by Sienna Skye
“Morgan, so help me…if you don’t shut up.”
“Alpacas like to have their stomachs rubbed. They totally do.”
That was the last “totally” for Hunter. He picked up a pillow and hurled it at Morgan and hit him square in the face. All it did was cause Morgan to laugh, hysterically. I’m talking belly roll, tears streaming down his face, not coming up for air, laughing.
“That’s it. I’m fucking done. Julia, can I borrow those headphones we bought you?”
“Yeah, sure. They are in the top drawer of my nightstand.” I sat there watching Morgan as he continued to crack himself up. I closed my eyes and tipped my head back against the couch.
Suddenly it hit me what else was in my top nightstand drawer. I started yelling Hunter’s name. I scrambled to get up, but apparently I was wrong about not being drunk. Totally wrong. Shit! I finally got to my feet and started to run, or as close to running as I could get. Morgan stopped his laughing when he saw me struggle.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Not now, Morgan. Hunter!! Hunter wait!” I started to climb up the stairs, but could only do it on all fours. Morgan was following me.
“Hey, why are we crawling?”
I looked back over my shoulder to see Morgan crawling up the stairs behind me. I just shook my head and scrambled on to try to stop Hunter before he discovered my battery operated boyfriend.
“Hey this is great. We should crawl up the stairs all the time. We totally should.”
Oh for the love of Pete.
When I got to the top of the stairs, I worked my way upright to try to sprint to my room, all the while calling Hunter’s name. When I stepped inside, Hunter was walking out, one hand holding the headphones, the other covering his eyes. I couldn’t stop myself fast enough and Hunter walked right into me, knocking me over. I took Morgan down with me, the two of us toppling down like drunken bowling pins. Hunter offered a hand to help me stand up but wouldn’t look at me.
“Sorry, I tried to catch you before you got to the drawer.”
“Let’s just never mention this again and forget it ever happened.”
“Works for me. Just throw the headphones on my bed when you’re done.”
“Yup.” And with that he went off to his room.
Totally embarrassed, I walked in my room and noticed the nightstand drawer was still open. Amazingly enough, I had forgotten Morgan was behind me. I think it was because he had finally shut up while he tried to process what had happened. He walked over to the drawer and looked inside before I even realized what was going on. He just nodded and turned to leave.
But instead of leaving, he stepped up close behind me and put his hands on my hips. He spoke close to my ear. “No need to be embarrassed about that. But, you don’t need BOB. I could help you out, you know. I totally could.”
Then he left. He just said that and left, while I stood there wondering what the hell just happened. Did he mean what he said? Would he even remember it in the morning?
When Ethan and I broke up, he told me that he always had the feeling that I was never entirely his, but he wasn’t quite sure why. I had told him I had never cheated on him and that was the absolute truth. But, I knew I wasn’t being entirely honest with him either. I’m not sure what brought about my epiphany, but at some point, I had started examining my feelings for Morgan. He was the first person I ran to with almost everything. Good or bad. At first, I tried to convince myself it was just because we were just close, but when I thought about my feelings for Hunter, I knew this was entirely different. Then, there was this one night when I had a dream about Morgan that certainly had nothing to do with us being siblings. I told myself I was crazy and completely wrong for having those feelings. Besides, Morgan certainly did not see me as anything other than a little sister.
But, after what he had just said, I couldn’t help but wonder. It could have all been just drunk ramblings. Nothing else he had said had made any sense. But, what if he did mean it? What did that mean then? Was he just in the mood at that moment to hook up and was throwing it out there? Did he have other feelings for me? I was starting to get a headache. The only thing I could do was see what happened in the morning. I didn’t have a better plan than that.
The following morning, I came downstairs to find that Hunter had a pot of coffee ready. He handed me a cup as soon as I walked into the kitchen. We both sat there nursing our coffee when Morgan dragged himself in. After he poured himself a cup, he came and sat down at the table with us.
