Meeting the Step (5 page)

Chapter Nine

Chelsea

RICHARD WOULD BE
here any minute and a part of me wished I would have just told him we needed time apart over the phone, but I wanted to give him one last chance. After the other night when he grabbed me so hard he left bruises, I knew that we couldn't continue on this destructive path. The past two years had been rocky and his need to drink became more important than us. Richard needed help but refused to get it. In his mind, he was just having a good time and I always ruined it when I cut him off. He had an addiction. I understood it but he didn't.

For years, I tried to deny it but lately he had become more physical and aggressive. I couldn't put my life in his hands any longer and every time I got in a vehicle with him after he had been drinking, that's what I was doing. He was putting mine and everyone's lives at risk. The thought of him getting behind a wheel after he drank all night sickened me, especially because a drunk driver killed my father. It was a slap in the face.

I scooted out of the little shorts and slipped on some pants then waited downstairs. In the distance, I heard the deep grumble of an engine and I knew Richard was close. He always had to be the loudest.

A doorbell rang out and I opened the door and allowed him in. The smell of liquor permeated from him and by the way he swaggered, I knew that he was already drunk.

"Hey baby," he leaned forward to kiss me and I wasn't fast enough. I grabbed his hand led him to the couch. As soon as we sat, his hands were all over my body, rubbing over my breasts while he leaned over to try to kiss me again. His large frame practically pinned me to the sofa. I attempted to push him off so we could talk, but he was too heavy.

"Richard. Stop it."

He pulled back and looked at me with want and lust in his eyes. The man in front of me was not the man I fell in love with right after high school. I had no clue who he was anymore.

"Can we talk first?" I tried to keep my tone sweet and playful because I didn't want to make him angry. I needed him to understand me.

"We can talk then we fuck," he said.

I had to stay calm. He leaned back on the couch and rested his hands behind his head.

"I've been thinking about us lately."

Richard turned his head and looked at me. Regardless of the alcohol that swam with his blood, he knew I was being serious.

"I don't think it's working anymore. I love you, I really do, but it's not the same. You need help. Your addiction—."

"What the fuck, Chelsea?" He was instantly angry. His temper frightened me and no matter how calm I tried to stay, at that moment, I was scared.

"I'm breaking up with you, Richard."

"No, you're fucking not," he said, moving toward me.

I tried to stand and he yanked me back on the couch. "Now you promised we'd fuck." He stood up, pinning me to the couch with his knee as he unbuttoned his pants.

"No." I forced out the word. The pain from his weight was almost unbearable, but I found enough strength to kick him with my other leg. He unsteadily fell on the coffee table and a flower arrangement fell to the floor causing a loud crash.

"What the fuck is going on down here?" Max was furious, enraged. I looked up at my knight in a t-shirt and blue jeans.

Richard stood and made a low growling noise. "Fuck you, pretty boy."

Max picked up his phone and waited. "I'd like to file a report. There is an intoxicated man at my house. I live at 4679 Sunset. He's driving a black lifted truck," Max said. He walked to the front door and read the license plate number.

Richard moved toward me and grabbed my arm. He squeezed so tight that my bicep felt like it was being ripped from the bone.

"Please, please let go of me." Begging wasn't below me. I was breakable and knew that.

Once Max hung up the phone, he stopped at nothing. He pushed Richard with every bit of strength he had. Richard fell to the ground knocking a shelf of glass trinkets to the ground. The glass shattered to pieces.

My back pressed against the wall and I waited for it all to stop. Minutes later, loud pounding on the door echoed through the room and was accompanied by the sounds of fists hitting skin. I rushed to the door and opened it.

It had all happened too fast. The police officers rushed in and broke them apart, holding the two at a distance away from one another. Another police car arrived with its lights flashing. Two more officers came bustling into the house.

A blonde cop came to me asking me what had happened and if I were okay. I glanced over at Richard, a drunk mess, then looked over at Max. His lip was busted and cheek pink from the fight.

This was my fault. I should have known better.

Richard was handcuffed and escorted outside. I watched over the woman's shoulder as they placed him in the back of the car and drove away. It happened so quick then so slow, all at once.

"Are you okay?" Max asked.

I was in shock.

"Did he hurt you?" Max looked worried.

I didn't realize I was holding my arm close to my body. Max grabbed it and saw the old bruises and the purples already forming from the new ones. He looked into my eyes and the emotions were ready to spill over.

Had Richard and I actually ended with a domestic dispute?

Orange lights flashed against the living room wall and through the window I saw a tow truck backing up to Richards truck. This wasn't over yet.

My heart was breaking. I never thought ending it would be easy but then again, I never thought it would end like this, so messy.

I glanced over at the glass on the floor and the spilled water and flowers. My arm throbbed from the tight grip and I wanted to cry, but I wouldn't be that girl.

