Stepbrother Forever: A Stepbrother Romance (29 page)

By the time I get back to my
apartment it’s four o’clock. I have plenty of time to kill before I get ready
for tonight. I laze around for a while and have another cup of coffee just in
case it winds up being a late night. Then I shower and begin to get ready.

I had bought that new dress for
our last date, but this time I don’t know what to wear. I try on several
different outfits before I decide on a fitted black skirt and a silky blue
tank. I put on my favorite black heels and add some jewelry. By six thirty I am
finishing my makeup. Since I’m ready before seven, I decide to wait downstairs
for Jayson. I’m just going to be pacing up here anyway. I take my keys and
purse and have one last look in the mirror before stepping out to the elevator.

I arrive in the lobby, and only
a couple of minutes pass before I see a town car pull up outside. The door
opens and Jayson steps out. He looks delicious. I’m glad I get to see him
before he comes in so I have time to take it all in. He’s wearing his now
signature-style jeans and a fitted, black button-down. I get a nice view of his
perfect ass when he turns to close the car door. His top isn’t too tight, but
snug enough that I can see his muscles underneath.

He turns toward my building and
strides up to the door. I am walking toward him at the same time. Jayson sees
me as soon as he pulls the lobby door open.

“Well, hello.” He smiles at me,
holding the door open for me.

“Hey,” I reply, shyly smiling
back. I’m suddenly nervous for tonight. It feels like a first date all over
again. The door closes behind us and we walk the short distance to the car.

“You don’t plan on making this
easy for me, do you?” Jayson asks as he opens the door and lets me get into the
car.

I raise my brows. “What did I
do?”

“You’re just… you,” he replies,
gesturing at my outfit. I feel my cheeks flush and I look away. The car starts
moving as we make our way to our destination.

“Thanks. I think.” I smile up
at him again. “Should I have worn my sweatpants to dinner?”

“I think that would have been a
safer choice.”

“Well, you look pretty good,
too.”

“I try.” He grins at me, still
drinking me in with his eyes. “So, how do you feel about having some Thai food
tonight?”

“I feel good about that. I
actually love Thai.”

He beams. “Good, I know a great
little place. I think you’ll love it.”

A few minutes later, the car slows
down and comes to a stop in front of a Thai restaurant.

“Oh! I’ve heard this place is
fabulous,” I say as Jayson opens the door and steps out. We walk into the
restaurant and are seated quickly.

After we order drinks and
decide to share some dishes, we begin talking. The conversation flows
naturally. I’m no longer nervous and there is much less tension than I was
expecting.

Jayson tells me more about the
job his company will be doing and I enjoy listening to how excited he is about
it. I tell him about my mother’s phone call this morning and how her and Tom
are going to relax out east for a few days.

“That sounds great,” he tells
me. “I can’t wait until we can do that one day.”

“I bet that would be a lot of
fun,” I answer, smiling shyly. I know Jayson wants to be with me, but I didn’t
realize he really thought that far ahead.

“Oh, it would,” he says slyly
now. “I’ve fantasized about having you all to myself in a beautiful, secluded
setting many times.”

I blush again. “I can only
imagine what happens in your fantasies.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll show you one
day. Knowing I won’t be able to have you again any time soon is leaving me a
lot of time to come up with my own scenarios. I’m actually kind of enjoying it,
like a mind-fuck.” He winks at me.

“You’re teasing me.”

“I know,” Jayson answers,
grinning again as our food is delivered to the table along with another round
of drinks.

“That’s not fair, Jayson,” I
tell him after the waiter walks away.

Jayson shrugs. “I said we could
take it slow and I stand behind that one hundred percent, Ashley. But I can’t
change who I am or how I think. I know what it’s like to have you, and I can’t
just forget that. If I have to wait until our wedding night to make love again,
I swear I will, but I can’t stop what happens in my head.”

“Oh, so we’re getting married
now too?” I ask. More than any lewd thing that’s come out of his mouth, the
words “wedding night” have surprised me most of all.

“Maybe. We’ll see how dinner
goes, but it’s always a possibility.”

I’m taken aback. “Well, it
seems you’re going to make this harder for me than it already is, saying things
like that.”

“And you’re making me hard. I
mean, you’re making it hard for me,” he says, cleverly faking a Freudian slip
while taking another sip of his drink.

I laugh. “You’re an ass.”

“It’s part of my charm.”

We spend the next few minutes
picking at our dishes and smirking to ourselves. This little game we are
playing is pretty amusing for both of us. I like that we can talk about
everyday things one minute and enjoy some sexual banter the next. It suppresses
the sexual tension between us and lightens the mood at the same time.

We finish our food and only
have a couple of sips left in our glasses. The waiter comes over to ask if we’d
like dessert but we’re both pretty full already. Jayson declines and our waiter
goes to get or check.

“So, what now?” Jayson asks me.

I blink. “What do you mean?”

“Dinner is over, we’re not
going back to your place because we know what happens there.” He grins. “And
I’m not ready to end our night yet. So, what do we do now?”

“How about we go to your
place?” I ask boldly, shocking Jayson silent for a moment.

“My place?” he repeats.

