Stepbrother: The Game He Plays

by Lucy Ivey

  Once I finally pulled his arms and head out of his shirt, I threw it to the corner of his room and let his body drop back down on the bed.

  “Ah, be gentle, Karley,” he said with a chuckle.

  He was enjoying the uneasiness he was causing me.

  “Oh, shut up!” Justin was completely irritated with him now but he was still trying to unlace his left boot.

  “Leave it.” Joe laughed. “Unless you wanna finish undressing me, Karley. I’d love to get my hands on you.”

  Unlike earlier in the evening, I no longer wanted his attention.

  “Leave it,” I said standing back up and walking over to Justin.

  “Too bad.” He sighed closing his eyes. “You have no idea what you’re missing out on.”

  “Knock it off, Joe!” Justin interrupted yanking at his boot. “Karley, I’m sorry. He’s drunk.”

  I already knew he was drunk from the smell coming from his breath and every pore on his body, but mostly because he was talking to me. If he was sober, he would have simply ignored me.

  Even though I didn’t feel sorry for him at all, I did feel sorry for Justin.

  He was trying to ignore his brother’s rude remarks and take care of him.

  And the more I watched him struggle with the lace, the sorrier I felt for him.

  “Here,” I said taking the laces out of his hands and into mine. “Let me try.”

  Without any struggle, I was able to untie the knot and slip Joe’s boot off his foot. I threw it over by his shirt, and Justin pulled the covers up to Joe’s neck and tucked him tightly inside them while I waited in the hallway. He reached to turn off the light next to his bed and stared at the picture for a moment before slamming it facedown on the nightstand.

  It must have reminded him of a time when his brother was different, happy. Not who he was today. She was another painful memory from their past he wanted to forget.

  Before Justin closed his door, Joe rolled his body over to face us. He was peaceful lying in the shadows of his room, as if he belonged in the darkness.

  I thought about the story Justin told me earlier.

  Now that Joe was asleep and no more taunting words were coming from his mouth and no more expressions of malice were on his face, he looked innocent and beautiful, incapable of causing harm.

  And for that moment, I almost believed he was.

  Justin took my hand in his before turning his body to me.

  “Thank you,” he said raising my hand up to kiss it.

  “It’s okay,” I whispered trying to hold back the laughter I felt brewing inside me now that the whole thing was finally over. “But you owe me big time!”

  Justin smiled as he let a rush of air out of his nose.

  “What the hell, right?” He laughed squeezing my hand. “He hasn’t been this bad in a long time.”

  “Yeah, he should have just used his credit card and gotten a room at the Four Seasons with them!”

  “No, he would never do that!”

  “Why? It would have been easier riding in an elevator than stumbling down the sidewalk!”

  “Evidence!” Justin replied laughing. Whatever his comment meant, I didn’t get. It didn’t matter. I was having too much fun with Justin right now.

  “Well, I’m just saying if he had stayed there he might have had a better night. I mean, you did ruin his night with those two girls,” I teased as I leaned my shoulder into his arm.

  His smile disappeared.

  “No, he ruined mine with you,” he whispered with complete seriousness. “I’m the one that should be pissed at him.”

  He squared his body in front of me and took my face in his hands. He was going to kiss me. He wanted to when we were standing by the truck tonight. I’ve wanted him to kiss me all night.

  As he leaned his face closer to mine, the hall light came on.

  Justin and I leaned away from each other quickly and looked down the stairs at Bill looking up at us. The expression on his face was filled with confusion and concern. I wasn’t sure how long he had been standing there, but however long it had been it was obvious he had seen and probably heard enough.

  “Justin, what’s going on?”

  His voice was low. Suspicious. Disapproving.

  “We were helping Joe to bed,” Justin answered in a composed voice.

  “Is he okay?”

  His eyes met mine and held.

  “He’s fine, Dad. He had a little too much to drink.”

  Bill remained quietly in the silence before looking back over at his son.

  “Well, the two of you need to go to bed. Now.”

  I started breathing again and immediately walked toward my room.

  Justin was still watching me with an innocent smile on his face when he spoke to his father, “Good night, Dad.”

  Bill wasn’t amused.

  “Justin, can you come here for a minute?”

  I didn’t turn around but eventually I could hear Justin’s footsteps walking slowly down the stairs. Inside my room, I tried listening but heard nothing.

  I was completely humiliated leaning my body against the thick wooden door blocking out everything on the other side.

  With a deep breath, I turned on my light and walked over to my dresser. I stared at my reflection in the mirror for a few minutes before I heard a light knock at my door.

  It was Justin.

  “Hey,” he whispered.

  “Hey.”

  “Can I come in for a minute?”

  I stepped away from my door and he stepped inside.

  “Is your dad mad?” I asked looking shyly away from him.

  “No.”

  “What did he want to talk to you about? What did he say?”

  “Not much. He’s pretty good at staying out of our business.”

  My eyes were drawn to him when he slid his fingers down the side of my face.

  “But since you wanna know, he asked me what you and I were doing,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “What did you say?”

