Always Fraser

by A. K. Steel

  There’s no knowing what I will do when he’s close to me. I can't control myself around him. The last week has proven that!

  Steam fills the air of the bathroom as the hot water hits my back. Oh, it feels so good. This is what I needed. I can feel my body coming back to life again. Maybe I’ll just stay in here all night, where I’m safe and warm. But I want to see him. I’ve been avoiding him since Monday because of what we did in his office. We nearly got caught by Blake, and he was prepared to let that happen! So he could prove to Blake that I’m his or something. I don't know, but it’s had my head scrambled ever since. What was that? I’ve never been so angry and turned on at the same time.

  I guess I better get out, I have been in here for a while.

  I turn off the shower and realise I haven’t grabbed any clothes. Damn! That's so annoying! I’m so tired from my crazy day at work, I’m not thinking straight. I crack open the door. I can't see anyone, so I creep out in my towel. Luckily my room is just across the hallway from the bathroom, so no one sees. I walk straight to my wardrobe, opening the door, and stand there trying to work out what I should wear. Something casual but sexy enough to get his attention. “Ah ha,” I say out loud to myself. I’ve got just the thing. I pull my white cotton dress out of the wardrobe. It's low-cut and kind of short but still casual. I drop my towel and hold the dress up, ready to put it on.

  “Nice choice,” comes a familiar voice from behind me.

  I jump and grab my dress, covering my naked body. “W-what are you doing in here?”

  Fraser is sprawled out on my bed, hands behind his head looking way too comfortable. A massive smile crosses his face at the peep show he's been watching. “Well, I wasn’t expecting you to come in wearing only your towel, but it was a nice surprise.” He jumps up off my bed and closes the gap between us.

  “You know what I mean, why are you in my room? Do you want to get caught?” I whisper.

  “You were gone for too long and Drew's ducked out to get some milk for your mum. I was bored waiting for you. You have the longest showers ever. What are you doing in there that takes so long?” He wraps his arms around me, touching the bare skin of my back with his hands.

  “Girly things, it takes a long time to look this good.”

  “Sure you weren’t just excited to see me and had to take care of yourself?” he says, smirking at me.

  “Does your mind always have to go there?” I roll my eyes at him.

  “Around you it does.” His hands are now on my bare arse.

  “I need to get dressed, Fraser. We can't get caught like this.” I try to push him away so I can get dressed but he won't budge. He's a wall of muscle. I don't even know why I tried, he's so much stronger than me.

  “Would it be that bad? Then it would all be out in the open. No secrets from your family.” His eyes are serious now. I can see how important it is to him that we tell them, but I'm not ready yet.

  “I don't want to keep secrets from them either, but don't you want to see what this is between us first? Cause it's going to go one of two ways if they find out. They’ll be pissed or marrying us off within the year, and neither of those options works for me!”

  “The second option’s not so bad, is it?” he says, lightly placing kisses down my neck.

  “Fraser, what are you talking about? You don't even have long-term girlfriends. You don’t want to marry me.”

  “Maybe I was just waiting for the right girl.” His grey eyes are staring straight into mine, pulling me under his spell again as he slides my dress out of my hands, dropping it to the floor. I can't help myself. I reach up and kiss him. My hands going to the back of his head as I pull his mouth to mine. How can it feel so good? His stubble scratches my face, but his big full lips are so soft and feel so good.

  I jump back when I hear a car door slam out the front; that must be Drew. “You need to get out of here quick, before he gets in the house.”

  “We’re not finished here,” he whispers in my ear as he walks over to the door.

  I just nod as he closes it, his eyes still glued on me. I quickly pick up my dress and throw it over my head. I finish getting dressed and do my makeup and hair. Tonight is going to be hard. I'm so worked up from kissing him like that. I have no idea how I’m going to get through dinner.

  I wander into the kitchen, trying to play it cool even though I'm anything but. “Do you need help with anything, Mum?”

  “You took your time.” She raises a questioning brow at me. “You can help with the salad if you like.”

  “It was a long day, so I needed a long shower to wash it away.” I start to chop up all the veggies she has lined up on the chopping board. Trying to distract myself.

  “You look nice, honey, you’ve gone to a lot of trouble just for dinner.”

  “It's just a dress, Mum, not a big deal. So, Mum." I stop to take a breath and think about how I say this. "It looks like Indie has found a new place to live where she can have an art gallery as well in Broken Point, and she's looking for a roomie, so I’m going to move in with her.”

  She looks up from the food she's preparing. “We only just got you back home. You don't have to waste money on rent, stay here a bit longer.”

  “Mum, as lovely as it's been living with you guys again, I'm 26. I need to take care of myself and do my own thing. The rent isn't too much, for this place either, so I’ll be able to afford it easily.”

  “Did you hear that, Jim?” she calls out to my dad on the deck, probably thinking he will be able to change my mind. “Elly’s moving out with Indie.” Dad walks into the kitchen with a plate of cooked steak. He’s been out the back cooking the BBQ with the boys.

  “You sure, honey? You're welcome to stay here as long as you need to.”

  “Yes, Dad, I’m sure, I need to do this for me.”

