Stepbrother Obsessed Read online

  Rox follows suit, hastily unbuttoning her shorts.

  The Bod God swaggers around the Toyota and sets his folded jeans on top of his backpack. “Enjoy the show?” he says casually without looking at us.

  Rox and I bust into a giggle fit. We try to hide it by making a big production of stripping down to our swim suits. It doesn’t work.

  I toss my T-shirt into the trunk and it lands in a heap, hanging half off The Bod God’s jeans.

  Rox shoots me a goofy dagger look.

  I didn’t mean to do that! I’m not laying claim to his jeans or anything else!

  She steps out of her flip flops and pushes her shorts off. While staring at me, she picks up my T-shirt and cattily tosses it into the corner of the trunk where it lands in a tangled heap. Then she sets her shorts on top of his jeans. Her lips curl into a fleeting snarl.

  She’s mad.

  I don’t blame her.

  We both saw The Bod God’s rod.

  It’s only natural for us to fight over him.

  I glance at the man of the hour. His muscled arms are folded across his chest and he’s watching us with amusement.

  If Rox and I suddenly decide to claw each other’s eyes out, I hope he’ll intervene and save us from ourselves.

  Who am I kidding? I can’t fight with Rox. I step out of my own shorts and set them on the far side of the trunk, as far from The Bod God’s bag and jeans as possible. Truce.

  Rox makes a pouty face, but she peels her T-shirt off and sets it with my shorts as an apology.

  I breathe a sigh of relief.

  Her shoulders slump and she sighs too before closing the trunk of the car. It thunks shut.

  Now it’s me in my electric pink bikini and Rox in her white one. The Bod God’s eyes flash and his face shines with naked admiration. If he was less hot, the look would be pervy. On him, with his billion dollar body and trillion dollar smile, the look is priceless.

  I just hope he’s admiring me as much as Rox. Well, maybe one percent more. But only one percent.

  “We ready?” he asks casually.

  “Yeah,” Rox mutters nervously.

  I can’t speak.

  “Let’s go get wet,” The Bod God winks and grins.

  I already am.

  oOoOoOo + O+O+O+O

  The three of us walk toward the main entrance and the ticket booths. The booths are little grass huts. Colorful surfboards hang everywhere or stick out of the ground. A ton of people are in line, so we have to wait.

  I can’t stop thinking about The Bod God’s Rod.

  Can you blame me?

  Of course not.

  I’m gonna have a really hard—HARD!!—time not making a move on Mr. Miracle once we get inside Blazing Waters. But I can’t. I pinky swore with Rox. She would never forgive me and I would never forgive me. I’ll just have to woman up and do it for the sake of our friendship.

  No first moves.

  The Bod God will have to do it for us.

  I can do that, right?

  While we’re waiting in line, The Bod God says, “What’s your guys’ names, by the way?” he asks.

  There’s a tense moment between me and Rox. We really don’t do things this crazy with strange guys very often. I mean, The Bod God may be a total hot rod, but we don’t know him or what school he goes to or even what college. He could be a criminal drifter for all we know. Yum! I mean, Down, girl!

  He arches an expectant eyebrow, waiting.

  “Angelina,” I blurt nervously. Whenever Rox and I flirt with strange guys, we always give them fake names, just in case. I always use Angelina, as in, Jolie.

  “Jennifer,” Rox says, as in, Aniston. It’s easy for us to remember.

  Mr. Miracle’s eyes dance between us. “Really?” It’s obvious he doesn’t believe us.

  What can I say? We’ve always been Angelina and Jennifer and it’s never been a problem in the past. Then again, high school boys are easy to fool. Hoping to distract, I ask him, “What’s your name?”

  He grins a super cocky grin, “Brad.”

  Yeah, he knows. I repress a snicker. There’s no way his name is Brad.

  I’m not holding it against him.

