The Step Dare (Peach State Stepbros #3)

Chapter 5

5

Taylor

I didn’t think I was actually hungry, but now here I am, scarfing down my burger and chasing it with some fries.

After discovering my mom riding Brenner’s dad like a mechanical bull, we hit up the burger joint, maybe just because neither of us really knew what the fuck we were supposed to do next. Not really a handbook on how to deal with everything they just dumped on us.

Dates.

Messing around.

And now getting married?

As I swallow my food, Brenner says, “Apparently, catching your mom in bed with your best friend’s dad really works up an appetite.”

I tap my finger near his untouched tots.

“Or maybe not,” he amends.

He’s using humor to crack through the tension, but he must know a joke isn’t gonna make it any easier to process all this.

“So how you feeling?” he asks for what must be the tenth time.

“How are you feeling?”

His gaze wanders. “I thought they were gonna say it started on the trip. Not…”

“That it’s been going on since the beginning of the year.”

“And they’re getting married.”

“And we’re gonna be stepbrothers.”

Our recap is enough to make my anxiety flare up again, though not nearly as bad as right after we walked in on our parents fucking.

As I chase away the image in my head, my thoughts return to our discussion, how open and honest they were. And those things they didn’t have to say that we both picked up on.

“It’s…a lot,” I say, which sounds like an extreme understatement. “I know my mom, and when she was talking about your dad, I could tell she loves him. Looking back, there are moments where she seemed awfully excited to see you guys. Not that you’re not great and all, but I was completely oblivious to it.”

“Same here. I know my dad as well as you know Nicole, and I’m kinda hating myself for not catching on sooner.”

“Right? They’re shit at even keeping surprise birthday parties secret.”

“Yeah,” Brenner says with a slight smile. “Guess that shows how much they didn’t want what they were doing to wind up hurting us if things didn’t work out.”

He’s right about that. That’s so them, it’s almost annoying.

I say, “I feel like sometimes they might put our needs a little too far ahead of their own, and the way they handled this one really blew up in their faces.”

“I don’t think that’s where Dad was going to blow up.”

I cringe. “Bren, you’re making a joke about… I can’t even finish that.”

“Only fair since we didn’t let them finish.” Even he cringes at that one. “I’m never gonna have enough therapy to recover from that.”

I take another bite of a fry, chuckling as I swallow. “I can’t believe this is really our lives right now.”

“Does this mean you’re gonna be a bridesmaid?” Brenner asks. “Or the bride’s groomsman?”

“I know you’re trying to be silly, but please let’s not start making plans for the wedding we found out about less than twenty minutes ago.”

Brenner raises his hands in surrender. “Sure, but we’re definitely too old to be ring bearers or flower girls.”

I glare at him.

“That was the last one, I promise.”

Although, he’s got me grinning, which I’m sure was his real goal.

But there’s more to it than that. Something else has to be on Brenner’s mind, and I feel like a selfish prick for being so shocked, I didn’t even consider how hard this must be for him. “You know, it’s weird for me, but considering the Piece of Shit, if it makes Mom happy, then I’m happy. But I can’t imagine it’s that simple for you.”

He’s unusually quiet, staring off. “For sure. I love Dad. I want him to be happy, and obviously I love Nicole, but there’s a part of me that never wanted to see my dad with anyone else. Like just pretend that his love for Mom was enough for the rest of his life.”

I reach over and rest my hand on his shoulder, and his gaze meets mine as he goes on, “That’s a selfish thing to say, isn’t it? Of course I want more for him. Hell, I’ve even told him to date—and now I can see why he was so against it—but…I guess I never thought it would happen. Which is ridiculous. He can’t be alone forever, and I don’t want him to be, but…fuck. I don’t even know what I’m saying. It’s just weird to think of my dad with someone else.”

“I think it just says how much you love your mom. And how painful it was to lose her.”

He’s quiet again, looks out over the deck, to the ocean.

It’s hard watching Bren going through this. To most people, he’s the laughy, fun-loving guy, like he’s never had to deal with real shit. But I know him better than that. I know that behind the friendly banter and that charming-ass smile is a hell of a lot of pain too.

