Stepbrother With Benefits 12 (Second Season) (8 page)

"Listen, here's how this is going to go," I tell him.  This is my game plan.  As quarterback for the football team, it's my job to be a play caller, and this is basically the same thing, right?  "You pick up this phone."  I reach over and pick it up for him.  "You dial the—"  I stare at the phone for a second.  "Is this thing for real?"

"Uh, no?" Caleb says.  "It's a decoration, actually.  I was just going to use my cellphone."

With that, he shifts on the chair and reaches into his pocket, pulling out his phone, showing it to me.

I stare at the phone in my hand.  Yeah, uh... yeah.  I toss it back onto the desk and begin anew.  This is an audible, guys, new play, calling it out on the fly.  Adjust your positions and let's do this.

"Alright, so call her," I say.

Caleb taps some stuff, finds her number, dials.  I can hear the phone ringing from here.

"It's ringing," Caleb says.  "Now what?"

"Ask her on a date?  It's not that hard, dude.  Tell her to get her ass down here because you want to fuck the shit out of her.  Say it nice, though.  Don't be a dick about it."

Ashley stares at me with a mix of shock and amusement.  She's trying not to laugh, biting her bottom lip.  I don't see what's so funny.  I'm helping our friend Caleb out here.  This is no laughing matter, Princess.

Caleb's even worse.  He's not laughing, he's just staring, shocked.  His mouth drops and his eyes widen.  The phone stops ringing.  I can hear a little, and it's some girl on the other end.  She says hi, but Caleb doesn't say anything.

Fuck, I broke the kid.

It's quiet, but from the phone I hear, "Caleb, is that you?  I thought you were at the campground with your dad this summer."

"Caleb," Ashley whispers to him.  "Say something.  Say hi."

"Tell her she has a nice ass, too," I whisper.  Got to get the essentials in there, right?

"Seriously, Ethan?  That's so dumb."

"Yeah, I mean, I don't actually know if she has a nice ass," I admit.  "It never hurts to say it, though.  Girls love that."

"So now I know if you tell me I have a nice butt that you're lying," Ashley says, smirking and shaking her head at me.

"Fuck, no, your ass is magnificent," I tell her.  I wouldn't lie about that.  No fucking way.

"Uh... Hey... Hi, Scarlet," Caleb mutters into the phone.  "Yeah, I'm still at the campground, b-but I thought..."

"You were thinking about her," Ashley whispers.  "Tell her that.  It sounds sweet and nice, but not too much."

"You were thinking about her sexy as fuck ass," I add.

"Yeah, uh... I was... I was thinking about you," Caleb says.  When I glare at him, he almost jumps out of his seat.  "I was thinking about your sexy ass!"

"Caleb, did you just..."  That's the girl on the phone, whoever the fuck this chick is.

"Art!" Caleb says.  "I was thinking about your sexy art!  It's.... it's really sexy, Scarlet.  Did I ever tell you that?"

There's nothing.  We've got radio silence here.  Scarlet's dead, I'm pretty sure.  Caleb killed her with his stupid comment.  Sexy art?  Who the fuck ever says that?  Maybe something like he thinks she's as sexy as a painting and he wants to have her up against his wall.

Fuck, why didn't I tell him that one sooner?  That would have been a great opener.  Fucking... fuck!  I ruined it.  I'm so sorry, Caleb.  You've missed this great opportunity.

"Caleb, are you alright?" Scarlet asks.  She sounds worried.  I'm worried, too.  How's this kid going to get laid now?  Fuck if I know.

"Yeah, uh..." Caleb says, his face turning pale, then bright red, all in the span of a second.

"Give me the phone," I tell him.  "I'll fix this."

He holds the phone out without thinking, kind of listless, his hand shaking a little.  I snatch it from him, hold it up to my ear.  Yeah, this is a little unorthodox, but I think I know what I'm doing here.

I
think
I know, but I don't actually know.  I'll figure it out later.

"Hey," I say.  "Who the fuck is this?  Scarlet?"

"Who the fuck are you?  What's going on?  Did you do something to Caleb?"  Fuck, this girl's got a mouth on her!  I like her already.  She seems...

Wait, holy shit.  "Hold up. 
Scarlet?
  He was talking about you?  No fucking way."

"Mr. Moneybags!" Scarlet shouts into the phone, laughing.  "Shit, what are you doing there?  Are you camping with Caleb?"

"Why the fuck does this kid have a crush on you?  That's fucking weird.  I can't even believe this."  Yeah, holy fuck. 
Scarlet?
  Nah, no way.  But... yeah, it's her.

