Swagger: A Stepbrother Romance Read online

  Please, God, let this guy be the guy, I silently prayed as I opened the door.

  Chapter 4

  Tia

  He looked average and I was actually relieved. Standing before me in a sweatshirt and jeans, his hands thrust into his pockets, he looked like the stereotypical boy next door. He gave me a smile, but I could tell that he was nervous. I took the fact he was nervous as a good sign.

  “Tia?”

  I smiled as I extended my hand to him. “Yea, so you’re Trevor?”

  “I am,” he accepted my extended hand and gave it a brief shake, before releasing it and thrusting his hands back into his pockets. We stood staring at each other another minute, each sizing the other up. “So, we going to do this out here or would you like me to come in?”

  A nervous laugh escaped my lips and I took a step back, motioning for him to enter. “Sorry, come in.”

  Once he was in, I shut the door and took my usual spot at the table, next to Andrea. “So, what makes you want to do this?” I asked, cutting to the chase. The quicker I got this done and over with the faster I could get to figuring out another plan. It was apparent this one was a complete bust.

  “College.”

  “College?” My interest perked, I waited for him to explain further.

  “The thing is, I need money for college and this seems like a quick, easy way to make the money. Certainly not something I want to do for a living, but for now, it’ll do.”

  “Have you had any previous experience?”

  “Nah,” he raked a hand through his short, dirty-blonde hair, sitting on the bed. “Is that an issue?”

  Laughing, I shook her head. “Not at all, it’s kind of a relief really.”

  “Really?”

  Heat crept up my neck and a rosy glow colored my cheeks. “I’m doing it for the same reason. I need money for college.”

  “But you’re embarrassed by it?”

  I could feel the flush in my cheeks growing warmer. “A little.” I glanced over at Andrea. “People think I’m crazy.”

  “Lots of successful women put themselves through college doing porn, being strippers. There’s no shame in it, Tia.”

  Our eyes locked and I smiled. I felt so much better. He was the first person who seemed to genuinely understand and didn’t seem to judge me for it. Mind you, he was there with the same idea as I had. And he seemed to carry the same ideologies. This could work. Excitement whirled through me.

  I continued to go through my list of questions and his answers seemed to hit the nail on the head, lining up with what I’d hope to hear. I couldn’t say I felt much of a physical connection with him, but he seemed to have the qualities that I wanted; good looking, friendly, and appeared to be an all-around really nice guy, the attraction I’d have to fake. But whatever.

  I tapped my pen on the table top as I looked at the final question. The question read, How well-endowed are you? I got nervous all over again. I really didn’t want to ask him this question.

  “What is it?” Trevor asked, eyeing me intently.

  “It’s…” I tapped my pen a few more times. “I have one final question.”

  “Which is?”

  I hesitated for another minute.

  “Ohmygod,” Andrea rolled her eyes at me, she’d been done with this whole process after guy number two. She wanted out of there and her patience had worn out completely, I was just glad she stuck it out with me through all the candidates. “She needs to know how big of a dick you have. Circumcised or not? Also, she needs a recent STD test to prove you’re clean, despite the fact you’ll be using condoms.”

  It was his turn to flush as he looked from me to Andrea and back to me. “So, do you want me to pull it out, or describe it to you, or…”

  I gave my friend an elbow.

  “Ow! What was that for!” Andrea jerked back in her chair and shot a glare at me.

  Rolling my eyes, I looked back over at Trevor who was looking nervous. That actually made me feel better about him, like he wasn’t some asshat, but a genuine person who was just in the same boat as I was. It made me feel like I had a connection with him.

  I could see his chest heave as he took a deep breath in and released it with a huff as though he were attempting to hype himself up for the big reveal. Standing, he undid his jeans and pushed them down. His dick wasn’t huge in its flaccid state, I hoped he was a major grower or this wouldn’t do. And I really didn’t want to have that conversation as to why it wouldn’t work. He was uncircumcised, which was good since it would be more aesthetically pleasing on cam.

