Stepbrother Dearest (6 page)

How convenient. I was sure my stepfather had arranged this to avoid having to deal with what

happened last night. I immediately grabbed my phone and texted her:

Enjoy your trip, but when you get back we seriously need to talk about what’s going on with Randy

and Elec.

Elec didn’t come downstairs until two that afternoon. He looked like death warmed over as he dragged

his feet over to the coffeepot, his hair disheveled and his eyes bloodshot.

“Good morning, sunshine,” I said.

His voice was groggy as he whispered, “Hey.” He poured some coffee into a mug and nuked it.

“So, apparently, our parents took off on an overnight trip. They’ll be back Monday night.”

“That’s too bad,” he said.

“That they went away?”

He took a sip of coffee and said, “No, that they’re coming back.”

“I’m sorry abou—”

“I can’t do this.” He shut his eyes and held out his palm. “I can’t talk to you. Every time you speak, it

sounds like a chainsaw.”

“Sorry. I get it. You’re hungover.”

“Well, there’s that, too.”

I rolled my eyes, and he winked, causing my heart to flutter.

I sat with my legs crossed on the sofa adjacent to the kitchen. “What are your plans today?”

“Well, first I have to find my fucking head.”

I laughed. “And then?”

“I dunno,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Would you want to get some takeout later?” I asked, trying hard to seem casual.

He looked apprehensive and rubbed the scruff on his chin. “Um…”

“What?”

He checked his phone. “No, actually, ugh…I have a date.”

“With who?”

“With, um…”

“You don’t know?” I laughed.

He scratched his forehead. “Give me a minute…”

I shook my head. “That’s sad.”

“Oh! With Kylie…yeah…Kylie.”

If Kylie only knew how interchangeable she was. I was just secretly relieved he didn’t say Victoria,

because I knew she still had it in her mind to contact him despite the scene he caused on our “double date.”

She’d texted him at least once yesterday, and her desperation really annoyed me.

Early that evening, I’d curled up on the couch with my book when Elec walked downstairs. I

instinctively sat up and straightened my clothing. His cologne wafting through the room was enough of an

aphrodisiac before I even turned to look at him. He was dressed in black pants and a fitted maroon shirt

rolled up at the sleeves. His hair was styled into a controlled mess, and aside from the cut that remained on his bottom lip, he looked better than I’d ever seen him. Actually, even the damn cut was sexy. The energy in the room seemed to change anytime he walked into it. All of my senses were hyperaware of him.

I remembered his text from the other night:
Have some self-respect
. Ugh. I forced myself to return to my book since apparently, I couldn’t seem to hide my attraction whenever I looked at him. Just thinking

about that text again had put me in a bad mood. I had kind of forgotten about my vow to never look at him

again after everything that happened with Bentley and Randy.

He grabbed his keys. “I’m headed out.”

“Okay,” I said, making sure to keep my eyes fixed on the book.

The door slammed shut, and I breathed out a sigh of relief. It had been a long time since I had the

house to myself and although the pathetic side of me wished Elec had stayed in, there was something to be

said for privacy.

I ended up ordering some Chinese takeout to be delivered. Shortly after I opened the carton of shrimp

lo mein, the text alert on my phone sounded.

I had this flashback from last night.

Greta: Oh?

Elec: You were on your knees at the foot of my bed. Did you take advantage of me?

Greta: You’d better be kidding. No! I was taking off your shoes, drunkass.

Elec: Kinky. A foot fetish?

Greta: You’re not serious…

Elec: ;-)

Greta: Aren’t you supposed to be on a date?

Elec: I am.

Greta: Then, why don’t you pay attention to her?

Elec: Because I’d rather bug you.

A phone call interrupted my thoughts before I could text him back. It was Bentley.
Crap.
I wasn’t sure whether to pick it up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Greta.”

“Hi. What’s up?”

“Elec isn’t there, is he?”

“No. Why?”

“You left your jacket in my car the other night. Can I come by and give it to you?”

“Um…sure. I guess that would be okay.”

“Great. I should be there in about twenty minutes.”

I hung up and noticed that Elec had sent several more texts while I had been on the phone with Bentley.

Elec: Actually, my date is a dude.

Elec: A dud! I meant to type my date turned out to be a dud.

Elec: LMAO

Elec: #notadude #eleclovespussy

Elec: Where the fuck r u?

Laughing hysterically, I typed.

Greta: Sorry, that was Bentley. He called. I left my jacket in his car the other night and he’s dropping

it off.

A couple of seconds later, my phone rang.

“The fuck he is! You’re not letting that guy into the house.”

“He’s just dropping off a jacket.”

“Call him back and tell him he can leave it on the doorstep.”

“I’m not gonna do that. There’s no reason to. Whatever happened is between you and him.”

The call dropped.
No, he hung up!

He had some nerve trying to tell me what to do like that without a good explanation.

Ten minutes later, my feet flew off the couch when the front door opened.

Elec was out of breath. “Did he show up?”

What the heck?

“Not yet. Why are you here?”

“You didn’t sound like you were paying attention to me. So, I had no choice but to come home.”

“If you won’t explain to me why you want me to stay away from Bentley, how do you expect to me

listen to you?”

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

The doorbell rang, and Elec beat me to the door and opened it.

Bentley’s face turned white. “What are you doing home? She said you weren’t here.”

Elec swiped my jacket out of Bentley’s hands and slammed the door in his face. Then, he locked it.

“I’m going after him. Get out of my way,” I said.

He crossed his arms in front of the door. “You’ll have to get past me. And can’t you hear his car taking

off right now? He’s a fucking sissy.”

I let out a breath and gave up, deciding to move past it. I didn’t really want to see Bentley but remained

annoyed by Elec’s controlling behavior. He didn’t have a right to interfere in my life when he only closed

himself off to me in return.

