"So what have you been up to?" I asked her.
"Aside from crying about you not talking to me? Not much. The usual. Had to go to work, unfortunately."
"Please. I'm sure you've been clubbing hard, probably forgot all about me."
"Yeah, right. Did you see the messages I've left?"
"True. You did turn into a psycho stalker."
"I absolutely did. I'm not ashamed of it."
"Are you ever ashamed?"
"Pretty much no."
As we talked, I kept thinking about the night before. Nate's strong arms, his body pressed against mine, his mouth and muscles all dominating my mind. Even though I was talking to Lydie and laughing with her, I was really still back in his bed, our hips rocking together.
It was the most intense thing I'd ever experienced. As much as I wanted to move on, I couldn't get it out of my mind, not even for a second.
"So what about you? How's your stepbrother doing?"
I paused for a second, sipping my coffee. I was worried that she was able to read my mind. Lydie, if you can hear me thinking this, clap your hands twice. I waited nervously for another second, but she didn't clap. Instead, she stared at me like I was a crazy person.
"What?" she asked. "You look like I just stabbed a bunny."
"Sorry," I said quickly. "Just thinking about something."
"Your stepbrother a sore point?"
Something of mine was sore because of him, that was for sure.
"No, not at all. He's still a dick as always."
"He seemed okay," Lydie said, shrugging. "I mean, I'm not going to try and bang him or anything, but still. He seemed surprisingly nice, for a military guy."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Seriously, Claire, you look like you're about to explode. Are you blushing?"
"No, not at all."
Damn my inability to hide anything from Lydie.
"Seriously, you're being so weird."
"It's nothing! Let's just drop it."
"The way you just said that proves something is up, and now I am going to find out."
I groaned. "Lydie, come on."
"Claire, no way. What did he do? He walk in on you during a shower?"
"Yes," I said. "But that's not the issue."
"What! He saw your naughty bits?"
"No, I mean, we share a bathroom. And I was already out."
"So he didn't see your lady parts?"
"Stop saying stuff like ‘lady bits,' you weirdo."
"Don't dodge the question!"
I paused, biting my lip.
Did I want to tell her? Lydie was my best friend. I hated having secrets from her, especially one as big as my stepbrother's cock. I wasn't sure how she'd react, though. Having sex for the first time with your stepbrother was more than a small step, it was basically a head-first dive off Niagara Falls. What if she was totally disgusted by me?
And yet Lydie had wanted me to finally lose my virginity. She'd been pushing for it for years. If anyone was going to understand, it would be her.
"Hello? Your brain lost service or something?"
I shook my head. "I have to tell you something."
"No shit, that's what I've been trying to get at."
"It's pretty big."
She raised an eyebrow. "Okay then. Spit it out."
"Promise you won't judge me."
"Bitch, you once saw me eat an entire sleeve of Oreos. You once saw me puke on a dog, which is really embarrassing, even though the dog totally deserved it. You once saw me get rejected by not one, not two, but three different frat douchebags in the same night. You once saw me drop a hot dog mustard-side down and still eat it." She took a deep breath. "So no, I won't judge you."
"I slept with someone."
Her eyes practically bugged out of her skull. "Shut the fuck up."
"I did. I'm not a virgin anymore."
"Oh my god!" she practically screamed. I looked around, embarrassed. "You're finally a woman!" She got up and ran around the table and threw her arms around me.
"I've always been a woman," I muttered.
"But why would I judge you for that?" she said, sitting back down.
"Well, this is the bad part."
She looked at me for a second and then gasped. Like, gasped as if we were in a cartoon. It was so absurd it was almost funny.
"No. You didn't."
"I think I did."
"Your stepbrother?" she whispered.
I nodded, bright red.
"You dirty fucking slut! That's practically in-"
"No, it's not," I said quickly. "You know we're not really related."
She burst out laughing and I watched, embarrassed and slightly ashamed. After a minute, she gathered herself together.
"Listen, Claire, I am beyond jealous. Nate is the perfect guy to punch your V-card."
"You're not judging me?"
"Judging? I'm jealous as fuck. Nate is incredibly good looking."
"He's my stepbrother though."
"So the fuck what? I mean really, people have done way, way worse."
"Are you sure it's okay?"
"I mean, don't tell your parents, but yeah, Claire, it's absolutely fine. You guys aren't related. Didn't Cher from Clueless end up with her stepbrother?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Yeah! See, there's precedent. I mean, he was her ex-stepbrother in that movie, but whatever."
"Same difference. At least you're not Woody Allen, marrying your adopted daughter."
"Gross. Okay, this is making me feel better."
She laughed and shook her head. "Unreal. Claire the good girl having passionate, wild sex with her bad-boy military stepbrother."
"I know. It's not like me."
"It's not like you at all. I am impressed. What was he like?"
I turned even redder, if that was possible. "It was good, I think."
"You think?"
"I have nothing to compare it to."
She thought for a second. "Are you still thinking about how it felt?"
"Yes," I said, mortified.
"Well then, bitch, it was good." She smiled. "I'm happy for you. Are you guys, like, a thing now?"
"No," I said quickly. "No way. That was a one-time thing. There's no way we can keep it up."
"Might as well for the summer at least."
"No way. My dad would crucify me. Seriously. He'd make a giant cross and nail me to it."
"I believe you. So that's it? You're going to one and done your hunky step?"
"I guess. Don't put it like that."
"Sorry. You're going to bang and dash your brother from a different mother?"
"Way worse."
"Hump and chuck?"
"Just stop."
We laughed together, and I felt an enormous weight lift from my chest. I had to admit, the stepbrother thing was eating at me, but it felt incredible to have Lydie tell me that it was okay. I really wasn't going to do it again, even if I wanted to with my whole being, because I knew that it would ruin our parents if we were ever caught.
"Listen, Claire, I may be an asshole from time to time, but I do support you. I'm your bestie for life."
"Whether I want you to be or not."
She nodded. "Damn right."
We changed the subject eventually and ended up wandering around downtown, drinking our coffee and laughing. I felt free and easy and happy as Lydie told me a bunch of stories about her slutty friends from high school. She wanted to talk more about the details of my night with Nate, especially info regarding the size of his manhood, but I declined to tell her.
Some things were meant only for me, and I wanted to keep it that way.
12
NATHAN
I had a lot on my mind when I woke up the next morning after only a few hours of sleep. The sun had barely risen by the time I was back out on the beach, running my ass off again.
I didn't see anyone at all the day before. Once I got home from my little interrogation, I checked on Claire to make sure she was okay, but otherwise I didn't bother checking in with my mother. She was probably either too drunk to care or just being her usual bitchy self.
Frankly, I had much more important things to worry about. The revelations of the night before were pretty huge, almost as huge as me fucking Claire until she could barely walk. I hoped I left her sore and limping the next day, and I wished I had stuck around a little bit to check it out.
But it was better I was gone all day. I didn't want her to get ideas about shit between us. I may have fallen asleep with her, broken a rule or two, but I wasn't the type of guy to make some spoiled rich girl into something more important than she was.
Claire was a good fuck. That was it. Her pussy was like crack and my cock was an addict, but I wasn't going to give in to that shit. I got my fix and now I was done. It was going to be better that way, anyway.
Still, there was shit happening that we didn't know about, important shit. It was no accident that those guys attacked our boat that day. I still couldn't believe a local outfit like the Broken Hearts would be willing to attack their own people, which meant that they were specifically targeting us.
The further implications were staggering, but I didn't have time for that shit. I wasn't a bodyguard and I wasn't a damn detective. Better that I give Jonathan the information I had and be done with it. He could definitely afford to hire some serious muscle.