by Violet Blaze
Flor grinned, flashing white teeth. He pulled his cigarette from his lips with two fingers and leaned forward.
“Not likely, Barbie doll. Get lost.” Without waiting for a response, Flor moved around her and opened the front door, flipping the sign over to closed. The girl huffed and shouldered rudely past me before storming out the door and down the street. I didn't say anything as my stepbrother pulled it closed behind her and flicked the locks into place. Outside, the sky was an inky black and peppered with stars, the restaurant across the street still filled with a lively crowd.
“Get a beer with me?” he asked, turning off the lights as he moved back around the counter. When they were all off and the only light inside the building was coming from the street lamps outside, Flor paused next to me and looked down at my face with his eyes blanketed in shadow.
“I'm only eighteen, remember?” I joked, but when he didn't say anything in response, I rushed to fill in the silence. “But we could grab something to eat anyway?”
“I don't think telling our parents is a good idea, Abigail. All it's gonna do is make them act weird around us. And your dad? Fuck, I'll be lucky if he doesn't pull a gun on me.”
“If … ” I struggled to find some of Yuu's confidence, take some comfort in his words. What he'd said today had made so much sense to me. But in order for me to argue my point, I had to admit another: that I wanted us to be together, officially. Suddenly though, it'd become hard to speak. Flor was too close, the memory of last night too fresh.
“If, what?” he asked, and I was relieved to find that his voice was soft, much softer than it'd been before. I fiddled with my bra strap again, and Flor reached out to stop me, sliding his hand over mine and pulling it away. His unlit cigarette dropped to the floor as he wrapped his left arm around my waist and dragged me close, my body pressed tight to the front of his. I shivered as he dropped his mouth to the curve of my neck, trailing down over my shoulder until he reached the loose strap.
“If we want to be together, we have to tell them,” I said, shivering again as his fingers traced over my skin, each whorl of his fingerprints stirring up goose bumps. Honestly, I was a little surprised he was touching me so easily.
At my words, Flor stiffened briefly, but he didn't pull away, instead leaning into me so he could rest his forehead against mine. The tender position nearly brought tears to my eyes, but I held them back. I'd sobbed enough over Flor. Now that I had him, even if it was just for this brief moment, I wouldn't waste it crying.
“Damn it, Abi, how'd you do it? Get me to let my guard down? This wasn't supposed to happen with you. I've been fighting these feelings since I was sixteen.” I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed tight, hugged him like I hadn't done in years, ever since that kiss. After that, he stopped letting me touch him, stopped letting me in. I was starting to wonder if those secrets I'd always seen in his face, that hesitation, that fear, if it had something to do with me. As if he could read my thoughts, Flor started filling in the blanks without my even having to ask. “That night I kissed you,” he began, “when you were fifteen?” I nodded, my cheek brushing the soft cotton of his T-shirt. “I saw you sneak out. I figured I had a pretty good idea where you'd be going, so I went, too. I promised myself I'd leave you alone, let you have a good time for once in your life. But then I saw you kissing that guy, and I almost went bat shit crazy. Hell, when I had you pressed up against that wall, I almost lost it, almost fucked you right then and there, the world be damned.”
“I wished for years that you had,” I whispered and Flor groaned, like he was having trouble controlling himself now, too. “Why'd you bring that girl with you then?” I couldn't help remembering the sneer on her face, replaced quickly with that look of relief they always got when they heard the word sister.
“Girl?” Flor asked, and I smiled against his shirt. I felt sorry for the women he messed around with sometimes, but I was honestly a little glad that he didn't remember her. When Florian looked back over the years, maybe the only girl he'd ever really remember would be me?
“You brought her to the party,” I explained, not wanting this moment of honesty, this closeness wrapped in shadows, to end.
“Oh.” He thought for a minute, like he was trying to recall the details of that night. It had only been three years, but it felt like a lifetime. “I thought she'd keep me safe from you.”
