Stranded (Quickies & Confessions #1)

Chapter 1 Aiden

AIDEN

Thank fuck. Everyone’s still asleep.

I exhaled slowly as I walked my Grindr hookup to the front door. I hadn’t meant for him to spend the night, but he’d turned out to be a decent lay I hadn’t wanted to let go too soon. With my extensive experience in the bedroom, it might surprise most people how often tops left me unsatisfied.

Ricky—at least that was the name I’d been whispering last night—stopped at the door and turned to me with a lazy smile. My fairy godmother had come through for me. Not only was Ricky well-endowed, and had the expertise to use his weapon to cause mass destruction, but he was kind of hot.

He looked like boyfriend material, and he’d played the part too. He’d been nothing but a gentleman on our date, though I could have done without his family history. The only thing I’d been interested in was his dick, and he’d delivered big time.

“Theo, last night was amazing.”

I tried not to cringe at the fake name I’d given him.

Maybe it’d been a bad idea to take him back home with me last night.

I should have suggested we stay at a motel.

But a certain someone in this house had pissed me off.

I hadn’t been able to resist being the one to win the war this morning.

As loud as I had been, he had to have heard how well Ricky rearranged my guts last night, and this morning.

“It was,” I said. “Thank you. I really enjoyed, well, you know what I enjoyed.”

“Good. I was hoping you also felt the chemistry between us. I have a confession to make.”

Oh shit. Didn’t he see I was trying to get him out of the house before Mr. Shitty Stepdad of the Year woke up? After last night, our fight was inevitable but I’d rather have it without an audience.

“We can talk all about it on the app later.”

Nope, we wouldn’t. I would block his profile the minute he left. He looked too needy. He was doing too much when I’d been very straightforward with the fact I just wanted to be fucked into the mattress.

“Nah, I have to do this now.” He inhaled deeply.

“I haven’t done anything like this before.

Never met any of the other guys on the app.

Don’t you think it’s a sign the first guy I went out with turned out to be you?

” He swept his gaze over my body. “What I’m trying to say is, do you want to have dinner later? I’d love to get to know you better.”

I chuckled uneasily. “I think you got to know me pretty well last night.”

His tongue knew every inch of my body. What more did he want? Most guys were okay with the wham bam and not sticking around for anything else.

“I meant without the sex.” He walked up to me, placed his hands on my ass, and squeezed. “You seem like a pretty awesome guy, Theo.”

“Theo? Who the fuck is Theo?”

I jumped at his disgusted voice behind us and looked over my shoulder. My stepdad stood at the foot of the stairs, scowling at Ricky’s hands groping my ass. The mottled flesh of the right side of his face turned an angry shade.

Ricky didn’t seem to take the hint. “What does he mean?”

Jackson marched up behind me and stopped a couple of feet away. “Remove your hands if you want to keep them.”

My hackles rose. “You can put your hands on me wherever you want, Ricky.”

Ricky jerked away and threw his arms in the air anyway. “I’m sorry, sir,” he said, making it worse. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

There it was. If I’d even been remotely inclined to go out with him, he killed it the moment he bent over to kiss my stepdad’s granite hard ass.

“Never mind him,” I said, turning my back to Jackson. “He’s just my stepdad, not a real one.”

“I’m real enough to throw him out of my house,” Jackson growled at me then flicked his gaze to Ricky. “Is there a reason you’re still here?”

“I’m waiting for Theo to answer whether he’d like to go out sometime.”

“No,” Jackson barked. The hostility radiating from him was giving off World War III vibes.

“No?” Ricky echoed.

“That’s right. The answer is no. Not because there’s anything wrong with you—whatever your name is—but because he doesn’t want a relationship. You don’t even know his real name. This is all a game to him. Save yourself the embarrassment of him not returning your calls and fuck off.”

Ricky’s face turned red. “Theo? Is that really not your name?”

To defy my step-horror, I wanted to deny it. To go on another date with Ricky. But I couldn’t play with Ricky’s heart like that. He was a sweet guy and didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of this warzone with my impossible stepdad.

I just had to find some other way to make the step-asshole angry.

“I’m sorry, man. This was just meant to be a one-night thing.”

Ricky’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “I see. Well, err, I guess good-bye.”

“I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

He walked out of the house, his shoulders slumped. I almost felt sorry for him, but I didn’t get the chance. He was barely out the door when Jackson slammed it shut so hard it trembled on its hinges.

“You have no right to interfere with my life!” I shouted.

“Your life?” he snapped. “Weren’t you pretending to be someone else again? What? You too ashamed of your hookups to show them the real you?”

“I have no interest in showing them the real me. It’s sex. That’s all. Good, satisfying sex. No need to know my name for that.”

His nostrils flared. “Must you always be such a…”

“A what?” I squared my shoulders for what I knew was coming next.

“A slut. Fucking everything in sight that has a dick.”

I scowled, looking pointedly at his crotch. “Not everything that has a dick. Especially one that’s not working.”

It was a low blow to bring up his impotence, but he’d crossed the line when he slut-shamed me. Couldn’t a boy enjoy a little—okay, a lot—of dick and not be judged for it?

He grabbed me by the front of my camisole top and yanked me forward so hard the material ripped. We both glanced down at my barbell-studded left nipple. The surrounding area was red from Ricky’s beard.

