Page 19 of Stepbrothers with Benefits
“Yeah, alright,” he said softly, almost reluctantly. I didn’t know what he was so hesitant about, but it was better to get out of there and clear my head in the best way possible before I said or did something stupid.
Giving them both a wink, I left the apartment, trying not to seem like I was in a desperate rush for the door. I needed to leave him to his life and affairs and attend to my own. Our lives had worked like that for ages, and it had to stay that way. We were always together, but we were separate too.
And that was the way it needed to stay.
ELIJAH
Sweat beaded heavily on my forehead as I increased the treadmill's speed and the incline. Milo and I had been here for well over an hour, and I was starting to get that pleasant ache through my body, trying to work through it with a little last-minute cardio. He couldn’t be relied on to go to the gym of his own accord. He was one of those people who needed a workout partner to remind him when to go, and like most things in his life, that had naturally fallen to me. Not that I was complaining, but being responsible for someone else meant I could push through my hesitancy at working out.
I shifted my gaze away from my sweaty reflection in the long mirrors on the wall and rolled my eyes when I spotted Milo. He’d been distracted earlier by something on the TV, and now it looked like he was distracted by someone. Not that I was surprised when he drew attention, I was comfortable enough in my sexuality to know he was a good-looking guy. Plus, he tended to do things with his appearance that drew attention and worked for him, such as keeping his hair longer on top to fall over his face occasionally or a semi-spiked look that drew attention from his longer-than-usual nose. The studs lining one ear, the tattoos, and the fact that he’d dyed the tips of his hair brilliant pinkdidn’t hurt. The rest was taken care of by the fact that he was a sociable and charming person when he was comfortable.
So he attracted people's attention like moths to a flame, or in this case, twinks to a good-looking guy covered in sweat. The guy talking to him was grinning from ear to ear as he peered up at him, almost a whole head shorter than Milo. I tried to avoid stereotyping people, but the way the guy kept shifting his hips and the ‘sassy’ gestures while talking probably meant he was gay. Sure, not enough to cement the idea, but in the first minute watching them, the guy kept finding ways to touch Milo. Little things like laying a hand on his arm when he laughed or when Milo gestured toward the weight rack, the guy laughed and squeezed Milo’s biceps.
Sighing, I knew I was officially alone in my workout goal. Milo was basking in the social attention, and there was no way he would get away without outside intervention. The worst part was that Milo absolutely loved the attention, but probably had no idea he was being flirted with right now. I had seen men and women talking to him like the guy was, and Milo walked away simply thinking they were friendly.
Right.
Giving a resigned sigh, I slowed the treadmill, knowing our workout was done. Of course, Milo wouldn’t miss the chance for a post-workout snack because he loved an excuse to get something sweet or tasty and full of calories. Not that I tried to stop him, or even be an example. That man could talk me into just about anything, and damn it, sometimes a piece of cake or a sandwich layered with cheese and meat sounded good. My dad warned me to enjoy it while I could; he had to be much more mindful about what he ate because just working out wasn’t cutting it, and I would probably end up on the same road. We didn’t know if that was the case for Milo since no one but Martyknew anything about his birth father, but if Marty was anything to go by, Milo would probably be skinny his whole life.
Bastard.
Once I’d brought my heart rate down, I got off the machine and wiped it before turning to find Milo right where I’d seen him minutes ago. My lip twitched in annoyance when the stranger’s hand landed on Milo’s chest and stayed there for a few seconds. How the hell Milo didn’t figure it out on his own was a mystery, but it was one of those things I expected even when I wanted to smack him upside the head.
“All done?” I asked as I approached. I wasn’t surprised when the guy turned around, with a flash of annoyance on his face. Only for me to feel a jolt of surprise when the guy’s eyes widened and he glanced at my feet and noticeably took his time to come back up to my face with a slow check. “Uh?—”
“Damn,” he said loudly, arching a brow at me. “You the boyfriend?”
“That’s my brother,” Milo explained, confused. He was probably wondering where the sudden change in tone had come from and why I was looking uncomfortable. I didn’t mind that the guy was interested, but Jesus, the way he was looking at me was the same way someone would look at a perfectly cooked steak slapped in front of them after a three-day fast.
“Stepbrother,” I amended, though I didn’t know why.
“Ohhhh,” the man said with a grin. “I was going to say, if you were the boyfriend, I wouldn’t mind taking a swing at both of you. But you know, stepbrothers? I can work with that too.”
“What?” Milo blanched, and I cleared my throat roughly.
“And I’m straight,” I added, hoping it was one of those cases where the person would realize they were being weird and back out with some grace.
Apparently, shame did not exist in the guy’s dictionary because he only grinned. “I’ve heard that before. Funny how itchanges when you’ve had a few drinks and spent some alone time with me.”
“Bro,” Milo’s expression had clouded over. “Quit trying to seduce him; he already said no.”
“No, he said he’s straight,” he corrected.
I wrinkled my nose. “Alright, so no, not interested.”
“Fine,” he said with an exaggerated sigh, turning back to Milo. “How about you?”
“And I have a boyfriend,” Milo said, all humor gone. “So no, not interested.”
“Aww, you don’t share? I mean, if he’s as cute as this one, I’d be down,” and again, the guy looked back at me with a distinctly aroused look that made me feel like a piece of meat. “Is he?”
Milo hesitated, and I wondered what was so hard about that question. Of course, he should consider his boyfriend better looking than me. Then again, maybe he didn’t, but thought that sounded weird even though he’d be saying it to a stranger he didn’t have to see again, and me. And I would understand perfectly that he wouldn’t be trying to put me down by saying his boyfriend was hotter, that was just...expected.
Instead, Milo huffed. “I’m not interested. I thought we were just talking. Go away.”
Which erased the sickly arousal off the man’s face, souring it. “No need to be rude.”
“No need for you to be a pig, but here you are, oinking all over the place,” Milo said with a scowl, and I could practically see the storm cloud forming over his head. All it would take would be for the horny bastard not to take the hint being slapped across his face, and Milo was going to lose his temper. I’d witnessed it once before at a bar when a guy hadn’t wanted to take no for an answer, and then decided his next choice when Milo had pointed out that he was dating someone was to insult Milo’s boyfriend. The results had been...explosive, and Milo would have ended upcoming to blows with the man except I’d stepped in and ended it before it got out of hand. “Persistence is cute when the other person wants it, we’ve both told you no, so fuck off.”
