by K. Anderson
Brandon chuckled and nodded his head. “Yeah. But that’s okay. I know what you mean. All of my friends are military too. Except for my family and maybe one or two friends back home, I haven’t heard from anyone I used to be friends with before I joined the Marines.” He took another sip of his strong alcohol laced coffee, and nodded his head, recalling the memory.
“It was like I had this huge list of people that just absolutely swore to write me and keep in touch. By the time basic training was over though, they had all forgotten about me.”
Winona felt an ache in her heart for her superior. She knew the feeling all too well. In high school she’d been surrounded by the popular girls and was even one of them. As soon as she enlisted though, it was as if they all disappeared. Every now and then her mom would write in a letter about a birth or a baby, but that was the only way she stayed in touch with them.
“It sucks doesn’t it?” She asked softly. In the background the flight attendant was going over the safety procedures. Winona had been flying so many times now though that she had them all memorized by heart.
“What does?” Brandon asked.
“Being forgotten.”
CHAPTER 2
Kylie rolled her eyes as she heard her step- father call for her for the thousandth time. “I’m coming!” She yelled down the stairs, her hands busy with the curling iron in her hair. “I’m almost done!”
“Hurry up, up there! Gerald called up to his twenty-one-year-old step-daughter. Your brother is going to be home any minute!”
Kylie fought the urge to roll her eyes again, and finished curling her hair. Though she was happy for the summer vacation, she was still getting used to living with her parents again. It had been her first summer home since she’d left for college, and she had forgotten how micro- managing both of their personalities was. After taking one final look in the mirror, Kylie fluffed her bright red curls and ran a finger underneath her left eye to clean up the black eyeliner there. Perfect.
“Hi baby girl,” her mother sang as Kylie came down the stairs and into the kitchen. She could see that the older woman was excited for her Brandon’s homecoming, and Kylie soon found her mother’s smile to be contagious.
“I can’t believe that both of my babies are going to be home at once!” She squealed, bringing Kylie in for a super tight bear hug. Like her daughter; Cassie had bright red hair, pale Irish features, and brilliant green eyes that matched the green of the most fecund of forests. The only difference was where Kylie was smooth and wrinkle free, her mother was not.
“I know mom,” Kylie gasped, not able to breathe in her mother’s tight embrace. “I’m excited to be home too.”
Because they’d grown up in a small town, both Kylie and Brandon had yearned for a way to escape. Being four years older than her, Brandon decided to take the military route, and joined the marines. Kylie however had chosen the philanthropic path. While on any school breaks, Kylie normally volunteered her time to go to wherever help was needed. Whether it be as far away as Africa, or as close as the Carolina’s, Kylie almost always dedicated her free time to helping out the less fortunate.
Her original plan for the summer had been to go to Panama and help with child vaccinations. However, when her mother Gerald found out that her stepbrother, Brandon, was coming home for a three-month visit from being stationed in Germany, they begged her to cancel her plans and come home so that they could all once again be a family.
She wasn’t going to lie. She’d missed her family, often and very much. But since she’d gotten accepted into Penn State, her mind had been completely focused on social economics, and making the world a better place.
“We’re just so proud of you two!” Cassie gushed, giving her daughter another rib crushing squeeze to emphasize her point.
“Mom,” Kylie gasped. “Can’t. Breathe.
“Easy there honey,” Gerald said as he entered the room. “We just got her home, let’s not crush her so quickly.”
“Thanks Ger-I mean dad,” Kylie replied. Though he and her mother had been married for nearly twelve years, she was just starting to get used to the idea of calling him dad. It wasn’t really because he wasn’t a good father figure. When it came to things of that nature, he was actually pretty brilliant. He had taken her to ever FFA Meeting, every debate club meeting, and had even helped her pick out her junior prom dress when her mother had to work late. He was a great guy, and she liked that her mother had found such a good man.
The only reason she hadn’t wanted to call Gerald dad was because of the reason she came home; Brandon. Though it had been years since she’d seen him, she still recalled the young pre-teen crush she’d had on him growing up. To her, Brandon had been a God. Great body, beautiful eyes, and though he teased her like a big brother teased a little sister, he was always quick to protect her when the older kids had tried to mess with her.
Over time, she found her crush for him grew, and figured that if she just refused to call Gerald dad, then Brandon would not be her brother. It had made perfect sense at the time, but now as an adult, she realized how silly she’d been with the entire thing.
“So where’s he at anyways?” Kylie asked, picking up an orange. “I’m starving! I want to go get breakfast.”
“As soon as your brother’s home dear,” Cassie soothed, running a placating hand over her daughter’s hair.
~
In the driver’s side of the car Brandon shook his head, trying to get the awkward plane ride out of his head. Though he had tried being nice to Winona, it had ended up turning around and biting him in the ass. She was, by all accounts, obsessed. What had started out as a pretty normal conversation had twisted into something different all together.
None of that mattered now though, because he was finally home. Stepping out of the car, Brandon inhaled deeply. He took in the pure country air of his childhood home and he was instantly filled with fond memories. He remembered riding bikes up and down the dirt road, going swimming in the pond behind the barn, and getting together with his buddies to play practical jokes on Kylie and her little friends. Turning towards the door, he smiled widely, seeing his step- mother poking her head through the curtains of the window above the sink.