Jackson sprang back, looking at me like I’d contaminated the air with some sissy virus. My stomach knotted. Was he afraid he would catch the gay?

“Normally, I love being manhandled.” I infused every bit of sweet venom I could in my words. “But next time you want to see me naked, just ask. You don’t have to rip my clothes in your haste to get to the goodies inside.”

“You!” His mouth opened and closed several times, his face turning a bright shade of red. He finally strangled out, “I’m your stepfather. How could you say that to me?”

“My stepfather? You sure don’t act like you have a stepson.”

“Maybe if my stepson remembered that’s exactly what he is. A son. If you stopped this fucking nonsense, dressing up like a girl, I could be a proper father to you.”

I shook my head. “Sorry, Dad. I love the way I dress. I love being a femboy, and nothing’s wrong with that. It’s my thing. Other men think it’s cute and I look pretty. What’s wrong with that?”

“A man’s not supposed to be pretty, and no son of mine is going to grow up to be a sissy.”

“Don’t you mean a man’s not supposed to be attracted to another man? That’s what you really have a problem with, isn’t it? And I am not your biological son, so it’s really none of your business now. Is it?”

“I didn’t say all that.”

“You say it every fucking day like some kind of record.” I squared my shoulders and puffed out my chest imitating him.

“‘Your skirt’s too short. If you’re wearing that dress, you might as well be naked.

You look slutty in those heels. The only bra that should be in the washer is your mom’s.

’ I’m sick and tired of your fucking discrimination already. ”

“Listen to me, boy.” He wagged his finger in front of my face. “You use that language one more time with me, and I’ll smack the senses back into you that you’ve done lost years ago.”

“You mean the same language you use with me?” I cocked my head to one side. “Well, aren’t you the hypocrite?”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Mom raced down the stairs, her long blond hair in rollers, and shoved her way between us. “It’s six in the morning. Why do you have to start so early? I go to bed with a headache from you two arguing and I have to wake up to one too? I’m tired of this.”

“Your husband’s being unreasonable again,” I said, rolling my eyes dramatically, though I really wanted to point out that she was the one who married the odious man and placed him in our lives.

Now she couldn’t stand the sight of him, had affairs behind his back, and the whole family dynamic was just fucking pathetic.

“Your son continues to play the whore under my roof,” Jackson said.

I took a step toward him, only hindered by my mother’s presence in the middle. “I can be a whore, a slut, a sissy, whatever I want. It’s my fucking body.”

“Not while you’re under my roof, it ain’t!”

“Then as long as I live under your roof, you own me?”

“You bet your fucking ass I do.”

“Jackson, stop it!” Mom cried. “You are being unreasonable. How can you own him? He’s his own person. And he’s of age to sleep with whomever he wants. I wish he would be more careful, but it’s his life.”

“Does he have to take them under our roof to fornicate? For once, I would like to come down for breakfast and not have to throw up in my mouth a little.”

“I’ll move out, then,” I threatened. “That way, I can do whatever I want.”

“Do you want me to help you pack? It shouldn’t take much time given practically everything you own was bought with my credit card!”

“You two, stop it. Now!” Mom placed her hands on her hips and glared at her husband, then at me.

“You’re both being stubborn. Jackson, the last time he packed his suitcase, you were the one who went after him and brought him back.

And you, Aiden, can’t afford to move out on your own right now. You don’t even have a job.”

“He could have had a bright future if he’d used his college fund for something more useful than designing clothes.”

My eyes stung, and I blinked rapidly at Jackson. “You never respect anything I do. I may not have enough money now, but do you think it’ll be hard to find a sugar daddy to take care of me? In case you’ve forgotten, this is what I look like, and men love it here.”

I ran my hands down my sides, over my body.

I’d never been short of male lovers for a reason.

With my petite build, soft skin, and ass I did squats every day to perfect, I had men approaching me just by my leaving the house.

Contrary to my stepdad, who hated me being femme, many gay men and even some straight ones liked me this way.

Not that I cared about other people’s opinions.

I liked me this way. That was all that mattered, and if he cared about me at all, he would have realized that and supported me.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Jackson growled. “As long as you are a part of this family, I’m not going to sit here and watch you prostitute yourself.”

Mom sighed. “See what I mean? I wish you two would work out your differences already and just admit that you love each other. At least I’d get a good sleep for once. Nobody’s going anywhere. I’ll call Dr. Simpson and schedule another appointment for family counseling.”

“I’m not going,” I said.

“Nor am I.”

“You both are going, and that’s final. Aiden, go to your room and look more presentable. Jackson, mow the lawn or something. You have way too much pent-up energy this morning. Seriously.”

She tilted her head to Jackson’s face, but an inch away from his scarred cheek, she changed her mind and stepped back. Jackson stared after her, his eyes full of pain.

My heart clenched and my stomach soured with guilt. I really shouldn’t have hit so low and mentioned his impotence. For a macho ex-Marine, it had to hit hard that his wife was no longer attracted to him after his last tour left his face, mind, and body scarred.

The urge to go to him was strong. To tell him I didn’t mind his scars. That they added character to his face. But even if I wanted to, he wouldn’t let me. He would probably accuse me of hitting on him or something.

I walked away, the urge to look back at him to see if he was okay was strong, but I didn’t. If he thought I was pitying him, it would only start a new argument between us. Nevertheless, the look on his face swirled in my mind for a very long time.