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)
“Why did you start all the fun without me?” Ash says, coming into the room. I hadn’t even heard him get home over the sound of everyone. He gives me a grin, and I pull him to my lap. Ash follows my lead, sitting on my thighs.
“It started with Brenner and how he used to want to fuck Troy, and this is where it landed,” I reply.
“I give! I give!” Brenner says dramatically, voice full of all the energy that’s always radiating off him.
“I was just about to jump in and defend our honor,” Taylor teases, holding out his hand for Brenner and pulling his friend to his feet.
“Just about, huh? My fucking hero.”
We all let out another chuckle, my hand coming to rest on Ash’s thigh.
Troy shakes his head at our friends. “What are you guys doing today?” he asks me. “Wanna chill?”
“Nah, me and Ash have to go see our parents, so we’re gonna bang.”
“Motherfucker! Missed out again! Whyyy?” Brenner throws his hands up playfully.
“Hey, me and Troy did that at our parents’ house too,” Atlas adds, earning another shake of Troy’s head.
“That’s how we say hang out.” Ash adjusts his glasses.
“Sure it is. I bet that’s how Atlas and Troy say it as well. When I banged a girl last week, we were really ‘hanging’ too,” Taylor says, air quotes around hanging.
“Think what you want.” Ash shifts on my lap, and…oh…oh. I’m feeling some twitching action in my pants. We’ve been sitting with each other like this for years, and that’s never happened before.
My face heats. “We should get going.” I start to stand slowly so Ash can get to his feet. “Rock, paper, scissors?” We both like to drive and jokingly argue about who gets to do it each time. Since I’m a year older, I got my license before Ash and used to tease him, holding my driving status over his head.
“Sure…or I could just drive.” Ash snickers.
“Where’s the fun in that?” We each hit our fist on our opposite hand two times before choosing a shake. “Rock smashes scissors.” I tap Ash’s scissor fingers with my fist. “I win.” I tug my keys from my pocket, and Ash tries to get them from me as we work our way toward the door.
“Have a banging good time!” Brenner calls out in a really bad British accent.
“I’m not sure how I feel about us inheriting Brenner and Taylor when Troy fell for Atlas,” Ash teases as we go out to the car.
“Do you think there’s a return policy?”
“I assume it’s already expired.”
We climb into the car and head to our hometown, which is only about a forty-five-minute drive but also like a whole different world. Peach State is in a college town, this artsy bubble people in the burbs complain about.
“Fun fact: I started to get hard when you moved on my lap earlier.” I turn onto the freeway. “I figure that’s something I should share with you.”
“Have you ever before?”
“Nope.”
Ash shrugs. “I guess it makes sense, considering what we did last week. You’re okay with it?”
I love that he’s checking in with me again. Ash knows me well enough to know I’m not having an identity crisis, but it’s nice to have someone to talk to. He had me when he came out as bi, but I probably wasn’t able to give him everything he needed because I hadn’t yet realized I’m queer. With Ash, I have someone with firsthand experience. “Yeah, I’m good. It’s funny how it feels like a shift for me but also not.” Again, I think that’s because it’s Ash it’s happening with. Everything between us has always felt as natural as breathing.
“Is that why you jumped up so quickly?”
I chuckle. “I didn’t want too much to happen. Plus, I don’t ever want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Colin, it would be impossible for anything with you to make me uncomfortable. That’s not how we work.”
No, it’s really not. “Dad said Lauren is ordering Chinese. She knows how much you like it,” I change the subject.
“That was nice of him to ask her to ask Sarah to do that.”
“Ash…” I hate that he thinks of it that way, like he’s an afterthought, when really, that’s not the case. Lauren’s love language is just different—not that that changes how it makes Ash feel. If I’d grown up with Lauren and his dad rather than my parents, I might feel the same.
“It’s not a big deal. She’s busy. She has to work harder than men who do the same job.”
Fact. Still, I have a feeling Ash doesn’t think he’s as important as her job. Or at least, she doesn’t put as much effort into being the mom Ash needs as she does in her career.
“Plus,” Ash says, “she’s really had to prove herself since the drama when our parents got together.”