I didn’t even fucking know that our school had political science electives.
And now I’m walking with her along Sunset Way, and the sound of the surf is in my ears, and the smell of salt is on the air, and I’m waiting for her to tell me to go, because I will if she does. I don’t know why, exactly, but I will.
But she doesn’t say it. And we just keep walking. She veers onto the beach, and I walk there with her, feeling the soft sand beneath my shoes.
I feel it inside me, as I pull another drag from my cigarette, this growing ball of energy. I feel like I’ve got a fireball inside my gut, and it’s going to burst me at the seams.
She does things to me. Fuck, she really does. And… and I like it. I like it and I hate it. If this was any other chick I just wouldn’t fucking care. But look at me, walking on the fucking beach in the late afternoon with her.
I never thought I’d be a cliché.
“My father is a prick,” she says after a moment.
“Hey, it’s like a checklist,” I say. “Box one, daddy issues. Check.” I tick it off with my finger.
She scowls at me.
I don’t even know why I said it. It just came out of my mouth. I shrug. That’s who I am, why the fuck should I apologize for it?
“If you think I’ve got daddy issues, then you’ve got oedipal issues.” She flashes her eyes at me, challenging me. She thinks I don’t know what she’s talking about. It’s cute.
“No I don’t,” I say. “And that shit’s pretty much been debunked.”
“You know, for a dumbass jock, you have a surprising vocabulary.”
“I’m not a jock,” I say. “I don’t give a fuck about all that.”
“Right,” she says, rolling her eyes at me again. I just grin at her again. “You don’t give a fuck. Tell me something new. But you were a school athlete.”
“Hey, I take care of my body. I’m better than everyone else at every sport. Wrestling champ. It was easy credits. I had half the school watching me at practice.”
“You’re so full of yourself.”
“So are you, just in a different way.”
“I am not full of myself!” she shouts.
That got a rise out of her.
“Really?” I challenge, walking in front of her and turning around. I’m walking backwards now, and I see her eyes roam up and down my body. I can see she’s trying not to meet my eyes. It’s… it’s hot. She’s hot. Now with the gown off, I can see the shape of her body. God, she’s got some hips on her, and thighs I’d massage for hours. And her ass… she’s got it there, alright. It makes my hands feel empty.
“Really,” she sniffs, looking toward the sea. “I’m definitely not full of myself.”
“Well, let me think. Today you’ve called me an idiot something like seven times, stupid three times, and basically all your insults have been aimed at my intelligence. I’d say you’re pretty up yourself in a very particular way.”
“What, you a psychologist now?”
“See, you did it again. And I don’t have to be. Any idiot could see it.” I wink at her, and to my total surprise, I see just a flicker of a smile.
“You know, Chance, you’re not as interesting as you think you are.”
“I’m certainly more interesting than you thought I was."
“Try again,” she says, narrowing her eyes.
I take out a box of mints. I rattle it, but she just shakes her head, so I shrug, and pop two into my mouth.
She takes a deep breath, and I prepare myself for a lot of words.
“You think you’re like this mystery to be unraveled. Some kind of enigma. You think that girls like you not because you’re the quote-unquote bad boy on the outside… stop laughing.”
But I can’t help myself. She even did the finger air-quote gesture.
“You think you’re all hard on the outside and that actually you’re this interesting person on the inside and that everybody is just dying to puzzle you out, dying to unlock the true you.”
“Now you sound like the psychologist.”
“I’ve met your type before.”
“No you haven’t.”
“Yes I have.”
“Really?” I say, and I know I’m going to hate myself for letting the next words fly out of my mouth. But I do, because that’s me.
“How many guys like me want to spend time talking to you?”
Excerpt:
Unleashed
An MMA Stepbrother Romance
Every time I think he can’t possibly get any worse, he somehow manages to top himself.
Every single time.
It doesn’t even offend me. Well, that’s a lie. It does, and it does hurt a little, but fuck him, I really don’t care what he thinks, and I’m done with him.
“Fuck you, Chance.”
I walk off, quicker, pushing him away as I walk past him. A moment passes, and I keep walking, but I feel like I’m walking the plank. I feel like I’m crossing a tightrope without a harness. I feel like I’m waiting for something…
“But they should want to,” he calls from behind me.
I stop, wondering if I heard him correctly. I turn around slowly, and see him walking toward me. He’s closing the distance between us in powerful strides, and I just am rooted to the floor, breathing quickly, my heart racing, wondering what’s going to happen next.
And then he holds my face in his huge, strong hands, and he kisses me. It’s not just any kiss. He crushes my lips against his. There’s no tongue at first, he just kisses my lips, and before I know it, I’ve dropped my things, and I’m holding onto his muscular back, and I’m kissing him back.
Not just any kiss. I’m crushing my lips against his, and I’m moaning into his mouth, and I’m sending my tongue deep inside.
I can feel his hot breath on me, and then he’s kissing down my neck, and I’m gripping onto his hair, and his hands are rounding my waist and on my ass and he gives me a squeeze. Unconsciously, I push my hips into his, and I’m startled to feel his hardness through his jeans.
Our kiss breaks, and I look down, and I can see him. See his desire pushing against his jeans. I can’t believe I’m kissing him. I can’t believe I’m doing this.
It’s like I’m not myself. He pulls me down onto the sand, and he sits behind me, wraps his arms around me, and I push back against his body as he kisses the back of my neck. His hot breath makes my hairs stand on end, and shivers run down my body from head to toe at his every touch. His fingers leave trails of fire all over me.