“How about we head back to your room for a bit?” I say. “Just to chill out. I’ll get us a box.”

“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll want these tots later.”

We grab boxes and head back across the ship. As we near the room, I ask, “You think they started boning again after we left?”

“It’s probably worse than that. Probably got really emotional and started cuddling and whispering how great they think the other is.” He scratches at his skin. “I’m getting hives just thinking about it.”

I laugh as he uses his key card to get us into their room, and I’m relieved his dad hasn’t returned. Not that I don’t think he’s great, but Bren and I need some space.

I set my box on the desk and fall back onto Brenner’s bed.

“So we’re gonna be stepbros, huh?” I say as Bren lies beside me.

“Looks like it.”

“I hope you haven’t given Troy or Atlas or Ash or Colin any shit about messing around because if you have, they’re gonna make hay if they ever find out we’ve done stuff together.”

“Well, I’m not gonna tell them,” Brenner assures me. “I mean, you might. I’m surprised you haven’t run around telling the whole school about these amazing blowjobs.”

“Even knowing it’s true, I’d take that shit to the grave because I know it’d make your ego even bigger than it already is.”

Bren rolls toward me, repositioning on his elbow so he can gaze down at me, his dark bangs a wave over his forehead, his earrings sparkling in the room light. “Or maybe because you don’t want to offer free advertising. Want to keep me all to yourself.”

I wince, reaching up and placing my forefinger against his bottom lip. “Maybe just that mouth.”

“You tease that this mouth gets me into trouble, but sometimes you like the kind of trouble it gets me into.” He bites at my finger, then gently nibbles.

“Maybe I like the trouble it gets me into.”

Releasing my finger, he grins that life-giving smile, the sort of smile that reminds me that no matter what we’re dealing with, everything will be all right.

“Speaking of,” he says, his expression more serious, “now that we’re gonna be stepbrothers, this stuff we’ve been doing…”

“Yeah…”

It would definitely make things messy.

Well, messi er .

“It’s been fun,” I say, and quickly realize it’s a fucking understatement. “Like, a lot of fun.”

“What can I say? I’m a lot of fun.”

“Now is not the time to be cocky, Brenner.”

“What? I know what I’m good at.”

I roll my eyes.

“I love my mom more than anything. She’s been through hell…from losing Aria to finally leaving Dad. She’s spent years in therapy after that, getting a good friend group, working on herself. Your dad’s a good guy, and she deserves to be happy.”

“Despite that stuff I have in my fucked-up head—”

“It’s not fucked up.” The words come out harsher than intended, but not like I’m mad at him for saying them. “Sorry, Bren. I just think anyone who lost their mom like you did would feel that way.”

“I got what you meant. It’s just gonna take some time. And I do know Dad deserves to be happy too, and I mean, he’s maybe just nearly as awesome as Nicole, but someone as amazing as her has to settle a little, right?”

We laugh because he knows damn well he has a great dad.

“I brought that up,” I go on, “because even though what we’ve done has been hot as fuck, now that the dynamic’s changed, I don’t want anything we’re doing to make them self-conscious about their relationship.”

Brenner’s expression turns serious again. Playful as he can be, he knows when it’s time to have the hard conversations too. And this is definitely one of those times.

“It would mess with Dad’s head if he knew what we’d done,” Bren says.

“Same with Mom. I can just see her worrying that if something went wrong between us, then there might be tension. Hell, that’s clearly why they kept it from us to begin with.”

We’re quiet, and I wonder if he’s thinking what I’m thinking before he says, “So…maybe blowjobs every other Thursday?”

I glare at him. “I think we need to stop altogether.”

His eyes bulge. “Like cold turkey? Fuck, Tay. Don’t say that.”

“We went for years without doing anything. We’ll just go back to that, right? Be friends and play video games, hang out at parties.”

His jaw tenses as he eyes my crotch, and just the way he’s looking at it makes my dick shift.

“I’m being serious,” I say.

“It looks serious as hell in your pants right now.”

“Bren, our parents want to get married. That’s way more important than getting our rocks off with each other, right?” Even the way that last word escapes my lips, it’s a genuine question, as though I want him to say, Fuck no .

