PRINCE CHARMING: A Secret Baby Stepbrother Romance (30 page)

“Will do. Bye.” I hung up and looked around my room. Whenever I felt crappy, doing my hair and nails always made me feel better. Though I had already taken a shower, taking two or three showers a day was not uncommon for me. I loved showers because they were relaxing and washed the day away.

I grabbed my towel and moisturizer and got in the shower. I put the water on, trying to let the noise of it drown out the noise in my head. I reached out to feel if the water was the right temperature, and once it was, I immersed myself in it, closing my eyes. It felt great—soothing. I squirted my nourishing shampoo into my palm and began massaging it into my scalp. I rubbed some lavender body wash over my tender pussy, which was still a bit sore from the friction of our tryst on the beach. I wished I could wash that action away, but some things happened way too late.

I tried not to look at his body wash and wash cloth, which he’d placed rudely near my stuff. He’d left some hair, too. I tried to convince myself he was a gross creature and that I would never want to see him again after this summer. I imagined him, hairy and muscular and handsome.

“Ugh! Stop it!” I scolded myself.

Evening was setting in by the time I finished using the hair dryer. My thick hair was notoriously difficult to manage, but it was pretty, at least. My hair was curled elegantly, and I put on a light pink dress and a long pink cardigan over that. My nails were painted with a nice pink polish, and I was perfectly shaved. My chunky pink heels looked great, I had to admit. I looked totally hot. I imagined what Ash would do if he saw me, inwardly scolding myself for being pathetic enough as to care.

I heard giggling coming from Ash’s room. I had been messing around with the hair dryer for forty minutes, so I hadn’t heard them come in. I heard deep laughter follow. A spike of annoyance raked through me. I dropped my purse on the bed and walked to his side of the bathroom door, pressing my ear to it. I heard soft moans and muffled sounds. Hurt washed over me, and I couldn’t help myself. I slammed opened the door to his room to see it clouded in smoke. He and the girl, Jen, were on his bed, making out.

“Nice,” I said, my face red with embarrassment and hurt. “You couldn’t…you couldn’t smoke somewhere
else?” I yelled, not the least bit upset about the smoke, but really upset that he could hook up with another girl so close to my room.

“Amy!” he said and sat up on his bed. Jen looked smug as she placed her hand on his stomach.

“Oh. That’s your stepsister,” she said with a cool voice. She looked me over the way a cat does before they pounce on their competition.

Tears streamed down my face. “Fuck you, Ash. Fuck you,” I said, my voice shaking through my tears. I turned on my heel and grabbed my purse. I was going to go to the city, sneak into a bar, and forget his existence.

“Amy, wait!”

I heard him shout. I didn’t care. He’d already lost me. Fuck him. I went to my room, slamming the door to my room behind me. I stomped down the steps as fast as I could with my heels on.

“Going out?” I heard Gary say.

He was in the den by the door, reading a book on finance. I smiled and wiped my tears away, trying so hard not to show my pain.

“Yeah. To the city,” I said.

“You’ll need something, then,” he said with a warm smile. “I’ll be right back.”

I waited out of politeness. I really just wanted to run out of the house. The train station wasn’t too far away, and I planned to walk there even with my chunky heels. I’d hoped Ash would be the first one to go with me in the city, but screw him. I didn’t need him now.

Gary returned with a small black wallet. Inside were two credit cards. “These are for you—for any of your expenses,” he said. “I meant to give them to you earlier, but I wanted to wait for the right time.”

I shook my head. “Thank you so much, Gary, but I couldn’t possibly.”

“Please. Take it. You’re my stepdaughter now, and I want to make sure you are always safe and comfortable. Besides, I called you a cab to the train. It should be here in a couple of minutes,” he said with a warm, fatherly smile.

“Thanks,” I said softly, taking the wallet. “It would be nice to not have to walk there.”

