Stepbrother Surrender: A Step Romance Novella Read Free Page B

and I fought the urge to rest my head against his chest.  I
pulled away suddenly and dropped my arms to my side.
     
     
               “Um,
yeah you do too” I ejected a dorky grunt.  My hands felt awkward so I started
playing with my hair and looking to the side.
     
     
               When
I lived with Brandon before, I never really cared about being seen in a
compromising situation in front of him. He’d seen me a million times walking
around in my pajamas with my hair up, or biting my nails as I aimlessly browsed
the internet; but now I’d felt myself becoming very self-conscious.
     
     
               How
do I look? Am I acting weird? I thought to myself frantically.
     
     
               These
insecurities had become kind of foreign over the years. I mean sure, I still
had plenty of flare ups when I somehow looked five pounds heavier or I had a
bad hair day, but I was very different from the one Brandon used to pick on.
     
     
               I
was nineteen now, in community college and I’d developed a full figure that was
approached often by guys way hotter than my younger self could have ever
dreamed.
     
     
               And
Brandon even seemed to notice that I was far from flat chested.  I had caught
his eyes wandering down to my cleavage just before we hugged.  At least I think that’s where he was looking. 
     
     
               While
I expected I’d looked different to him, I wondered if he had any idea how
different he looked to me .  His wide shoulders, tall strong
physique, blonde hair stubble and glowing green eyes took my breath away now
that they had evolved into a mature and rugged image.
     
     
               Brandon
even sported a couple of tattoos on his tanned arms and a dog tag around his neck
that sparked my curiosity.  I tried to forget about it.  He’s my stepbrother,
and that should be the end of it.
                “Hungry?” Dad asked him.
     
     
               “Yeah
I could definitely eat; Elle, you hungry?” Brandon asked, turning to me.
     
     
               I
looked deep into his eyes and nodded.  He had no idea just how hungry I
was.
              
                
               Chapter Two
     
               We
headed to a seafood restaurant near home that we used to go to when Brandon
lived with us.  I never cared for it, but I had a feeling I’d be fond of this
place now that the new and improved Brandon was with us.
     
     
               “Wow,
this place looks exactly the same” he joked as we followed the waitress to our
pirate-ship booth.  “Remember all the times we came here, Elle?”  I
remembered.  I remembered how he threw straw wrappers at me when I wasn’t
looking or kicked me under the table.  I remembered how he never got
reprimanded because Dad was too afraid to discipline someone else’s son.
     
     
                 
               “So
Brandon, I suppose you’re moving back here if you get this gig, huh?” Dad
inquired, scooting inside the seat.  My heart stopped at this news.  Brandon
moving back to Florida?
     
     
               “Yep,
it’s pretty exciting, huh?  It’s going to be nice to be back home,” Brandon
smiled across the table at me, as I wondered how he could ever think of Miami
as his home.
     
     
               I
must have looked awkward as his eyes met mine; deep, green and confident as
hell.  It was enough to make me slide down in my seat, uncertain of my own
newly acquired confidence.
     
     
               “So
Elle, what’s the 411 ?” he laughed.  “Dad says you’ve got a boyfriend and
you’re looking into going to Emory in the fall?” Brandon said.
     
     
               “Yeah,
pretty much” I said, laughing nervously as he peered into my eyes.
     
     
               I
was kicking myself inside.   Come on Elle.