Stepbrother Fallen

by Aya Fukunishi

  I'm not a huge fan of classical music. In fact, I only know the name of this piece because I've heard it in so many movies, but it's one of my favorites. I have a couple of versions of the piece on iTunes, but I've never heard it played this well.

  I just don't know how he does it. The piano is completely alien to me – I can't even play Chopsticks – but it's clear Rafe isn't just a talented amateur.

  I'm losing myself in the music, all my anger at Rafe forgotten, at least for the moment. The way he's playing is just too beautiful. It's impossible to hate anyone while watching their fingers dance across the keys like that.

  The spell that seems to have been cast over the room lasts until the final note dies away. As it fades a collective, contented sigh passes through the darkness as Rafe takes a sip from his glass and taps a cigarette out of his pack.

  "Encore!" a voice calls out in the darkness, quickly joined by another. "Yeah, play another!"

  Rafe smiles, clearly enjoying the attention, and calls out to the crowd. "Just one more then I'm done, OK? What'll it be?"

  A few voices call out vague requests, all along the lines of "Umm, do you know that really good one? With the, ummm... oh, what's it called? You know the one I mean?"

  Rafe stubs out his just-lit cigarette, blows a stream of smoke through the shaft of moonlight, and stretches out his fingers. "Do you guys know Elton John?"

  A ripple of nods passes through the audience, and Rafe grins and turned back to the piano. "Thank God, or I'd have to slap some sense into you." He takes a second to prepare, grabs another gulp of Scotch, then launches into the opening notes of Tiny Dancer.

  I feel a hand squeeze my arm, and turn to see Penny leaning over to me with a huge grin on her face. "Fuck, Maddy, how do you keep your hands off him?"

  I take a sip from my beer to avoid answering. The fact is that I just don't know what to say. Rafe is an absolute asshole, there's no denying it. He's rude, and hostile, and cruel, but... well, when he's sat in front of that piano there's something about him that makes my heart race.

  Blue jean baby... L.A. lady... Seamstress for the band...

  My breath quickens as Rafe began to sing. Most of the people I've heard sing this song try for an Elton John impression that just comes off as bad karaoke, but Rafe... he sings in his own voice, rich and deep, feeling every note as it flows from him. He sings earnestly, without a hint of embarrassment or self consciousness.

  Now she's in me... Always with me... Tiny dancer, in my hand...

  A few of the girls start to sing along, and by the second verse the room is filled from wall to wall with noise. I almost expect people to start waving their lighters back and forth in the air. I watch, amazed, as Rafe manages to lead a room full of strangers in song. It's as if the asshole I met just a few hours ago has been replaced, with a snap of fingers, with the charismatic life of the party. Everyone loves him.

  Piano man... He makes his stand... In the auditorium...

  Rafe looks out into the audience, and after a moment of searching his eyes rest on me. I hold my breath. My heart jumps into my throat as he gives me a smile and a wink. Jesus. I think my panties just melted. He's still looking at me, our eyes locked in the dim light, and it feels like we're the only two people on earth. All I can do is smile back at him.

  The words she knows, the tune she hums...

  Fuck it. I may have a few beers in me, and that tequila is making my head swim a little, but as soon as Rafe stops singing I'm going to kiss him. I don't care if it's weird. I don't care that people will see me. I don't care that he's a rude, abrasive asshole who stinks of cigarette smoke and makes me want to tear my hair out. My libido has just taken control of my brain, and it's steering me due Rafe.

  Hold me closer, tiny dancer... Count the headlights on the highway...

  I can't help but join in as he reaches the chorus. I can't sing for shit, but right now I just don't care. There's nowhere else I'd want be than here, basking in Rafe's glow, singing my heart out, grinning like an idiot as this insanely sexy guy smiles at me from across the room.

  I can feel my body tingle with anticipation as the song winds down. My heart is beating like a drum, my hands are shaking, and between my legs... well, stuff's happening, let's leave it at that.

  Finally Rafe reaches the end of the song. His fingers skip over the keys, and the moment the final note fades I feel a thrill of excitement as he kicks back the stool, his eyes still fixed on me, and starts walking in my direction. Jesus, my fingers are tingling. He's just a few steps away now. OK, calm down, Maddy. Don't lose your shit. Just breathe, OK? In and out, in and out.

  He's here, just a step away. He reaches his hand out to me, and I reach forward to take it. This is going to be –

  Someone jostles me from behind, shoving me out of the way. In the darkness I spin sideways, trying to stay on my feet, but my knee hits something hard and I go tumbling backwards into the lap of some girl dozing drunkenly on the sofa. I swing my arm out to steady myself and catch someone's drink, and I gasp as the cup upends itself on my dress.

  "Hey!" yells the girl I landed on. "What the fuck are you doing?"

