Hopefully I would be right and I would be able to find solace in this place. I even thought, that by going to a place that both my father and I enjoyed, I would be able to have a breakthrough so that this summer didn’t completely suck.
If I could connect with my dad on any level, after the lack of relationship we had sustained so far, I would have counted it as a win. Right now, I was hopeful that this daytrip might actually do the trick.
After we paid our admission and made our way into the park, I was once again struck with a sense of excitement and pleasure. I hadn’t wanted to come this morning, because I had next to no interest to spend time with my father and the others that seemed to be attached at his hip, among other places. But now that we were here, I was glad that I hadn’t fought to go.
I looked over at the sparkle in Tyler’s eyes as he caught sight of the whirling rollercoasters and other thrill rides, realizing that I was once again not alone in my feelings.
“So, what do you say we start with our favorite coaster?” my father asked, placing his arm around my shoulder and hugging me into him.
The hug felt strangely familiar. When I was little, he did this often, but now, we rarely were in the same room with one another and as the familiar feeling surged through my bones, I couldn’t help but smile at him, happy to have felt at least a little glimmer of the way things used to be. Finally.
“Sure, Dad. That sounds great!” I exclaimed, before we made our way toward the tallest, fastest rollercoaster in the park.
Tyler didn’t say very much, but he followed right on our heels, as though he wished that he could be closer in the connection of this moment.
If I didn’t know any better, I would actually venture to say that he was jealous of what was going on between me and my father, which was a very strange reaction for Mr. Meathead-Cool to have, but I didn’t question it.
I certainly wasn’t against him getting in on the moment, even though I probably should have kicked him out as harshly as I could just for spite; but instead, I slowed down and allowed him to fall into step next to us.
I know I’m a sucker. What can I say? I thought as I tried to defend my actions to myself. After all, it wasn’t like I was going to do very much to stop him hanging around with us. And despite what he might believe about me or what I might want to believe about myself, underneath all of the hurt of my own, I was still a good person. I didn’t want to have to worry about getting revenge for something that I really couldn’t even correctly identify.
Sure, I was fairly angry with them and my whole world, but by finally having a connection with my father after all of these years, I wanted to embrace it instead of trying to figure out the best way to keep that feeling from Tyler.
We didn’t say much while we were in line, but I still felt like no matter what, I was doing a lot better than I had in a long time. For once, at the very least, I was interested in where I was at the moment, instead of constantly counting the seconds until I was going back to the place I considered home. I wasn’t drunk, or doing something morally compromising. I was just having fun with my father, the only family that I had left.
When we got on the ride, I thought it was strange that while I sat next to my father, Tyler made it a point to go over and sit on the other side of my father.
I would have thought that he would have wanted to sit by me, or at the very least, right in the middle so he could continue to be even the slightest bit annoying, but he didn’t. I thought it was nice of him to finally do something for someone else for a change, but I still noticed it far more than I should have and I wanted to know why.
Yet, I didn’t care enough to ask, at least right now, and so I let whatever it was that was going on inside of Tyler’s head slide so that I could enjoy the ride…and to my utter surprise, I did, for more reasons than I would have ever expected.
When the ride was over, we went to check out the picture and of course, like most of our pictures, it was absolutely hilarious.
My dad had his tongue sticking out and I was screaming my head off, but without even noticing, Tyler had also enjoyed the crazy picture taking and looked as though he truly feared for his life.
“That’s a great picture,” my father exclaimed, before he looked over at me and asked, “Should we carry on the tradition? I know it’s been a few years…” He smiled at me, almost as though trying his best to apologize, before I nodded enthusiastically.
“Sure!” I answered and then looked at Tyler with a teasing expression. “I need some kind of leverage against the meat head, over here.”
He narrowed his eyes at me and retorted quickly, “Go ahead and threaten me. You have no idea the kind of threat I fuckin bring…”
My father looked between the two of us then and at first, I thought that he was going to reprimand us for cursing and teasing one another, but instead he just smiled and let out a chuckle. “It’s kind of cool to have two kids.” He looked at me before he added in a careful voice, “This was what I always imagined. I always wanted you to have a sibling…”
Even though I was enjoying the sentimental moment and the fact that my father really seemed to be trying, I couldn’t let that one slide. It was just too rich. So I narrowed one eyebrow before I answered, “I’m sorry, Dad…You imagined that I would have a self-righteous prick for a brother who only cares about himself…and his hair which is obviously a pet of some kind?”
Once again, he laughed and passed a glance between the two of us again before he said, “In our own right, every guy is like that at his age.”
“Dude, I’m standing right here!” Tyler exclaimed, but then smiled and answered, “Although, I’m flattered you noticed.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I pushed his shoulder in a playful manner. The truth was, having a brother really wasn’t so terrible. It was having a stepbrother that I wanted to strangle more than anything else that was the problem I seemed to have.
