by Terry Towers
Had he really thought about me? Like this?
I panicked and gave him a harder shove. Eric went toppling backwards, his jeans around his ankles and his erection still pressing against the thin spandex cotton of his boxer briefs. I looked. I couldn’t help it. Oh damn, and was he ever gifted in the dick department! My pussy clenched in anticipation.
Anticipation of what? Sex? With Eric? My mind flashed back to Sam and how he’d made me come so quickly. Would Eric be as good, maybe even better?
Shit! I need out of here! Now! "I gotta go." Leaping from the bed, I raced out the door and into my room, closing and locking the door behind me.
Please don’t come after me. Please don’t. The words were like a chant in my head as I sat crossed-legged on the bed, my hands on each side of my forehead, my head bowed. Why couldn’t things be back to normal, when our parents were alive and the bar was making money and my stepbrothers were my brothers and not…Whatever they were now. Not too many years ago, all I had to worry about was not messing up on a cheerleading routine or what I was going to wear on a date. These new problems were well out of my comfort zone and beyond my knowledge base.
My mind was racing. Considering what had just happened, there was no way I was going to get to sleep anytime soon, even though I was physically exhausted. Grabbing my laptop from my dresser, I brought it over to the bed and sat it on my lap. Starting it up, I began to look up strip clubs, studying whatever interior pictures I could turn up. Taking note of food and drink prices, if they were available, and getting a general knowledge of the industry. There was a large range, from classy to seriously trashy. After a couple hours, I was done, or done as I planned on being. Even though my mind had stopped spinning, pure exhaustion was taking over. Closing my laptop, I placed it on my night table and curled up on the bed, not even bothering to get under the blankets. I was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
~*~ TT ~*~
My stomach's grumbling woke me. Putting my hands over my head, I did a full body stretch before opening my eyes. Giving myself a moment to fully wake, I rolled out of bed and headed for the kitchen after a minute's stop at the bathroom. Luckily, the guys were not up yet. I could grab breakfast and hide away from them today, at least until we opened the bar just before suppertime.
I was grabbing a box of cereal when one of the brothers spoke from behind me. Damn.
“Morning. How’d you sleep?”
I froze, trying to discern which brother it was. I couldn’t. Though I wasn’t sure if one was really better than the other at this point. Gathering up my courage, I forced a smile to my lips as I spun around with the bowl in hand and acknowledged Sam, who was wearing a friendly smile and a pair of plaid pajama bottoms. “Okay. I slept okay.”
“Oh. Was something the matter?” He went to the fridge, opened it, and peered in.
Just everything, I groaned inwardly, my whole damned life! But hey, at least he was attempting to be casual. That was a plus. Maybe he’d decided to just let things go and pretend the other night didn’t happen. I hoped so.
“No, just a lot going on. The bar and all, you know.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t look up from the fridge. “I think we can figure something out. Eric can be a hard ass, but he’s not entirely unreasonable, I think we can work with him to find a solution and make it all work.”
“Uh-huh.” I wasn’t so convinced. “And how’d you sleep?”
He pulled a pizza box from inside the fridge and shrugged.
“Pizza for breakfast?” I scrunched my nose up at his breakfast choice.
He grinned. “Breakfast of champions, Andy.”
“Uh-huh.” I spooned a mouthful of cereal into my mouth, relaxing slightly. It wasn’t nearly as awkward as I’d thought it would be with him. Maybe the awkwardness was all in my head. Maybe I was making a big deal out of something that didn’t need to be a source of drama.
We ate in silence. Popping the last piece of pizza into his mouth, Sam stood. I was still working on my cereal. “I’m not going to be at the club tonight.”
“Oh, your turn to scope out some clubs?” I lifted my eyes from my bowl to look directly at him.
“Yes and no.”
I tilted my head as I looked up at him. “What does that mean?”
“I’m checking out clubs, but I also have a date. She’s going with me.”
“A date?” I attempted to come off as nonchalantly as possible, but I could hear the pitch in my voice go up an octave. I winced and hoped he didn’t hear.
“Umm. Yeah.” Sam thrust a hand into his dark hair. “Rebecca.”
“Rebecca?” I parroted. “You’ve never mentioned her before.”
“Yeah. She uh, she's in one of my classes. She called last night and asked if I wanted to go out for drinks. I told her if she wanted to tag along with me tonight to the clubs, we could start with dinner and see how it goes.”
“Oh.”
“It’s nothing serious. Why, do you have an issue with it?”
I didn’t say anything for a moment. I mean, what could I say? Did I expect him to never date again because we had a moment a few days ago? In all fairness, it was more than just a moment. But then again, I chose not to talk about it and dismissed him. Of course he was going to go on with his life. But a part of me didn’t want him to. A part of me wanted him to fight for me and wear my resolve down until I saw things his way. Which was ridiculous of me, I knew that.
I gave him a smile—a fake smile. “Of course I don’t. Why would I?” I countered. I could have sworn I saw a flash of hurt in his eyes, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, and he returned my smile.
“Good. Don’t wait up.” Giving me a wink, he turned and exited the kitchen, leaving me more confused than ever.
