Series: Peach State Stepbros Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78418 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78418 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
I always come a lot, but this is even more than normal, and I know it’s because of how much I fucking enjoyed doing this.
I peek to see the chat group going wild with excitement over it.
Then I lean back in my chair, reveling in the delicious satisfaction.
Weird to think that one minute I’m worried I could be committing a Step Don’t, and the next I’m thinking about Colin right before I come.
Bet he’d give me hell for that one.
4
Colin
“What’s up?” I head into Troy’s room and collapse onto his bed. I just finished up in class for the day, and I have a small break before I have to be at one of my jobs. I should probably get started on my homework, but I’m pretty good at getting it done quickly. This shit comes naturally to me, like somehow it was ingrained into my DNA because I have lawyers as parents.
“Nothing. Finishing up homework.” Troy is sitting at his computer desk, wearing a crop top and jeans. I can only assume Atlas is busy since he’s not here.
“Yeah, I have work to do too. Where’s your boy?”
Troy gives me a sharp but playful look. “We’re not together all the time.”
“I never said you were.” I chuckle, walk over, and pick up a tee on his desk. There’s no doubt in my mind it’s Atlas’s. “But when he’s not here, you always have one of these.” I pull it to my face teasingly, before Troy pushes out of his chair and tackles me to his bed so he can wrestle it away.
I laugh, enjoying these times with him. When his elbow accidentally lands in my gut, I make an umpf sound and let go of the tee. “I give up.”
“No one is allowed to smell him but me.” He balls up the shirt and tucks it close to him.
“You’re so weird.”
“It’s hot.”
I shrug, not really getting it myself, but not one to kink shame.
“Where’s Ash?” Troy sits back down in the chair.
“He’s in class, and I’m chillin’ before work.”
“Atlas ran into him in the dining hall earlier. He said they had lunch together.”
“Look at our stepbros bonding.” I pick up the football Troy keeps by his nightstand, twisting it around in my hands. We played together in high school, and I loved it, but an injury sidelined him from playing college football.
“I definitely didn’t see that coming.”
It’s not like Atlas and Ash are besties. This is the first time they’ve done something like have lunch together, just the two of them. I would know otherwise. But Atlas has softened toward Ash over the past few weeks. Since Ash used to have a crush on Troy when he was tutoring him, he’d playfully flirt with Troy, and he even bid on him in an auction. No one knew Troy was hooking up with Atlas at the time. I’ve since learned that Atlas got a bit stabby about Ash because he used to want to bone Troy.
In some ways I get it. Like I said, I’m protective of my stepbrother too, though we clearly don’t have the same relationship as Atlas and Troy. It’s strange how it never really bothered me when Ash liked Troy—or maybe not so strange since I trust Troy wouldn’t have ever hurt him. If anything had gone down, it would have been a hookup and then that’s it.
“Atlas is practically a docile kitten now that he’s with you.” He is actually the opposite of that, but I also know there’s a softer side to him that he mostly only feels comfortable showing to Troy.
Troy lets out a laugh. “First, he absolutely is not, and second, don’t ever let him hear you say that.”
“I’m not scared of your boyfriend.” I flex my biceps, earning myself a shake of the head from Troy. “Hey, if you have time, you should come to the park with me.” Along with my part-time position at a local law office as a legal assistant, I teach small-group football lessons to middle schoolers. Ash had a hard time in middle school, and in a lot of ways, I did too. It’s when my parents separated, and Mom moved to North Carolina. I made the decision to stay in Georgia, and not long after, my dad and Ash’s mom were together. Getting close to Ash helped, but I know he had a harder time. I think he felt alone. Even though my mom moved, we’re still close and talk all the time. I spend holidays with her and my sister, Emily, and visit in the summer. My parents are the type who hug us all the time and make sure we know they love us. Ash’s parents love him, but they’re both hands-off. On top of that, he had bullying issues around the same time, and yeah, like I said, middle school wasn’t easy on him. I like the idea of being there for kids around the same age—giving them an outlet so they know they always have someone in their corner, like Ash might not have had if it wasn’t for me.