I waited in the den with Gary, trying to hold back tears. My mother joined us, talking animatedly about her bed and breakfast. I saw lights flash as the cab pull into the driveway.

“My ride is here. Gotta go!”

“Be careful, sweetie, and have fun!” my mom replied.

I waved to Gary and left, feeling the cool night air hit me as I walked out of the house.

“Hello. Could you please take me to the Metro North station?” I asked the driver,

He nodded wordlessly, and we pulled away. I looked up at Ash’s room, seeing his strobe lights reflected in his window. He didn’t even chase me or come after me. How could he really care?

I put on my headphones and scrolled through my music, being careful to avoid rock music because it reminded me of him. I settled on a girl power ballad and looked at myself in the window. I looked pretty but sad. I needed to cheer up.

The driver stopped the car at the train station. I rummaged in my purse and pulled out a crisp twenty-dollar bill, always a generous tipper.

“Thank you,” I said, “have a good night.”

“No, thank you. Be careful on the train!”

I got out of the car into the cool night air. Summer evenings here were a tad colder than San Fran. I’d never taken the train before, so I was excited. I made my way up to the platform and looked at the ticket machines. It was easy enough to get a ticket, but thank goodness I had Gary’s card, because boy, was it expensive! I sighed to myself and took my printed ticket and wait on the cool platform for the train. When it arrived, I shivered with excitement.

“New York City, here I come!” I said cheerfully.

ASHTON

“Your room is even cooler than I remembered,” Jen said, looking around.

I’d hidden the photos of my mom so no one would see how emotional I could get over them. My bong was set up, ready to smoke. My strobe lights were on, and I had some rock music turned down low. I could hear the hair dryer in Amy’s room, and my heart sank.

Keep it together, Ash. Who cares if she’s around or not? She’s basically your sister now, so it doesn’t really matter
.

Jen waved her hand in front of my face. “Hello? Are you there? It’s me,” she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah. I’m here,” I jolted out of my stupor.

She giggled and pushed me onto my bed, pecking me again on the lips. Her firm breasts pushed against me. Damn, was she hot. I kissed her back somewhat reluctantly. I pulled my head away to stare at the ceiling.

“What’s wrong?” Jen asked, sitting up and straddling me.

“Nothing. Let’s smoke first,” I said.

We took turns puffing, and soon, the room was filled with smoke. I was so much more relaxed. She came onto me again, and I returned her affections this time. Then I heard small footsteps at the bathroom door. The door slammed open.

I sat up, nearly knocking Jen over. Amy, looking gorgeous in pink, stood in the doorway. Her eyes were so sad, but her hands were clenched in anger and annoyance. She screamed something about smoking and stormed out of the room. I tried to call after her, but it was too late.

“Shit,” I said, collapsing back onto the bed. I closed my eyes and grumbled.

“Damn. Your stepsister is so uptight about smoking!” Jen said, not understanding the dynamic between Amy and me.

“Just forget it. Let’s pop in a movie,” I said.

“Oh! Goody!” Jen chortled cheerfully. “I’ll pick!”

My heart hammered from the shock, and my face was red from embarrassment. Now Amy would never talk to me again, and it really was over. Jen fumbled excitedly with the movies before picking an old Disney one. She cuddled beside me, and I felt terrible.

I tried to lose myself in the movie until I saw the lights of a car pulling into the driveway. I sat up and said, “Be right back,” to Jen before walking downstairs. My dad and Emma were relaxing with wine in the den.

“Did Amy leave?” I asked.

“Yeah, she’s heading to the city,” Emma said.

“Fuck…” I grumbled to myself. She was going to the city by herself? It wasn’t entirely safe if you weren’t street smart, and besides, I wanted to be the first one to show her around. I needed time to think about what I was going to do. I also had to be back early to help Emma with the bed and breakfast. I was so overwhelmed. I had never been this worried about anyone or anything in my entire life.

I stormed back upstairs; Jen was curled up on my bed. “You gotta go. Family emergency.”

