Page 34 of Stepbrothers with Benefits
“Irritated then. You’re always getting irritated.”
That wasn’t untrue, but I didn’t appreciate having it thrown out there when I was supposed to be having a good time. “I think I liked it better when you were talking about having a fucked up threesome with me and my dad.”
“Huh?” came the hesitant question to my left, and I tensed, finding Marshall standing there with glasses clutched in both hands. “What was that?”
“Oh Jesus Christ,” I hissed, my face burning. “That’s not...okay, I...damn you, Raf!”
Raf laughed. “He heard you, didn’t he?”
“Yes!”
“What is it with you? You always attract shit like this.”
“This is your fault.”
“You’re the one who put your foot in your mouth. So, why don’t you try to repair it? You probably scarred the poor man, and let me know if I’m going to see that cute face tonight, alright?”
“Yeah, sure,” I agreed hurriedly, knowing I had limited time to do damage control. “Talk to you later.”
I hung up and smiled at Marshall with what I hoped was reassurance. “Sorry about that, that was, uh...my boyfriend.”
“Who wants a threesome between us?” Marshall asked as he sat slowly, carefully putting the glasses down.
“He was just joking,” I said, though considering how adventurous Raf was, and how... well, I knew there was some kinkiness there, I was hoping he was kidding. “He’s got a...fucked up sense of humor. He’s probably laughing his ass off knowing I said that in front of you.”
“You don’t seem that mad about it,” he noted, sliding a refilled beer my way and then two of four shot glasses.
“Trust me, I’ve been getting shit from people as long as I can remember,” I said, eyeing the glasses. “Is that the distinct and very welcome smell of tequila?”
“It is.”
“I guess this is what you were going to find out?”
“It was. And it turns out I was right.”
“Is this your way of figuring out if your taste in liquor is genetic?” I asked, picking up one of the shot glasses.
He shuddered. “Are you kidding me? I can’t stand tequila. It took everything I had not to get sick just carrying those over.”
I blinked. “Uhh...then what were you trying to figure out?”
“Tequila was your mom’s favorite liquor,” he said with a wink, holding up his shot glass. “But vodka? I can do vodka. Same thing with martinis.”
“God, I never understood martinis,” I said with a wrinkle of my nose. “I’m all for drinking liquor, but you might as well admit you’re drinking a double shot with some nasty ass things thrown in.”
“It can be an acquired taste,” he said with a laugh. “Kind of like having boyfriends who talk about having threesomes with their boyfriend and their boyfriend’s dad.”
I twitched, holding back the correction that he was my father by blood, but not deed. Saying that would feel less like reminding him of reality and more like rubbing his nose in it...and punishing him. Truth was, I didn’t know the story behind his absence in my life, and I didn’t want to change the mood by insinuating that he had no place in my life because he hadn’t been there before.
“Well, here’s to...the night,” I said, holding my shot glass aloft. “That’s uh...the best I’ve got right now. Not really sure what to toast to.”
“We’ll see how long you can manage,” he said with a chuckle, clinking his glass against mine.
I took the shot and winced, not a fan of warm tequila, but I wasn’t going to argue with free liquor. “Planning on getting drunk?”
“I figure we’ve already missed plenty of time with each other, so why not have our first night around each other be fun?” he asked, promptly downing the second shot.
“Sure you wanna do that?” I asked with a grin, mimicking him and downing my second shot as well. I’d have to make sure I didn’t hammer repeated shots of liquor; otherwise, I was going to end up an incoherent mess. I wasn’t against being an incoherent mess, but I didn’t want to get wasted before nine.Pacing myself so I could be a messlaterwas my go-to plan, even if Eli liked to say it wasn’t that good a plan. “I can run even Eli ragged once I get enough alcohol in me.”
