Page 13 of Stepbrothers with Benefits
“Err, a little.”
“You worried about that?”
“Not really, one's my English course and the other is Early World History.”
“Oh, English and History? Probably wouldn’t hurt to touch up on a few things, but considering your grades in high school in those courses when we all knew you weren’t studying, I wouldn’t be too worried.”
“I mean,” I began, feeling a lot better. “I’m sure touching up wouldn’t hurt, yeah.”
He eyed me with a knowing look. “You’re going to ‘touch up’ right before you go in for the exams, aren’t you?”
I hunched my shoulders guiltily, grinning at him. “I’d be a big liar if I said no.”
“Two subjects that come easily to you, a project you’ve already done, and whatever tests you have done. Sounds to me like you’ve got an easy week ahead. Planning on doing anything fun?”
“Just how many details do you want?”
“Mmm, that’s a fair point. Just say you’ll be having fun and leave it at that. The gory details can be left out.”
I laughed. “Wild, hedonistic fun.”
Marcus snorted, eyeing my mother. “Did he get that from you?”
“What?” she asked with a knowing smile. “The party boy?”
“Mhmm.”
“I suppose.”
I glanced at her. “Could I have got it from my dad?”
“Yourbiologicalfather? Probably, who knows?”
I rolled my eyes, staring at Marcus. “You do know I meant biological father, and I didn’t have to say it outright because you know I think of you as my actual dad, right? And that Mom’s being dramatic for no good reason.”
“I knew what you meant,” he said with a shake of his head. “But I’m sure your mother has her reasons for beingemphatic.”
“Emphatic. Not dramatic, I see what you did there,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him.
“I will leave waging war with Marty between her and you kids,” he said fondly. “I rather like her being happy with me. And happy in general.”
I gave him a sour expression before turning back to my drink. He was trying to prevent me from bringing up an old and sore subject, the source of a few bitter arguments between my mother and me. Everyone in the family knew she’d ended up pregnant with me between the death of her late husband, father to Moira and Mason, and meeting Marcus. The story was that he had been a one-night stand during a period of grief-fueled partying, and that she knew very little about him.
Except there were times when I suspected she knew more than she was letting on. Mostly, because even when I was younger and asked about him, she had evaded the questions with an odd gleam in her eye that told me she was hiding something. It was also how defensive she got when the subject was pushed. I thought I had a right to know where I’d come from, but my mom was clearly of the mind that I should just be happy with what I have and not probe into the past.
It had been the source of many arguments in my teenage years. They’d died out as I’d gotten older, but if the tension in her shoulders was any indication, she was obviously waiting for another round to come up one day. I still wanted answers, but I had had enough bickering with my mother for one day. I’d push for more another time. Mostly because I didn’t even know the guy’s name, and she hadn’t written down a father, so I had nowhere to start searching.
I had tried when I hit adulthood and had the money to do some digging.
“Alright,” I said with a grunt, pushing away from the bar. “I suppose I should head out and get home. Maybe I can get in a quick nap myself.”
“Since when do you nap?” my mom asked, blinking. “I could never get you to nap. You didn’t even sleep, you just passed out like a little drunk on a bender.”
I snorted. “Fun fact, I still fight sleep. And you’re right, I’m not going to nap. I’m going to see if Eli’s awake and probably drop in front of my computer.”
“If you game like you used to, Eli isn’t going to be sleeping long,” she said with a shake of her head. “Never understood how someone can say they’re having fun when they sound like they’re having anything but fun.”
“Look, it’s not my fault that people don’t know how to play the game, and I’m stuck carrying their asses.”