  “I said we weren’t doing anything.”

  I was unsure of his meaning until he took my face back into his hands and kissed me. As much as the kiss was anticipated all night, it was still unexpected when it finally happened. But it was everything I thought and hoped it would be.

  His lips were full and soft against mine and his hands were gentle as they held my face. When he pulled his lips away from mine, I pulled his head toward mine so he would kiss me again. I saw the smile beginning to form on his lips before they touched mine. The second kiss was a little stronger and lasted a lot longer than the first. But again, I didn’t want him to stop.

  His lips slid from mine to the side of my face and across my jaw. He tilted my head back in his hands and ran his warm lips down my neck. My heart pounded inside my chest as my fingers clenched tightly to his waist. His warm breath hit my skin just before his lips touched back down against my neck. When his lips met mine again, he stopped kissing me.

  He slowly pulled away from me, still holding my head in his hands. He tilted my head back as I looked into his eyes. They were darker than I remembered.

  “Are you going to miss me after I leave tomorrow?”

  “Yes.” I breathed heavily.

  For the first time, I felt how firm his hold was against the sides of my face.

  “Good.”

  A small smile formed at the corners of his mouth. And his hands loosened as he bent forward to kiss me again. The kiss was quick but thrilling. It sent as many chills down my spine as the first one he gave me.

  “I’ll miss you, too,” he said as his eyes softened. “I want you to remember the feel of my lips on you. I want you to want it while I’m away.”

  The warmth returned.

  I would miss it. I would miss him.

  I needed distraction from the quivering in my thighs. “What time are you leaving?”

  He knew why I asked and it made him smile as he pressed his body closer into mine to enjoy
it for himself. Feeling him against me intensified the quiver.

  “Our plane leaves at six. So we’ll leave the house around four,” he whispered still smiling.

  “When are you coming back?”

  My questions sounded as desperate as my voice. He enjoyed them both. He was happy I wanted to know when I would see him again. Have him touch me again.

  “In a few weeks,” he said running his fingers down the sides of my face as he smiled down at me. They slowly slid between my breasts, down my stomach, and stopped at the opening of my jeans. With experienced fingers, he unbuttoned my jeans and slid his hand beneath them. His gentle touch began, firming with each in-and-out motion inside me. “Think you can stand it?”

  In a breathless whisper, I responded.

  “I’ll try.” His eyes lit into a bright blue under the moon’s glow through the window. I had to turn my head to avoid their hypnotizing stare.

  “Don’t look away from me,” his soft demanding voice pleaded. “I want you to watch me touching you.”

  His eyes were the lighter shade of blue again. I wasn’t sure I could look away from him now even if I wanted to as I braced myself against the wall. His beauty was intoxicating.

  “I want you to look at me. I want you to only look at me.”

  His voice was more assertive. His touch more intense. Painful. But it was a good pain and I didn’t want him to stop. I was sure if he continued, my legs would give out beneath me.

  “Justin, you need to go.”

  He bit his bottom lip and pressed his finger into me one last time, prolonging its exit.

  “Okay.” The left corner of his mouth curled up with his whisper. The quick, small breaths escaping my lips were out of rhythm with his long exhale. My head was spinning from his words and the touch of him still inside me. I didn’t want him to go.

  “Does that feel good to you?”

  Yes. God, yes.

  “Yes, but you have to go,” I said panting, finally feeling his hand slide slowly out of me. An innocent smile returned to his flushed face.

  “You know, I can make you feel even better.”

  I didn’t want him to leave.

  “I want you to … please don’t go,” I whispered pulling him back to me. After a few more pleasurable moments he pulled away from me again.

  “Not tonight, sweet girl,” he whispered. “I wanna take my time with you.”

  Chapter 7

  Too Close to Home

  When I woke up the next morning, I felt as empty as the house. Justin was gone. Joe was gone. I wasn’t sure why but I thought I would miss him, too. For a second, I thought maybe I would miss him more. Why? What was it about him that I couldn’t get out of my head? His stare? The way he was with those other girls last night? Did I want to be one of them? They were so much more his type than I was. So was the girl in the picture. I wondered who she was to him and where she was now. Whoever she was, she made him happy.

  I slowly sat up and looked at the clock. 8:14. Justin and Joe had been in the air for a couple of hours now. Headed back to school for the next month. I would be doing the same tomorrow. I felt sad. I would miss them. Both of them. In different ways. But I would definitely miss them both.

  My mother had already left for work but she’d told me she’d be home before noon. I assumed Bill would go straight to work after dropping the boys off at the airport. I’d already decided I would spend the morning packing and making arrangements with Marissa to pick me up at the airport. I would miss my mother, too. I couldn’t deny that anymore. I wouldn’t pretend not to anymore.

  I wanted a cup of coffee before I started packing. Standing in front of the coffeepot, I immediately thought about how terrible Justin was at making coffee. I smiled and waited for my single-serving cup to brew and noticed the morning newspaper still inside its bright orange bag on the table.

  I rolled the paper out and on the front page the face of the murdered girl stared back at me. She looked about my age with long brown hair and a warm smile.

