Page 4 of Stepbrothers with Benefits
“His brother,” I said, anticipating any questions. “Elijah Lincoln.”
The doctor looked at his notes, a crease forming in his brow, and then looked between us. I was sure the last name was throwing him off, but I’d also bet good money that our looks were confusing him more. Milo was somewhere between skater rock boy and boy next door, with his blond hair that he changed like other people changed their shoes. He’d reverted to his faux hawk look that now had streaks of crimson through it and was messy from the helmet. He’d hooked a silver ring through his eyebrow, and colorful, swirling, chaotic, patterned tattoos adorned his upper arm. Yet the carefree smile with the right amount of teeth was on display. The big blue eyes made him look innocent, and he was tall with a lanky build, with which he moved gracefully through the world.
And then there was me, his complete opposite, in looks anyway. Dark, curly hair that stuck close to my scalp if I didn’t grow it, I usually didn’t because curly hair was a pain in the ass. Eyes as dark as Milo’s were bright, thin lips, and narrow eyes that gave me a brooding, suspicious look. I was built broader than him, but a few inches shorter, and more than five minutes in the sun, he looked like a lobster, whereas I could soak in the sun all day and just get darker.
“We’re stepbrothers,” I said with a shrug after letting the doctor try to figure out how to broach the subject.
“It’s alright,” Milo said, letting me have my fun and taking pity on the guy. “My mom had me like...five years before she met and married his dad, when he was five.”
“Six,” I corrected, not that it mattered.
“Oh,” Rimes said after a moment and scrolled up. “I see there’s...a few of you in the family history.”
“Yeah, Moira and Mason are the oldest, twins, and a pain in the ass, but in different ways,” Milo said with a snort. “That’s Mom’s oldest kids and...well, it gets kinda crazy when you start dipping into the family ties. Because Arlo and Dom are both adopted, but Mom adopted Arlo after I was born. He’s younger than me, and Dom is somewhere in the middle, but he’s the second oldest after Moira and Mason, and...honestly, it’s easier to go by age. Mason and Moira, Dom, Eli, Me, and Arlo.”
“What Milo is forgetting to mention is that he once tried to create a chart of age and when people came into the family, and gave up when he realized it was hurting his brain. So if it doesn’t make sense, don’t feel bad,” I said, grinning when Milo flipped me the bird but flashed a smile at the doctor.
“So...still brothers,” Rimes said after a moment, glancing between us.
“Stepbrothers,” Milo and I corrected simultaneously, rolling our eyes at the synchronicity. It was one of those little quirks we had that neither of us could explain, or had even tried to explain. We considered our other siblings, brothers and sisters, and despite Moira’s son being my step-nephew, the strange little kid was just my nephew. Yet with each other, there was always that quiet insistence on calling one another ‘stepbrother.’ It didn’t make sense, but much like with anything to do with Milo, it probably wasn’t going to.
And even I’m allowed to have weird quirks here and there, when you have a stepbrother as a best friend like Milo, you’re bound to be a little weird. Well, I guess that included the whole family, but I doubted anyone in the family would deny their weirdness.
“Immediate family by any other name,” Rimes said after a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching like he was trying to hold back laughing at us.
“Yes, yes, he’s immediate family, he has permission to be here. I haven’t taken up smoking, I exercise three to five days a week, I usually don’t drink very much, but hey, it’s college, I’ll get lit up like a Christmas tree if I want. Yes, I’m very sexually active, yes, I use protection because surprise surprise, not all my decisions happen without impulse, and...I’m pretty sure I pulled something in my leg, and my arm is either dislocated or goddammit, maybe fractured,” Milo rattled off, kicking his legs again and then only one after his bad one bumped the exam table.
“Oh, and if you’re available after your shift, Milo is absolutely interested in lying back and putting his heels to Jesus for you,” I threw in for good measure. The result was an indignant squawk from Milo, who thankfully didn’t try to deny it, and slow-to-rapid blinking from the doctor. “What? You were flirting, like you always do when a guy you think is cute gives you attention. Even if it is professional attention.”
Milo gestured toward the doctor. “Heiscute, no, he’s hot, alright? I’m allowed to flirt; guys like it when you flirt with them. Even you like it when guys flirt with you.” He turned his attention to the now completely bewildered and probably slightly disturbed doctor. “He’s straight, so that’s why that’s a big deal.” He snapped his attention to me. “So don’t shame me.”
“The only thing you’re being shamed for is lacking the brain cells sufficient for surviving,” I told him dryly, not bothering to address his point. Having a guy hit on me was only different from a woman in that guys were more likely to. Milo liked to joke that it was because those guys sensed something about me that I wasn’t willing to admit. The reality was I had more experience dealing with women than he did, at least when itcame to romance and dating. The fact was, men were more likely to hit on someone openly than women, and since gay and bi men flocked to Milo, it was statistically more likely that I would get hit on by a guy.
“Ah,” the doctor said quickly, sounding almost relieved. “So you weren’t there when he hurt himself?”
“I...was,” I admitted.
“Oh...and you didn’t try to stop him?”
Milo frowned. “Why do you assume I needed to be stopped? I haven’t even told you what happened.”
The doctor said nothing, glancing between us, and I took pity on him. The poor guy was new, and Milo had already aggressively hit on him. He was now trying to fumble for an explanation of the information he probably shouldn’t have had. I sighed. “He probably talked to Cynthia and was warned that you did something stupid to end up here.”
“Well, if it was stupid, then you’re an accomplice,” Milo pointed out with a smug snort. From Rimes’ expression, he had probably been thinking the same thing, which would explain his silence.
“Who’s dumber?” I asked the doctor. “The one doing the stupid shit, or the one who knows better than to stop the first person and figures they might as well just film it so they can make sure the money keeps rolling in?”
Rimes watched us for a moment before letting out a sigh that we’d both heard plenty of times. “No offense, but both of you are making me very glad I have two sisters rather than brothers.”
“Moira seemed to do all right with five brothers,” Milo protested.
I grinned. “And she’s also the scariest person we know. Do you think that’s a coincidence?”
“Mmm, probably not.”
Rimes shook his head. “I imagine it’s connected. Now...can we discuss why you’re here?”
Milo let out a disappointed sigh, whether that was because the doctor hadn’t taken the bait of his flirting or because the doctor didn’t seem interested in the story. It was hard to tell which. The thing was, Milo was currently spoken for, some jackass with a nice body, and from thetoo much informationthat Miloalwaysshared with me, was hung like a horse. I’d yet to meet a boyfriend of Milo’s that I liked, but the current one was more annoying than usual. Maybe it was the unwarranted arrogance, the bitchy comments about people, or the fact that he always treated Milo like he was convenient rather than someone worth treating right.
