The Step Dare (Peach State Stepbros #3)

Chapter 17

17

Taylor

“S o what have you two been up to?” Mom asks as Brenner and I settle at the kitchen table.

When Bren and I had our conversation last week, even though we discussed our parents and friends, I was a little too dickmatized to consider how weird it would feel to be around our parents.

Really, dickmatized and assmatized.

Wait, assmatized isn’t a thing.

Although, it sure as fuck feels like it is now that I’ve had Brenner a few times since our first fuck.

“School and work,” I say, my throat dry. I gulp, avoiding eye contact with Brenner, who said on the way over, “I’m gonna enjoy watching you squirm.” Hope he’s lapping it up like he laps up my cum.

“School and work?” Keith asks as he checks on the pot roast he’s making for dinner. Keith has been setting up his place to rent it out, so he’s staying with my mom, since this is where they plan to live after they get married. Because of the memories they have in that house with Bren’s mom, Keith plans to keep it in the family, eventually pass it on to Brenner, which I know means the world to him.

“Bren,” Keith goes on, “please tell me you guys are getting out and having some fun.”

“Actually, we’ve been having a lot of fun inside ,” Bren responds, and I shoot him a quick glare, being extra careful since Mom knows me too well for me to get away with a bluff. “Video games, movies, giving each other hell and the usu.”

Nice cover, Brenner…and really close to the truth since messing around has become the usual for us.

Fortunately, Mom’s too busy pulling out her iPad to notice any of my tells. When we arrived at her place, she said she had some questions about what we’d prefer for the wedding. And while she’s going through things she’s already texted me about, I help Keith finish prepping dinner. Once we have the meal on the table, Mom puts away her iPad and we start to eat.

“Damn, you still know how to make a good roast,” I say. I’ve always loved Keith’s roasts. “I won’t mind having more of these after you guys are married. Mom, I love you, but I can’t be subjected to any more of your HelloFresh experiments.”

She laughs. “It’ll be nice to have someone who’s a natural chef around the house. I’ve put on ten pounds since he moved in.”

“Just as beautiful as the day I first saw her,” Keith says, his affectionate gaze making Mom blush. As adorable as the moment is, I feel I wouldn’t be doing my job as her kid if I didn’t make a gagging sound.

“Get a room,” Bren adds.

“Thank you, we have one to head to,” Keith teases, and we all enjoy a laugh.

“Speaking of living arrangements,” Mom says, “how is the apartment working out?”

“You guys getting on each other’s nerves yet?” Keith adds.

“On each other’s nerves?” Brenner says. “We’re best friends. It’s a blast. Now we can do all the things we love.”

“Please tell me it’s not just the two of you,” Keith says. “I could see you both playing video games and disappearing from the rest of the world.”

“We have people over,” Brenner insists.

Is he referring to Dax? I shoot him another look.

His eyes widen. “Like Mila,” he says, and I blush, realizing he wasn’t trying to sneak in a reference to our extracurricular activities.

“Oh, yeah,” I say, “And Atlas, Troy, Colin, Ash, and Lance have swung by too. We have plenty of company.”

“Plenty of fun company,” Brenner adds, and now I know he’s referring to Dax. “But we haven’t seen our friends the past few days.”

Because we’ve been too preoccupied with each other to make time for them.

“Yeah, we were gonna head to a party at Alpha Theta Mu tonight,” I say. “Catch up with everyone.”

And they’re likely gonna find out we’re a thing.

It’s a strange thought.

We don’t even know what the hell we are, but whatever it is, it feels good. It feels like us. Just doing our thing, and not really giving fucks about what anyone else thinks of it.

Everyone except our parents, that is.

When we finish up at Mom’s, I drive us back to campus, and Brenner’s got his hand on my thigh, gripping firmly.

“Making up for lost time?” I tease, since I hated not having his hands all over me while we were at our parents’.

“You fucking know it. Might need you to pull over so we can give each other BJs before this party.”

“It’s weird to think that we’ve pretty much fucked through the week and I still fucking need it.”

“I don’t know that weird ’s the right word for that,” Bren jokes.

“So we just gonna go to this party and let everyone figure it out on their own?”

“I think they’ll suspect something when your tongue’s down my throat.”

“More likely when your hand’s down my pants.”

“One of those will probably be a clue,” Bren says. “Then maybe we can sneak off to Lance’s room and beat one out real quick.”

“Or let Lance know and take our time.” I sneak him a quick look, and he smirks.

“Mmm…somebody’s been missing these lips…this ass…this dick.”

“Guilty.”

I park down the street from the Alpha Theta Mu house, and when we get to the party, we run into some of the guys.

“I haven’t gotten an invite to play any games this week,” Lance says after we hug it out.

“We’ve been kind of busy,” Brenner says.

“Meanwhile, why don’t I ever get invited to these game nights?” asks Marty, the more anxiety-ridden part of the Alpha Theta Mu crew.

“Do you play?” I ask.

He flinches. “I mean, I didn’t say I’d be any good, but I like hanging out. Being chill.”

Lance cringes. “No one who’s actually chill has to tell everyone they like ‘being chill.’”

“It’s giving desperate vibes,” Payton adds.

“Anxious, desperate, uncool?” Marty says. “These are my things. Can’t everyone just be glad I make them look better by comparison?”