  The same words were printed about her in this paper as they had been in the article at the airport. Young. Vibrant. Mountain. Strangled. Investigation.

  Her name and the resort had been mentioned in the body of the article before but today the headline was different.

  This time five more words were included.

  Kailani Rivas: THIRD VICTIM FOUND DEAD at Osborne Resort.

  My stomach dropped trying to focus on the words and learning more about her. New England native. Boston University graduate. Worked at Osborne Resort. I wondered what brought her from Boston to Colorado. Did she know someone in the area? Had she followed someone here? The person who killed her? As the questions swirled like a tornado inside my head, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her innocent face. Suddenly, my attention was drawn to something outside. Bill’s shiny black car was pulling up the driveway. I grabbed my cup of coffee without getting any creamer and hurried out of the room.

  I stopped outside the kitchen and leaned against the wall. I wanted to listen in case my mother was with him. Facing him without her was something I wasn’t prepared to do, not after what he witnessed between me and Justin last night. The steam of the coffee warmed my nose. I started to take a drink when the sound of shattering glass against the kitchen wall startled me.

  Why was he so angry?

  Seconds later, he was on the phone demanding to know if the person on the other line had seen this morning’s paper. Without looking, I knew my mother wasn’t with him. I quietly made my escape to my room knowing Bill took extremely personally whatever was going on with the murders.

  “Are you sure he threw something against the wall?” Marissa asked. “Maybe he just dropped something?”

  “No,” I whispered into the receiver. “He threw something.”

  I’d locked myself in my bathroom inside my room while I talked to her about what happened this morning.

  “I mean, I think I’d be pretty pissed too if a bunch of girls were showing up dead around my place of business. I mean, it kinda makes it look like someone there has something to do with the murders.”

  My thoughts exactly.

  I rubbed my face with the palm of my hand in hopes of understanding it all.

  “I heard him yelling into the phone about Joe’s being drunk and having to stop to get something for him to eat on the way to the airport because he thought he was going to be sick. He seems really mad about that, too.”

  “Again, I get it,” she said. “It sounds like Joe’s a real fuck-up, Karley.”

  I didn’t want to think of Joe that way. Not anymore. I mean, he was a jerk but after what Justin told me about his having to kill someone, his behavior was understandable.

  “Karley?”

  I didn’t want to think about what the boys had to do. I didn’t want to talk about it anymore either. Or the girls dying near their father’s resort.

  “So, you’ll pick me up tomorrow?” I asked changing the subject.

  “Yep! Of course!”

  I wanted to tell her about Justin, but what happened this morning dominated my thoughts. Besides, seeing her face when I told her everything that happened between us last night would be priceless. Like him, I could wait.

  When my mother got home, she and I went to lunch. Bill was inside his office when we left and still shut away inside when we returned. For the rest of the evening, I didn’t have to try to avoid him. He never came out. From the couch, I would hear his phone ring in the next room over. Then I would hear him yell at the person on the other end shouting the word fuck every few seconds before his phone would ring again and the sequence would repeat. My mother pretended it wasn’t anything serious. Just usual business he had to take care of. I didn’t tell her about this morning.

  Around nine, I told my mother I was going to hang out in my room and make some phone calls before I went to bed. As I was kissing her good night, Bill walked into the kitchen.

  “Oh, honey, that reminds me,” she said. �
�Bill and I wanted to talk to you about something.” Oh, God! Here it was, the moment I had been dreading since last night. They would confront me about Justin. I had no idea what I would say.

  My eyes flickered nervously in Bill’s direction.

  His hair was disheveled from running his fingers through it all day, but like his oldest son, the look of madness fit him well.

  “We were hoping you were still planning on coming home for Christmas break,” she said nervously. “Oh, honey, I hope you do.”

  Before I had time to answer her, he spoke.

  “I’d like to offer you a job at the resort. I know one of the cashiers who won’t be there much longer.”

  Again, before I had a chance to answer, he spoke.

  “Think about it and let your mother know,” he said solemnly before walking out of the kitchen and back into his office.

  Two days after I returned to college I still hadn’t heard from Justin. I was beginning to think everything he told me had been a lie when I heard the ping of my cell phone. I rushed across my room.

  Missing me yet?

  I could barely breathe.

  My fingers tightened around my phone in excitement. I dropped it and shook my hands erratically—hoping to free them from their stiff position.

  … ?

  He was waiting for me to respond. Breathing was now impossible.

  I moved my fingers up and down and listened to the popping of my knuckles while trying desperately to loosen them enough to respond.

  A little.

  My response was flirtatious. Fun. And honestly the only thing I could type before a smile exploded across my face. I hit send and buried my face into the pillow to wait for his response.

  Back-to-back texts immediately came through.

  Only a little?

  I wanted to scream. Instead, I burst into laughter. I hugged myself and smiled. Finally! Finally, I knew he felt the same. My fingers immediately relaxed and I sent him another text.

  Ok, maybe a lot.

  Maybe?

  A lot.

  How’s Joe?