  When we buy tickets, Brad The Bod God pays for all three of us. It’s $125 for three tickets, but he refuses to let us pay. Such a gentleman. Inside the park, we find a rental locker and stash our keys and wallets and flip flops in it. Brad The Bod God offers to pin the locker key to his board shorts since we’re in bikinis. Rox insists on holding the key. It’s probably a good idea. It’s not like I think he’s going to sneak off with our wallets and steal Rox’s mom’s Toyota. His motorcycle is here. But it’s the smart thing to do. I just hope I don’t somehow piss off Rox and she leaves me here. Then again, that would mean I would have to ride home on the back of The Bod God’s motorcycle. There’s worse things.

  But seriously, I’m not going to break my agreement with Rox.

  No first moves.

  Blazing Waters is filled with people. The sun is bright in the sky, the day is hot, and the wet water slides are the perfect cure for the San Fernando desert heat. I can’t wait to get wet, because seriously, I am wet downstairs. I can’t stop staring at The Bod God and thinking about what I know is hiding in his board shorts. My nipples tickle against the inside of my pink bikini top. I’m convinced that everyone in the water park knows I’m turned on.

  It’s only marginally embarrassing. By marginal, I mean just this side of extremely.

  I try to think about SAT vocab words and reading comprehension. When that doesn’t work, I run the quadratic equation through my head and think about polynomials.

  That doesn’t work either.

  What does work is noticing all the women here at the water park who are openly staring at The Bod God. As we walk through the park, past the changing rooms and gift shops and concession stands, heads turn to stare at him. And by stare I mean gawk. I can easily tell which women have fillings or have had their tonsils removed from all the dropped jaws. Some of the women are very attractive, which makes me squirm with jealousy. Even Rox notices them. She acts like she doesn’t care, but I can tell she does.

  It’s not like we can be mad at The Bod God. He’s not even doing anything. Well, maybe he’s smiling too much for his own good. He really needs to work on that. Less smiling. Smiling is bad. I learned that in Sociology class or something. Smiling starts wars. It’s a proven fact.

  Rather than do what I want, which is grab The Bod God by the arm, stand on tiptoes and scream in his ear, “STOP SMILING AT ALL THESE WOMEN!!!!”, I turn to Rox and mutter, “What if he doesn’t pick either one of us? What if he picks one of these sluts, I mean, fine young ladies?”

  “He’ll pick one of us,” she says with forced confidence.

  I wish I was as self-assured as Rox is pretending to be.

  oOoOoOo + O+O+O+O

  The first slide we ride is Tower Falls. The sign says you can reach speeds up to 35 miles an hour. They aren’t lying. Going over a couple of the bumps, I feel like I’m going to fly out of the slide and plummet six stories to my death. Fortunately, I don’t. When I splash into the pool at the bottom of the slide, my entire body is shaking with adrenaline.

  When he and Rox splash down, the three of us run rampant through the water park, going from slide to slide. Blazing Waters has tons of different rides. It is so much fun. Roxanne and I always love it here. With The Bod God by our side, it’s ten times better.

  I keep waiting for him to touch one of our elbows unnecessarily, or hover closer to one of us over the other, or ask one of us to share a two-person raft on one of the raft rides, but he never does. He is such a gentleman. Still, I secretly hope he picks me over Rox. I know, I’m a terrible friend.

  Eventually, my anxiety melts in the heat and is washed away by all the fun we’re having.

  Rox and I are both super flirty with him all morning. He takes it in stride, constantly joking with both of us. It turns out he’s not just good looks, h
e’s a totally cool guy.

  After running from slide to slide for over two hours, I suggest that we relax and take a ride on Snake River. It’s a mellow ride with no age restriction. All you do is sit in a transparent inflatable ring and bob along the water. There’s lots of little kids with their parents. There’s even a few babies cradled in parental arms. But there’s also a group of rowdy boys floating near us, splashing and hollering. They look maybe 11 or 12. Old enough to behave like goblins.

  One of the goblins splashes his buddy. His buddy responds by grabbing the raft of the first goblin and turning it. As the first goblin starts to spin around, a third goblin helps out. They spin the first goblin faster and faster. It would be no big deal because the water makes it hard to spin him too fast, but his legs are up in the air and he’s whirling around like a human windmill. Or should I say goblin windmill.

  “Hey!” I holler. “Watch it you guys!”

  They laugh but ignore me.

  “Animals,” I say to Rox.