But he nods. “Yeah, we shouldn’t do anything to fuck that up.”

I take his hand and rest it on my torso. “Hey, we’re still Bren and Tay. Just without the horny stuff.”

He strokes his fingers against the threads of my tank top, making his way lower to where it’s hiked up, exposing my abs.

“If we’re not messing around,” he says, “you gonna find some other guy to play with your dick? So you can work out whatever you’re feeling?”

I shrug. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

Because the thought of him messing around with anyone else is like a pin driving into my chest.

His gaze drifts, and he takes a breath. “You’re right. There’s no reason to risk what they’re doing over some fun.”

He trails his fingers through my happy trail, then tenses them and pulls back, as though he knows he’s gonna have to learn some self-restraint if we’re gonna pull this off.

And his fingers leaving my body is fucking killing me.

“It would be stupid to keep doing,” he says.

“The stupidest.”

He rests his hand back on my abs, and my body viscerally responds to his touch, excitement coursing through me, relief that wasn’t the last time he touched me like that.

Not yet.

“We just go back to being Bren and Tay,” he says. “And we’ll be best friends forever anyway. And now stepbrothers, and that’s enough for me.”

“Same here.” I’m certain the guy who knows me best can tell that’s a lie.

He runs his fingers down to the waistband of my pants, tugging against it. “Guess I won’t be seeing your come face after all,” he says, frowning.

A knot bunches up in my gut because all I want is to give Bren what he wants. Who am I kidding? What we both want, and being all stressed about this parent shit only makes me want to release with him that much more. Probably like he wanted to do for me when that stuff came up about the Piece of Shit.

He starts to pull his hand off again, and I snatch it.

His gaze locks with mine, his eyes wide like he’s shocked by this superspeed I’ve just discovered.

Something feral controls me, this desire I have, stronger than I’ve ever felt with him. As though my body knows what he can do for me, and I don’t want to miss out on it.

“We shouldn’t do anything else,” I say, even as my hand guides him down to my pants.

“You’re right.” As I position his hand under the waistband, he grips on to my cock before stroking.

“We just said not a minute ago how stupid this would be,” I remind him.

“We’ve never been the smartest guys, though.” He offers a few more strokes, firming my cock up.

As he massages me just right, a web of nerves shoots sparks right through me. “One more time might not be such a bad idea.”

“Just get it out of our systems.”

As I unfasten my fly, Bren releases my cock. This time, though, I know it won’t be gone for long. He licks his palm. I pull my pants down before he continues stroking me, then crawling down, his lips wrapping around my cock once again.

“Oh fuck, Bren.”

I thread my fingers through his hair for what I know has to be the last time as he deep throats me. I wonder if he’s doing what I’m doing—trying to etch this moment into my memory so that even when I deprive myself of this, I’ll remember what it was like to feel his tongue swirling around the head of my dick just before he creates a little pressure with his grip as his hand comes up to the head.

He keeps on until I say, “I’m getting so fucking close.”

His mouth releases me, and he keeps his grip tight, still stroking as he glances up at me, studying my face. A subtle smirk creeps across his face. “Yeah, let me see your come face. Show me, Tay.”

As he speeds up, heat swells in my face before I wind up right at the edge, gripping the sheets as the cum bursts free, shooting across my happy trail, but Bren’s still watching my expression, his eyes wide, like it turns him on seeing how out of control I am—teeth gritted, the muscles in my face contorting.

“Fucking hell,” he mutters as he finishes milking me.

While I recover, he undoes his pants, crawling on his knees close to me. He’s hard as a fucking rock, and it doesn’t take him long before he shoots, his cum joining mine, pooling into my navel.

And this time, I get to watch his face as he comes, licking my lips as he grunts and a last drop falls onto me.

Once he’s drained and gets a few breaths in, he collapses beside me, resting his hand in the cummy mess.

“Yeah…” he says as he catches his breath. “That’s…a good…note to end on.”

But as good as it felt, the rush he gave me quickly fades at the thought that this will be the last time I ever have this kind of fun with my best friend.