Page 74 of Stepbrothers with Benefits
“Better than most,” I said, forcing a joking tone as I pushed my annoyance at his presence away, and the reminder of the potential pitfalls of what was going on between Milo and me that Raf represented. I also wasn’t fond of feeling jealous of the man, but that wasn’t his fault...or his problem. Didn’t exactly help my already dim view of him, but I liked to think I kept those sorts of things to myself.
“Uh...hi there, Eva,” Milo said, his eyes locked over me and onto her. “You look comfy.”
Eva chuckled. “Hi there, Milo. Don’t worry, I brought the beer; I wasn’t getting into your stock.”
Milo blinked, looking taken aback. “I wasn’t worried about that.”
“You certainly looked worried aboutsomething,” she said, and I resisted the urge to sigh at her tone. She had found something else to sink her teeth into, and if I did anything to stop her, or even acknowledge that, it would only encourage her. I could only let it play out and hope we didn’t find ourselves in a situation. “Actually, you looked kind of pissed about something.”
Milo laughed, and I could hear the nervous edge. “Me? Pissed? Since when do I get pissed?”
“You spent fifteen minutes bitching because someone was talking on speakerphone,” Raf pointed out with a smirk.
“It was rude and inconsiderate, and I can’t stand people who think their conversation is the most important thing in the world that everyone needs to be a part of,” Milo huffed.
“I remember a twenty-minute tirade over a burger,” Eva added.
“Look,” Milo said, hands going to his hips. “I don’t know how the hell I can order a burger, specifically don’t alter anything about it, and then it shows up without a bun.”
I grinned, remembering that one. Eva had been kind by saying it was twenty minutes; it had been closer to an hour. “I remember that. The order on the app didn’t say ‘no bun,’ but the receipt did, and you never did get any reimbursement.”
“It was a crime, I had to eat my burger between two pieces of bread!”
“Hey,” Raf snorted. “That’s how poor kids like me had to eat burgers a lot...still do on occasion.”
“Look,” Milo repeated, turning to Raf. “I absolutely will not talk shit about what you had to endure growing up poor; you won’t hear me say that. You also won’t hear me talk shit that you still do it because I’m sure there’s a lot of nostalgia tied in that makes you happy. I, however, when ordering from a burger place that makes their own goddamn buns in-house, expect to have a freshly baked bun when my burger shows up, or I’m going to riot.”
“See, that’s what drew me to you in the first place,” Raf said with a wide grin. “It’s your measured, reasonable approach to life.”
“Fuck you,” Milo huffed.
“You’d certainly like to,” Raf said in a low voice that I’m sure was meant to be sexy in a teasing way. It came off more forced and schlocky porn dialogue to my ear, and I couldn’t believe Milo had been falling for that crap for weeks. I didn’t know why the guy had to make comments like that when other people were around. Even if I wasn’t currently sleeping with Milo, did Raf think other people wanted to hear his shitty come-ons?
“Careful,” Eva warned with a laugh. “You might offend Eli’s precious ears.”
I turned to her with a glare. “Eat me.”
She cocked a brow. “We never tried that, but if that’s what you’re feeling?—”
“Alright,” Milo snapped. “Both of you behave. I’m going to change.”
The three of us turned to watch him leave the room to change into clothes more appropriate for lounging around the house. I didn’t think any of us were ready for Milo to get testy when there was no real reason for it. Something had clearly irritated Milo, and I looked around the room, settling on Raf, who was still staring down the hallway, a thoughtful expression on his face.
I couldn’t remember a time when Raf had ever said anything like that when I was within hearing distance; he had always behaved when it came to anything sexual. I couldn’t help but wonder if Raf knew something was going on between Milo and me, and was trying to drive home the point that he knew...or at least to irritate me. Neither of us had ever done anything to get on the other’s nerves intentionally, but I wasn’t going to dismiss the idea just because I didn’t want to treat the guy like a problem.
After a thump echoed down the hall, Raf shook his head. “Has he always been like that?”
“Like what?” I asked, trying not to sound like I was ready to throw my bottle at his head, depending on the answer.
“He just...he makes a lot of sense with the stuff that gets reactions out of him,” Raf said, looking quizzically at me. “And then all of a sudden he’ll just...react to something without warning or giving any idea what’s set him off, good or bad.”
“Oh,” I said, surprising myself by laughing. “Yeah, you, uh...you get used to it. Wait till he calms down and ask him aboutit, he’ll usually say what was going on in his head. I can’t promise it’ll make sense, but?—”
“But that’s Milo for you,” he said with a little smile.
God, I hated the guilt that twisted in my gut as I realized we had just shared our first moment, and it was over Milo of all things. Damn it, we weren’t doing anything wrong! We weren’t violating any morals, rules, or anything! That didn’t stop me wondering if I was accidentally finding my way between Milo and Raf. Sure, I had told Milo I thought their relationship was shallow and there was nothing wrong with that, both of which I still stood by, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t find its way deeper.
I heard Milo coming back, and I looked down the hallway, feeling my worry drift to the back of my mind as he yawned, lifting his shirt to scratch his stomach. It was the stupidest, most innocent of things, and yet I suddenly found myself horny enough to yank his clothes off and figure out what part of the apartment hadn’t been tainted by us yet. Our beds had been used, the couch and living room floor were also out, and the shower was out after the other day when Milo had jump-scared me by joining me in the shower. We’d both nearly died when I learned that silicone lube was dangerous in the shower, but damned if it hadn’t been fun to fuck him against the wall, holding his hands from behind as I jerked him off until he?—