  “This is awkward,” he explained his face flushing slightly. Sitting back down, he took his dick in his hand he began to stroke himself. “I’ve never masturbated in front of people before.”

  I forced myself not to cringe. If he was struggling to get it up in front of two women how could he do it in front of a cam and potentially thousands? Fuck, I was getting a headache. Bracing my elbows on the table, I placed my face in my hands. This was a bust. A complete bust.

  Hearing a soft, groaning sound from across the room, my head perked up and I looked over at Trevor. His dick was rapidly rising and oh-my-god, it was impressive with a capital “I.” It was Andrea’s turn to nudge me with her elbow. Trevor wasn’t looking at either of us, he was focused on a spot on the floor a few feet straight ahead of him.

  Shifting my attention from Trevor, I glanced over at Andrea.

  He’s huge, she mouthed at me.

  I nodded and looked back at him. He was fully erect and looked up. His gaze met mine. “Normally it wouldn’t take this much time…”

  I nodded. “It’s not a normal situation. I totally understand.” In all honestly, I didn’t think I would have been able to sit there and masturbate in an intimate setting like this one with two strange men watching, so how could I expect him to. I know that sounds odd since I’m planning on being a cam girl, but there’s a big difference. In the cam setting, it’s an obscure audience. Sure hundreds, perhaps thousands of people would see me, but those are faceless people. They are people on the other end of a webcam that I’d never know or see. At least that’s how I presumed it to be. But in an intimate setting like this, it’s a totally different atmosphere. It’s intimate. There’s a human connection that doesn’t exist in the cam world. Besides, I was counting on losing myself in the person I was with, with the hopes that the camera would be just a minor intrusion.

  He stood and lifted his hands at his side, palms up. “So…”

  I looked over at Andrea and bit my lower lip. She smiled and then looked at him. “It’s incredible.”

  Turning my attention back to him, I released my lip from my teeth’s grasp. “I think, it’ll do.” I cringed, that didn’t sound too good. What else was I supposed to say? Gush over it. I placed my palm over my face and shook my head.

  “’kay.” I lowered my hand from my face and watched as his shoulders slumped, no doubt in relief as he began to tuck himself away. “So what now?” he asked once done doing his pants back up.

  “If you’re interested I think we should set up another meeting to get to know each other a bit better and make sure we connect.”

  “Sure.”

  Something occurred to me and groaned as I realized there was yet another thing I’d forgotten about. “Are you involved with anyone?” I wouldn’t have been comfortable with him being my on-cam partner if he was, I knew that without a doubt. In my mind it would be cheating and that wasn’t acceptable to me.

  “Nope,” he paused, “are you?”

  To my surprise, an image of Zach sprang to my mind. Weird. “No.”

  He smiled. “Good. So it’s settled, we have a date.”

  A date? No, business meeting? Err. I scratched my head as I captured my lower lip between my teeth again. Giving him a smile, I nodded. “It’s a date.”

  “Tomorrow night?”

  My smiled widened, “Perfect.”

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Zach

  “Wh
ere have you been at all day?” The question was out of my mouth before I even had time to think about it. Lying on the sofa, the book I’d been reading open to my spot on my chest, I watched Tia strip off her jacket and kick off her sneakers. She’d taken off after breakfast and I hadn’t heard or seen anything of her until now – it was 7pm.

  She looked at me with her brow furrowed, a saucy little smirk spreading across her lips. “Why? You keeping a log to give to the parental units?” She began walking into the living room, in the direction of the stairwell that lead upstairs.

  Parental units? I fought to keep from chuckling. “Nah. I’m just curious. A hot date perhaps?”

  She stopped walking at the base of the stairs and turned to face me again, planting her hands on her hips. “Would it matter if I did?”

  I shrugged, attempting to appear nonchalant. “Why would I care? Just curious.”

  “Hmm.” Not answering my question, she turned back to the stairs and started up them.