“Yes. I don’t think you live
far from here, right? Why don’t we get some ice cream or have another drink, or
whatever?”

“I like the ‘whatever’ part.”

I roll my eyes. “No. I mean
really have dessert or drinks. Nothing else. I think we can do that, don’t
you?”

He narrows his eyes
incredulously. “I’m only a couple of blocks away. But don’t think anything is
going to happen. I won’t let it, Ashley.”

“I don’t think that at all. I
just want some ice cream and another glass of wine,” I joke as we get up from
the table and stroll to the exit. “Besides, we both have work tomorrow, so I
can
’
t stay late.”

I really don’t know why I
suggested going to Jayson’s apartment. I think it’s a dangerous move, but we’re
adults and should be able to be alone together without any debauchery—I hope.
He seems pretty serious about not letting anything happen between us, anyway,
so hopefully he will stick to his word even if I can’t.

We walk hand in hand again in
the direction of his building. I’m not sure exactly where he lives, but I know
this is a much nicer area than mine. We are coming upon a convenience store, so
Jayson suggests we go in and pick up some dessert.

“I always have some wine at
home, but food, not so much,” Jayson tells me as we walk in. We go to the
freezer and pick out some vanilla ice cream, and on the way up to the register
he grabs some chocolate syrup. The clerk rings us up and he pays.

We step back outside and
continue another block to his building. He stops in front of his entrance and
opens the door for me, allowing me to step over the threshold into the bright,
marble lobby of his building. Jayson nods at his doorman as we pass him and
presses the button for the elevator. We step in in silence when it arrives and
the doors open. He pushes the button for the eighteenth floor and the doors
close.

“Remember, Ashley—hands to
yourself,” Jayson teases me as we arrive at the eighteenth floor.

“Please. I’m a lady. You’re the
one who should be getting the warning,” I tease back much more confidently than
I feel. Being alone in this elevator is torture enough. What was I thinking
coming here?

The doors open and there are
only four apartments on his floor. He strides over to the second door, fumbles
with his keys, and unlocks it. Again, he holds it open allowing me to go in
first.

I can’t help but look around in
awe. It’s not the hugest apartment I’ve seen in New York City, but it’s big.
There is a long wall of floor-to-ceiling windows straight ahead overlooking the
river and a beautiful skyline view. I walk toward the window to get a better
look and pass through a great room sparsely furnished with low leather couches
and a glass dining table. There’s even a gourmet open kitchen on my left.

Jayson walks over to the island
and puts the grocery bag down. I continue to the windows to look out and hear
Jayson opening a bottle of wine.

“Wow. Your view is incredible,”
I say, awestruck. I don’t know anyone who lives in an apartment like this.

“Thanks. I can’t lie, it’s
pretty awesome,” he replies, taking out a couple of wine glasses from the
cabinet and filling them.

I take one more look before
walking back to the kitchen and sitting on a stool at the island. Jayson is
standing across from me.

“Cheers,” he says, holding up a
glass. “To another successful night together.”

“Cheers,” I reply clinking his
glass. “But the night’s not over yet.”

“Don’t try to be a bad girl,
Ashley. I told you, I won’t let anything happen.”

“Don’t call me a bad girl
again, Jayson. It kind of turns me on.” Maybe I should lay off the wine. I
think it’s making me bolder than I should be.

“Now who’s being a tease?”
Jayson asks. “Just wait, Ash. You have no idea what I do with bad girls.” He
smirks, looking right at me. “Would you like that ice cream now?”

“I would. Thank you.” I turn on
my stool to check out the rest of the great room while he pulls out some bowls
and spoons.

 
“Chocolate syrup?” Jayson asks as he
pours some over his own bowlful.

“Of course.” He pours some over
mine, puts a spoon in and slides it over to me.

“I’m glad we came here,” I
admit, taking a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. “I like knowing what your
home looks like. I feel like I know you better now.”

“I’m glad you came here too. I
feel like I’ve known you my whole life, Ashley,” he answers genuinely. “You’re
so easy to talk to and I can just be myself. It’s nice.”

“Yeah. You’re pretty cool,
too.”

We continue eating our ice
cream. I have a little more wine, but I think I’ve reached my limit.
Surprisingly, I get to the bottom of my bowl. I stand and walk to the windows
to look out over the city again. Jayson walks over and stands next to me.

“It’s crazy that in this huge
city filled with people, I met the one guy who might be my brother one day.”

“Come on, Ashley. We would
barely be related. It’s silly that you even think it’s an issue.”

“I guess you’re right,” I say.
“It’s still a little strange. But life is funny like that sometimes.” I look up
at him. “I think I’m going to call it a night. I had a lot of wine and I’m
getting tired.”

Jayson smiles down at me.
“Sure, I’ll call a car and get you home.”

I want to kiss him so badly. I
know he can see it in my eyes. With the view from the window and Jayson looking
back at me, it’s the perfect scene. Instead he squeezes my hand and walks back
to the kitchen. I follow a few steps behind and help clear the bowls and
glasses while he puts the ice cream away.

“We should go downstairs. The
car will be here shortly,” Jayson informs me.