"Andrew, why don't you take Katie with you to the beach?"
Katie almost sprayed her orange juice over her cereal as she swung around on the kitchen stool to glare at her mum.
"Mum!" she cried, giving her mother an agonised look, which was blatantly ignored.
"What?" replied Patty. "It's a lovely day, and I don't think your brother or Adam would mind you tagging along."
Katie had never told anyone about her crush on Adam, who at twenty-two, was dark haired, tanned and gorgeous. He and her stepbrother Drew often worked out together at the uni gym after classes, and she would hang around the house after college hoping to catch sight of them in their sweats. All her friends told her Drew was the cutest of the pair with his tousled blonde hair and devilish green eyes, and even though she secretly agreed, the fact that their parents have been married for four years put him firmly in the unobtainable category.
Drew gave Katie a considering look, crossing his arms over his broad chest as he looked her up and down. Katie knew she must look a sight, sitting in her tight pink singlet and PJ bottoms with her golden hair caught up in a ponytail. She stuck out her tongue at him, but he merely smiled in that cool way that made her feel like a five-year-old.
"Nah," he said after a casual inspection that sent a strange shiver through her. "I doubt Katie would like the beach where we're going."
"Aren't I cool enough to hang out with you guys?" she asked with raised eyebrow, and caught her breath as he leaned across her to grab the cereal box before her, his tanned forearm brushing against her breast. She couldn't help blushing as she felt the rosy tip tighten as she jerked back from him. She gulped down another bite of cereal, praying he or her mum hadn't noticed.
He tugged gently on her ponytail as he sat down on the kitchen stool beside her and took a handful of cereal from the box and munched on it. He was close enough that she felt crowded and uncomfortable, and she squirmed on her stool.
"Gross," she mouthed to him before turning back and giving her soggy cereal all her attention. She hated the effect he seemed to have on her without him realising it, his playful caresses or casual touches that either made her belly clench or make her long to hit him.
"She can come if she wants, Patty. I doubt Adam would mind. But she has to do what we say, and not ask to come home early. We plan on spending most of the day there."
"You can manage that, can't you, honey?" Patty smiled as she put the forgotten milk carton back in the fridge. "You could take a book or your mp3 player."
She knew when her mum wanted something, there was no stopping her. She would nag and nag until she got it. Katie turned narrowed blue eyes on Drew. He merely returned her filthy look with a half-smile, a challenge in his dark green eyes.
"Fine," Katie said, turning away from him and sliding off her stool to take her bowl to the sink. She stumbled on the hem off her PJ bottoms, but Drew's swift response as his warm hands spanning her tiny waist as he steadied her saved her from falling. She was unable to speak, her body reacting to the feel of his thumbs brushing the undersides of her breasts. Her lips parted as he gently squeezed her waist before finally letting her go, and she swiftly dumped her plate in the sink before heading for the stairs, unable to meet his eyes.
"I'm leaving in ten, meet you outside," he called out after her.
***
Katie had a lightening fast shower, pulled on her favourite blue bikini and shimmied into tiny white shorts. She slipped on a striped t-shirt that had a habit of slipping off her shoulder, slid her feet into a pair of sandals and grabbed the essentials.
Drew was leaning against the passenger door when she made it outside, and she felt a shiver race through her as he gazed at her up and down, his expression hidden by a pair of dark shades. He opened the door for her and she climbed in, tossing her satchel onto the back seat.
They didn't speak as he drove over to Adam's place, and she gazed unseeing out the window as familiar scenery flashed by. Black Betty blasted out of the radio as they drew to a halt outside of Adam's two story townhouse that he shared with a bunch of uni students, and Drew put his hand on the horn.
"In the back." Drew motioned with his thumb to Katie as Adam strode casually down the path, wearing nothing but a pair of board shorts. Katie's tummy fluttered as she climbed through the middle of the seats, unaware of how the sight of her cute butt wiggling between the seats had on the men as Adam climbed into the car.
"Hey, Katie," was all Adam said, before gazing across at Drew with a raised eyebrow. "Change of plans?"
"Hi," she replied shyly, buckling up her seat belt.
"Patty's suggestion, and no," was all Drew said, and Adam laughed.
Katie ignored them, and they drove on in silence, listening to the blaring of the radio.
After what seemed an age, she uncapped the lid of her water bottle and took a sip. They were passing all the turn-offs for the northern beaches she usually hung out at with her friends, and she wondered where they were heading. "Which beach are we going to?"
"I doubt you've heard of it," Drew replied, and Katie pouted.
"I'm not a kid, Drew. I'm eighteen. So stop treating me like one."
"We'll see."