Stepbrother With Benefits 10 (Second Season) Page 2

  Ethan and I sit sort of side by side around the fire while my mom and dad sit next to each other, but closer. We're in lawn-style chairs that Ethan and his dad packed sometime yesterday for this very reason. It's cozy and nice, and the crackle of the fire is warm and inviting.

  Ethan's dad sets up this grill sort of thing over the fire so that he can rest a pan on top of it, and we use that for eggs. It seems weird, but it works really well. We cook our own bacon on skewers, kind of like how we cooked the hot dogs last night. It's a little harder to skewer bacon on a stick, but it works fine and it's fun. I like how it's really fresh and you can cook it as crispy as you want.

  I laugh when Ethan cooks his bacon just barely long enough to make sure it's cooked. He eats it as soon as it's safely done, not bothering with crispiness or anything. Then he gets more.

  "Something funny?" he asks me when he's finished his third piece of bacon and I've barely finished cooking my first and just started to skewer my second.

  "You sure are hungry, huh?" I say.

  "I need to keep my strength up," he says, smirking. "I've got a lot of plans for today that are going to require a lot of energy."

  I blush and mumble something, looking away from him. What's he even mean by that? I think I know exactly what he means, but I can't just come out and say it, nor can I ask him. His dad seems oblivious to any of Ethan's sexual undertones, and my mom just shakes her head and sighs.

  "Speaking of what we have planned for the day," my stepdad says. "You two want to do anything in particular?"

  "What's there to do?" my mom asks, genuinely curious.

  "Hiking?" Ethan offers.

  "Yeah, there's that," his dad says. "We could go to the lake, too. The main lake area is busier, but there's a river that feeds into it that's nice. There's natural rock slides there, carved and smoothed down by the river over hundreds and hundreds of years. It's fun."

  "Yeah, there's this one spot where you can jump off a twenty foot high cliff into the water, too. It's pretty cool."

  "I think I'll leave the cliff diving to you, Ethan," my mom says, winking at him before turning to me. "What about you, Ashley?"

  "Um..." This is a step, I think. It's a step in the direction of being slightly less of a good girl. Sort of, though maybe not exactly. "I kind of want to try the cliff jumping thing... if it's safe?"

  "Yeah," Ethan says, smiling at me. "It's safe, don't worry. I can show you."

  "Maybe we could ask Caleb to come with us?" Ethan's dad says.

  Maybe we can just ruin the mood completely? I don't say this, and I don't think I'd ever say it, but that's really what happens. One second Ethan is smiling, talkative, cooking his bacon, and the next he's quiet, glowering at his dad, practically bristling. Ethan's dad seems completely oblivious and continues to focus on scrambling the eggs in the one pan we have.

  He finishes the eggs and dishes them out to each of us. No one is talking now, and I think it's for an obvious reason, but we have food as an excuse to be quiet, too. We eat our eggs on paper plates with plastic forks. Ethan's dad takes out large slices of bread and starts to toast them in the pan, using the same bacon grease he used for the eggs to make sure they don't stick. The bread toasts nicely, but it also soaks up some of the oil, becoming partly fried, as well.

  I get the first piece of toast, and I say thank you, but I feel weird about it. I think this is the first time that Ethan's dad suspects something is wrong. It's weird to me that he doesn't notice these things very easily, because I can see them pretty clearly, but I guess it's because Ethan and I are being quiet about our secret.

  I'm not even sure how to tell him, either. I want to, and I know Ethan does, too, but honestly I don't know how. It seems so hard and impossible. It's also not my job to do it. Ethan wants to be the one to tell him, and...

  I want to support him in this. I really really do. I just kind of wonder what would happen if I did it? Would it be alright if I asked Ethan's dad if we could talk privately and then I just told him everything? Would he be fine with it? I don't know what he would think about it. I'm not anywhere near as close with my stepfather as I am my mother, which seems obvious, but the problem there is that Ethan's closer with my mom than he is his father, too. Maybe my mom is just easier to talk to. I don't really know for sure.