The tension in the air was thick as I walked back over to my plate of food on the coffee table. We didn’t

speak for several minutes before I broke the ice. “There’s some takeout Chinese on the counter if you want

some.”

Elec still looked irate and didn’t respond. He walked over to the counter, grabbed the container of lo

mein and started inhaling it.

“Hungry? Didn’t you eat on your date?”

He slurped a noodle into his mouth. “Nope.”

“Was she upset that you basically abandoned her?”

“No,” he said with his mouth full.

Leaning my elbows against the counter, I asked, “If you didn’t eat, what did you do? Or do I really want

to know?”

“Um…Riley wanted to go bowling.”

“I thought you said her name was Kylie.”

He grinned guiltily as he bit into a spring roll. “Whoops.”

Unsure of what to make of that, I rolled my eyes at him and reached for the last spring roll before he

inhaled that, too. I took a bite. “I’m getting a movie on Netflix if you want to join.”

He stopped eating for a moment and then just glared at me. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Excuse me?”

“It doesn’t matter how shitty I treat you…you still try to hang out with me.”

It felt like steam was about to blow out of my ears. “No one asked you to come home tonight! I was

actually enjoying having the house to myself.”

“Really? Were you gonna lie on the couch with your vibrator or something?”

My heart dropped.
My vibrator.

Shit!

It was in my underwear drawer, too. I had forgotten I’d moved it in there after I cleaned out my bedside

table. I hadn’t used it in a while and had totally forgotten about it.

He’d taken that too!

He continued, “Look at your face. You just realized it was missing? How have you been getting off?

Either your fingers are sore or you must be in serious need of tension relief.”

My face must have turned a hundred shades of red. “You bastard.”

My eye twitched.

“You’re winking at me again. Sorry, I can’t help you out. Maybe you need to watch…a different kind of

movie tonight? That might get you off. I have some if you want to borrow one to—you know—wet your

whistle.”

His words from the other night once again replayed in my head. “
Have some self-respect.”

I’d decided I was done with him tonight. I’d take the high road and go back to my room without saying

another word but not before I grabbed the container of noodles and dumped it all over his lap. “Wet that,

dickhead.”

His raspy laugh cut through me as I made my way up the stairs.

That night, I was still fuming as I squirmed around in my sheets. Who did he think he was with his

passive aggressive behavior? He’d tried to play it off like I was the one seeking his attention, when he’d

been texting me during his date before coming home early to intrude on my encounter with Bentley.

My obsessive thoughts continued until about two in the morning when I was interrupted by what

sounded like yelling coming from Elec’s room.

Elec was tossing and turning as he cried out, “Mami, please. No! Wake up! Wake up!” His breathing was

erratic, and all of his bedding had fallen on the floor.

“Pleeeeease,” he screamed.

My heart was pounding as I shook him. “Elec! Elec. It’s just a dream.”

Still in a state of semi-sleep, he gripped and squeezed my arm so hard that it hurt. When his eyes flew

open, he still seemed to be in a haze. Beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. He sat up and looked at me

in shock as if he didn’t know where he was.

“It’s Greta. You were having a nightmare. I heard you yelling and thought something was wrong. It’s

okay. You’re okay.”

His breathing was still intense and slowly regulated. When his grip loosened on my arm, clarity returned

to his eyes.

He let go of me. “This is the second time I’ve caught you in my room when I’ve been in a state of semi-

consciousness. How do I know you’re not just hanging out here doing things to me while I’m sleeping?”

Are you kidding me?

I’d had enough of his shit.

Maybe it was the fact that I was wired from no sleep or maybe it was because I’d just hit my limit with

all of his jabs, but instead of responding, I pushed him with all my might. It may have been a juvenile thing, but I’d been dying to do it, and this moment seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

He laughed heartily which pissed me off even more. “Well, it’s about damn time.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to lose it on me.”

“You think it’s funny that you’ve caused me to resort to that?”

“No, I think
you’re
funny…like really funny. Nothing has ever given me more amusement than busting

your chops.”

“Well, great. Glad I could do that for you.”

Fuck.
Tears were forming in my eyes.

This could not be happening.

It was almost that time of the month, and there was nothing I could do to control these emotions. I tried

to cover my face but knew he had seen the first teardrop fall.

Elec’s smile faded. “What the fuck?”

I needed to just leave. There was no way to explain my asinine reaction to him if I didn’t even

understand it myself.

I turned around and left, slamming my bedroom door behind me. I climbed into bed, pulled my blanket

over my head and shut my eyes even though sleep surely would be impossible.

My door slowly creaked open, and the lamp was turned on.

“Peace offering?” I heard Elec say.

When I turned around, to my mortification, he was standing there with a dick in his hands. Not any

dick.
My dick.
My vibrator. My purple life-sized rubber penis.

Elec waved it. “Nothing says I’m sorry like a dick and a smile.”

I turned back around and hid under the blanket.

“Come on. Were you seriously crying in there?”

The room was silent as I stayed under the covers. I assumed he’d just leave if I ignored him. I knew I

was wrong when I heard a click and a buzzing sound then felt the weight of him on my bed.

“If you won’t smile, then I’ll just have to tickle you with your little boyfriend here.” He touched it to my hip, and I flinched, pushing the blanket off of myself. I tried to grab the vibrator, but he wouldn’t let it go.

He continued to tickle me with it in quick movements: behind my leg, the back of my foot.

I was fighting the urge to laugh. “Stop!”

“Not a chance.”

All control was lost when he placed it under my armpit, which caused me to giggle hysterically. His own

laughter vibrated against my ear.

How did I end up rolling around in bed in the middle of night with Elec holding a rubber cock against