  "I'm sorry! Sorry! I just... I fell. Sorry." I roll off the sofa onto the floor, landing on yet another person hidden in the darkness, and I crawl blindly though what feels like a sea of bodies, apologizing all the way, until finally my hands touch solid ground.

  My dress is just glued to my skin. The drink caught me full in the chest, and I'm not wearing a fucking bra under this stupid summer dress. Thank God it's dark in here, because the ladies are definitely on show.

  I look up into the darkness hoping I'll see Rafe coming to my aid, but there's no hand held out to lift me up. No concerned face. Nothing but Rafe standing by the sofa with his back turned away from me, his hands grasping the waist of the girl he was really smiling at while he was playing. The girl who was standing behind me. The girl who pushed me over the edge of the sofa in her rush to stick her tongue down Rafe's throat.

  Fuck. My. Life.

  I stumble through the outbuilding, my hands held protectively over my chest, searching for someplace I can dry myself off and maybe have a little cry. Why does it seem that every time I see Rafe I end up angry and humiliated, with my tits on display?

  Jesus, this building is huge. It seems to be the place Manda's dad uses to store everything he can't fit in the main house: hot tub, pool, music room, gym... it's just a random assortment of stuff.

  The gym is insane. It seems like Manda's dad was planning to host two dozen fitness freaks, because this place is big enough for an army. There's a row of four treadmills along one wall, but only two people living in the house. Some people just have too much fucking money.

  I feel my way through the rows of exercise machines in the dim light, moving to the back wall where I find the shower room behind a sliding door. The light switch doesn't work – I get the feeling this whole outbuilding is new, and hasn't been hooked up to the power yet – but as long as the water's running I don't care. The gym looks out onto the lawn through a set of full length windows that run along one side of the room, so as long as I keep the sliding door propped open a little there's just enough moonlight to see by.

  As I strip down to my underwear before the mirror I see the extent of the damage. Whatever is what that spilled on me was some kind of nasty bright red concoction that smells like an energy drink mixed with cheap vodka, and it's completely covered the front of my blue dress all the way down to the waist. The dress is finished. There's no way that stain is ever coming out, but right now I'm only interested in getting rid of the worst of it, drying the dress until my nipples don't show through then getting home, climbing into bed and staying there forever. I'm done with this damned party.

  That fucking hurt. As I run the dress under the tap I can feel the tears prick at the corners of my eyes. I know it must sound stupid now, but I really believed that Rafe was smiling at me. I don't know. Maybe I just wanted to believe it so much that I con
vinced myself.

  Now I just feel stupid and out of place, with my silly blue summer dress my mom bought because she thought it'd make me look 'sweet'. It actually makes me look like a marshmallow on my way to junior prom, and I don't know why I wore it. I just... fuck, I don't know. I don't even know why I'm at this damned party. I'm not one of the cool people, I'm really not. I'm one of the 99% who should be standing outside the door wishing they could get in. I'm only here because Manda thinks Penny is awesome, and Penny vouched for me.

  The girl Rafe was with, now she belongs here, that's for damned sure. I've never see her before, but it only took a second to know that she's in the 1%. She was a tall, stunning Asian girl with smoky eyes, legs that went on 'til next week and a little black dress that looked like the guy who made it would have poked his own eyes out when he was done, because he knew he'd never make anything that beautiful ever again. I mean, I don't know her at all, but just looking at her I could tell that she was the kind of person who feels completely at ease at a party like this. She knows what's cool, and what's not. She doesn't sit at home at the weekend reading Penguin Classics and writing little stories in notepads with flowers in the margin of each page. She doesn't have to fake being cool when she comes to a party. She just is.

  And here I am, standing alone in my panties in a darkened bathroom, soaking this stupid taffeta monstrosity under a cold tap, my cheeks burning at the thought that I let myself believe for a second that Rafe would want to be with me when he could be with someone like Miss Bangkok 2015.

  I almost jump when I hear a sudden laugh echo through the gym, high pitched and girlish, and panic when it's followed by a deep voice. I grab my soaking wet dress and try to wring it out quickly, ready to pull it on to cover up my naked breasts if some guy was to walk towards the shower room. Enough people have seen my puppies for one day.

  I tiptoe silently over to the half open sliding door and carefully pull it closed without making a sound. Just as I'm about to plunge myself into darkness I see a figure come into view. Tall and slim, wearing a little black dress.

  Oh no.

  My heart sinks as Rafe steps into view just behind the girl, his hand wrapped around her waist. She guides him to a weight bench and giggles as she straddles it, then pats a spot on the bench in front of her, beckoning Rafe over.

  "What do you want to do to me, Rafe?" she purrs, leaning back and grasping the bar resting in its grooves.

  Rafe straddles the bench between her spread legs and pulls her in towards him. He leans in and whispers something in her ear.

  The girl bites her lip and nods, sliding a hand between Rafe's legs. He leans back as she unzips his fly, and in the darkness I hold my breath as she slowly, teasingly frees Rafe's cock from his jeans.