“Man, I feel like shit this morning.”
“Do you feel like shit, Morgan? Do you totally feel like shit?” Morgan looked at Hunter like he was crazy, but I smirked.
“I should make us some breakfast. We’ll all feel better after we eat.”
“I can help you.”
“Can you help me out, Morgan? Can you totally help me out?”
Hunter snorted at my comment. In his mind I was just busting on Morgan, but I chose my words carefully, trying to jog his memory.
“What the hell is up with you two?”
“Nothing is up with us. Everything is fine. Totally fine. Don’t you think so, Julia?”
“I do. I totally do.”
As Morgan and I made breakfast, I snuck glances at him, trying to see if he was looking at me any differently. I purposely reached past him a couple of times, shifting closer to him than necessary. When he handed me a plate, I let my fingers skim over his. But, he didn’t react at all. It was like he didn’t even notice. I decided what he said to me was nothing more than some drunken nonsense and I was going to have to just get a grip on this thing. I just had no idea how to go about doing that.
Chapter Twelve
Morgan
That afternoon we were all going to Kyle’s house for a barbeque. Part of me wasn’t sure I wanted to go, but my friend Jace was home on leave and going and I really wanted to get to see him. Jace and I were tight during high school, but then he enlisted in the Marines, so I rarely saw him. I had one hell of a hangover and my memory of the day before was fuzzy at best. I had never gotten so drunk before, but I was starting to sweat the fact that Jules and I would be home all summer together and I drank more than I should have. My feelings for her hadn’t gone away, but they were easier to manage when we both weren’t living under the same roof.
While we were making breakfast, I was hyperaware of her every move. It took all the strength I had not to react to her. She seemed to be so close in my space sometimes and every once in a while, our bodies would touch. I thought I would spontaneously combust.
I had offered to be designated driver because I needed to stay far away from alcohol. I called to Hunter from outside his closed bedroom door and told him I was ready to go. Jules had her door open and when I stopped and looked in, she was standing there in her bathing suit. A bright pink, barely there bikini.
Fuck my life.
Here’s the thing. I’m an ass man. A woman with a small waist and full hips and butt is my Kryptonite. There she stood, a perfect combination of toned body with gorgeous curves. That’s not to say she didn’t have great tits. They were pretty terrific too. But, like I said, I’m an ass man. And the swell of her hips and that ass were enough to bring me to my knees. Thankfully, she threw some kind of cover up dress thing on and I was given a temporary reprieve. I checked to see if I had any drool on my chin before knocking on her doorframe.
“Hey,” Shit, my voice sounded like gravel. I cleared my throat and tried again. “You ready to go?”
“Yep. Let’s go.” She put her sunglasses on the top of her head and smiled at me as she passed. Damn, she smelled good. It was going to be a really long day.
As we were walking up to Kyle’s house I went for a long shot. As much as I didn’t want to have to look at a bikini clad Jules, well I kind of did want to look, but no good could come from that, I sure as hell didn’t want a bunch of other guys looking at her either.
“You should probably keep your cover up on
. The sun is pretty strong, you might get burned.” Like I said, long shot.
“I have sunblock. Plus, you know I tan easily. I’ll be fine.”
Did I mention it was going to be a long fucking day?
I sat there watching as one guy after another gaped at her. Any time one of them made eye contact with me, I would stare them down. I didn’t give a shit. Then I heard a familiar and welcomed voice. I walked over to greet Jace and both Hunter and Jules followed.
“Hey man, how the hell are you? Christ dude, you are like a fucking wall.” I shook his hand and gave him a one armed hug.
“Ahhh come on, don’t want to go a few rounds, Taekwondo Boy?”
“Nah, because I would end up kicking your ass and the Marines would have to kick you out.”
I missed our easy banter. It was so good to see him. Hunter stepped up to say hello and talked for a few minutes. As Hunter walked away, Jace leaned over and spoke quietly.