Chuckling, he waved at her and made his way towards the door. Cassie, who threw her arms around his broad shoulders, met him on the sidewalk. Happy to see her, Brandon lifted her up and twirled her around in his arms.
“You’re finally home! My baby boy is home!” Cassie cried, holding on to him tightly. Though he was born someone else’s son, she had always considered him her own. He was and had always a spirited boy, with a wide protective streak that she had appreciated time and time again. Though they’d teased one another at first, he had eventually become very protective of her daughter. For that she would be forever grateful and grateful.
“Hey mama,” Brandon whispered, finally setting the older woman on her feet. “It’s good to see you.”
Cassie put her hands around Brandon’s face and kissed his cheeks. “I’ve missed you so much,” she gushed.
“Cassie, let the poor man go, would you? He needs to breathe,” Gerald teased. “Step aside and let a man see his son.”
Though she knew he was joking, Cassie moved aside anyways and let her husband come up to his only son. Brandon and Gerald wrapped their arms around one another in a tight, masculine hug. For a long time, they were the only family they had. At least until Cassie and Kylie came along. After several minutes, Gerald pulled away, and wiped a tear from the corner of his left eye.
“Damn son. You look real good. Strong. I’m so proud of you, you have no idea.” Gerald clapped him on the shoulder again. “Your mother and I are just so damned proud.”
“Thanks dad,” Brandon replied, feeling the love and happiness swelling up in his chest.
“Don’t forget about me,” A feminine voice called from behind him.
Turning around, Brandon’s eyebrows went up in surprise as he looked over the tall, feminin
e figure that was, at one time, his baby sister. “Kylie? Is that you?”
The young redhead smiled prettily through her plump pink lips, and nodded her head. “Hi big brother.”
Brandon ignored the initial feeling of arousal and opened his arms to take the beautiful young woman into his chest. Giggling, she stepped into his arms and wrapped them tight around his waist. It had been a long time since they’d seen one another, and they had grown up so much since then.
In Brandon’s arms, Kylie couldn’t help but lean in and relax into the hard, chiseled, muscular chest that belonged to her stepbrother. He smelled of leather and saw dust somehow, but she loved it. He smelled like home.
“Okay, you two, okay,” Gerald laughed, clapping his son on his back. “Let’s go get breakfast shall we? We’re all starving.”
CHAPTER 3
Brandon’s eyes felt as if they had been glued to Kylie’s bosom. Her low cut white sundress dipped perfectly down into the V of her cleavage, enhancing the alabaster flesh that lay beneath the innocent looking white dress. She was a girl no more, and instead a full blown sexy woman.
“Brandon? Sweetheart are you okay?” Cassie asked, her hand resting on his naked forearm. After their greeting, Brandon had opted to change out of his uniform and dawned a baby blue V-neck shirt and a pair of jeans. It had been a long time since he’d felt someone touch the naked flesh of his arm, and he jerked at the interaction.
“Sorry mom,” Brandon murmured, turning his head to focus on Cassie.
“Maybe this was a bad idea,” she whispered, looking suddenly guilty.
“No, really. I’m fine,” he promised, closing his hand over hers. “There are just some things that I need to get used to again. Like a decent meal for example.” He looked up as the waitress juggling their plates approached their table, and he quickly got up to help her sit them down.
“Thanks cutie,” she said with a wink before leaving the table.
“So, Kylie. What’s new with you? Still studying economics?”
Kylie finished her sip of coffee and nodded her head. He couldn’t help but notice how her eyes lit up when he said the word economics, and it made him chuckle. He liked how passionate she was on the subject, and how committed she had become to making the world a better place.
“Yeah, I am. And I gave up a summer in India, thanks to you,” she replied, her tone dripping with fun sarcasm.
“Kylie Ann!” Her mother gasped. “Don’t be so rude! I taught you better than that.”
“You knew you wanted to see my face,” Brandon teased back, brushing his foot up against her leg under the table. “You just don’t want to admit it.”
Kylie giggled, and pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. “Yeah. Maybe I did. I mean you were a kid the last time I saw you.”
“So were you,” he admonished. “But you really grew up. I’ll bet you have all the boys up at Penn State chasing you.”
He watched jovially as a blush spread over her cheeks and ears. “I knew it,” he chuckled.
“In all seriousness though,” he added, sobering a little. “I am sorry that you gave up India. But I’m really happy to see you.”
A soft smile lit up Kylie’s face, illuminating her eyes. “I’m really happy to see you too big brother,” she said softly.
For a second Brandon could have sworn that there was a moment sizzling between them. One of mutual desire, and sexual tension. Kylie had certainly grown from an annoying teenager, to a classy young woman who was set on saving the world.
“Oh come on she was just teasing,” Gerald laughed as he cut into his giant stack of blueberry pancakes. “Weren’t you, Kylie?”
Reluctantly, Kylie looked away from Brandon and smiled at her step- father. “Right-o daddy-o,” she replied saucily. “We were just teasing one another.
