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)
“Sit down,” Atlas says. “You know anything about physics?”
“I—”
“That was a joke, Ash. I know you do.”
I chuckle as I sit down beside him, setting my bag beside the chair.
“I’m tempted to ask you for help,” he says, “but last time my stepbrother did that, it lost me a bet.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, which makes him laugh.
“Best bet I ever lost,” he says, something wicked in his expression now.
“I don’t really get that, but Troy never told me about a bet.”
He laughs again. “Um…he probably wouldn’t tell you about this one. But I figure one day we’ll tell the world. For a bet I lost, it earned me major bragging rights for the rest of my life.”
“Now you’re just a tease,” I say, but I don’t think he really wants to share, so I change the subject to his physics difficulties.
He gives me the rundown, and I watch him work through a few problems.
“This is pretty common,” I say once I’ve pinpointed the issue. “You’re getting tripped up because you’re used to seeing similar word problems and equations in algebra and trig, but they’re flipped around in physics.”
As I’m walking him through a problem, he eyes me curiously. “You really are very good at explaining things.”
“Thank you. I enjoy explaining them. I feel like I’m good at having an objective view and seeing where people get tripped up. Then showing them where that is. I like to think of it as my superpower.”
“I didn’t know Ash Ketchum had any superpowers,” he teases.
I laugh. “I do look good in my Ash Ketchum costume. But in that case, maybe it’s not a superpower, but like my strongest Pokémon.”
His gaze shifts. “Oh, well, look who it is.”
“Atlas fucking McCallister,” Colin says as he approaches. “You having secret study sessions with my bro?”
“I might have to start,” Atlas says. “Think he might have just unstuck me with this problem I kept running into.”
Colin sets his backpack on the corner of the table and unzips it, revealing a brown bag I recognize from the student center cafeteria. I can’t disguise my enthusiasm as he plops it down in front of me, wearing a broad grin like he just made a touchdown.
“You fucking spoil me,” I say, sneaking a peek at my six-inch cookie.
“Damn right.”
“Okay, you guys have a very different relationship than Troy and me.”
Colin’s forehead creases. “Yeah, we’re not boning.”
That one really gets us all laughing, earning us a few strange looks and frowns from the students studying around us.
“Oh shit,” Atlas says, and as I turn to him, I see he’s looking at his phone. “I gotta get out of here and get to work. Thanks for the free tutoring session, Ash.”
“No problem. Hit me up if you want to meet some other time. Happy to help.”
“I might just take you up on that.”
After he heads off, Colin settles in the chair next to mine. “That was a sight I wasn’t expecting to see today,” he says with a smirk.
“I was surprised to see him in the library. He said his stepbrother was too distracting for him to focus on his work at home. I can attest that sometimes stepbrothers can be distracting.”
Colin’s brows tug closer together. “What does that mean?”
“Seriously, after the things we’ve been talking about, how can you be that clueless?”
“Are you saying I’ve been distracting you because of that talk we had?”
“Maybe.” I fish into my bag, pick off a piece of cookie, and pop it in my mouth.
This is my preferred way to eat my jumbo cookie—savoring each bite. I close my eyes, thoroughly enjoying the chocolatey, doughy goodness and humming to myself. “Thank you, bro.”
“Anytime.”
He’s wearing this playful smile, those intense blue eyes right on me. And I’m smiling too.
I’m not a mind reader, but I swear it’s gotta be about that text he sent earlier, and he confirms this when he says, “So…you haven’t been playing around on any apps since we talked?”
I glance at the nearby tables. Feels naughty to even allude to this here. But these days, I’m really enjoying feeling naughty, so I roll with it. “I’ve played around on several apps.”
He tilts his head, offering an overdramatic glare.
“Not that one,” I assure him before enjoying another piece of cookie. I swallow before saying, “Speaking of which, I’ve been thinking.”
“You’re always thinking.”
“Pfft. Not about, like, normal things. More…” I lean closer, lowering my voice. “The kind of things brothers may or may not do in private.”
My cheeks are warm. Even though there’s no way anyone could know what I’m referring to, I can’t help imagining one of the guys at the nearby tables standing up and saying, “Holy shit! These brothers are talking about one messing around in front of the other?”
Colin searches around, and I’m wondering if he’ll change the subject, or just tell me this isn’t the place to get into it, but he turns back to me and lowers his voice as he says, “That’s funny.” When he whispers like this, his voice is all deep and sexy and…yup, feeling that in my pants. “I’ve had the same thing on my mind recently.”