Chapter 2
The soft scratch of glass on glass was louder than usual in the room as Red folded his arms beside me, the silent TV paused on an anime girl with her tits barely covered. “Yep. Thought it might be a quicker way to warm up than the blanket. I’m sure they won’t mind if you pop its cherry.” He laughed, deep and resonant, the movement making his ice cubes bump against the interior rim of his head. I’d never admit it, but as annoying as I found my stepbrother, I liked the sound his frequently-replenished ice made: it reminded me of a windchime.
I ignored the fact Red was being weird again, my thoughts already wandering to how nice the sauna was going to feel. We’d had a cold, rainy start to the fall season and the chill had crept into my bones long before the AC started malfunctioning. I missed the weather at my southern college whenever I came home, but it wasn’t enough to make me want to go back. I’d actually been stalling on telling mom I was dropping out, the stress of it tying my shoulders and back in knots the longer I delayed. She was going to be pissed, yeah, but the full course load was slowly killing me and honestly I was tired of struggling. I’d deal with Red’s anime fascination if it meant I never had to pry myself out of bed for another 7 am class.
I got up, letting the blanket drop back on the couch, rubbing my arms against the chill from the overhead vent as I headed for my bedroom to get changed. “Yeah, okay. Anything’s better than freezing to death in here.” Red grinned, and my stomach did a somersault as I slid past him and down the hallway.
Double-checking my door was actually closed so I didn’t accidentally flash my stepbrother, I changed into a pair of gym shorts and the tank top I slept in sometimes. I frowned at my reflection in my closet mirror, wondering if I was pushing the boundaries of decency by not putting my bra back on. Sure, my nipples were showing a little through the thin material, but I’d packed for cold, rainy fall weather. My summer clothing was still in storage near my university, and shit, I’d need to figure out how to ship all that back home soon, wouldn’t I. The tension crept back into my shoulders as I heard mom in my head: Jules, you can’t just loaf around if you’re not going to be in school. What are your plans? Do you even have a job? Your stepbrother has a job.
I shivered again and scowled at my reflection, pushing my mom out of my mind. Ugh, fuck it. So what if Red stared at the outline of my braless chest as I hustled across the living room? That wouldn’t kill me, but spending another few minutes in this damn chest freezer of a house might. I needed to relax and mentally prepare myself for talking with mom later, not worry about my wardrobe options for an unexpected sauna sesh. Hopefully tacos with Dan would put her in a good mood.
I opened my door and raised a brow at the completely empty hallway. Could I be this lucky? There was no trace of Red, and the house was totally silent: he hadn’t turned his cartoons back on. I walked a little slower as I entered the empty living room, the television turned completely off. Wow, he’d actually gone back to his room? Weird.
As I tugged the sliding door to the back yard open, my stomach sank. My stepbrother had not, in fact, gone back to his room. No, he was standing in front of the one place I didn’t want him to be, dressed in flip flops and Hawaiian floral print swimming trunks, messing with a button panel on the outside of the sauna.
Damnit.
“Hey Red…so you, uh…you coming in too, then?” I did my best to smile despite an internal grimace, planning on where to sit so I could hopefully avoid his leering. Maybe like, hugging my knees on the bench? Hunched over? This situation was not ideal and it definitely wasn’t going to be relaxing.
“Yup!” He grinned as he turned, that soft wind chime-clinking of ice eroding some of my annoyance. “Figure we could give it a whirl together. I think I put too much ice in earlier, couldn’t hurt to water myself down.” He chuckled and playfully knocked his glass knuckles on the curved, open rim of his head, a quiet bonnng sounding at the contact. Before I could make excuses and head back to the house, he’d pulled open the door of the sauna and gestured for me to step in. “Ladies first.”
Damnit. Again.
Squaring my shoulders and edging past the smooth, glassy curve of Red’s exposed stomach, the chill of his core seeped through my thin tank top, sending a chill up my spine. The immediate rush of comforting warmth inside the sauna made for a fantastic contrast, and I smiled despite myself as I settled onto the warm wooden slat bench. I could deal with this, I’d just close my eyes and enjoy the unexpected luxury in our backyard, even though Red had inserted himself in the situation.
Tapping his thick glass palm on the panel as he closed it, my stepbrother smiled at me, pulling the sliding glass doors—a larger version of the ones on the house, presumably to allow him to use the sauna—all the way to the right. It was a tight squeeze, with quiet sloshing and ice clinking loudly along the way, but after a minute he managed to get himself inside with me and slid the doors closed. I pulled my legs up beside me, sitting sideways so Red could maneuver in and plunk down on the bench across from mine.
“Wow, I hadn’t checked out the inside before now, this is really nice. I knew dad was going to get one, I helped him narrow down models a few weeks ago. Guess he went with the high end one.” He glanced appreciatively at the walls and the cylinder at the far end, which looked a little like a barbeque and appeared to be where the heat came from.
“Dan’s really thoughtful. I’m sure mom’s just over the moon about this. I’m…glad they found each other, you know?” I swung my legs back down and draped my arms across the back of the bench, taking a deep, relaxing breath of the warm air around us, redolent with the faintest hint of Red’s fruity essence.
“Me too. Hey, are you okay Jules? You’ve seemed kind of…tense lately. This is actually the first time I’ve seen you relax since you came home.” Surprised at the genuine concern in his voice, I tilted my head back up and glanced down at the faint few inches separating my bare legs from his glass knees, sighing.