"You deserve better than that, Chels."

He had called me Chels, a nickname and I didn't know what to think about it.

"I know. Now time to clean up this mess." I wanted to stay busy. I wanted to forget that any of this had happened. I walked to the kitchen and grabbed the trash can then went back to the living room. I knelt down to throw the broken pieces of porcelain in the trash.

"I'm so sorry," I said to Max as I picked up a little angel with broken wings.

"Don’t' worry about it. My dad hated these things. I think my mom kept them here just to drive him crazy. No one will even notice." He smiled.

Just a few pieces were broken. It looked worse than what it really was.

After we had finished cleaning up the mess, I turned to go upstairs but Max grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

His eyes were so blue with little speckles of light and dark in the irises. Stubble graced his chin and when he smiled his straight teeth rested perfectly on his plump bottom lip.

"I'm fine. It's not something I will get over anytime soon. We were together for years, ever since I was 18. I feel like I've lost a friend, and in a way, I have. I knew it was coming, but it doesn't make it any easier."

Max rested his arms on my shoulders. "Tonight I promise to take your mind from all of this. It will all seem like a blur. You don't have to go if you don't want to but I think you should."

I sucked in a deep breath then swallowed. "I'll go."

If I didn't get away and surround myself with people, I would allow my thoughts to control me and sometimes that wasn't the best.

Chapter Ten

Max

EARLIER SHE HAD
looked at me with lust in her eyes and now they were full of hurt. For the rest of the afternoon, all I could think about was her soft tongue dragging against and massaging mine. I had to admit it had been a long time since I felt fireworks. I couldn't remember the last time I kissed a stranger and felt any sort of emotional. I knew absolutely nothing about her other than a few things, but that's why I wanted her to go with me tonight. My core group of friends was meeting at our secluded spot on the beach to celebrate Tracy and Trina's engagement. There would be music and beer and friendship and I wanted to share that with Chelsea. Most of all, I wanted to get to know her.

My friends, though they were loud and outspoken, could make anyone feel comfortable. It wouldn't be long before they had her spilling every detail about herself. As I walked back to my room, all I could think about was tonight and the possibility of getting to know a girl that I wanted to know everything about. It made me smile.

My phone was blowing up with group text messages from Tracy and Trina. There were so many pictures of their engagement and Tracy on her one knee with a ring in her hand. I couldn't be happier for them. But it made me wonder about my own life. Lately, it had been full of one-night stands and jacking off. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want more than that. But after seeing the way my mother and father grew apart, I was in no rush to settle down. My recent motto had been
fuck and forget it
. That's why that kiss had haunted me. It was just a kiss, but it was on fucking replay. That girl would be the end of me and we were barely at the beginning.

I walked into my bedroom and grabbed a light jacket just in case it was cold on the beach with the constant wind. California days were warm, but the nights were chilly. It was its own paradise with perfect weather, but one could never be too prepared.

I knocked on her door when it was time to go. For an hour, I had left her alone to process everything. All I could think about was hurting Richard. I wanted him to feel the type of pain he made her feel.

I waited outside of her door and for a moment, I thought she had changed her mind and I told myself she wasn't going to come. That was okay, I guessed. As I walked away, her door opened and closed. I turned and looked at her. She had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and cheeks pink. That reaction was understandable considering her
ex
-boyfriend was arrested.

I shot her a sweet smile and waved for her to come on. She followed behind me without speaking a word. The keys to the Mustang were on the kitchen counter where I had left them for my dad. I swooped them in my palm and locked the front door behind us. I crossed the yard in long strides and opened the car door for her. There was a sparkle in her eye when she looked at the car.

"This is yours?" she asked as she slid inside and buckled.

"Yeah. The deal was Dad could drive it whenever he wanted if we got it restored."

"It's beautiful." She rubbed her hand across the dashboard. The orange glow from the streetlight lit her face and I could see her smile, a real smile. Happiness like that was contagious.

I popped the car into first gear and we zoomed down the street. A few turns and miles down an old paved beach road then we were traveling down the sandy beach. I rolled down my window and she rolled down hers. The smells of salt water and sand filled the car along with the sounds of crashing waves. She hung her arm out the window making waves with her hands. In the distance, I could see the bonfire and cars lined down the beach. They had gone all out for this little celebration and I hadn't expected anything less.

We pulled in behind the long line of vehicles and manually cranked up the windows. Chelsea dropped her phone on the floorboard and reached down to pick it up. I heard the crumpling of something and I looked over to see her holding a condom wrapper in her hand. She looked down at it then over at me.

"I guess you know that's not my dad's." I tried to shake it off because that night with Glory meant nothing. I didn't want her to think less of me or think I was a man-whore.

"At least you're safe I guess."

