Vain: A Stepbrother Romance (13 page)

Chapter 23 Learning Ground - Sam

We wake up the next day and immediately go down to San Onofre. If we are going
to get ready for this next competition, we need to work fast.

         
“Okay, Mick, let’s start at the beginning. We are going to have to change your
stance, so let’s work on the beach first.”

         
“Forget that, I’m not an idiot. Let’s get out to the water.”

         
“Mick, you said I could teach you. Now let me teach you.”

         
“Fine!” Mick sulks at me like an impetuous child.

          I work with Mick on
getting him to pop up onto the board, and it’s a good thing, too. He’s very
weak in that leg and unbalanced, so much so that he falls over on several
occasions. The frustration in his face is clear, but there are a few times that
he’s actually able to stand. Once he has a few stands under him, I decide it’s
best to hit the water to try and not get him overly frustrated. He knows what
he has to do—he just needs to retrain the muscles to do it.

         
“Okay, Mick, let’s hit the water.”

         
Mick is tentative. I think he understands that this is going to be hard, and
maybe even discouraging. As he hits the water, it’s apparent that his ability
to surf is all but gone. Mick tries to catch the first few waves, but can’t
steady himself and he falls off the board. We are only three waves in and he’s
ready to give up. Again.

         
“Fuck! I can’t do this!”

         
“Mick, you have to give it some time.”

         
“I don’t have time, Sam! I only have a month to be ready.”

         
Mick storms out of the water. I follow closely behind him, trying to think of
what I can do to encourage him to keep trying. Mick throws his board down and
sits on the beach with his arms across his legs. At least he didn’t leave the
beach altogether. I guess that’s a win.

         
“Mick?” I say in a singsong tone.

         
“I know what you’re going to say,” he mutters. “I’m just not sure I have it in
me.”

         
“Mick,” I sing again.

         
Mick still has not looked up to notice that I have taken my top off and I’m
moving on to my bottoms. I’m getting a little angry that he doesn’t even have
the nerve to even raise his head.

         
“Mick!” I snap.

         
“What?!” He finally looks up. I have his attention.

         
“Good boys get rewards,” I coo.

         
Mick smiles. He’s smiling not just because he likes what he sees, but because
he’s grateful to have me in his corner. Even without him saying so, I can tell.
As he springs to attention, I wave a finger at him.

         
“If you want some of this, you will have to be a good boy and let me teach you
how to surf, no matter how foolish it may seem to you. We are starting from
square one, here. Are you able to listen like a good boy?”

         
Mick’s expression changes from a smile to a frown, then back to a smile. He
nods, picks up his board, and makes his way to me. We kiss passionately as he
gropes my body all over. I fight hard to push away from him, both mentally and
physically. I want him as much as he wants me, but there’s work to do. I flash
him a grin and put my wetsuit back on.

         
He pouts. “Aww, that’s not fair.”

         
“I promise you’ll get a reward, if you do as I say.”

         
Mick smiles and nods.

Today,
I teach Mick how to surf like it’s his first time on a board. It’s a hard,
exhausting day, but at the end of it, Mick can stand on the board and ride a
wave all the way to shore. I’m not sure if he’ll regain all of his skill—he has
lost a lot of strength. Today, though, is a good day, and a great starting
point.

As
we drive home, we hold hands, stealing glances at each other all the way. I am
truly in love with Mick. He means everything to me.

         
We don’t even make it through the door before he grabs me and starts kissing me
passionately.

         
“Ahem!”

         
It’s Greg. I had all but forgotten he’s still here.

         
I blush. “Oh, hi, Greg.”

         
“Hi, Sam. I know I said I would stay the week, but uh… something came up.”

         
I smile at Greg, as does Mick. This is, in some way, him giving approval of
Mick. Of course, anyone is better than John, but over the past few days, Greg
and Mick have become pretty good friends.

         
Greg smiles. “I’ll show myself out.”

         
“Hey, Greg,” Mick calls after him in a playful tone. “Next time, I won’t take
it so easy on you.”

         
“Treat her well, Mick,” Greg replies. “You know what happens if you don’t.”

         
Once Greg is gone, Mick envelops me in his kiss. I return the favor, giving him
all that I can. I push him back on the couch and begin to strip for him. Slowly
and seductively, I sway back and forth. He watches me with the same evil grin
he gave me on the first day we met, when we learned our parents were getting
married. His boyish smile has always turned me on. When I’m completely naked, I
pull him up to his feet, turn around, and sit in the place he’s sitting. I look
at him expectantly, smirking.

         
Mick laughs. “What? You want me to strip, too?”