  We finish eating, regardless. The food is good and it's fun to sit together and cook and eat. I didn't know exactly how it worked before, but this is how I thought camping would be. It's cozy and nice and intimate in a familiar and safe sort of way. The sun shines on us, bright rays sneaking through the treetops, and a gentle breeze swishes through the leaves, mixing with the songs of birds flying from branch to branch above us.

  "We probably shouldn't be getting too far ahead of ourselves," Ethan's dad says once we're finished eating. "We've got plenty of time to enjoy the great outdoors, but we should look into getting some food supplies while we're here. Maybe some fishing bait, too?"

  "There's a grocery store, right?" my mom asks.

  "Kind of," my stepdad says. "It's a lot smaller than what we've got back home. More locally grown food, though, which is nice. It's quaint, but it should have everything we need."

  "Do you want to go food shopping with me, Ashley?" my mom asks, smiling.

  I smile back at her and nod. "Sure, that sounds fun."

  "Maybe you two boys can find something to do while we're gone?" my mom says, looking from Ethan to his dad, then back again.

  Ethan mutters something and shrugs. His dad looks at him—actually looks at him now, and I think he's seeing something or someone he's never really seen before.

  "Yeah, I'm sure we can," Ethan's dad says, smiling a little. "Ethan, you want to check out the bait shop with me? We can find out more about what's been going on since we've been gone and see if we can plan some fun things for the ladies. How's that sound?"

  "Yeah, I guess," Ethan says, shrugging. "Sounds alright. Fishing's fun."

  Is this good? I don't know. I think my mom planned this, though. If it's Ethan and his dad together alone, and then me and my mom, it'll make it easier for everyone to talk to each other? Sort of... or that's what I hope.

  "Is there somewhere to shower first, though?" my mom asks. "I'm not used to this! I'd really love to wash up some before we go anywhere."

  My stepdad laughs. "Yeah, you remember the main office? Right by there there's some shower stalls and regular bathrooms. I brought a few rolls of quarters for everyone. I'm not sure how much it is now, but you just go in a shower stall, put some quarters in, and you've got yourself a nice shower for a few minutes. If you need more, feel free to add more, but try not to go crazy with it. Everyone shares the showers here, so you might end up with a line."

  "It's just one shower?" I ask. That seems sort of restrictive, but I guess it's camping so it makes sense that it would be.

  "There's a few," Ethan's dad says. "They're all right next to each other. You have privacy and the shower doors lock, but you might end up taking a shower with someone in the stall right next to you on either side."

  "Yeah," Ethan says. "It's not like anyone can see in yours, though. They're pretty big stalls, too."

  "Yeah. Nothing to worry about. Just takes some getting used to, I guess. At the end of the day, a shower is still a shower, though."

  I do like showers... also, I have some plans. I don't know if these are good plans or not, but I have them, and I sort of want to do them.

  That's what got me in trouble this morning, isn't it? If I already got into trouble, why not get into more, though?

  I'm pretty sure this is how it starts. I'm beginning to understand Ethan's bad boy ways a little better.

  *** Ethan

  My dad and Ashley clean up by the fire while Ashley's mom goes to take a shower and I do some other stuff. I don't really have a plan in mind here, but there's always something to do when you're camping. I unload some junk that Ashley's mom wanted out of the car and put it between the tents. After that, I go gra
b my bag with my clothes in it and make sure I've got everything ready for my own shower. By the time all of that's done and Ashley and my dad have our stuff cleaned up from breakfast, my stepmom is walking back.

  I head to the showers with my bag and a roll of quarters. She smiles at me as we cross paths, her going back to the campsite and me walking away from it. Her hair is still wet and it glistens in the bright morning sun.

  "I can't believe I didn't think to bring a hair dryer!" she says, grinning.

  "Yeah, tons of places to plug it in out here," I say with a smirk.

  She laughs. "A girl can dream, right?"

  "I guess you could always see if there's an electric hand dryer in the bathrooms up there and stick your head under it?" I offer.

  She laughs even more and slaps playfully at my shoulder. "Sure, you try it first and let me know how it goes."

  We separate then, her going back to our campsite and my dad, and me continuing on to take a shower.