“Safe?” I asked, leaning back. Flor kept his arms wrapped around my waist and refused to let me go. This close up, I could feel his breath stir my hair, see the slight stubble on his jaw. I ran my fingers over it, searching for that beautiful scar of his.
“I didn't trust myself with you, Abigail.”
I felt a little thrill.
“Is that why you stopped hanging around so much?”
He nodded, and then growled low in his throat. The sound made me crazy with need.
“But … I don't know what to do with you now.” His right hand rose to cup my jaw and I swallowed hard as he pulled my face to his for a deep kiss that warmed me straight down to my toes. “I know logically that this can't work, that I'm supposed to be your fucking brother, that I'm supposed to take care of you.”
“I don't mind,” I said with a smile, “if you want to take care me of as a lover instead?” Flor laughed, but his voice had gone dark and husky again.
“What about our future sibling, Abs? How will that work?” I shrugged, but then decided I had to say something. This was it, I could feel it. My one chance to get Flor to work with me, to accept a possible relationship. I'd waited my entire life for this one moment. It wasn't that I thought my happiness depended on a man, or even on Flor in particular, but who doesn't want love? Who doesn't want a partner to share the ups and downs with, ride the waves with a warm hand and a gentle smile at your side? The fact that he was a genius in the bedroom – and out of it – didn't hurt either.
“Addison told me that Patrick and Dorian's little sister feels like her own, like she couldn't feel anymore like a sister if she were blood. So what if we share a sibling? It doesn't matter. We're not related, and honestly, Flor, you've never really felt like a brother to me.”
He sighed, one long release of breath that was like music to my ears. I knew Florian Harper Riley well enough to tell when he was giving in.
I held him closer, nuzzled his shoulder and breathed in his scent.
Please, please, please.
“Abi, I'm … I've never been good at relationships, you know that. I don't want to fuck it up with you. I'd rather have you around as a sister than not at all.”
“I won't let you fuck it up, Flor,” I told him, and I meant it. I felt his fingers in my hair and then he was turning us, pushing me back until I was forced to sit on the counter. He tucked himself between my thighs and put his hands on my waist.
“Then again, no girl was ever good enough.” He paused, licked his lips. “Because each and every single one of them I was comparing to you.” Flor took my face between his palms, kissed my lips softly, gently. His fingers found the button on my jeans and opened it, dragging the pants down my legs before I could get in a protest.
“Someone could walk by and see,” I whispered, but he didn't care about that, I knew. Besides, I had to admit, there was something about this scenario that was insanely sexy. In the dark, on a busy street, hidden in plain sight? In Flor's tattoo studio? I closed my eyes and breathed in the familiar scents.
“They can go fuck themselves,” he told me, and his confidence made my toes curl. But still, I hadn't gotten an answer yet, and I wasn't giving up.
“So does this mean yes?” I asked him as he ran his fingers over my tattoo, teasing the waistband of my panties. Truthfully, I'd kind of figured something like this might happen, so I'd worn my matching leopard print bra and undies. Bingo.
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” he said, kissing my neck, nibbling on my earlobe. I reached down and grabbed a silky handful of his hair. In this light, it was dark as ink.
“Yeah, yeah
, what?” I asked, making him look at me. Flor reached up and caught both my wrists in his hands, pushing them down by my sides and getting close enough to kiss. Still, he fought to keep those perfect lips from me as I leaned forward. “Can we try this, Flor? Really try this?”
He hesitated, considering the implications.
“No Max?” he asked and I nodded, biting my bottom lip. “No other guys at all?”
“Me and you, Flor. For real. As a couple.” I paused. “That means no Rhonda.” A tickle of anticipation fluttered in my throat. Is this really happening right now? I considered pinching myself, just to make sure this wasn't a dream. “No other girls either.”
I waited in the perfect silence for several heartbeats, scarcely daring to breathe. Hardheaded, know-it-all Florian and me? As a couple? A shiver crawled down my spine as his grip tightened around my wrists.