I turn to Caleb.  "You can't invite this girl down here," I tell him.  "She's fucking crazy, bro.  You'll thank me later.  I'm saving your life right now."

"Ethan!" Ashley says, glowering at me.

"Put away your pouty face, Princess.  For real, you don't even understand.  She's insane.  She'll destroy him."

"Fuck off, Ethan," Scarlet says.  "Did Caleb tell you he wanted me to come down?  He's never invited me to go camping.  I just figured he didn't want me to hang out with him there.  It's cool, really.  I understand."

"Yeah, he—"

I don't get to say more than that.  I don't get to save Caleb from himself, because he tackles me, grabs the phone from me, and then practically screams into it.

"Scarlet!  Do you want to hang out this summer at the campground with me!"

Yeah, this isn't even a question.  He's just yelling at her.  Probably turns her on, too.  Scarlet's weird.

She's cool, though.  I like her.  Would be fun if she came down to the campground.  I wouldn't mind hanging out with her.  Uh...

Ashley's staring at me.  She looks mad.  "What's up, Princess?" I ask her.

"Who's this Scarlet girl, Ethan?" she asks.

"Huh?  Scarlet is Scarlet?  She's got some tattoos.  Paints pictures and shit."

"And...?"

And what?  What the fuck am I missing here?

"What, you will?" Caleb says, surprised.  "Yeah, uh... I can text you the address.  Can you get down here?  I could go pick you up if you want, if you don't know how to—"

Scarlet laughs.  She does have a nice laugh.  Just kind of commands your attention, makes you look at her.  Maybe that's how she caught Caleb in her trap.  He seems like the kind of guy who would fall for something like that.

Shit.  I've got to warn him before it's too late.  How much time do I have?

"I think I can figure it out, Caleb," she says, with a lilt of laughter in her voice.  "It's only a couple hours, right?  I can come down today if that's cool with you.  Actually it's been kind of boring here lately.  There's a lake there, right?  I'll bring my bathing suit."

"Cool!" Caleb says, excited.  "Yeah, there's a lake.  Uh... you can stay here if you want.  With us.  Me and my dad, I mean.  My bed's big enough for two or we have a couch or the floor or..."

Whoa!  Yeah, he just said that.  Casual as fuck, too.  Just invites this crazy girl to sleep in his bed, no fucks given whatsoever.  Maybe I underestimated him.  That was good, too.  Real smooth.  I approve.

"Cool," Scarlet says.  "Yeah, we'll figure it out.  I'd love to come.  I'll pack and leave in a few.  I'll see you soon.  Tell Ethan to fuck off for me, alright?  Don't let him be a dick to you."

"Fuck you, too, Scarlet," I say.

Obviously she can hear me because she starts to laugh.  Nah, but, seriously, fuck her.  She's fucking crazy.

Fuck.

Caleb hangs up the phone and he looks like he's in a daze.  I don't blame him.  Scarlet's insanity has taken him over.  He's screwed.  Poor kid.

Ashley's still staring at me, though.  I really don't get it.  What's up?  What am I missing?

"Is she... is..."  Her words sound, uh... I don't even know.  For real, what did I do wrong now?

"What's wrong, Princess?" I ask.

"Did you sleep with her, Ethan?" Ashley asks, hushed.  "Is she one of the girls that you...?"

I don't like this!  I really really don't.  I don't like it one bit, not at all, never, not even a little.

I thought it'd be nice to help Caleb, and I guess it is nice because Scarlet is coming down here now, but... how does she know Ethan?  That's the part I don't like.  What if she's coming here because she wants to see Ethan again?

They were yelling at each other.  It sounds sort of playful, I guess.  It's hard to say.  Ethan has that affect on girls, and I was witness to more than a few ended flings that involved a lot of yelling.  Mostly it was the girl yelling at him, but still.  That doesn't make it any better or anything.

So... yup, I just asked him, and I don't even feel bad about it.  I'd ask him again, too.  This is important.

"Wh-what?" Ethan stammers, staring at me like I'm crazy.

I'm not the crazy one here, Ethan!  I know what sort of reputation you have!  Or what reputation you had, but you better not have a reputation anymore, not ever again.  You're just mine and only mine and I... I won't stand it!  I won't stand for any of the stuff!

I think I'm telling him this.  Not with words but my eyes.  Uh huh.  Yup, I glare at him, super serious.