  Eventually the goblins drift away from us, but end up next to a young mom with a baby in her lap. The baby is wearing the cutest little white sun hat and baby wet suit with little short sleeves.

  When one goblin boy gets too close, the mom blurts, “Guys! Would you please be more careful! I have a baby here!”

  The goblin boy doesn’t care. He’s whooping and spinning again and totally oblivious. So are his friends who decide now is a good time to tip over their friend. Rox and I watch all this in disgust. When the other boys push the first goblin’s ring over, he spills into the water and nearly lands on the mom and her baby. She twists and holds her baby high to keep it out of harms way, but this causes her to spill sideways off the raft. She and the baby splash below the surface of the water.

  I gasp.

  Without a thought, Brad The Bod God slides into the water.

  The mom breaks the surface screaming, “My baby!”

  My stomach clenches with fear. I roll out of my ring, wanting to help somehow, but I’m not sure where the baby went. The chlorine stings my eyes. All I see under water is a blurry sea of legs and butts hanging down from bobbing inflatable rings. The Bod God missiles past me, breast stroking in the general direction of where the mom was. I stick my head out of the water to see what’s going on and take another breath.

  “My baby!!” The mom screams, wiping wet hair out of her eyes. She twists around in the water frantically. She’s lost her baby.

  A wave of panic explodes out from her and smacks everyone nearby into nervous alertness. People start climbing out of their rings to help. Before anyone can do anything, The Bod God surfaces behind the mom, holding her wet and wailing baby over his head in both hands like an offering.

  She spins around and sees them, “Oh my god! Megan! Is she okay?!” She lifts the child out of The Bod God’s hands. “Oh my god, thank you so much.” She cradles her baby, eyes intent, making sure the child is breathing. Little Megan’s wails are proof that everything is going to be all right. The mom wades to the side of the artificial river, seeking safety.

  The three goblins watch all of this with shocked faces. They realize what they’ve done.

  A lifeguard whistle blows. A female lifeguard in red shorts strides toward the scene of the crime. She bends down and chats with the mother. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but they’re glaring at the three goblins.

  The goblins don’t notice because The Bod God is talking to all of them in a serious tone. He says, “You guys know that was totally uncool, right? “

  They look at him with a mixture of awe and fear.

  He continues, “That baby could’ve been hurt bad. What if I hadn’t been here? What if that baby inhaled water and needed CPR?” His tone isn’t angry or frightening, but it is commanding. His deep voice makes everything sound important.

  The goblins don’t answer.

  “Do any of you guys know CPR? Or how to clear water from someone’s lungs?” He looks at each one of the kids in turn. “Do you know what to do if someone’s drowning?”

  The goblins are scared and humiliated, and The Bod God hasn’t said anything insulting. He’s just overwhelming them with the cold hard facts of what they’ve done.

  A moment later, the lifeguard waves the goblins over to the side of the river and makes them climb out while she lectures them further.

  The Bod God wades over to us and grabs his inflatable ring. Water droplets dazzle like diamonds on his tan chest and shoulders. “That was close,” he says casually as he climbs onto his raft.

  Roxanne is literally holding her hand over her heart, speechless.

  “You saved that little girl,” I marvel.

  He smirks, “Nah. She was fine. Just went for a little swim.”

  He’s acting like he isn’t the hero of the day.

  Wow. Just wow.

  Did I mention he’s perfect?

  oOoOoOo + O+O+O+O

  “I need a pee break,” Rox says after we climb out at the end of Snake River.

  The three of us stroll to the restrooms.

  “I’ll wait for you guys,” Brad The Bod says.

  Rox pauses at the entrance of the women’s room and says to me, “Are you coming?”

  “I don’t have to go,” I shrug.

  “What, did you pee in the pool?”

  “No!” I blurt. “I don’t have to go. I swear.”

  She flashes me a look before going inside.

  I smile at The Bod God, who is looking sexy as hell.

  “Hey, Nightlight!” somebody yells at my back.

  I recognize the voice.

  It isn’t Roxanne.

