, cheering up.

I guess that's the secret to Caleb.  Just call him a badass and he gets excited.  I'll have to keep that in mind.  Mainly I need to figure out a way to get Scarlet to call him a badass.  Hmmm...

"So, that sounds cool and all," I say, "but I think you should join the football team."

"They already did tryouts this summer, though," Caleb says, giving me a funny look, eyebrows all furrowed and confused.  "There's the incoming freshman with football scholarships, too."

"Caleb," I say, staring at him.

We're about to have a real conversation here.  Man to man.

"What?" he asks.

He's not really staring back at me.  What the fuck?  I'm trying to be manly here, Caleb.  Fuck you.

"That's mostly for starters.  There's second string backups and some positions have a third string, but that's not really important.  It's still fun, you know?  I'm not even fucking around with you here.  It'd be cool to have you on the team.  Also, you know how fucking badass that is?  We have private parties and shit.  Scarlet's been to some.  They're cool."

Caleb perks up at the idea of being fucking badass, but then he gives me a strange look when I mention Scarlet and the private parties.  What's the look for, dude?

"Second string?" Caleb says, mumbling.  "So I wouldn't even play, and I'd just practice and look like an idiot in the background while everyone else became football heroes."

"Caleb," I say, being straight with him.  "Who the fuck do you think I am?  I'm going to answer that for you.  I'm Ethan Colton.  I'm the starting quarterback.  I'm kind of a big deal."

"I don't really know where you're going with this," Caleb says.

Fuck, he looks kind of depressed, too.  Like a sad puppy dog.  Cut that shit out, Caleb.

"Look, bro," I say.  "Can I call you bro for a second, Caleb?"

"I guess?"

"Alright, I'm just going to be bros with you here.  Football is like a brotherhood, right?  That's what I mean.  Fuck all the fraternity bullshit.  What do they even do?  We do all of that and more on the football team.  And a part of that is making sure you've got everyone's back.  I've already got your back, Caleb.  You don't need to do this if you don't want to, and I'll help you out.  I'm helping you later, right?"

"Uh... yeah?"

"Yeah.  So you know this is the real deal.  I think you're a kind of cool guy.  Not super cool yet.  We'll get there later.  I happen to know for a fact that we have a second string defensive guard position open, too.  There'll be some competition for it, maybe, but I'll vouch for you.  And if you're as good as you say, then I'll even see if we can have you switch in with the starter defensive guards."

Caleb's still staring at me, but he doesn't look like a sad puppy dog anymore.

I keep going with this.  "I mean, yeah, I can't guarantee you'll play a ton early in the game, but a little in the third quarter, maybe even the entire fourth quarter depending on how things are going?  I'll stick up for you.  If you earn it, and you don't let me down, I'll be there for you.  That's what brothers are for, right?"

"Ethan, you aren't even my brother, though," Caleb says, laughing.

"Fuck, man... you're making this difficult.  Like... stepbrothers or something?  Give me a break and just go with it.  You know what I mean."

"Stepbrother?" Caleb asks me, this mischievous fucking smirk on his face, one eyebrow raised.  "I'm not too sure about that.  I've seen how this stepbrother thing works with Ashley, Ethan.  I'm not really into that.  No benefits for me."

"I'm going to kick your fucking ass," I tell him, laughing.  "You don't get any benefits.  Those are strictly reserved for Ashley."

"What about a pat on the ass?" Caleb asks, trying not to laugh.  "Football camaraderie, right?"

"I'll tell you what," I say.  "You smack Scarlet's ass sometime.  I need to be there as a witness.  You do that and I'll give you some football camaraderie ass pats if you do good.  Deal?"

"I don't even know if she'd like that," Caleb says, getting all pouty again.  "You said she goes to the football parties?  Do guys hit on her a lot there?  If I'm just second string, she won't even be impressed.  The starters will be cooler."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I ask him.  "Seriously, are you fucking kidding me?"

"Er... no?"