“Is this one giving you guys trouble?” Colin comes up from behind him and drapes his arm across Marty’s shoulders. “Threatening to kick you out? Trust me, it’s better than him threatening your security deposit.”

Marty is a notorious goodie-goodie and known for policing all the guys in the house, so I’m not surprised by Colin’s assumption, considering Marty’s likely given him enough hell to be more than a little annoyed.

We all catch up, the guys sharing Alpha Theta Mu gossip. I notice Lance getting close to Brenner, and though I know he’s straight, Brenner was being flirty with him before the cruise. It makes my insecurity flare up.

A part of me thinks I should stuff this away, at least while all the guys are here, but hell, we said it doesn’t matter if they know, so I hook my arm around Brenner, resting my hand on his hip, acknowledging it’s a little fucked up that I’m claiming him in front of his straight friend.

Brenner glances my way, a warm smile spreading across his face. He rests his hand on mine, rubbing gently, which is the assurance I need—a reminder that this isn’t the old Brenner who would just run around looking for the next guy or girl to mess around with. That while we’re messing around, he’s mine.

“What is this ?” Colin asks, and suddenly, as if out of thin air, his boyfriend/stepbrother, Ash, materializes at his side.

“Holy fucking shit, it’s contagious,” Ash says.

Not surprised that half of one of Alpha Theta Mu’s boyfriend-stepbro couples would say some shit like that.

I wave toward myself, inviting the shit-giving. “Come on.”

“Yeah,” Brenner adds. “Get it all out of your systems while you can.”

“What is everyone talking about?” Marty asks, earning a few glances.

“Brenner and Taylor are an item,” Lance explains. “And they’re also stepbros.”

Marty winces. “But they aren’t stepbrothers.”

“They’re going to be, though.”

“Wait…but Taylor isn’t queer.”

“Um…” I say.

Marty blinks a few times. “Seriously? Is this a joke? Did Payton put you guys up to this?”

“Me?” Payton asks.

“Marty, you could be a little more supportive,” Lance says in a tone.

“Oh fuck,” Marty says. “I’m sorry. That was a dick move. I just…whatever makes you guys happy, and I don’t want you to think just because I’m surprised… I don’t have any judgment or anything. If you guys are boyfriends, that’s—”

“We’re not boyfriends,” Brenner clarifies. “But we’re seeing what’s here. Be cool.”

“Shit,” Marty says. “I’m fucking it up again.”

Brenner and I share a laugh. “Relax, Mart,” Brenner says. “It’s cute that you care.”

“Your parents know?” Colin asks.

“Eh, we’re gonna wait until after their wedding,” I tell them. “For obvious reasons, this could make it weird.”

“Weird? Really?” Ash says. “I can’t imagine how that would make things weird.”

That gets everyone laughing, and as it settles, I say, “Now can we just party and get over this awkward bit?”

Everyone’s on the same page, and after a few more jokes, they let it go. Brenner and I grab drinks at the bar before running into Troy and Atlas, who catch Bren with his hand on my ass.

“That’s so cute,” Atlas tells me. “I got taken, and then you had to settle for Brenner.”

I burst into a laugh. Brenner’s pretty damn confident, but Atlas definitely rivals him in the cocky department.

“I’m thinking we wasted a couple of years,” Brenner says. “We could have all been messing around with each other the whole time.”

“What makes you think Taylor and I would have let you join in?” Atlas jokes.

“I know for a fact Taylor would have let me join in,” Brenner says.

Troy growls, reminding me of the way Brenner gets all greedy for me, and then Troy pulls Atlas close. “Well, looks like you all missed the boat because this one’s all mine,” he says before taking a kiss from his man, like he’s marking his territory in front of us.

Brenner and I exchange a look because it’s kind of hot.

As they get caught up in a make-out session, Brenner leans close and says, “You think we’re gonna end up with tattoos of each other?”

We share a laugh.

Atlas has one that says Troy under his pec, and Troy has Atlas on his wrist. Because these guys are ride or die for each other.

“It’s hot,” I admit.

“But not really us.”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think messing around with you was really us before either.”

“True,” Bren says with a chuckle. He looks too adorable to resist, and I take my opportunity now that our friends are distracted, wrapping my arm around him and stealing a kiss.

I hadn’t realized just how much I missed it until our lips met, our tongues teasing at each other’s.

And when we pull away, someone steps up beside us, and we turn at the same time to see Dax glancing between us.

“Mmmm-hmmmm,” is all he says. “Saw this one coming from a mile away.”

Brenner leans closer to him. “Pretty confident you saw the coming closer than that.”

“Just so you know,” Dax says, “I’m adding whatever-this-is to my CV.”

“CV?” I ask.

“Oh, you guys don’t have a clue. This slutty gay fairy has powers that bring guys together, apparently.”

I can tell there’s a story there, though knowing Dax, we’ll probably never know what it is.

“Does a slutty gay fairy have a CV?” Brenner asks.

“’Scuse you,” Dax says. “I am not a slutty gay fairy. I am the slutty gay fairy.”

We all share a laugh.

Really, not just at Dax’s joke, but at how wild and ridiculous this thing that’s going on between Bren and me is.

Still, strange as it is, I know the fun’s just getting started.