  “Well, that's good news then. I’m excited for you. Just let me know when you're moving and I will clear my schedule so I can help.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I say, kissing him on the cheek.

  “What’s going on?” Drew calls out from the deck. He’s got bloody big ears, you can't have a conversation around here without him hearing what’s going on. Drew and Fraser come in from the back.

  “Nothing's going on, Dumbo, I’m just moving in with Indie next week, nothing for you to worry about.”

  Fraser has a massive smile on his face, looks like he’s happy about that. He’s probably thinking it's so I can fuck him without the family finding out, and that might be half of it. But mostly it's because I feel like last time, I went straight from living with my family to living with Jessie. It was only a month of staying on friends’ couches in between, then I moved in with him. I haven’t had time on my own to do my own thing.

  We sit down to eat dinner and Fraser conveniently sits across from me. The look in his eyes is pure sin. I can feel my face heating up just from the way he’s looking at me. His eyes roam up and down my body, then he licks his lips. I hope no one else notices the way he’s looking at me, but it must be hard to miss. I can feel my face heating up under his gaze. It's doing things to me, things I shouldn’t be feeling at this very inappropriate time. I look down at my food, moving it around on my plate. I have no idea what the conversation is going on around us, my brain is totally scrambled.

  “Are you all right, Elly? You’re very quiet tonight,” Dad asks, looking concerned.

  “Yeah, just got lots going through my head, you know, with the move. That's all, Dad.”

  “So, when do you think they will start on the building of the holiday accommodation, Fraser?” Dad asks.

  “We're just waiting for final approval from the council. It won't be long, and as soon as we get the go-ahead, they will get started. I’d say within the month.”

  “So, how is the new business going anyway?” Dad asks.

  “Really well, we need to hire an office manager because we can't keep up with the work on our own.”

  “That's fantastic, good on you boys for giv
ing it a go, it's so nice to see young hardworking people have success.”

  “It was the best decision we could have made. We’ve been nominated for an award as well, for ‘Best Eco-Friendly Design’ from a new company. It’s for the new library building we did when we first got back to Byron.”

  “Congratulations, love, that's fantastic news.” My mum is up clearing the table and stops to hug Fraser.

  “We're both proud of everything you have achieved,” beams Dad.

  “What about me?” Drew whines. As we all roll our eyes.

  “You’re making a fortune travelling the world, of course everyone’s proud of you, Drew,” I tease. “Not everything's about you.” He’s such a brat, always has to be in the limelight.

  “I just wanted to remind you all how awesome I am.”

  I punch him in the arm as I walk past, helping Mum clear the table. He’s pissing me off tonight. It's probably not his fault, but he’s the biggest reason Fraser and I can't really be together, so he deserves that punch even if he doesn't know why.

  Being a twin is hard sometimes. When we were kids, I always felt like he got all the special treatment, like my parents could see he was going to be special and I was just some regular kid, so he got all the attention. As teenagers, Theo and I were left to our own devices most of the time. Mum would be off taking Drew to surf lessons in the mornings before she had work, and the afternoons were the same. She would finish up work and be down at the pool with him for swim squad. We spent all of our family holiday time going to his surf comps. It was always about him. I’m super proud of where he is now, doing so well. But I think he forgets the sacrifices the rest of us made so he could follow his dream.

  I help Mum stack the dishwasher and Fraser joins us in the kitchen. “Thanks for dinner, Anne, it was delicious.”

  “No worries, love. It's so nice to have you kids all home together. Did you want to stay for dessert?”

  “I better not, I've got an early start tomorrow and work to finish tonight. Elly, you want to show me those samples before I go?”

  “Yeah, I’ll just go get them, they’re in the study.”

  “That's all right, I’ll come with you on my way out. Bye, Anne.”

  I walk into the study and reach up to pull down my sample board from the top shelf and his arms are on my sides. I turn in his arms and our eyes are locked on each other again.

  “I thought I would never get you alone again tonight,” he whispers in my ear. “God, you're a tease in that dress with no bra on. I’ve been rock hard since you sat down in front of me, your tits almost popping out of your dress, your hard nipples showing through.”

  “It wasn’t easy for me either.” I can feel my face flushing again at the mention of how hard he is. Why does he have to say things like that to me?

  “I’m glad you're moving into your own place, no family around to catch us when we're up to no good,” he says, lifting my hair off my neck and placing small kisses down to my chest.

  “Fraser, this is Dad’s office, he could walk in at any minute.”

  “Fine,” he says, pulling back. “When can I have you all to myself again?”

  “I don’t know. But you haven’t tried that hard. If you want me to yourself, you could always ask me out on a date or something,” I offer, playing with my hair. Who am I around him? A girl who stares up at her high school crush. Batting her eyelashes and playing with her hair trying to be all cute. It's kinda sickening. I have to laugh at the image of myself.

  His eyes sparkle with delight now. “So, you want a date with me? When are you free?” he asks, closing the gap between us again.

  “Saturday, I guess.” I'm looking up at him, talking in almost a whisper, trying to get the words out before I'm consumed by his presence, his sexy smile, the way he smells so masculine.