"Scarlet's like my new stepsister.  I'm adopting her, alright?  She's adopted.  And you're my new stepbrother here.  Only if you join the football team, though.  Do you get where I'm going with this?"

"So if I'm your stepbrother and Scarlet's your stepsister, then I'm Scarlet's stepbrother, too?" Caleb asks.

"Stop giving me that goofy as fuck look of yours," I tell him.  "But, yeah.  Take it from me.  Stepbrother with benefits?  Pretty fucking good deal.  You've got a week, though.  If you don't turn it into more by then, you're done.  You have to cut her off, no matter what."

"What, a week?  When?  Now?  Ethan, I haven't even talked to her about this.  She's going to think it's weird.  I... I mean, we did talk about... something..."

"Yeah, what's that something?" I ask him.  "Scarlet said something last night, but she wouldn't tell me."

"It's... it's nothing!" Caleb says.

He's defiant, too.  Awkward, kind of nervous defiance, but whatever.  After I stare at him for a couple seconds, he tries to pound his hand on the table, even more defiant.  It's kind of half-assed, but I'll let it go.  He gets points for the attempt.

"Not now," I say, "but whenever.  You get a week to impress Scarlet.  For a relationship, I mean.  Dating or whatever the fuck.  If you can't impress her in a week, you're probably never going to impress her.  It'll be a lost cause.  I want you to think about that, alright?  I'm not saying you have to start right now, but as soon as you do start, I want you to go all out.  Don't fucking half-ass this.  This is serious.  This is love we're talking about, Caleb.  You don't go halfway with love, dude.  You go all the fucking way or you die trying."

"I don't think you really die," Caleb says, backtalking me.

"You fucking die," I tell him.  "This is hardcore dating.  The people who don't die are the ones who obviously were just screwing around and trying to half-ass their way through relationships."

"Oh," Caleb says.  "I think I get it now?"

"Good.  Now I'm heading to the football field.  You coming or what?" I ask him.  "I want you to come."

"Really?" he asks.  "Or are you just being nice?"

"Are you serious?  When the fuck have I ever been nice?"

"I've seen you be nice to Ashley," Caleb points out.

"Caleb, why the fuck are you sassing me?"

"I'm not!  I'm just saying you're nice to Ashley!"

"Listen, are you coming with me so I can introduce you to the coach or what?  Are you going to come to our private parties and then smack Scarlet on the ass, or are you going to sit at home and watch
Dancing with the Stars
or something?"

"Wait, if I'm on the football team, I can't watch
Dancing with the Stars?
" Caleb asks.  "I usually try and record it or check it out on YouTube if I miss it, but I like that show."

"It's not a bad show," I say.  "I like Julianne Hough.  She's pretty hot.  I was trying to attack your masculinity, Caleb.  You're supposed to want to prove your manliness to me now.  Stay with me here."

"Oh," Caleb says.  "Sorry."

"You can still watch
Dancing with the Stars
, but if we're having a private football party or a game that night you're going to have to record it and watch it later," I say.  "This isn't even about that.  I don't know what the fuck you're doing to me, Caleb."

"I don't know if I can smack Scarlet's ass, though, Ethan," he says.

"You're going to smack her fucking ass so damn hard, Caleb.  I promise you."

"She told me once that she was kind of into that," Caleb says.  This is more like musing.  I don't know where the fuck it came from, but that's alright.  "Like, uh... you know, domination... submission... spankings and... wait, I didn't mean to say that."

"When did she tell you this?" I ask him.  "Where were you?"

"It was the summer before we went to college.  Scarlet snuck out of her house and climbed onto my garage and I let her in my window."

"Your bedroom window?" I ask.  I need to clarify this.  It's important.

"Uh... yeah?  She stayed over that night.  She's, uh... I don't know.  I can tell you about it later.  She used to come over a lot."

"So, an attractive girl snuck into your window, secretly stayed overnight in your bedroom, and told you that she likes having her ass smacked, and... you...?"

This is a question, sort of.  I mean, it's a rhetorical question, because it happened in the past, but still.  I hope Caleb understands what I'm saying here.