  It's the first erect penis I've ever seen in real life, and... Jesus, it's fucking magnificent. I mean, I'm no prude. I've seen porn and I know exactly what a hard cock looks like, but seeing Rafe's is just totally different. Watching it slip from his jeans, still growing, swelling larger with each of Rafe's heartbeats, the thick, dark veins pulsing around the sides of the shaft... my God. I've never understood why some women love giving blowjobs – it's always seem a little gross to me – but seeing Rafe's cock I can kind of understand the appeal for the first time. Just the thought of lowering my mouth over his hot, throbbing cock is making me wet.

  Oh Jesus, do I really want to see this? I want to turn away, but I just can't. I can't believe I'm watching, but I can't seem to drag my eyes away as the girl lowers herself down to her belly on the bench, moves her head into Rafe's lap and kisses the tip of his cock. I hate myself for this, but I can't help but feel a disgusting, perverted little shudder of arousal pass through me as the sound of her wet lips slipping around Rafe's hard shaft reaches me.

  Stop looking, Maddy! Stop torturing yourself!

  OK, that's it. I'm not watching any more. I pull back from the doorway and fix my eyes on the cinder block wall in front of me. I just wish I hadn't left my purse back at the couch in the main house. I could have plugged my earphones into my phone and drowned out the sound with some music, but no, I have to hear every sound. Every moan. Every breath. Every wet, sloppy smack.

  The sound of the girl slobbering over Rafe's cock stops for a moment.

  "Can you believe that little bitch?" she asked, laughing a little.

  "What bitch?"

  I peek through the gap in the door again. Rafe looks down at the girl, and doesn't look all that pleased she's stopped in the middle of a blowjob.

  "That prissy little nerd in the blue dress back at the piano. It was so funny." The girl is holding Rafe's cock like a microphone as she talks, like she's delivering blowjob standup. "I'm pretty sure she thought you were coming to her when you finished your song."

  Oh Jesus, she's talking about me.

  Rafe looks disinterested. "I don't know who you're talking about."

  "Oh, you must have seen her! God, she looked like an idiot. She was staring at you all doe eyed like she was in love. Stupid bitch."

  Rafe looks bored and confused. "I really have no idea who you're talking about, Lin."

  I'm hating this girl more by the moment. I hope she chokes on Rafe's cock. "What, so you didn't see her fall when I pushed her? That was the funniest part!"

  Rafe pulls away from her a little. "You pushed some girl?"

  "Yeah," Lin giggles. "It was soooo funny. She fell over the sofa and ended up covered in Grant's booze. I would have laughed my ass off if you hadn't stuck your tongue down my throat. Funniest thing I've seen all week."

  Now Rafe slides backwards, pulling Lin's hand from his shaft. "Wait, you pushed some girl over and you think it's funny. Why? What if she was hurt?"

  Lin's still laughing like a drain. "Oh, come on, it's just funny! There's nothing more hilarious than watching some skanky little bitch fall on her ass! Hey, what are you doing?"

  Rafe slides backwards from the bench, tucking his cock back into his jeans. "Yeah, I think we're done here, Lin."

  Lin is lying there, open mouthed, with a stupid confused expression on her face. "What are you talking about? I thought you wanted to have sex?"

  "Nah, I changed my mind."

  "What do you mean you changed your mind? What am I supposed to do?"

  Rafe buttons up his jeans and lets out a tired sigh. "You've got fingers, Lin. If you really need to come I suggest you fuck yourself. I'm gonna go party with the skanky little bitches."

  "Are you fucking kidding me, Rafe?" Lin rolls from the bench and stands to her full height. "How dare you! Guys line up around the fucking block to be with me!"

  "I don't doubt it, and I'm sure your bedroom has a revolving door," replies Rafe, turning to the door. "You've got a great ass, Lin. Go back to the party. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding some kid who can put up with your shitty personality long enough to spray his load in your pussy."

  Lin is almost stamping her feet now, throwing a tantrum like a petulant child. "Get back here! Nobody walks away from me!"

  As Rafe turns back to her I see he's shaking his head and smiling. "And yet..." he says, walking out the door.

  I pull back a little, sinking deeper into the shadows as Lin continues to yell. I'm pretty sure if she saw me now she'd try to kill me. "Rafe, you fucking queer!” she yells. “I don't want your pathetic little cock anyway, you fucking piece of shit. That's right, keep on walking! Don't think you'll ever get another chance with me, you fucking asshole!"

  It takes her a few moments to realize she's only shouting to herself, before she storms off after Rafe to continue her tirade. I'm left alone in the darkness, crouched against the wall clutching my soaking dress. Only now it's occurring to me that the hand dryer on the wall won't work without any power to the building, so I wring the dress into the basin and tug it on, hoping nobody will notice me if I slip out the back door.