Series: Peach State Stepbros Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78418 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78418 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Hm. I don’t remember seeing him wear it before. Though it’s not like I have every piece of his clothing memorized, so it’s logical that I wouldn’t remember it.
Ash hands the plate over before making one for himself, then going to my mini fridge to grab drinks for us. We’re so comfortable in each other’s space that neither of us would think to ask before doing something like going into the other’s fridge.
“Fuck, this is good.” I take a bite, and Ash sits on my bed and does the same. “How was work?”
We chat about our day while we eat, then end up playing video games, until doors begin slamming downstairs, alerting us that people are getting home. “What time are we going to Mom and Steve’s?” Ash asks. We’re heading there next week, and I figure he’s mentally working out his schedule. My dad is better at keeping me in the loop than his mom is. Lauren is so fucking smart and ambitious, and I know how much she loves Ash—loves both of us—but she’s not one to show it, even if she wasn’t so busy all the time.
I’ve always felt lucky in that respect, and for what it’s worth, Dad does soften some of Lauren’s rougher edges.
“Dad said four. Did Lauren tell you why she couldn’t make it to your last phone call?” I’ve wanted to ask, but the last thing I want is to remind Ash of something painful, and I guess I’m holding out hope that it was for a good reason.
“She had a deposition. Sarah was supposed to reschedule but didn’t.” He picks up his phone and looks at something before saying, “Wanna watch a movie?”
“I’m down.” I stand up and tug my shirt off, making my hat fall to the floor. I pick it back up and place it on my head.
“You and those damn hats.”
“I look hot in them.”
Ash shrugs. “Truth.”
We strip down to our underwear, and I hit the lights. It’s late, so there’s no doubt one or both of us will fall asleep before the movie is over.
I grab my laptop, the two of us settling on an action movie. Ash sets the computer on my nightstand, then lies on his side, and I snuggle in behind him, with my arm around him.
Leaning down, face close to his hair, I inhale.
“Did you just smell me?”
“I like the scent of your apple shampoo.” I breathe it in again.
“We should really evaluate how often we’re in bed together.”
“I mean, who doesn’t like cuddling?”
“Most stepbrothers.”
I smile into his hair. “They don’t got nothin’ on us.”
Ash chuckles like he does when he doesn’t know what to do with me. Right before I fall asleep, I’m pretty sure I hear him reply, “No, they don’t.”
5
Ash
“Ash, I know this is gonna sound like a dumb question…” Angie says as she enters our shared cubicle.
Angie’s another new intern, working with me at Peach State’s biomed research lab. Right now, I’m only doing data analysis and familiarizing myself with the tech, but being part of this exciting intersection of technology and health is why I became a biomedical engineering major. I like learning the ropes, and I imagine really getting into the swing of things, fantasizing about the day something in this place triggers an idea for my master’s thesis and eventually my dissertation.
Even just knowing Angie has a question for me gets me going. I’m armed not just with everything I’ve learned the past few months at the lab, but with the knowledge I’ve acquired in my own research outside of school.
“Lay it on me, Ang!”
“The new espresso machine. Where do you put the grinds in?”
“Oh…yeah, I can help with that.”
Admittedly, a bit of a letdown, but I get up and head to the break room, navigating her through the new espresso machine, which I can understand might be confusing.
There are a lot of duties I perform as an intern that I feel like don’t fully utilize my talents, but I get that this is part of paying my dues. And I’m eager to put in the work, even if that means explaining to most everyone on my floor how to use the new espresso machine.
After offering Angie a brief tutorial, I head back to my desk and finish up on my files for the day. It’s just past six when I head out of the mid-rise building. Dad called while I was working, so I FaceTime him on my way through the parking lot.
“Morning, Ash,” he answers. I’m about to correct him when he says, “Oh, guess it’s late afternoon there.”
“Yeah, I was gonna ask if you wanted me to call you when I get back to the frat. Just finished my internship hours for the day and heading back.”
He cringes. “Actually, I have a tour of Kyoto in a bit.”