I couldn't read her tone or reaction and I didn't have a reply. She bent back down and grabbed her phone then we were on our way. Music and laughter echoed in the distance and I couldn't wait for her to meet everyone and get her mind off of what happened earlier tonight.

As soon as I came into everyone's line of sight, they started hooping and hollering. A huge grin covered my face and we picked up our pace. Tracy greeted me with a big hug and I told her congratulations. We had been friends forever and to see her finally happy made me happy.

"Oh and who is this hottie?" Tracy asked loud enough for everyone to hear.

"This is Chelsea. Chelsea this is Tracy. One of the lucky ladies of the night," I said.

Chelsea reached out and shook Tracy's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Have some food. Have some drinks. We are all just listening to some music and enjoying each others company." Tracy hugged me once again.

There were logs neatly placed around the fire for sitting and oldies lightly playing on the radio. There were so many people that I hadn't seen in years that had come in for the big celebration. Chelsea and I walked over to the ice chests and I pulled out a bottle of water for me and let her choose whatever she wanted. Neither of us grabbed alcohol. Not after seeing how destructive it was. Too soon for that.

We moved over to one of the logs next to Tina, who was as happy as could be with a bride sash across her chest like she had just won a pageant. In a round about way, she had won the pageant of love. Travis, one of my childhood best friends, waved at me as he threw more wood on the fire. I was glad to have brought the jacket because my backside was cold from the temperature drop and wind.

"So who is this?" Tina said, smiling.

"I'm Chelsea," she said outreaching her hand with a grin.

"Been awhile since you brought a lady around Jenkins."

"Been awhile since I had someone call me by my last name," I said then thought back to the last time I had brought a girl to meet my friends. Years. It had really been years.

Chelsea glanced over at me and bit her lip. For a moment, I was jealous of that lip.

"New love, it's cute," Tina said.

I tilted my head at her and narrowed my eyes with a smirk on my lips. "New love?" I laughed.

"So how did you two lovebirds meet?" Tina asked.

I knew these questions were inevitable, but for some reason I hadn't actually figured out the answer to that one. I would not mention the step-sibling thing though, that was out of the question.

"Max is going to be my stepbrother," Chelsea said and Tina's eyes went wide. I thought they would bulge out of her head.

"This is a joke right?" Tina sipped her beverage smiling over the rim.

I shook my head.

"Your father is going to kill you. You're already dead. Once he finds out—"

"There is nothing to find out." I interrupted.

Chelsea exhaled a pent up breath.

"Whatever you say. This is going to be fun," Tina said just as Tracy sat down beside her.

"What's going to be fun, baby?" Tracy bit into a hot dog and chewed.

"Nothing." Tina smiled at me. "Nothing at all."

The conversation quickly moved from me to them and for once I was thankful for that. They talked about the upcoming wedding and their parent's reaction to them being gay and in love with each other. I had heard some of the stories a million times and could probably repeat them verbatim, but I didn't mind hearing them. It reminded me that love was love regardless of race or sex.

Travis turned up the radio and Tracy stood and took Tina's hand, then the crowd joined in with their partners. Chelsea and I were like kids at a school dance that were too embarrassed to ask each other.

Fuck it.

I stood up and grabbed her hand. She looked at me shocked that I had even insinuated that I wanted to dance with her.

"Come on," I said.

She shook her head. "I don't dance."

I grabbed her hand and pulled her to me. "Tonight you do."

At first it was awkward being so close to her, but after a few songs, we both loosened up, which meant we moved closer. She wrapped her arms around my neck and my hands rested on her waist. There we were dancing on the beach to When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge. I hated to admit it but it reminded me of my mother and father and my childhood.

Memories of them dancing in the kitchen flooded my mind. A smile touched my lips then slight sadness. The words to the song were just too much or maybe I was old enough to actually understand what they meant.

The waves crashed in the background and the wind swirled around us. I pulled Chelsea closer to me until her breasts were against my chest and we slowly moved in rhythm. She fit perfectly against me like we were molded for one another. She was small enough where I could place my chin on top of her head if I wanted.

The song changed to another Percy Sledge song and she pulled away and looked up at me with something in her eyes. Want? Happiness? I couldn't quite make it out.

"What?" I searched her face.

"I've. I've never done anything like this before." She looked around at the fire, the beach, and all of my friends smiling and laughing and dancing.

"Well get used to it. I'm sure this won't be your last outing with me." And I wasn't lying.

She tugged on that bottom lip and she watched as I stared at her doing it.

"You make me jealous of that lip when you do that."

She immediately stopped and gave me a little smile. "Want something to drink?"

"Sure." I followed her over to the ice chests and she bent down and grabbed another bottle of water.

"This is nice, Max. I'm really glad I came with you."

"I'm glad you did too."