by Clark, Mia
Ethan goes to the wall opposite my bed and flips on the TV, then snatches up the remote and brings it over to me. He sits in the bed, above the covers, leaning back against the headboard just like I am. We're close, but separate, too; there are blankets and the legs of a breakfast-in-bed tray separating us.
He toys around with the remote until he brings up our family shared Netflix account. We each have special profiles to keep ourselves separate. His finger hovers over the selector. He's going to pick his profile, or that's what it looks like, but at the last minute he switches to mine.
"What are you doing?" I ask. "Are you snooping on my Netflix profile?"
"Nah," he says. "I've already snooped on it before. You need to watch some better shows. What's with all the girly shit?"
"Um, I'm a girl, Ethan. Have you not realized this? I thought you would have figured it out by now, especially considering the last couple of days."
"Holy fuck, you're a girl?" he says, eyes wide. "No fucking way. Tell me more, Princess."
"You're so dumb," I say, giggling.
"Yeah, well, I get that a lot," he says, grinning at me. "I need a study buddy or some shit. Maybe one who can help me over Skype. All the girls I ask to come help me study think I just want to fuck them. What's up with that?"
"And how many girls have you asked to help you study?" I ask, glancing over and narrowing my eyes.
"None," he says. "Not yet, anyways. There's this really sexy chick who asked me recently, though. I've kind of got a thing for her, but she's off limits. She said she'd help me, and if I did we could fool around with video chat after. You think I should take her up on it?"
"What kind of thing do you have for her?" I ask him.
"Nothing serious, Princess. Don't worry. You're still my number one."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask. "I thought we had rules..."
"Yeah," he says. "I meant like... you're my stepsister, right? We're like family or something. I got your back, yo."
"Oh," I say, then I scrunch up my brow. "Did you just say 'yo' to me? Who says that?"
He shrugs. "No clue. It seemed appropriate at the time. You think I was laying it on too thick?"
"I don't know," I say, but I'm not exactly answering his question. I pause for a second. Should I ask him? Yes, I decide to. "Ethan, if you weren't my stepbrother, would you date me?"
"Huh? Where'd that come from?"
"I just... am I the kind of girl that a guy wants to date? Or am I just the kind of girl that guys sleep with while they're looking for someone better?"
"You think there's someone better than you?" he asks.
"I don't know. Probably, right?"
"Nah," he says. "Listen, Princess, this is how it is. I know all about this. I'll tell you, alright?"
"Alright," I say.
"Every girl is perfect. Each and every single one of them. There's never going to be anyone better than you, because you're already perfect. Got it?"
"I'm definitely not perfect," I tell him.
"Nah," he says. "You are. You just don't realize it yet. That's the thing, though. It's hard to figure this shit out. You can't do it on your own. You need some help. When you find the right guy for you, you'll know it. You'll just wake up someday and realize that you're perfect, and you know what? That's all because of you, because you're perfect, and you found someone to be perfect with. The guy's probably going to be some random dude, but he'll be cool, too. It's fine if he's kind of screwy, because he'll have some other positive qualities, like letting you know you're perfect."
"You're refusing to answer my question on purpose, aren't you?" I ask, smiling. "You're going off on a tangent!"
"Maybe," he says, grinning. "The point of the matter here is that you're the kind of girl every guy wants to date, but they don't always realize it at first. Any guy who would sleep with you just because he's got a dick is basically just a dick, and you don't want to spend time with someone like that. He can't see a good thing even when she's right in front of him and he's got his cock inside her, up close and personal."
"Except you, of course," I say. "You're the exception, huh?"
"Nah, I'm no exception, Princess. I know a good thing when I see it. I know that girls like you deserve guys a million times better than me, though. You'll find him some day, too. You'll bring him home, and I'll meet him, and I'll shake his hand and say 'Fuck you. You ever hurt my sister and I'll beat your fucking face in.' It'll be real sweet and romantic like that."
"Oh, it sounds great," I say, laughing. "I'm sure he'll love meeting you. I can't wait."
"If he's cool enough, I'll show him how to make good pancakes, too," Ethan says. "Maybe. Maybe I'll just keep that shit for myself. Need to have a trump card to knock him down a peg if he tries to one up me, right?"
I stick my tongue out at him and laugh. Ethan slices a piece of pancake away quick and smears it in the melted chocolate coating our shared plate, then he stuffs it in my mouth before I realize it. I glare at him, but then I taste it, and... Oh my God this is amazing. It's so good! I want to eat these every day for the rest of my life. That's probably not very healthy, but I'd exercise extra to make up for it.
I chew and swallow, living in heaven for every single second of it.
Ethan smiles, watching me. "Good?" he asks.
"Very good," I say. "What about you?"
"Haven't tried them yet. We still need syrup. Add as much as you want. I'll pour us some juice."
"Alright," I say. "But um... Ethan?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I didn't mean that. I... I meant when are you going to find your perfect girl? Do you know?"
"Nah," he says. "Relationships aren't for me, Princess. I'm just a cocky prick."
"Maybe someday you'll find her," I say. "Maybe?"
"Yeah, maybe," he says with a shrug. "Maybe I already found her and I fucked it up. I wouldn't be surprised."
"If you did, you could tell her," I say. "I bet she would accept your apology if you said you were sorry."
"I don't say sorry, Princess. Not sure if you've realized that yet. I'm too stubborn. I do things my way. If she doesn't want to go along with it, she can go fuck herself."