It really is, though.  I... I just want to... I don't know... I don't think I like this...

"You had sex with Scarlet?" Caleb asks, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Ethan.  And then, um...

Honestly I really can't even believe this happened, but, yes, it happens.

Caleb stands up, jumps at Ethan, and punches him, then tries to straddle him on the bed so he can keep punching him.

It's not actually as bad as it sounds, though.  Yes, Caleb punched Ethan, but Ethan looks confused at first, just sort of taking it.  It looks kind of painful, but Ethan seems unphased.  When Caleb tries to pin Ethan to the bed so he can keep punching him, Ethan flips him around, pushes him down, and holds him at arm's length.

"Are you trying to make me kick his ass, Princess?" he asks.  "Why would you say something like that?"

"I need to know if you did or not," I tell him, but by the way he's looking at me, I think I might have made a mistake...

Caleb keeps flailing his arms and kicking his feet, but it's not doing much.  Ethan's just kind of standing there, hand on Caleb's chest, shrugging it off.

"Caleb, you goon," Ethan says, loud enough to break through the shield of rage surrounding the boy on the bed.  "I've never had sex with Scarlet.  No sex, no fucking.  Not even a blowjob or a kiss.  No handjob, either.  That's fucking weird, man."  Then he decides to incriminate himself.  "She does have that tongue ring, though.  I've heard good things about stuff like that."

Caleb started to calm down, but now he's glaring.  I'm also glaring.  We both glare at Ethan. 
Glare!

"You two need to calm the fuck down," he says.  "That was a joke.  For real."

"So she doesn't have a tongue ring?" I ask.

Is that true about tongue rings?  Should I get one, maybe?  I don't know if I can.  It might look strange on me.  Can I still be a good girl if I have a tongue ring?  Will people think less of me?  Um...

I mean, in the bedroom, it's fine, because it's just us, just Ethan and I, but I don't want to tell anyone about that.  I don't want them to see my tongue ring and... that's private!  It's...

Alright, so maybe I won't get a tongue ring.  Or maybe a small one?  Can I hide it?  Hm...

"She has a tongue ring," Ethan admits.  "But... that's not what I meant."

I glare again.  Caleb glares, too.  Ethan tries to glare back at the both of us, but it's two on one and we win, we outglare him.  He loses.  He definitely loses!

"Listen," Ethan says, backing up and leaving Caleb on the bed.  "Scarlet is... she's not bad... she's pretty nice if you're into insane crazy girls, but, for real, Caleb, she's insane and crazy.  Why would you like a girl like that?  She's too much for you.  She'll eat you alive, dude."

"She only gets into trouble sometimes," Caleb says, mumbling.

"Look, if I'm a bad boy, she's like... the same, but a girl."

Oh no.  I mean, I knew a little about this before, but I don't know if I really thought about it that well.

"So, um... wait..." I say, trying to think this through.  "She's rough around the edges, but sweet and nice to those who are important to her, and she gets into trouble sometimes but secretly she means well?"

"Who the fuck are you talking about?" Ethan asks.  "No, that's not it at all."

"That's exactly it!" Caleb says.  "Do you know her, too, Ashley?"

––––––––

E
than and I leave the cabin shortly after the phone call with Scarlet.  Caleb's dad came home and needed help with something around the campground.

"I hope everything works out," I say to Ethan as we walk away.

I'm not sure where we're going, we're just walking.  I spot my mom and Ethan's dad just coming out of the shower, too.  They don't see us, but my mom starts laughing and teasing Ethan's dad.  My stepdad smiles and laughs, too.  They have a lot of fun together, and it's nice seeing my mom happy.  I don't think she was ever unhappy, or not quite, but I think it's different to be happy when you're with someone you're in love with compared to just being happy on your own or happy with your friends and family.

That's how I feel, at least.  I feel different being happy with Ethan.

I reach out and take his hand in mine and he doesn't stop me.  I smile and swing our hands back and forth, just out in the open.  Anyone can see us, and it feels nice to be free to do something like this.

Then I remember Scarlet...

"Ethan," I say, looking over, trying to look very stern and serious.  I don't know if I do a good job, because Ethan just looks at me funny.

"What's up?" he asks.

"I need to know what your relationship is with Scarlet," I say.  Yes, that's a good way to word this.

Or maybe not.  "What are you talking about?  I don't have a relationship with Scarlet.  We're sort of friends, I guess?"

"Being friends is a relationship, too," I say.

He just makes a face and shrugs.  "Yeah, sure, I guess?"