  It's weird, but Ashley's mom is so much easier to get along with compared to my dad. I don't really want to compare her to my mom, but I think this must be what it's like to actually have a mother, too. I think about it sometimes, and think about what my mom would say to me if she was still around. To be honest, it's kind of hard, though. It's hard to remember everything about her and everything I know is trapped in the framing of a little kid.

  I really like Ashley's mom, though. I'm glad she's my stepmom. I guess it's weird, but I think my mom would approve, too. I think she'd be happy that my dad found someone again, even if it took him awhile to do it.

  I don't really know what my real mom would think about me dating my stepsister, but whatever. It's cool. I think she'd be cool with it.

  My dad, though... yeah, he's not making this any easier.

  The entire way to the showers I think about how to tell him. Do I even want to tell him? Fuck if I know, but I feel like eventually I kind of have to tell him, don't I? It's just one of those things that's going to come out sooner or later. Like... fuck... what if Ashley and I get married? Pretty fucking sure my dad's going to want to be invited to the wedding.

  How the fuck does that even work? Shit, this is complicated, huh? So, alright, the bride's father walks her down the aisle, but that would be my dad? What's the groom do? Does the mom walk him down the aisle? I don't think so. I think there's first dance shit or something.

  Wait, what the fuck? Why am I thinking about marriage? Seriously, that's fucked up. I've been dating Ashley for barely more than a week. I need to chill the fuck out or something.

  You know what would be easiest, though? Eloping. You don't have to worry about anything if you elope. You just sort of run off somewhere and get married without all that fancy shit and there you go. Pretty sure Ashley's mom would castrate me if I didn't let her go to her daughter's wedding, though. You know what ruins a honeymoon real fucking quick? Being castrated. Shit.

  Yeah, so, anyways, shower. I'm there. It's basically the same as I remember it. I step into one of the shower stalls around back and hang my bag up on the wall opposite the showerhead, then close the door and start to get undressed. When I'm good and ready, I get a handful of quarters out of the roll and pop them into the timer.

  A dollar for five minutes? Fuck yeah, let's splurge a little. Ten minute shower? Holy fuck, maybe fifteen? Don't go crazy here, Ethan, save some water for everyone else. I put in four quarters, turn the knob to start the timer, then toss in four more for another five minutes. I'll see how it goes from there.

  That's the plan, at least. Apparently I'm really fucking bad at shower plans, though.

  *** Ashley

  I secretly convince my mom to distract Ethan's dad for a second. This is all part of my secret plans, which, um... they're not very elaborate, but it's the simple plans that are the most effective, right? I read that somewhere once but I don't remember where, and honestly I don't even know if it's true or not.

  This plan isn't going to take a whole lot of effort, I just need to be a little sneaky for a second, that's all. I slip into the tent Ethan and I are sharing and then grab my clothes for the day, plus my shampoo and conditioner and my toothbrush and toothpaste just in case. You can never be too careful, right?

  My mom is still talking to Ethan's dad and distracting him for the time being, which gives me plenty of time to slip away. I hurry away from our campsite, jogging quick down the road. Once I'm out of view, I slow down a little. I can't go too fast, because that would ruin part of my plan...

  It's a secret plan. Shhh! Don't tell anyone, alright?

  I realize I'm walking a little too fast when I see Ethan up ahead. He's got his back to me, so he can't see me, but that's definitely him. I slow down so that I don't catch up and so that he won't see me. It would kind of ruin the secret if he did, which is the entire point of this.

  I wonder when we can tell his dad everything? I'm not sure. His dad doesn't seem very receptive to the idea, to be honest. I can sort of understand some of what he's doing, and I kind of like that he's thinking about me? I just don't like the fact that he thinks I'd like to spend time with Caleb.

  I mean, it's not like I don't want to spend time with Caleb, either, though. I just don't want to spend romantic time with him? I think that's it, except I don't even know. I'm going to be super honest for a second and say that I'm actually not entirely sure what to do with a boy if you're just hanging out with them. Basically all of my friends are girls, except maybe Ethan, and Ethan's not even really my friend anymore, is he? Do boyfriends count as regular friends, too?