Outside, a group of people streamed by, laughing, unaware of the intense emotional battle that was taking place just feet away from them. If they were to stop and peer closely at the glass, I knew they could see us. No one did.
Seconds stretched like hours, but I didn't dare make a sound and then finally, the miraculous happened.
Flor nodded and I squealed, pulling my wrists from his grip and throwing them around his neck. I held him tight and relished the idea that he was mine now. Mine. I pulled back and watched a smile stretch his lips, a real one.
“I can't believe I'm doing this,” he said, but he sounded happy. Surprised, maybe, but happy. “I'm dating my little sister.”
“Stepsister,” I corrected and his smile grew into a sexy grin. Relief pounded through me, a heady concoction that made my head spin. I felt dizzy, like if I tried to stand up, I'd stumble and fall. This cannot be happening right now. Only it was. It really, really was.
“Whatever, dope,” he said, pushing himself against me hard enough that I could feel his erection through his jeans. “Who cares what I call you anyway? Obviously, if you couldn't tell, I don't think of you as a sister, even though I've tried my fucking damnedest.”
“I think,” I said, trying to remember to breathe. It was hard, with him hot and ready and pressed up against the thin cotton of my panties. “You thought you were being a big brother when really, you were just jealous. I mean, come on, you chased away every boyfriend I ever had.” Flor squeezed me tighter.
“None of them were good enough for you,” he said simply, bending down to nip at my earlobe. “None of them, not even me.” He breathed hot breath against my neck as he reached down to unzip his jeans. “But now that you're mine, that means I get to do whatever I want to you, right? I mean, you do know what you're asking? If I stay, it's not going to be as your brother. Instead of squinting my eyes and pretending that you're a nun, I'm going to be wastefully wicked.”
“Wastefully wicked?” I asked and his grin twisted into a smirk as he freed himself from his pants, pushing my panties aside with skillful fingers.
“It means, nee-chan, that I'm not even going to try to hold back.” Flor slid some loose curls behind my ear as he angled himself to enter me. “Those times before, with me and you, those were slipups, that was my control breaking at the last possible second while I tried to get a hold of it. Abs, if I do this now, I'm letting loose.”
“Good,” I whispered, looking up into green eyes that I'd admired for over a decade. “Because that's all I've ever wanted.”
Florian pushed into me oh so slowly, filling me up as he held my gaze, the fingers of his left hand curling around my hip, sliding over the lines of my tattoo. I breathed in deep, took in the smell of antiseptic and ink as Flor cupped the back of my head with his other hand and kissed me. The slant of his lips was deep and dark, like he was drinking me up, savoring me. When he'd said he was letting go, I'd imagined a wildness, a bestial rutting against the counter, but this was even more intense. This was … it felt like in his every touch, in his every movement, in the rhythm of his kiss, that he was telling me something.
I love you.
I felt it as he moved inside of me, deeper, deeper, until our hips made full contact, until our bodies couldn't get any closer if we tried. I suddenly realized that Flor was … making love to me. Holy shit. On the counter in his tattoo studio, where anyone could see, where Max could unlock the door and walk in.
And I didn't care.
I'd heard before that a person could tell the difference between simply screwing and making love, but I hadn't really believed it. I did now.
“Flor,” I gasped between kisses, but he wouldn't let me speak, filling my mouth with his tongue like he was drinking me in, holding me close, rocking our hips together. The dark haze of the studio was a perfect companion, hiding the bright flush that lit my cheeks, the quiver of my hands as I laced them behind his neck. Flor only paused to peel our shirts off, crushing my leopard print bra against his bare chest. I swear, I could feel the metal piercings in his cock as he slid it deep and stole it away from me again, leaving me panting and barely able to form a coherent thought. I tried to look away several times, but Flor touched his fingers to my chin and drew my gaze back over and over.
I had a feeling I knew what was coming, but I was almost too worked up to hear it.
“Abigail,” he began.
“Don't,” I said, putting my hands flat against his chest. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. “Not yet. Not right now. I don't think I can take it.”