         
“This is an equal opportunity relationship. Get on with it.”

         
Mick obliges me with one of the most uncoordinated stripteases I have ever
seen. Not that I’ve seen any, but I’m pretty sure they’re not supposed to play
out like this. We are now both completely naked. His body, in all its
magnificence, is laid bare in front of me. Mick pulls me to my feet and spins
me around. My back touches his rock-hard abs as he stands there, stroking my
body. A kiss on my neck comes next from him as he turns and sits down on the
couch, never separating from me. While on his lap, I can feel his cock getting
harder under my thighs. Spreading my legs. I reach down and begin to rub it.

         
Mick nibbles lightly on my back. Moving up enough to maneuver his hard cock
inside me, I slide onto it with ease. He feels like a part of me, especially
when we make love. I slowly bounce up and down on his cock, wanting him,
needing him. Leaning my head back so it rests on his shoulder, I submit to Mick
as he guides me with his hands, using them to rock me up and down. My moans
escape my lips at an uncontrollable volume. I can feel every ripple, every
vein, every skin cell of his cock, and each one of them is lighting me on fire.

         
As I orgasm, Mick wraps his muscular arms around me, squeezing tightly. I come
hard at the same time as he does with sweat beading along my body. Mick places
gentle kisses along my spine, but does not remove his cock. I lean back on him
and we sit there, enjoying the touch of each other’s skin.

         
We make our way into the shower together. Mick washes me, paying special
attention to my breasts and pussy. He knows just the right way to touch me. I
return the favor and wash him all over his muscular body. Sometimes when I
touch him, I cannot believe I’m lucky enough to have him. His body is just so
perfect.

         
          Mick kisses my stomach,
slowly lowering himself until he’s licking my pussy. It’s sensitive from our
lovemaking, but the sensation is still incredible. I am on the verge of another
orgasm when he moves up to kiss me. I am so disappointed until he shoves his
hard cock inside me again. He fucks me hard, looking into my eyes, his gaze never
wavering. I watch his mouth open in ecstasy as his pace increases. I come hard
on Mick’s cock, shaking as I do so. Mick shoots another load deep inside me,
filling me again with his seed.

         
He turns off the shower and we exit, still panting. I dry him off completely as
he does the same to me. I take Mick to the kitchen—neither of us have eaten for
quite some time. I know he’s as hungry as I am. All we have in the fridge is
old Chinese food. I pull it out and bring it to the table, where he opens the
conversation.
          “Well, I guess the
romance is done now. Time to eat.”

         
I roll my eyes. “Ha, ha, you’re hilarious.”

         
“I love you,” he says.

         
I smile. “I love you too.”

         
After we’re done eating, I start catching up on all the things I’ve been
neglecting lately—like opening up my mail. The first letter is not good news.
The bank is about to repossess my van and all of my equipment. I haven’t really
been paying attention to my business, what with John and Mick drama. I am going
to lose all that I have worked for.
Shit. Love has betrayed me again. Even
when it’s right, it is wrong.

Mick must see the worry in
my eyes, because he asks, “What’s wrong?”

         
“I am about to lose my van and equipment. I haven’t really been paying my
bills.”

         
“Why not?”

         
“Why do you think, Mick?!”

         
“Sam?”
          “What!?” I scream at
him.

         
“You and I are in this together, let’s work through this together. After all,
its only money.”

          Those were exactly the
words I needed to hear.  I didn’t need to have him pay for me, or tell me
it would all be ok, I need a partner, now and forever. My love for Mick was
growing stronger every day.

Chapter 24 Redemption - Mick

I
return to my house in the morning, if only to prove to myself that it’s still
mine. Also to take some time to think about how I am going to solve this whole
money situation.  My house is still in tatters—scaffolding everywhere,
wood all over the place, boarded up windows. It’s a mess.

That
wasn’t important right now. Right now I needed to call my accountant.

“Hi, Marvin? It’s Mick. I
want to go over my money with you. Well, I really want to find out how much
money I have left.”

         
“Mick? Are you serious?”

         
“Yeah, what’s the problem?”

         
“I told you months ago you were running on empty and you had to change your
lifestyle if you were going to save any money. You don’t have any money left.
Your sponsors have dropped you, you’re not competing anymore, from what I hear.
Everything you own is financed and owned by the bank. If I were you, I would
sell that house and get whatever equity we were able to put into it.”

         
“So, you’re saying I’m broke?”

         
“No, if you were broke, that would mean you just have zero. You have less than
zero. You’re in debt. I told you all of this months ago. Do yourself a favor,
Mick—return the cars, sell the house, and you may come out just broke.”