  “Saturday it is. Meet me at my place, say 3, so we still have time to do something before it gets dark, and I’ll take you on a date. Better tell your parents you're staying the night at Indie’s or something, because you're not coming home.” He cups my face in his hands.

  "Is that right? What if I'm bored by the end of the night and want to come home?" I tease.

  "You won't be." He bites my bottom lip and I groan. Then he smashes his lips into mine.

  I'm done, all coherent thoughts gone. This man, the magnetic pull he has on me, so much more than when we were younger. I already know it's going to destroy me if we fall apart, but the pull is too strong, and I have to see what this is.

  Chapter Ten

  Fraser

  I quickly jump out of the shower. I didn’t mean to be running this late, but our footy match went into overtime with a massive brawl just before half-time, so I only just got home. I quickly chuck on a T-shirt and my boardies. Elly must’ve arrived while I was in the shower. I can hear her talking to her best buddy Blake. I don’t know what the go is with the two of them, but they seem like they have known each other for years, not weeks. I better get out there before he takes her out again instead of me.

  I walk into the living room to see her sitting on the lounge cross-legged. She flicks some of her hair out of her eyes as she talks to Blake. She looks gorgeous, as always, with her long hair down framing her pretty features.

  She jumps up as soon as she sees me, like she has been caught doing the wrong thing, twisting her hands in front of her. If I didn't know better, I’d say she looks nervous. Not like the normal Elly I know, the one who’s always so confident and in control. She’s wearing little short shorts and an expensive-looking white singlet top. She always has the fanciest clothes. Some designer labels, for sure. I remember in high school, she would be working every shift she could at the café so she could save up enough to get the latest designer bag or shoes that she just had to have. Everything had to be a designer. I’m not sure why she bothers because she's stunning and would look good in a paper bag. I hope she remembered her bikini. It would be a shame to get her little designer outfit wet, and I intend to go for a swim once we get to our destination.

  “Are you ready to go, Elly?” I’m not sure why, but this feels so awkward, like a real first date. Maybe that's why she looks nervous, she feels weird about it too.

  “Yeah, I’m good to go. See you later, Blake. Don’t have too much fun tonight without us.”

  “Ha, not likely. You know me, just probably watching Netflix or something. See you guys when you get back later.”

  We walk down to my car, keeping our distance from each other as we jump in. Why is this feeling so weird?

  “Where are you taking me?” she asks, looking over to me. Her eyes are hypnotising. The blue-green pools of the irises, like the ocean on a warm summer's day. They call my name. I have to pull my gaze away from her so I can concentrate on driving or we're going to have an accident.

  “It's a surprise. You’ll just have to wait and see,” I tease. “Did you bring your swimmers like I asked you to?”

  “Sure did. Are we going to the beach or something?”

  I just shrug my shoulders at her, keeping my eyes on the road.

  “Just tell me, Fraser! You know I don’t like surprises.” She glares at me over her sunnies.

  “Yeah, I remember, learned that one the hard way. But you’ll like this, I promise.” I probably shouldn't be surprising her after last time. It was her 16th birthday and I had spent the whole day with Drew, but I wanted to make sure she knew I hadn't forgotten about her as well. So that night when I heard her and her mum come home, I waited in her room for her with her present. Leaving the light off was probably my first mistake. Saying surprise before she had turned on the light, my second.

  She must have been carrying her Doc Martins in her hands, because as soon as I said it, she hurled them at me, whacking me straight in the face. I ended up with a bleeding nose and a black eye. You think that would deter me today, but it doesn't. I know she will like this surprise.

  “Okay, fine, I’ll wait, but it better be good,” she huffs.

 
; “You’ll like it, so stop being such a cry baby. How did you go with the styling set-up yesterday? The photos you sent through looked great. The furniture you chose reflected the look we’re going for exactly. You make a perfect addition to our team.”

  “Thanks. I had a bit of trouble getting some of the items I wanted in time, but once I build up my inventory with my own styling props, it’ll be easier.”

  “Where did you get the art from? I haven’t seen any of those paintings before. Is it an artist I would know?”

  She laughs at me. “They were Indie’s paintings. She's a really good artist, hey?”

  “Yeah. We'll have to use her paintings again.”

  “She would like that. She's trying to get her name out and noticed. That's why she needed the gallery, to build up her brand. She said people trust you better if you have some sort of a studio or gallery where they can see your work on display.”

  “Let her know, Blake and I will do whatever we can to help as well.”

  “I will. She would really appreciate that. The whole day ran smoothly, the furniture rental company I used delivered all the furniture on time, and it was all perfect. But it was a long day by myself. I forgot how physical lugging furniture around can be. My body is killing me today.”

  “You're definitely going to like where we're going then.”

  “Are you taking me for a massage?”

  “No, but I wish I thought of that. I could use one myself after the game this arvo.”

  “I can't believe you're still playing. Drew said it was a crazy game! Aren't you getting too old for team sports?”

  “Who are you calling old? I'll still be playing when I’m in the retirement home.”

  She laughs at me. “Of course you will.”

  We have nearly arrived at the surprise location, and I look over to watch her reaction when she sees where we are.