“Damn man, you have landed yourself one hot…” His words drifted off and I watched his mouth drop open. “Holy shit! Little Jules, is that you sweetheart?”
She laughed as he gushed over her. “Yep, it’s me. Nobody ever calls me Jules except Morgan.”
Trust me, I caught that one too.
“I can’t get over how much you’ve grown up. You are absolutely gorgeous. Hey, sorry that I thought she was your date.”
Sure, rub it in. But, I didn’t get a chance to answer because he was carrying on again.
“Come here sweetie and give me a hug.”
He picked her up and spun her around. She was a blur of tanned flesh and tiny pieces of pink material. Then he grabbed her hand and tugged her in the direction of the pool while he called to me over his shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go catch up. I’m bringing this pretty face with me though, so I am not stuck only staring at your ugly face.”
You know how they say sometimes your words come back to haunt you?
“Good. You can help me put sunblock on. Morgan is concerned I am going to burn up in the sun.”
“I am at your service, my lady.”
“Putting it on a little thick there, aren’t you Jace? This is Jules you’re talking to.”
“I’m well aware.”
As we sat talking I pretended not to notice how she pulled her hair over her shoulder so he could rub the sunblock in or how he adjusted the strings on her bikini as he did. I had to look away as he had her lie down on the chair while he put the lotion on her legs, hovering a little too close to her ass for my liking. When she sat up, she sat sideways on the chair so she was facing in my direction and instead of sitting in his own chair, he sat down next to her.
He wasn’t doing anything wrong. Sure, he was flirting up a storm, but he hadn’t crossed any lines. If there was anyone I thought would be good enough for Jules, it would be Jace or maybe Kyle. Both were stand up guys. But, I was a selfish, jealous, fucked up son of a bitch and I couldn’t stand to see anyone else with her. Still, it was better to be tortured by Jace hanging out with her than to see her with one of the other assholes who had been eyeing her up.
Jace pulled me out of my thoughts when he asked me if I was going to a party coming up in a couple of weeks.
“I’d love to, man, but I have this gala my father is insisting I attend.”
“What about you, Jules? Do you have to go too? I’d love for you to come with me to the party.”
“Sadly, I have to go too. You know they like to parade the three of us around like we are trained poodles. But, thank you for asking.”
I had never been so fucking happy to have to attend one of those damn events in my life.
Chapter Thirteen
Julia
If there was one thing that the guys and I had become accustomed to, it was the frequent parties and banquets we were always expected to attend. We knew it was all a bunch of crap. Parker would parade us around like a nice big happy family so he could push his “family values” stand. Hunter and Morgan had been long ago trained on the proper way to conduct themselves and I turned out to be a quick study. We hated those damn events, so we did what we could to make the best of them. Parker spared no expense when it came to us looking the part. So, the guys would get new suits or tuxes and I would get a new dress and get someone to do my hair and makeup.
We would get three hotel suites, one right next to each other. Preferably, on a different floor than our parents. After the party, we would hang out in one of the rooms, order up a bunch of room service and some movies, and joke about all the ridiculous stuff that went on during the evening. It became like a competition. We would watch the crowd like hawks, looking for arguments, who was kissing up to who, and who was kissing who when they should have been kissing their own spouse. We’d end up staying up most of the night and then making it down the next morning just in time before they stopped serving breakfast.
We knew this event was going to be a big deal. Parker was priming himself to run for that Senate seat and anybody who was anybody was going to be there. The three of us happened to arrive at the hotel at the same time. When we checked in at the front desk, the attendant looked at us nervously.
“I’m so sorry, I know when Mr. Hunter Stone made the reservations, he requested three suites next to each other, but there has been a mistake. There are two suites next to each other and the third is on a completely different floor. Let me see what I can do.”
Hunter looked deep in thought for a moment and then turned and spoke to us in a low voice. “Look, I know we always hang out together after these things…I was just thinking…I wouldn’t mind inviting Jen…so I could take that room on the other floor.”