  “Whoa, wait!” I didn’t like how dismissive she was being, maybe I wasn’t ready to be alone again, or maybe I was bored and wanted company. But, I don’t think it was completely either of those things. I got the feeling from her that she was harbouring some sort of secret – her demeanor was almost smug – not quite, but almost. No, she was definitely hiding something, I decided. I’m not sure how I knew, it was just a gut feeling.

  “What?” She cocked her head to the side and eyed me.

  “Umm.” Sitting up on the sofa, I placed my novel on the coffee table and patted the empty sofa next to me. “Why don’t you park it next to me, we can order a pizza or something. Maybe watch a movie.”

  “Boy, you must be bored out of your skull.” Despite her words she walked over to the sofa and flopped herself down on the opposite end. The sofa rocked from her weight and I couldn’t help but laugh. She frowned. “What’s so funny?”

  “You’re like a bull moose. What are you, maybe a hundred and twenty pounds – if that – but you have zero grace when you sit down.”

  She huffed, rolling her eyes at me. “Excuse me for not being as graceful as some of the floozies you normally date.”

  I laughed again. “Floozies? Why would you assume they were floozies?”

  “You had a reputation in high school. People still talk about your score with the English teacher.”

  I should be insulted, her comment certainly wasn’t a compliment, but I wasn’t – not really. Perhaps because deep down I knew I ‘earned’ the title. Instead, I decided to roll with it, grinning. “Yeah, that was a sweet conquest.”

  She crinkled her nose up at me. “The woman was practically a pedophile!”

  “What are you talking about, I was of age!” I knew exactly what I’d been doing. There had been zero seduction going on in that little situation.

  “Barely.”

  “You sound jealous.” Reaching across the sofa, I gave her thigh a little squeeze.

  She froze, just for a millisecond, but I noticed. Also noticed the sharp little inhale of breath she took. But she recovered with record speed.

  “Boy, don’t you think highly of yourself.” She picked up my hand and unceremoniously deposited it on my lap as if she were disgusted with being touched. Hmm, interesting. If this had been any other chick I would’ve taken her hot and cold attitude as a challenge, but she wasn’t and I had to keep myself fully aware of that fact.

  Stepsister, stepsister, stepsister. I reminded myself, playing the word over and over in my brain. I forced a smug smile to my lips. “Nope, just experience.”

  She returned my smug smile with one of her own. “Yeah, but I have a pretty good idea of how many women have taken a ride on your magic stick. The women you go after either know and don’t care, or aren’t smart enough to pick up on the fact that you’re a player.”

  “If I were a different person, that may have been hurtful.”

  “But you’re not.”

  “Maybe I’m turning over a new leaf. Maybe with a new job, comes a new attitude. Maybe I’m bored of the hit it and quit it way of life and looking for something a little more serious.”

  She lifted a brow at me, folding her arms over her chest. “Really? That a fact.”

  “I didn’t say it was a fact. I said it was a possibility.”

  “My going outside and getting hit by lightning is a possibility – but not likely.”

  I was beginning to genuinely get a little bothered over her low opinion of me. Had I really been such a player? I mean, yeah, okay, sure I may have been in the past, but to assume my past meant I wouldn’t be able to settle down if I found the right girl was hurtful. I cringed upon realizing that I never did call back the chick from a couple of weeks ago. Maybe she had a point...

  “If you think that, then perhaps you don’t know me as well as you think you do.” I gave her a dismissive shrug. She opened her mouth, no doubt to plead her case and snapped it shut. “What do you want on the pizza?” I asked, grabbing my mobile phone from the end table next to me and opened my explorer, searching for pizza places in the area.

  Chapter 5

  Tia

  Was I wrong about him? As we watched a movie, a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Anniston, I couldn’t keep my mind off of our conversation prior to ordering the pizza. Every once in a while, when I thought he wouldn’t catch me, I’d glance over at him and take a moment to stare at his strong profile. When he laughed, a dimple would appear giving him a sweet, approachable look. It was crazy how he could look both intense and sexy as hell. Then in the blink of an eye his look could go to being sweet and so damned adorable it made me want to throw myself into his arms.