Yet, that was all right. At the moment, I was having a good time and I certainly didn’t want to ruin the mood. So I continued to banter with him and pretend that, in fact, he was my brother.
Since my dad was obviously trying, I figured that it was only fair that I did the same thing.
When I pushed his shoulder, he turned back and smiled at me, before chasing me out of the line.
We then met up with Tyler’s mother, who had become the bag lady and waited for my father to return.
The rest of the day went just as well as that first ride and I was intrigued by that. It did help that Tyler kept his asshole tendencies to a minimum and tried his best to be a brother, instead of a lover, but I also noticed a change in my father.
Instead of ignoring my existence as much as he possibly could, he tried to make the day special for me. For once, he reminded me of how he was, once upon a time, before my life was turned upside-down. Even though there was always the presence of his wife and Tyler, this particular day seemed to be more about me and him than anyone else on the planet.
I would have never admitted this, but it actually felt good being able to enjoy the company of my father, the way I remembered him, instead of the shell of a man he had become.
That day at the amusement park, I felt as though I had gotten something back that I hadn’t had in a very long time. It was unexpected and I was aware that it probably wouldn’t last, but I had waited five long years to feel this way again and it didn’t take me long to realize that it was definitely worth every second of the wait.
Chapter 20
Tyler
That was, to say the very least, un-fucking-expected. In addition to the fact that I actually had a good time, not only with Ashley but also with her father, who seemed to be completely different in his own element, my stepdad had actually made me feel like he wasn’t just banging my mom.
For the first time, probably ever, considering my actual parents never gave a shit about one another, especially my mother towards my father, I felt like I belonged to a real family. I had fun with my
mother, my stepfather and my smoking’ hot stepsister. What’s even better was that I went through the entire day and didn’t piss off any of them.
That was definitely a first and I was pretty damn sure I wanted to try to do something like that again.
I was honestly amazed at how much I felt the connection I had with these people throughout the entire day. Even my mother wasn’t useless, which was also a first. She was a very good sport. She held the bags for everyone, didn’t complain and actually looked like she was having a good time watching her family have fun, instead of just trying to think about what exactly it was that her family could do for her.
However, once the touchy feely day was over, it was back to business as usual; after all, I still had a reputation to uphold. Player and family man are basically polar opposites and I knew exactly where my priorities lay.
Surprise or not, it still was only one day in a lifetime that I had made for myself and therefore, the next morning, I got up bright and early in order to make my way to the Y for my work-out before any other family activities got in the way.
The last thing I needed anyone to think was that I had actually enjoyed myself the other day. Even if only the people who were supposedly closest to me were to find out, I would have a big problem on my hands. If they thought that the day before was anything but torturous for me, they would want to include me in other pussy family outings and that wasn’t going to fly with me. I needed to have my own freedom and if they started to get all up in my business, then my lifestyle was going to go down in flames real quick.
I figured I would disappear for a little while, to show them that what happened the other day was in fact a one-time deal.
So, as I went through my daily workout routine, I focused on getting my head back in the game and pursuing my goals, as they pertained to getting my stepsister in bed.
On the plus side, I couldn’t deny that having her there with me at the amusement park hadn’t gone well. She mostly stayed with her father, reveling in the newly forming relationship that I was sure wouldn’t last, but I stayed with the both of them, encouraging and enlightening the mood with my presence.
I had done one hell of a job figuring out what I needed to do in order to help close the gap, at least for the day, between my stepfather and his daughter, which in turn made me look like a hero; and if there was any doubt at all, that was definitely what I was going for.
Even though I didn’t woo her enough to sneak into my bed when we returned home later that night, I did feel as though I had a good chance of reclaiming her trust. She seemed to be happy with me again, having helped bridge the gap between her and her father and I was ready to take full advantage of that situation.
I smiled as I thought about what it would be like when I finally made up her mind, while I bench-pressed enough to make my arms begin to shake.
After pushing myself to the limit, I sat up and momentarily felt dizzy, as blood was able to rush back around my body again.
Then, when the haze of sweat and slight disorientation finally left my gaze, I saw someone I certainly didn’t expect coming my way.
“Ashley?” I said as I stood up, sweating profusely.
“Hey, Tyler,” she said with a smile. It was clear that, without a bead of sweat on her, she probably hadn’t started working out yet, but my mind began to wander to what she would look like, glistening with the fruits of her workout, her neat ponytail now completely amiss and tight ass shaking as she made her way into my arms.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, shaking the thoughts out of my head and trying to make it sound as though I didn’t believe she was welcome here.
“I’m just trying to get a good workout and I figured I would try out your haunt.” She shrugged. “It looks like it is doing wonders for you.”
With that, she began to stretch and I thought of trying to discourage her from being here, but I quickly realized that probably wouldn’t work very well to my advantage and therefore, I just smiled at her and shrugged. “Yeah, well, there is also a lot of skill and precision that goes on. There is no gym in the world that will make you look like the fucking monster that I have built myself up to be if you don’t actually know what you’re doing.” I sneered at her in a teasing way.