“I told you, I'm not holding back. I warned you, Abs.” I sucked in a deep breath. “I love you,” he said simply, and it was almost too much. Feelings burst like fireworks inside my chest, riding the crest of an orgasm that I knew was coming on quick. “I want to hear you say it, too,” he told me in that cocky, annoying voice of his.
“I've said it a million times,” I told him, gasping at the rush of pleasure when he pushed into me, harder this time. And then Flor paused, going so still I was worried he was going to stop completely.
“Say it,” he commanded, looking smug and stupid and so horribly beautiful that I wanted to cry. This was a face I knew, a face I'd looked into a million times and wished was mine. And now it was. I hugged Flor tight to me, hooked my ankles behind his back and held him there while I worked up the courage to say the words yet again.
“I love you, Flor.”
He grinned and cupped my face between his hands, kissing me hard and deep before he started moving again. Flor took hold of my hips and ground my ass against the countertop. He wasn't rough or wild, but filled with a sort of ironclad intent that made my toes curl. When I came, arching my back and shuddering in his arms, he held me and kissed my cheeks until the crowds across the street were gone and there was nobody left but us.
“This is a pretty big deal,” Addison said, lifting up one designer dress after the other as she stood in front of the mirror and tried to figure out what to wear. Tonight, we were having our first double date with me and Flor as a couple. Addi still wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea, but she said she'd been getting used to it for years. Ever since I saw that damn shrine, she'd told me. “Which one do you like better?” I looked between the black dress and the … other black dress. They were both pretty, but they also both looked pretty much the same to me. One was shorter with a scoop neck and a plunging back while the other had tiny cap sleeves embroidered with lace and beads. I pointed to that one, but Addi chose the other, undressing right in front of me and sliding the fabric over her head. I was used to it. She even walked around naked sometimes.
“You're not seriously considering wearing boots with that?” Theo asked, fully dressed in drag and wearing a dress strangely similar to Addison's. He had on blue heels with his. “Pretty Woman, anyone? You'll look like a hooker.”
Addison glared at him, but Yuu was already nodding in agreement. Okay, when I said double date, I actually meant triple – sort of. We were going to a club to see Theo and Yuu's performance. It was a brand new place not far from Flor's tattoo shop and something Springfield desperately needed. Th
ere hadn't been a good club or bar around Main Street in years, not something that would attract college students like this one would. Everybody loved drag queens. Plus, Yuu said their new place served killer hot wings. Didn't get any better than that. Tonight was the grand opening and we were going to be the honored guests, lucky us. I knew that would probably involve some sort of how big are your boobs? contest, but I was willing to make the sacrifice.
I rolled onto my back and stared up the ceiling. Flor and I were a week into our new relationship and I was loving every freaking second of it. Rhonda had disappeared completely, but Max was still an issue. He and Flor were fighting almost daily, and I was starting to wonder if he'd ever forgive us. Flor had apparently thought that telling him we were dating would solve the issue, but it'd only seemed to make it worse. At least Max hadn't ratted us out yet. Flor had made me agree not to say anything to our parents until after the baby had come. He said it was because he didn't want to do anything that would stress his mom out, but I wasn't sure. I decided I was just going to count my blessings and deal with it.
I grabbed a nearby pillow and pressed it against my face to hide a smile. Luckily, nobody was paying attention to me in that moment; I'd already been chewed out three times today for obsessing. When I wasn't dating Flor, he was all that I could think about. Now that I was dating him … well, still all that I could think about. I guess I was just head over in heels in love with him.
I tossed the pillow aside and rolled onto my belly, watching the two boys as they helped refine Addi's look for the evening. She was in good enough spirits that even though I'd been annoying her with my Flor obsessiveness, I knew she'd help me with my outfit, too. Now that Patrick's move was official (and both my stepmom and I had agreed that he could move in with us), I didn't think anything could shake Addi's blessed mood. Or maybe she was just glad that his big news had nothing to do with getting married (yet). Either way, it couldn't have come at a better time for me. Lucky.