“Yeah, dad, just some harmless brother-sister fun,” Brandon chimed in. As he picked up his glass of orange juice and brought it to his lips, he desperately hoped that he was telling the truth. Though in his heart of hearts, he wasn’t quite sure.
~
“Yikes,” Brandon murmured as he took in his childhood room.
“Your dad wanted to ‘man it up’ a little bit, but my mom wouldn’t let him touch it,” Kylie explained. After breakfast, the happily united family went home, and while his dad watched the baseball game and Cassie went out to work in the garden, Kylie offered to show him his old room. He had forgotten how much he had enjoyed punk rock in his teens, but the mostly black and red posters of Blink 182, Sublime, Tool, and 3 Days Grace glaringly reminded him of a time that he painted his nails black and wore silver crosses around his neck.
“I was such a dork,” he murmured, picking up an old black leather forearm cuff.
“What do you mean was?” Kylie teased; pushing her hip away from the doorway so she could walk in and sit on his queen sized black-blanketed bed.
Brandon chuckled, and took a seat beside her on the bed. “Nice,” he replied, pushing at her knee. “I mean, I grew up a little. Don’t you think?”
Kylie ran her eyes down her brother’s muscular form, pausing at his pale green eyes and long, dark eyelashes. “Yeah,” she said truthfully. “You really did grow up.” A silence spread between them, but neither thought it was uncomfortable. Instead, Brandon grabbed Kylie’s left ankle and brought it into his lap.
“What are you doing?” Kylie asked as he started massaging the bottom of her foot.
“What does it feel like?” He asked, expertly gliding his thumbs over and around the pads of her foot.
Kylie relaxed into the pillows, immediately enjoying the massage. With no boyfriend in sight, she had only been relying on her semi-monthly pedicures for such a pampering. If this was what it was going to be like having Brandon home for the summer, she decided that she was very much going to like it.
“So what’s been going on with you?” Kylie asked, forcing herself to keep her eyes open as she thoroughly enjoyed her massage.
“What do you mean?” Brandon asked, purposely playing dumb.
Kylie rolled her eyes and gently kicked him with her other foot. It was mean to be a playful touch, but the moment her toes hit his side, she found herself glued there.
“Oh. You mean the whole fighting overseas thing,” Brandon said, immediately noticing her other foot. “It was…horrible,” he answered truthfully. “And people keep asking about it. About what I went through and what I saw, and honestly, it’s something that I never really want to talk about.”
“I’m sorry,” Kylie apologized, rubbing her other foot gently up and down his waist. “We don’t have to talk about it.”
“Switch,” Brandon said, letting go of her foot before wrapping his hands around the other. There was a small moment of silence before a smile crept over his face. “Although I will tell you about this one woman in my squad. I mean, I knew she had a crush on me, but I really didn’t know how far until we shared a plane ride to Texas.”
Kylie, sensing a juicy story, sat up in the pillows and grinned. “Do tell,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.
CHAPTER 4
One Week Later
“Kylie? Kylie, what are you thinking about?” Daisy asked, shaking her friend’s arm.
“Hmm? What?” Kylie asked, lifting her chin out of her hand. “What was the question?”
Daisy giggled, and tossed her shoulder length black relaxed hair over her bare shoulder. She could tell when her childhood friend was thinking about a boy, and this was one of those moments. She needed the scoop.
“I was asking you what you were thinking about. But I think I need to rephrase and ask you who you were thinking about,” she replied.
A blush bloomed in Kylie’s pale cheeks and she lowered her head down so that she stuck her straw in her mouth without touching the glass. The sweet, alcoholic mix of her blueberry margarita slid up her straw and pumped in to her mouth, filling it with its dizzying goodness. It had been a week since Brandon had come home, and though she loved
seeing her brother again. She was also very confused by everything that she was feeling for him.
He was her step- brother, her annoying, acne faced stepbrother who at one point had put gum in her hair. But he was no longer that immature kid. Brandon was now a man. A calm, mature, alpha that had starred in several of her fantasies since he had arrived home. The only problem was, he was her brother. Still, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to get him out of her mind.
So after days of trying to push herself into a hobby, or help her mother in the garden, or even volunteering at the local food bank, she called up her oldest friend, Daisy, and together they went to The Whistler. It was one of the three bars in their small town, and Kylie’s favorite. It had an old time saloon feel to it, with peanut shells and sawdust on the floor, and four old pool tables in the back that had seen better days.
The bartender/owner, Lou, was a sweet old man who always ended up giving Kylie and Daisy free drinks because of their sweet nature. That night the bar was surprisingly full. All of the pool tables had been taken up, and because of the local band there were a small crowd gathered around the makeshift stage. As usual though, Lou, sensing they were going to stop by, had saved them their favorite booth and had prepared them a batch of popcorn chicken.
“Spill,” Daisy said, nudging her friend with two of her long, pointed fingernails. “Who are you thinking about?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Kylie murmured, reaching out to grab a piece of chicken and dunk it into the barbeque sauce. “Can’t we just talk about something else?”
Daisy rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. “Hello? That’s what I’ve been trying to do! But you keep fading away from me. It’s like you can’t focus on anything but what’s going on in your head.”