  I twist around and see Ashley Masters in a racy black bikini. With her luxurious blonde hair and bronze skin, which has to be a spray tan because it’s too perfect, she looks amazing. As in, effortlessly gorgeous. I don’t know how she does it. She goes to North Valley High School with me and Roxanne. Ashley is a total bitch. I hate it when she calls me “Nightlight.” It makes me sound like I’m still a baby who sleeps with a nightlight and a security blankie or something.

  “Hey, Ashley,” I groan.

  “Is this your boyfriend?” she sneers as she stops in front of us.

  Mr. Miracle cocks his head at Ashley, “‘Sup.”

  “My mistake,” Ashley says as she gets a good look at Brad The Bod, “he’s too handsome to be dating the likes of you. Are you paying him to stand near you?”

  Bitch! I wish I’d sharpened my claws when I got out of bed this morning. I need to take lessons from that Wolverine guy that Hugh Jackman plays in the X-Men movies. Since I don’t have switchclaws, I’ll have to do my cutting with clever and incisive words. “Uhhh…” What can I say? I’m never good in a showdown when it involves Ashley Masters. I hate her.

  “Since this hunk couldn’t possibly be your boyfriend,” Ashley gloats, “maybe he’d like to ride a raft through the Tunnel Of Love with me?”

  OMG. Really? She can’t be serious. I didn’t think she was this bold.

  I glance nervously at Mr. Miracle.

  Is he eyeing Ashley like the prize that she is? Is he going to drop me like an ugly rock, you know, the kind that’s the opposite of hot? Will he forget about me completely and walk off into the sunset with Ashley Masters instead of me? Or is he trying to think of something cutting he can say, so that he and Ashley can double-team diss me when I’m down?

  He opens his mouth to speak.

  I wince in anticipation of the diss and my heart’s demise.

  “I paid her to stand next to me,” he winks at me.

  That’ll work.

  “Well,” Ashley snivels, “whatever she paid, I’ll pay triple.” Everybody in school knows that Ashely’s parents are loaded. “How about that ride on the Tunnel Of Love?”

  “Naw,” The Bod God dismisses her with a chuckle. “Me and her are together.”

  Together? Me and him? As in boyfriend-girlfriend? Am I reading too much into this?

  Ashley scowls at me, �
��There’s no way this hunk is with junk like you.”

  The Bod God drapes his arm around my shoulder and smirks at Ashley, “One woman’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

  Wait, was that him making a move? Or is he just doing it to annoy Ashley? I don’t know. I’m not in his head. It doesn’t matter because the disgusted sneer darkening Ashley’s face is the most wonderful thing I’ve seen all day. I couldn’t be happier. The thrill that shoots through my heart elevates my mood into a verified flight of fancy. All of my attention is riveted to where his skin kisses mine. Did I say kiss? I meant touch. His muscled arm feels pleasantly warm against my shoulders. Or is that just me heating up? It’s impossible to tell. With all this skin-to-skin contact, I can’t help but wonder what would it be like to be Mr. Miracle’s girlfriend? A miracle? Obvi. I hope he keeps his arm around me for at least the next five hours.

  A couple of girls walk up behind Ashley.

  Monica Webb and Brittany Price. Both will be seniors at North Valley this fall, just like me and Ashley. They also wear bikinis, but neither look as good as Ashley.

  “Hey, Monica,” I say softly. “Hey, Brittany.”

  They both gawk at Mr. Miracle and say “Hey,” like they’re hypnotized by his hotness, which they obviously are.

  Ashley glares at them. “We were leaving,” she commands.

  Monica and Brittany both look unsure of themselves, but neither are in a hurry to go anywhere.

  “Let’s go,” Ashley barks and storms off.

  Monica and Brittany stumble after her, but they both glance back at Mr. Miracle longingly.

  Suck it, bitches!! His arm is around me!!

  And now it’s not. It slides away like treasure slipping through my fingers. Dang it.

  “That chick was a piece of work,” The Bod God chuckles.

  A moment later, Rox walks out of the restroom. “Did I miss anything?”

  “Only an appearance by Ashley Masters,” I groan.

  Rox grimaces and rolls her eyes. “She’s here? I hate that bitch. Let’s go before she comes back and ruins our fun.”