"Maybe she will!" I say, laughing. "And she'll send you a picture of it, and say 'You see what you're missing, Ethan? Stop being such a jerk and come over here. I'm tired of fucking myself. You do it for me.' It could happen."
"Whoa! Did Little Miss Perfect just swear? Holy fuck."
"I did not!" I say, protesting. "It's just a verb. I was using it as a verb, which is acceptable."
"I feel like we've had this conversation before," he says.
"Me too. Do you remember who won last time?"
"Fuck if I know. You're the smart one. You should remember."
"Smart people don't always have good memories," I say, rolling my eyes at him. "If it's up to me, I'm going to say that I won, though. I'm still Little Miss Perfect and a good girl."
"Good," Ethan says, smiling. "Now eat your damn breakfast before it gets cold. Where's the maple syrup? Seriously, Princess, I give you one job. Just one job! What's up with that?"
"You need to calm yourself down, Ethan Colton!" I say, snatching up the syrup jug and waving it at him like a weapon. "Patience!"
"Yeah yeah. Whatever you say," he says. "Hey, what are we watching?"
"I don't know. You pick something," I say, pouring syrup onto our pancakes.
"No idea why I clicked on your Netflix profile, then," he says, grumbling.
"Pick something from my watch list. I have a lot on there."
"It's all dumb girly shit, isn't it?" he asks, clicking through to check it out. "Oh wait. Whoa. Sons of Anarchy? You got a naughty streak or something?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" I ask.
"Twenty bucks says I probably already do."
"Is that a bet?"
"Nah, you don't want to bet with me, Princess. I play to win."
We start watching the first episode
of the series while sitting in bed and eating pancakes together. The sausage, too. Plus orange juice. Everything is good. It's really good. When we're finished, I pick up the tray and put it on the floor next to my bed.
Now it's just us. Ethan and I, laying in bed together, side by side. I'm cuddled under the blankets and he's laying above them, but we're still really close. He inches a little closer to me and we lay our heads on the same pillow. He puts his hand by my leg, and I move my hand under the covers closer to his. I touch his hand with my fingers, sort of. I'm beneath the blankets and he's above them, but that's alright. This is fine, right? It's not bad to do this. No one can ever see it, anyways. It's hidden from everyone. No one will ever know.
Ethan teases the palm of my hand with his finger, tracing patterns on me above the blanket. Then he reaches over and squeezes my thigh quick, fingers gripping my leg through the covers. I nudge my head against his, and he nudges me back.
"I'll go get soup later, alright? What's wrong with you? You want some cold medicine or something?"
"Just soup would be nice," I say. "Will you have some, too? Can we stay up here and have it?"
"Yeah, sure, why not?" he asks. "Sounds good. Don't worry, I'll take care of you, Princess. You'll feel better in no time. Then we'll go to the beach or something."
I wish that were true. I'm not sure if I'll feel better or not. I want to believe him, though.
A Note from Mia
Can't get enough of Ashley and Ethan's story? Keep reading right away!
Stepbrother With Benefits 6
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You can also find me on Facebook for more sneak peeks and updates here:
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You can find all of the books in my Stepbrother With Benefits series on Amazon
Stepbrother With Benefits series
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Uh oh...
There's one more book after this one, and it's going to be quite a powerful one, I think. These books with Ethan and Ashley are supposed to be a fun and exciting romantic comedy, but sometimes you need a little thrill to keep life interesting, don't you think? And, um... well, Ashley certainly got that in this one!
She's a good girl, and Ethan brought her out of her comfort zone, but she's not exactly up to being completely naughty yet. Also, she needs to be more careful with text messages! Naughty pictures? Eek.
I think that would have been sexy if Ethan got them, though. What do you think he would have done? Something that the both of them would have enjoyed, no doubt. Haha.
This is really difficult, though. It's not just her parents that she has to worry about now, but everyone else, too. And I think what's worse about that is that her and Ethan go to completely different schools. That's kind of hard to deal with, if you don't really have friends and your ex-boyfriend is hellbent on making your life terrible.
I think she can work through it, though. I don't think she can do it on her own, but I think that she's learned a lot these past few days and I think she can do it with a little help. From... who?
You'll find out soon! It's a good next book, I promise.
If you like these books, I'd love if you rated and reviewed them. Do you think that Ashley will be able to make it through this? Is she going to have to tell her parents, or can she figure out a way to keep her secret. Even if she does, what about her and Ethan? Are they going to be together for the rest of the week still, or longer, or is this it for them? Is she going to tell him about Jake and her mistake, too? Too many questions, but they all get answered soon!
I hope you're liking this series so far. It's been a lot of fun.
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you soon! (next book!)
~Mia
About the Author
Mia likes to have fun in all aspects of her life. Whether she's out enjoying the beautiful weather or spending time at home reading a book, a smile is never far from her face. She's prone to randomly laughing at nothing in particular except for whatever idea amuses her at any given moment.
Sometimes you just need to enjoy life, right?
She loves to read, dance, and explore outdoors. Chamomile tea and bubble baths are two of her favorite things. Flowers are especially nice, and she could get lost in a garden if it's big enough and no one's around to remind her that there are other things to do.
She lives in New Hampshire, where the weather is beautiful and the autumn colors are amazing.
You can find the rest of her books (here)
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You can also email her any time at [email protected] if you have questions, comments, or if you'd just like to say hi!