Hunter had been dating Jen longer than I had ever seen him dating anyone. The suites in the hotel were incredible. It was understandable he would want to invite her. Morgan looked at me and I shrugged to say it was no big deal.
“No worries, dude. That just means I only have to fight Jules for the dessert sampler.”
Hunter informed the desk attendant that the rooms were fine the way they were and we went to our rooms to get ready.
When the hair stylist came, I showed her my dress and we discussed some ideas. We decided on an old Hollywood style, kind of like Jessica Rabbit.
A couple of hours, one hair stylist, and one make-up artist later, I stood looking at myself in the mirror.
The dress I chose was a deep candy apple red satin. It had a halter top that was not cut too low but did make my boobs look great. The back of the dress, however, did dip very low, about three quarters of the way down my back. There was a long slit up the right side that went most of the way up my thigh. I had slipped on a pair of four inch heels. Originally, I had debated on wearing such high heels since I stood 5’8” in my bare feet, but once I saw how long they made my legs look, my decision was made. The stylist had done my hair to perfection, with a sexy dark wave coming across one side of my face. I slowly circled in front of the mirror, turning my head to catch every angle. I felt sexy, desirable. I wondered if Morgan would think so too and I daydreamed about what he reaction would be. A knock at my door dragged me away from my fantasy. The guys had arrived. I grabbed my clutch and stepped out into the hall. Showtime.
The look on Hunter’s face made me smile. His eyes were wide, his eyebrows arched, and he let out a high pitched steady whistle through his teeth.
“Wow, Julia! Morgan and I are going to have to beat guys off with a stick tonight. You look amazing!”
I couldn’t help but blush from his comments. I thanked Hunter and kissed him on the cheek and then turned my head to look at Morgan, but he was silent. He just kept shaking his head back and forth and then he blew a long breath out between his lips. Not exactly the reaction I was looking for. I had imagined some epic movie scene reaction where Morgan was so blown away by how I looked all dressed up that he told me I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and then took my face in his hands and kissed me. Yeah, with Hunter standing there and everyth
ing. What a freaking idiot I was. I should just learn my lesson. I was playing with fire anyway.
I tamped down my previous musings about Morgan and took them each by an arm. “Shall we, gentlemen? The masses await.”
When the three of us entered the ballroom, there was a perceptible lull in the noise, and heads turned to look at us. The guys were always gorgeous, but something about them in tuxes made women lose their minds. I had become used to having to save them when women tried to get themselves invited to one of their hotel rooms. It happened more times than I wanted to think about, but over the years I had become an expert in the art of diversion.
“You guys dip your tuxes in pheromones again?” I whispered as we stepped down the stairs into the room.
“I hardly think all the men with their tongues hanging out are all that taken by me and Morgan all dressed up.” Morgan remained oddly silent.
Well trained offspring that we were, we first stopped to see my mother and Parker. Then we started to mingle and make small talk with the masses. Sometimes we teamed up, sometimes we went on our own. We had done this so many times, we could have done it in our sleep. We each had a knack for remembering names and facts, so when we would greet someone and ask them a question like, “How is your Grandson? Didn’t he get accepted at Duke?” they ate that crap up. I really didn’t care one bit whether Parker got his Senate seat or not, but the guys went for the sake of their father, and since it was expected of us, might as well make the best of it.
In between my mingling and socializing, I kept an eye out for tidbits that would help me win against Morgan tonight. Mostly, I had overheard small arguments. An aggravated wife who felt her husband had been far to attentive to his business partner’s much younger new girlfriend, an up and coming politician who was less than thrilled over the quantity of alcohol his fiancé was consuming and assorted political squabbles I couldn’t be bothered with. I wasn’t feeling overly confident that I would be walking away victorious and if Morgan hit pay dirt, he would be crowing like a rooster.