Damn them both, I mentally screamed as I tossed my spoon across the room in the direction of the sink. It hit the back wall, bounced off, and fell to the floor with a clang.
Groaning inwardly, I lowered my head to the table and gently bounced my forehead off of the wood a few times. Men! Who needed them!
Chapter 10
Eric
I was being a coward, I knew that and wouldn't deny it one tiny little bit. Typically, I wouldn’t avoid a woman just because something happened between us. Why would I? But I was avoiding Andrea like the plague. I had no idea what to say other than 'sorry.' Even then, I’d seen the look of horror and shock in her eyes and expression. I’ve overstepped a very sacred line and it couldn’t be uncrossed.
Perhaps it would be easiest to play then “I was drunk” card. Maybe that would get me a free pass, but I refused to do that. At that moment, I may have been a coward, but I wasn’t going to take the easy way out and use my drunkenness as an excuse when I’d been perfectly aware of what I’d been doing. I wasn’t one of ‘those guys.’
I’d take my lumps—eventually—when I figured out how best to deal with what I’d done.
If only she hadn’t looked at me like that. Like I was the last man on earth she’d ever want.
“Fuck!” I said to the empty bar. The doors opened at 4. It was noon, and I was already here. I told Sam I was going to do inventory and start prep for the night. You know, had to get a boost on the night since he wouldn’t be there. But that was a lie.
“Bud, you open?” I looked up from behind the bar to see a thin man, roughly my age, standing just inside the open doorway. I’d forgotten to lock the door.
“Ummm.” I waved him in. “Yeah, sure, why not.”
I could use the company, I silently added.
Closing the door behind him, he made his way to the bar and sat down. “I’ll have a beer.”
“Bottle or tap?” I asked, gabbing a glass assuming he wanted draft and moving to the dispenser.
“Draft.”
“Sure thing.” Filling the glass with the frothy liquid, I turned back to him and passed him the glass. “Enjoy.”
“How much?”
I shrugged. “First one’s free.”
/>
“Thanks, man.” He graced me with a smile and took a hearty drink.
Considering the financial status of the bar, giving away beer wasn’t exactly a bright idea, but I did it anyhow. The guy looked incredibly depressed. I think he needed someone to talk to as much as or more than I did. “Anything on your mind?”
He chuckled, setting the glass on the bar. “Same old shit, different day.”
I blinked, narrowing my eyes at him. At first glance, I hadn’t recognized him, but now I knew exactly who he was. "Todd?" I hadn’t seen Todd McCarthy for well over ten years, not since our family had moved out of the neighbourhood when I was nine.
“Yeah. Yeah,” his eyes narrowed right back at me, and he nodded. “Eric Hughes? Or is it Sam?”
“Eric.”
He sat up a little straighter in his chair and looked around. “Oh shit, I hadn’t even thought about it! This is Kevin Fox’s place, isn’t it?”
“Well, yeah. Used to be?”
“He sold it to you?”
“Not exactly.” Pouring myself a beer I took a big gulp. “The three of us took it over when Kevin died.”
His brow furrowed. “I don’t follow.”
“Our parents got divorced-”
“Sorry to hear that, man.”
I waved off his apology. “-and my mother married Andrea’s father. You remember Andrea, right?”
He laughed. “Shit, yeah, 'course I do. That girl always had the hate on for me. How’s she doing?”
I laughed with him. Same old, Todd, next to impossible to get a story out without being interrupted. “She’s still trying to deal with her father’s death. She took it so damned hard, but she’s fighting through.”
“I bet.” His smile faded. “Shame. Sorry for your loss.”
“Yeah. Thanks. Appreciate it.”
We finished our drinks in silence and started a new round.
“Hey, so you went from being Andrea’s husband to being her stepbrother, huh?”
“What?” My brow furrowed as I stared at him. “What are you talking about? We were never married.”
He chuckled. “Sure you were.”
I motioned to his empty glass. “I think I’m going to have to cut you off, buddy, ‘cause you’re either misinformed or delusional.”
“Nah man, I mean back when we were kids. Remember? We had that fake wedding for you guys. She married you and your brother. The summer before you guys moved out of town.”
I thought back a moment, and a grin spread across my lips. “Wow, you’re right.” Laughing, I nodded as the memories came rushing back to me—Andrea was all dressed up in a cute pink dress. How surprised and embarrassed she was when we kissed her. “I remember now. I sometimes forget I knew her before our folks got hitched.”
“So is she seeing someone now?”
“Who?”
“Andrea. Is she involved with someone? I just got un-involved with someone.” He motioned towards his empty glass. “Part of the reason I’m here right now.”
I didn’t have a chance to answer. The door opened, and in stepped Andrea. She took a couple steps into the bar and stopped, her eyes growing wide as she stared at me.
“Morning, Andrea,” I greeted her, trying to sound unperturbed by her arrival, despite the feeling of embarrassment over last night. I couldn’t let it bother me. I needed to vault that memory and forget it ever happened.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, closing the door behind her and making her way to the bar. I didn’t miss the fact that she was refusing to meet my gaze.
“I could ask you the same question.”