         
I hang up the phone numbly. All of this time, all of that money, I have burned
through it all. I have no career, I can barely surf, and if I’ve really screwed
up this badly. Financially, I have reached rock bottom.

         
As I sit back, ready to wallow in despair, I have an epiphany. I realize that
the money doesn’t matter, but Sam and our baby sure as hell do. I need to get
back to her. I loved Sam and she needs to know that. I immediately picked up
the phone, she did not answer. Jumping back into my beater I made my way back
to her house.
Why did I even have those expensive cars? I spent most of my
time in this car anyways.

         
As I pull into Sam’s driveway, I see
her van isn’t there—she must be down at the beach. She’s always parked by the
pier, and thankfully, today is not an exception. Running out of my car like a
madman, I call her name.

         
“Sam!
Sam!”

She looks in my direction
threw her arms up and then continued to ignore me. Her stress regarding her
financial situation is showing through.

         
“Sam, I need to talk to you about my financial situation.”

         
“Mick, we can talk about this later. I have to give out these flyers so I don’t
lose my business. Not all of us have millions of dollars.”

         
“Well, that’s more good news. I am broke! Well, according to my accountant,
worse then broke.”

         
“What are you talking about?”

         
“I have burned through a lot of cash. Now I have to get a real job!”

         
“This is supposed to make me happy? I don’t need to take care of someone else.
One sec. Hi, there, are you interested in surfing lessons?” Someone has
approached Sam to inquire.

         
The man looks over at me and smiles. “Well, if Mick is teaching them, then we
may just be.”

         
Sam looks pleased at the thought. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt her feelings that
she might become my boss. I turn to the man.

         
“I would love to teach you how to surf. Come back tomorrow. Lessons start at
eight a.m. for $150 an hour.”

         
“I would have paid double. Deal!”

         
I smile at Sam. “We may have just found a solution to our problems… partner.”

         
“Don’t get any ideas, Mick,” she tells me. “You are not my partner. You are my
employee.”

         
But the important thing is she smiles back. Who knows? Maybe this will be good
for us. I lean in toward her for a kiss,

         
“Ah, ah, ah—no fraternizing during work hours. Here are some flyers. Get to
work.”

***

         
We spend the rest of the day booking appointments for the coming days, then
weeks, then months. It appears as though I’m quite a draw. The crowd continues
to build. News crews come by, asking for an interview. I refuse to give them
anything; the last thing I want to do was to get into that world again. They’re
pissed, obviously, so I fend them off by letting them know I’ll be competing in
the next pro tour contest.

         
“Mick. Mick!” There’s someone yelling overtop of the crowd.

         
I squint to see if I can tell who it is. It’s Jaime.
Good fucking Lord.

         
“What do you want?” I hiss at him.

         
He glares. “It is not what I want. It’s what you owe me.”

         
“We’re still under contract, so anything you make from this operation, I get a
piece of.”

         
“Jaime, you are such a fucking crook. Why didn’t I see this before?”

         
He shrugs. “It’s nothing personal. It’s just business.”

         
Jaime has some kid beside him. I can only assume, after his run-in with Greg,
it’s a bodyguard. He looks rather small to be a bodyguard, though.

         
I nod to the stranger. “Who the fuck is this guy?”

         
“Oh, that’s right, you don’t pay attention to surfing anymore. This is Blane
Vandeer. He’s a surfer from Brazil. I guess you can call him your replacement.”

         
My blood begins to boil. I want to hate that kid, but why should I? He’s trying
to make a living, just like me.

         
I look back to Jaime. “I have a proposition for you.”

         
He raises his brows. “Oh, yeah?”

“I
am going to surf in the next contest. If I beat your boy here, you rip up all
the contracts you have with me and absolve any outstanding debt.”

Jaime
laughs. “Why would I do that?”

“If your boy here wins, I
will give you all of the money that I owe you, plus the Shelby Cobra you have
been trying to get from me for all these years.”

         
Jaime blinks at me, hard. “Are you serious? From what I heard, you can’t even
walk, never mind surf. On top of that, you are going to give me your 1.5
million dollar car?”

         
I smile. “Yup.”

         
Sam pipes up. “Mick, don’t do this. There has to be another way.”

         
I understand her concern. I’m not sure I can surf, and now I’m putting this all
on the line. I need to do this to break away from Jaime, though. I need to be
able to start out with a clean slate. I need to do this for Sam and me. Besides,
I don’t even own the Cobra. As my accountant said, I’m worse than broke. The
worst thing that happens here is I go bankrupt. Done deal!