Page 103 of Stepbrothers with Benefits
“No property damage?”
“What? No.”
“Public indecency charges?”
“I...that wasone time,and that cop had no reason to bust me other than a quota that they swear up and down they don’t have!”
“Ooor, you could have considered not getting naked in a public park strictly for the sake of skinny dipping in a pond.”
Okay, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. There might have been alcohol and...other substances involved in that decision-making, but...I still thought the cop had been an asshole for no reason. It wasn’t like there had been anyone else around at the time except for a bemused Raf, an exasperated Eli, and a couple of people we’d buddied up to at the club that night...well, and the cop, of course. It was three in the morning, and no families or kids were around to see anything.
“I notice that not one of you tried to stop me,” I pointed out in annoyance.
“Uh, I did. Several times, and even Eli tried. However, you decided it was the prime time to make a ‘spicy’ video for the internet.”
“The worst part is I wasn’t wrong,” I said with a sigh. I hadn’t considered doing anything ‘spicy’ before that, well, not in all seriousness anyway. Yet that had opened the door to a few more things that could probably be seen as thirst traps, or at least adjacent to it. Mostly, it was just ‘progress’ pictures and videosof me working out from angles that could be slightly suggestive, but nothing like I’d seen others do.
Ultimately, it worked in my favor, mostly because people who watched my stuff expected me to switch things up. ‘Variety’ influencers had a harder time getting traction than people who found a specialization and stuck to it, but it worked fine for me. I still threw in other content, but hell, if I managed to keep engagement up by throwing up some suggestive stuff of me...and every once in a while prodded Eli into posting at least a gym pic, then I’d take what worked.
God, if coming out went badly, Eli and I might need to consider an OnlyFans.
“Ha,” I let out a bark of laughter.
“Something to share with the rest of us?” Raf asked as I fished out my keys.
“Just something hilarious that Eli isn’t going to find as funny, I’m sure,” I said with a laugh.
“Mmm, is that the sound of your keys I hear?”
“It is.”
“Ah, then you’re returning from whatever errand you were running. I’ll let you go.”
“You know, you don’t have to run at the first mention of Eli.”
“I’m not, I’m letting you get back to your boys’ weekend. You’ve only got a handful of hours left.”
“Alright, you’re being all nice, reasonable, and accommodating.”
“It’s a gift.”
“I appreciate it.”
“I’m glad. You two have fun, but do try not to be hungover tomorrow, eh?”
“Your concern for our health and well-being is noted and unnecessary. I’m pretty sure there’s no drinking involved tonight. I’m up for a nice, calm night.”
“All partied out,” he said with a laugh. “Text me tomorrow?”
“Of course,” I said, hand resting on the doorknob to the apartment and feeling a strange heaviness in my chest.
“Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
I stood there for a moment after the beep in my ear told me the call had ended. I stared at the wood, wondering what I was going to do, and glad no one was in the hallway to see me staring at the door like it had all the answers to my problems. I had to wait to let the heaviness ease before realizing what it was. It wasn’t guilt, or at least it wasn’tjustguilt I was experiencing.
It was loss, grief. A strange feeling for me, considering there wasn’t a whole lot in my life that required grieving. I had never lost a parent, like literally every one of my other siblings had, because I had never known Marshall in the first place to mourn him, and I’d had my mom and then Marcus when I’d been older. I’d never known any real loss, just setbacks...and the occasional breakup, of course, but nothing quite like this.