  “Could I ask why you keep staring at me?” He turned his head and looked directly into my eyes, waiting for an answer.

  Oh shit! Busted! I shrugged. “I’m not. I’m watching the movie.”

  “Yeah, you’re watching the movie, but keep periodically staring at me.”

  My jaw clenched as I racked my brain attempting to come up with some sort of reply, preferably a witty one. I came up blank. Shit! “You have something on your face, I think it’s some sauce.”

  “What?” he turned to look at me fully. “Where?” He swatted at his cheek.

  “Umm.” I motioned to my right cheek, close to my lips. “Right, there.” There wasn’t a damned thing on his cheek.

  He swiped with his thumb at the spot where I indicated and then looked at his thumb. He came up empty.

  “You almost have it.”

  He swiped again and then ran his tongue along the outside of his mouth. “Now?”

  I groaned inwardly, shaking my head. Well, at least he’d forgotten about my staring at him. Leaning forward I licked my index finger and swiped at a random spot on near where I’d indicated. His face had a couple days’ worth of stubble, which was rough to the touch. I liked the look on him, it gave him a rugged sexiness. I bet it would be rough kissing him through. I stared at his lips, running my tongue along my lower lip as I looked.

  I didn’t move back from him, though. I should have. A voice in the back of my head screamed at me to back away. I didn’t. Instead, I leaned in further, his lips coming closer and closer to mine. My heart began thumping vigorously in my chest.

  Stop. Pull away. Keep going. Kiss him. I was at odds with myself.

  I moved closer. What was he thinking? I kept my eyes downcast, scared to see the look in his eyes. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath in, I stopped denying myself and quickly closed the distance before I lost the nerve.

  My entire being seemed to scream out in triumph, as my lips ghosted his. But just as quickly as our lips connected, the connection was gone.

  “Jesus, Tia! What are you doing?”

  My world stood still. Ohmygod! What did I just do? My eyes flew open to discover he’d jumped from the sofa and was standing several feet away. I couldn’t determine the look on his face, a mixture of disbelief and confusion, perhaps. I was too mortified to care at that point.
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  “I, umm.”

  “Not too long ago you were giving me grief over my sexual past and now you’re throwing yourself at me? What’s the deal? I’d have thought I would be too distasteful for you.”

  Throwing myself at him? A kiss was hardly throwing myself at him. Boy, wasn’t he presumptuous! Of course he is, he’s Zach Klein – ladies’ man extraordinaire. The guy who slept this way through Red Oaks High School, the guy who all my friends went gaga over. Zach fucking Klein.

  “Throwing myself at you!” I jumped to my feet, balled my hands into fists and planted them at my hips. How could I ever be attracted to such an egomaniac? To think I considered asking him to be in the cam show with me, like he didn’t have a big enough ego as it was! If he thought I had a crush on him now, imagine what he’d think if I’d been foolish enough to ask him? I would never have heard the end of it.

  “Yeah. You kissed me.”

  Anger boiled within me, though in all honesty it was more at myself than at him. I was the one that had been stupid enough to attempt to kiss him. But I wasn’t interested in focusing my frustration and anger onto myself, no, not when I had a 6’2 target directly in front of me.

  “Who do you think you are?”

  “I’m the guy, your stepbrother, who you tried to kiss.” His expression turned angry. “Which shocks the fuck out of me since I’m a man-whore.”

  “I never called you a man-whore.”

  “You sure as hell implied it.”

  I huffed, giving my head a shake at him. “Like you don’t own the title whenever you’re with your buddies. Shit, you seem to take pride in your conquests. As if being a man-whore was some sort of badge you should be proud of.”

  “That’s different.”

  “It’s pretty bad that there’s a huge double standard between men and women. You take pride in it, like it’s some sort of accomplishment. But if a woman were to fuck as many people as you, you’d think she was some sort of whore not worthy of your time.”