“Sam said he had a date tonight. We’re going to be short someone, I wanted to get a jump on the prep, that’s about it.”
“My thought exactly.” Her eyes focused on the back of Todd’s head, and then she looked back up at me questioningly.
“Do you remember Todd McCarthy?” As I said his name, Todd swivelled in his chair around to greet Andrea.
“Hey Andrea. Long time, no see.” He stood and met her as she approached the bar, extending his hand to her. Stopping before him, she took his hand and gave it a brief shake, taking in his face curiously.
“For sure. How have you been Todd?”
If I recalled correctly, she was never a big fan of Todd. He used to annoy the living shit out of her when we were kids. I chuckled to myself as I remembered the day that she told Sam and I that we were forbidden to be his friend anymore. In her mind, it was her right as our wife to have a say. We refused, and since it was two against one, we won, and Todd got to continue to be our friend—at least, that had been the case, until we moved.
So many memories of that time in my life came flooding back to me. Life was so damned easy back then. My only concern with life back then was having fun. The only problem was trying to decide who would be my best friend from week to week, but considering I had a twin brother, he got to play that role in my life by default—and still did.
The sound of a loud slap on the countertop pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up, and my gaze met Todd’s.
Knowing he had my attention, he smiled. “Hey, it was good seeing you again, Eric.”
“Ya, you too man.”
Todd turned back to Andrea and gave her a hug. My eyes narrowed and a wave of jealousy surged up within me.
“So I’ll call you and see you this weekend?”
What? Why in the fuck would Todd McCarthy be seeing her this weekend? I zoned out for a moment, and she’s got a date. What the fuck! My jaw clenched as I watched them finish their exchange, and Todd left.
“What’s going on with you and Todd?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play that game with me. When did you agree to a date with him?” I could hear the annoyance in my tone but couldn’t do a damned thing to hold it back.
“A moment ago.” She gave her head a shake. “I have stuff to do.” She turned and started walking toward the entrance, to the back room.
There was no way in hell I was going to let her go that easily. It was easier to focus on my annoyance with her than my embarrassment of her rejection. “Wait, we need to talk.”
“No, we don’t.” She called over her shoulder, making it to the door of the back room and pushing it open.
I was hot on her heels. “Why would you go out with him?”
“'Cause he asked.” She disappeared into the back room. “And I haven’t gone out on a date in what feels like forever.”
Entering the back room behind her, I caught up to her just inside the door and trapped her upper arm in my hand, spinning her back around to face me. However, when she faced me and lifted her face so that her gaze met mine, I completely forgot why I was chasing her down.
I wanted this woman. I needed her. How dare another man even attempt to be with her? But to make it worse, she'd accepted. I showed my hand last night, and she turned it down—for Todd McCarthy. Of all people, Todd McCarthy! She used to hate that guy! I needed to know why.
“Why are you going to go out with him?”
She frowned. “Because he asked, and I figured, what the hell, why not? I haven’t been on a date for a while, it might be fun.”
“Are you serious? Is he really someone you’d want to be with?”
Looking into her eyes, I knew she knew the answer I was looking for. Her lips formed a straight line, and she shook her head, trying to pull her arm from my grip, but I refused to let her go.
Screw it, I needed to tell her how I felt or I might lose her. “We need to discuss last night. It’s had my mind in a frenzy, and all I can think about is you.” Her mouth dropped open, but she didn’t say anything, so I continued. “I know it’s strange.”
“Strange,” she parroted.
“Okay, fucked up. And unexpected. After what happened last night…” God, why couldn’t the words come out right? I was never like this with women—never. But this wasn’t just some woman.
She gave me a sympathetic smile. �
�It’s best we just forget about last night. oYu were drunk…”
“No. No, I wasn’t. Well, okay, I was, but I knew what I was doing, and it’s what I wanted, even though I wasn’t ready to admit it until now. For a moment, it felt like you wanted it too.”
She sighed. “Eric...”
I pulled her to me, and to my surprise she didn’t resist, allowing herself to be gathered into my arms.
Chapter 11
Andrea
What in the hell was going on these past few days? My emotions were up and down, and everyone in my life seemed to be acting differently from how I’d always known them to be. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was way too exhausted from life in general to fight it any longer. Or maybe I just needed the comfort.
Or maybe, just maybe, I really did want the twins as much as they wanted me. Maybe I had spent too much time denying what I had been wanting deep down for too long. Maybe the stress of the situations we’d been experiencing was the catalyst that we needed to bring us together in the way we were meant to be.
Either way, as he pulled me into his arms, I couldn’t do anything but fall into him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pressed my body flush against his, burying my face into the crook between his neck and shoulder.
“This is wrong,” I murmured against his neck, deep down not really believing my own words but feeling I needed to say them anyhow.
“Why?” he whispered back, his lips skirting the top of my head.
“It just is.”
“Who says?” he countered.
“Our parents. Society. Like, everybody!”
He chuckled softly. “We’re stepsiblings. That’s all, it’s not like we’re blood related or grew up together. It’s no more weird than good friends finally admitting feelings for each other. And that’s what we are… what we have been, right? Since we were six years old.”