“Fucking monster,” she repeated, sharing my smile, “So, is that what you aspire to?”
“No, that is what I am,” I answered confidently and she giggled. I cocked my head to the side and replied, “This is a big place. You could get lost. Would you like for me to show you around?”
“That’s not necessary,” she said, shaking her head, but I grabbed her hand and turned her all the way around to face me in a way that I knew would get her attention.
As she gazed up at me, I raised my eyebrows and returned a toothy grin. “Oh, but I insist.”
Instead of being freaked out though, she just narrowed her eyes at me and moved her head to the side before she answered, “So, I guess you weren’t really asking me then, were you?”
“Nope, but then again, I think it would be fun to spend a little quality time with one another. You sure seemed to enjoy it yesterday and come on, you and I both know that you didn’t come all the way to this gym just to try out the equipment.”
She shrugged and snatched her hand back from my grasp before she smiled at me and answered, “Well, when you make such a convincing argument…”
“I thought I would,” I agreed. “What the hell are we waiting for?”
Even though it was obvious that she had come here for me, which was encouraging, I wondered why she insisted on hiding that to start. The thought had crossed my mind that she was just trying to play hard to get.
After all, when a woman goes from hating the very fact that you exist to showing up at your gym to see you within a matter of twenty-four hours, she has to have some kind of saving grace. She sucked at it, but I had to give her props for trying.
So, without making her wait any longer, I started to make my way through the gym as I enthusiastically showed her around. It was a big gym with a lot to see, which made my life a little bit easier, especially when I was sincerely trying to figure out how to make her stay with me longer so I could lay on my charm even thicker.
Then, we made our way to a billboard in the gym, which had the announcements of everything that was going during the week. I usually wasn’t interested in it, unless there were competitions which I hadn’t seen yet, but I figured a woman might be interested in the foo-foo offerings that the otherwise stable gym had going on in rooms where I wouldn’t be caught dead.
However, when I showed her this, she immediately gravitated towards a sign that I didn’t expect and hadn’t seen before.
“Hey Meathead, this looks perfect for you,” she said at once, pointing toward the sign.
“Yeah, I’ve done those competitions before,” I answered, trying not to act as interested in it as I really was. The fact that I had not seen it first bothered me, but the fact that she knew me that well was something that I thought was interesting. In fact, that was the most encouraging news I had received from her in a long time. Still, I played it cool. “There’s really no fucking contest anymore though. They used to interest me, but then they became increasingly boring…”
“You’re going to enter,” she insisted.
“No,” I scoffed at her, “I’m not.”
She shook her tight ass, which looked even tighter in those yoga pants and glared at me with a challenge in her eyes as she said, “Then, I’ll sign you up and you will have no choice but to do it or risk the world thinking that you are…” she smiled in an evil way, “to use your words, ‘a fucking pussy’.”
“You’re a bitch,” I responded quickly, almost as though it was a kneejerk reaction.
She shrugged, unfazed before answering, “I know,” and turned around to write my name on the signup sheet.
Chapter 21
Ashley
I couldn’t believe I had actually done that. I smiled with
a sense of excitement, but tried not to laugh as I asked Tyler his last name.
Begrudgingly, he spelled it for me. I turned around and raised my eyebrows toward him. “I think we’re done now,” I jeered. “If you need any help, or if you’re looking for a coach, I would be happy to help.”
He narrowed his eyes back at me and I couldn’t quite tell if he was intrigued by my actions, or feeling emasculated, but since I figured that the latter was probably the most opportune for us both, I was inclined to believe it so I kept up with my act.
“Thanks,” he answered inside of a laugh. “I certainly don’t need someone that skinny teaching me anything about a strongest man competition.”
“Well, I am going to start my workout now, but if you need me, you’ll know where to find me.” I flashed him my sexiest smile before I walked by him.
It was all that I could do to not look back and see if his eyes were following me, to gauge his reaction to what I would have considered a crazy stunt. Even though it didn’t bother anyone else but Tyler, it had still taken a lot for me to do something like that, especially when he was dripping with sweat and looking better to me now than any man I had ever seen. There was something about the sweat, or perhaps it was the pheromones that were being released through his workout that made me even more attracted to his delectable body.
Although, it hadn’t started out like this at all. In fact, I hadn’t even known he was going to the gym. Of course, I was curious, seeing as how he was up bright and early at four-thirty in the morning, getting dressed and running out of the house quicker than I could even get my clothes on.
When I finally made it out, I saw that he was running down the street. Of course he runs to wherever he is going.
Lucky for me, I had a car and a fairly good field of vision, since the street that the beach house was at the end of was fairly long. So, I waited to see which way he turned before starting up my car and following him that way.
Since I was sure he had probably paid my car absolutely no mind, I figured he wouldn’t even know to recognize it if I started following him.
Stepbrother Summer (A Stepbrother Romance Novel) Page 9