“What the fuck? Not fair. I feel like I just got here, and I can’t drive! Seriously, Ash.”

I looked around for money and shoved some twenties in her hands. “I’m sorry. Take a cab. It’s an emergency, really,” I replied.

She narrowed her eyes at me and got up. She put on her coat without looking at me. I could almost feel the anger radiating off of her.

“Fucking asshole,” she said as she left.

I would deal with her later, but for now, what was I going to do about Amy?

AMY

The hustle and bustle of Grand Central station was almost as huge as my excitement from just
being
there. This was the wonderful Grand Central Station I’d seen in movies and in advertisements. True to tale, it was very busy. Even on a weekend night, there were tons and tons of people. I felt like a fish out of water, looking around and trying to take everything in. A few men leered at me, but I was so used to creepy men by now.

“Gross,” I said, pulling my cardigan closer to myself.

I kept my head up, trying to look like a proud New Yorker. I’d read somewhere that you wouldn’t get harassed as much in the city if you looked like you knew where you were going, so I tried to. It didn’t seem to work. Everywhere I went, eyes followed me greedily. I must have looked like a lost puppy in a big, scary town.

I pulled up a navigational app in my phone, one that Gary had recommended to me for traveling throughout the city. I wanted to go to Times Square, for sure, but I would have to take the shuttle. I looked around for signs and found one that said ‘S, Shuttle to Times Square.’

“Bingo!” I cried excitedly. I took a picture of the sign and posted it to my social media profile, writing,
Heading to Times Square for a good time! My first trip ever!

I hurried down the corridor to see a few waiting subways. People sat there, a lot of them dressed for nightlife. Some looked miserable, wearing work clothes. The excitement in the air was evident, and I was so looking forward to the night ahead. I almost forgot about Ash, but thoughts of him kept creeping up in the back of my mind.

The train ride was shorter than I expected. I got out, looking for the exit to Times Square. I followed a bunch of rushed tourists up the steps, trying to keep up with the fast New York City pace.

The lights of Times Square hit me head on. I squealed excitedly, trying to take in everything all at once. It was nearly impossible. There were animated signs flashing in neon lights and tall buildings draped in light and sound. I took a deep breath of the cool night air, feeling comforted by the mixture of heated wind rising from the subway and the cool splash of air in contrast.

Where to go? There were an endless number of places. I looked around, feeling so much like a tourist. I settled on a gift shop with tons of New York trinkets. Guiltily, I looked at Gary’s credit card. He did say he wanted me to be comfortable. I might as well reap some
of the benefits of becoming a part of his family if I had to deal with all of the confusion, too.

I looked around the store, busy with tourists. I settled on an ‘I Love NYC’ mug since I drank a lot of coffee. I waited in line—a line that seemed endless—before paying for it and stashing it in my big, pink purse.

Sneaking into a bar here should be easy enough. I mean, I didn’t intend on getting trashed or anything. I didn’t like getting drunk, but I liked a small buzz. I could easily find a guy to get me a drink, and no one would be the wiser.

I settled on a low-key bar that looked not the least bit intimidating. It was out of the way, down one of the side streets. The bar was somewhat packed when I walked in, but it wasn’t a moment before I found a friendly man sitting by himself at one of the side tables near the bar. We made eye contact, and I waved at him. He looked around before waving back, inviting me to sit. This was almost too easy.

He was cute. Kinda older. Maybe late twenties? He smiled at me, revealing shining white teeth. He wore a dark blue suit… or was it black? I couldn’t really tell in the dim light in the bar. I could tell he had light blue eyes and dark hair. I didn’t normally go for older guys, but he was pretty dreamy. He’d be a fun guy to flirt with for the night, and perhaps he would buy me a drink.

I felt so grown up and important.
Take that, Ash,
I thought. I ignored the part of my brain that told me I had people his age as professors and that he might not be safe. The wild side of me always won over, and my resolve was dissolving because of my hurt.