  He wasn't exactly my friend before this, and I think we only ended up hanging out because our parents got married. Also, he didn't hang out with me a lot or anything, but we were sort of partly forced to hang out. It was fun, though. I liked all the times we spent together, and I think Ethan did, too.

  I blush, remembering the party he planned shortly after me and my mom moved in with him and his dad. Our parents were away for the weekend and then I blurted out at the end that I was mad I didn't get to kiss anyone during any of the kissing games, and, um...

  That was the first time we kissed. That was my first kiss ever, too. It was kind of weird, but I liked it.

  I don't even know why I'm blushing, because recently we've done a lot more than kiss. This morning we did a lot more than kiss! I just liked it, though. I really like that Ethan was the first boy I ever kissed.

  I want to be a first for him, too. I guess I am already, since I'm the first girl he's ever really dated, but I want to be another sort of first. I don't know what yet. I'm going to have to ask him and figure it out.

  Before I realize it, I'm at the showers. It's kind of a strange building. It's rectangular and set off to the side, though I can see the main office from here, too. It's got two doors close together in the middle of this side, both of which lead to a bathroom, one for men and the other for women. Spaced further apart, one to the left of those doors and one to the right, are larger doors that lead into the shower stalls.

  The shower stalls are kind of huge! I don't know what I expected there, but, yup, they're huge. This is good. It's perfect for my plans.

  I'm guessing there's showers on the other side of the building, too, but I watch Ethan go into one in front of me. He still hasn't seen me, which is good. It's a secret, remember?

  He closes the door behind him and a few moments later the water turns on. The doors don't go entirely to the floor or the ceiling, so I can see his feet through the bottom sometimes as he walks from one end of the stall room to the other.

  I look around quick, making sure no one's watching me, and then I hurry to the shower that Ethan went into and open the door. Thankfully he didn't lock it. I slip in fast and close it behind me, then lock it and run to the opposite side away from the water.

  Ethan stares at me as I enter. He's completely naked from head to toe, with water cascading across his sexy, muscular body, just standing there, watching me.

  As soon as h
e sees me, his cock twitches. Well, hello to you, too...

  I wink at him and he smirks.

  *** Ethan

  Apparently the shower fairy has decided to visit me. What, you've never heard of the shower fairy? Yeah, I don't know, I think she's some sexy as fuck little nymph that sometimes decides to join you in the shower. Sort of like the tooth fairy, but for adults. I'm pretty sure I like what the shower fairy has to offer a lot more than what the tooth fairy gives you, though.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I ask, smirking at Ashley.

  Good fucking thing I didn't lock the door when I came in, huh? I didn't think anyone would interrupt me when I had the water on, so I doubted it would have mattered, but it seems to have worked out in my favor.

  "Oh, just showering," she says, coy.

  "Oh yeah?" I ask. "You do realize there's like, what, four showers?"

  "Really, Ethan?" she says, hands on her hips. "Haven't you ever heard of helping the environment? I'm trying to save water here. This is for a good cause."

  "Little Miss Perfect Environmentalist, huh?" I say, smirking.

  She tosses me a dirty look and sticks her tongue out at me. Yeah yeah, whatever. It's not like I'm actually going to kick her out. How fucking stupid would that be?

  She didn't really think this through too well, though. The shower is on and despite her best efforts, her shoes are getting wet. Also, she's got socks on, too. I took all that stuff off before turning the water on and tossed it on the wooden bench opposite the wall with the showerhead so it wouldn't get wet. Ashley hurries and throws the change of clothes she brought into my bag hanging on a hook on the wall, then rips off her shoes and socks and puts them on the bench.

  Yeah, actually, you know what? If she's going to do a good deed, help the environment and all, I figure I should do one, too. It's only fair, right? I stride across the stall towards her, grab the bottom of her shirt, and rip it up and off her body in one smooth stroke. She was working on getting undressed on her own, so she just kind of stands there, surprised, mouth open, staring at me. My hands are wet, and now her shirt is, too, but what the fuck do I care? I toss it onto the bench with her shoes and socks, then reach around and unsnap her bra in one second flat.