"I... went downstairs and got popcorn and we watched a movie?" he says.

"I'm done.  I can't talk to you anymore.  I need to stop."

I start walking away.  I have to go.  I have football stuff to do, but it's more than that, too.  I just can't.

"Wait, Ethan!" Caleb says, following after me.  "Can I still come with you to the football sign ups?"

"Yeah," I say.  "Just don't talk to me for a few.  I need to calm down.  I'm so fucking angry at you, Caleb."

"What!  What did I even do?"

"Please... just please stop... this is hard enough as it is."

––––––––

I
don't know why I'm at the coffee shop.  I feel like I should have a reason for being here, don't you think?  It's like when you're taking a test and you read one of the questions, and you're pretty sure you know the answer, except for whatever reason you can't verbalize it or make complete sense of it.

This is kind of like that, but in my case it's more like there's a multiple choice answer to the question.  I'm still trying to figure out which answer is the correct one.

First, maybe I just came here to study?  I mean, I
am
studying, so it's not like this is incorrect, right?  I brought my laptop with me so I could go through everything, and I have my notebooks and a few of my textbooks.  I finished up one of my homework assignments shortly after I got here.  It wasn't too hard.  Mostly I just had to read a chapter in the book and write a short essay about it.  I typed it up on my laptop and I'll print it out when I get back.

And... yes, I'm doing homework, but I don't think that's the reason I'm here.  I think it's one of the reasons, though.  I kind of want to be defiant and strong.  If I've learned anything after spending the summer with Ethan, it's that I'm a lot more than just some Little Miss Perfect good girl.  I kind of like when Ethan calls me that, though.  It makes me want to be really bad with him.  Naughty, even...

I'm getting sidetracked here.  Ugh.

Alright, so the second reason I could be here is to meet Jake.  I admit this has a strong possibility of being true, but there's a few angles to this that need to be taken into consideration.  This isn't just one answer, it's a couple side answers on this multiple choice test of my life.

One, I'm here to prove to him that he can't get to me.  He can't just text me and expect me to show up at his beck and call or anything.  Yes, I did show up, but not for him.  I showed up to prove to him that he has no effect on me, and that I can just do my homework and ignore him.

What if he sits in my booth with me, though?

I think that's where option two comes into play.  I can confront him about everything.  I can yell at him and shout and tell him off.  I don't think I'd yell too loudly, though.  I'd really like to, but I'm in a coffee shop and I don't want them to kick me out.  I especially don't want them to ban me from ever coming here again.  I really like studying here.  Sometimes they give me free refills, too.

Alright, so the third option is... I can listen to what he has to say, I guess.  I don't think this is a very good option, but it doesn't exactly hurt to listen, right?  I can sit here and listen and hope he screws up.  Maybe he'll be the one to yell and shout at me, or maybe someone will hear him and tell the manager, in which case they might kick him out instead of me.  Maybe they'll even ban him from coming in ever again.  Wouldn't that be nice?

It's not like this is going to solve my problems with Jake, but it'd be a small victory.  Sometimes you need a minor triumph before you can win the war completely.  For morale, you know?  I think there's something about that in Sun Tzu's
The Art of War
.  I like that book.  Maybe I should read it again and see if he has any insight into how to deal with an asshole ex-boyfriend.

The next option in this line of thought is... well, I guess I could just do what Jake wants.  I think this is the wrong answer, because I have no way of knowing whether he'll stop harassing me after I do what he wants.  It's still an option, though.  Sometimes you have to understand the problem completely in order to solve it.  By figuring out the wrong answers, you can more easily decide on the correct ones.  The process of elimination, right?

The last option I have right now is that I can just leave.  First and foremost, I came here in order to study.  Yes, Jake wanted to meet me here, too, but it's not like I'm going to sit in a coffee shop doing nothing for hours at a time.  He mentioned he'd come by after classes were out for the day.  Mine ended earlier, since I prefer to schedule all of my classes in the morning, but there's some afternoon classes, so I think Jake was talking about those.