Hope you enjoy.
All characters in this story are fictional and at least 18 years old.
*****
I couldn't sleep. Try as I might, I simply couldn't get Seth out of my head. Part of my brain reprimanded me for letting him get to me so much. As cocky as he made himself out to be, there was something charming about him. I groaned. How many other girls had felt like this around him? Plenty, I'm sure. While Staci wasn't shy about her sexual prowess, I'd be willing to bet that she wouldn't go to the tracks with just anyone. There was something about Seth, and I had to acknowledge that, whether I wanted to or not. Of course, him being my stepbrother added another problem. While we didn't know each other very well at all, we still had that title. We shared no blood relation; no sort of any relationship whatsoever, but I had to remind myself that he was as off-limits as they could come.
Ugh. This whole situation was confusing. Then, thinking to myself, I realized that it wasn't as big of a deal as I was making it out to be. Seth was probably fast asleep on the couch, not having any semblance of the internal dilemma that I was currently experiencing. How was that even fair?
I laid on my back and stared up at the ceiling, trying - unsuccessfully - to turn my brain off and go to bed. But I wasn't tired; I was more awake in the middle of the night than I had been during the day. I was excited as I remembered the way that Seth had looked at me before we parted ways. I was typically oblivious to any sort of male attention; not that I was unattractive, but flirting was just never the first thing I thought about. Seth didn't attempt to be coy at all, and his brazen attention made me feel wanted - another feeling I wasn't completely immune to, just didn't experience very often. What was he doing to me?
Laying in his bed, underneath the sheets that I prayed to God were actually clean and not simply Febreeze-washed, my constant thoughts of Seth were making me warm. Kicking off the covers I lay there, his shirt settling just above the waistband of my underwear. The ceiling fan spun and spun but I had no relief. I was so warm.
"Jesus Christ it's hot as Hell in here." What I really wanted was some water, but that meant having to cross through the living room to the kitchen and I had no idea where anything was. The last thing I wanted was to wake Seth up by making a ton of noise... but lord I was hot.
I'll just be really quiet, I thought to myself.
Opening the door, I padded gently down the dark hallway, seeing the glow from the television in the living room. I wondered if Seth fell asleep with it on or was having as hard of a time falling asleep as I was. My heart started to beat quickly; thinking about him being awake and having him see me in his shirt again. I was excited. I'd never been this bold before.
When the hallway opened up to the living room, I peered around the corner to see if he was asleep. Sure enough, there he was - one arm tucked under his head, the other hanging off the sofa, and his mouth slightly open. The green crocheted blanket lay on his hips, his chest blue from the glow of the television, his taut muscles extended from lying down. Jesus he was handsome.
At that moment, anger welled up inside of me. How on earth was it fair that one of the few boys that I was actually attracted to in this town had to be my fucking stepbrother? It wasn't like I had a whole lot of options to work with. As quickly as the anger had come on, it subsided and was replaced with self-pity. Even if my dad had married anybody else and Seth hadn't become my stepbrother, the likelihood of him wanting anything to do with me was slim to none. Not when there are the Staci's of the world.
Dejected, exhaustion finally came to me. Still thirsty, I crossed in front of the coffee table to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and head back to the bedroom. Sleep would come easy now. Standing in front of the sink, I put my hands on my hips, wondering where the heck glasses could be. Every house is different and I wanted to try and make as little noise as possible so as not to wake Seth.
Opening the cabinet on the left of the sink, I found mixing bowls and the like. Shutting it quietly, I opened the right cabinet door and found what I was looking for. However, despite my 5'8" height, the glasses were on the very top shelf, and even tiptoeing, I could barely touch them. As I was contemplating hopping up onto the counter to grab one, I felt a hand on my back as Seth reached above me to grab a glass.
Wordlessly, he handed it to me, leaning against the kitchen doorway.
"Thank you," I said, hyperaware of his close proximity, the green blanket wrapped around his waist to hide his naked pajamas. "I didn't mean to wake you up."
He chuckled, his voice throaty from sleep. "I didn't mind."
Feeling awkward, I shrugged my shoulders. "I was thirsty. Your room was kind of warm and I couldn't really sleep." Turning away from his eyes, which hadn't left mine, I went to the sink and filled my cup with water, quickly downing my glass. A breath escaped me after I finished.
"Is that the only reason you couldn't go to sleep?" he asked.
My breath hitched. Looking at him, I realized this wasn't the cocky Seth from earlier. There was something else, a reason for his gaze; a reason for his question.
"No," I answered honestly, surprised at myself. "I can't stop thinking. My brain won't relax."
"What are you thinking about?"
My heart began to race. There were a million things that I could say and they all revolved around him. Some were safer than others, so I decided to stay vague. "You."
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "What about me?" His eyes stayed closed, which I was grateful for. I was acting out of character but I wouldn't be able to keep it up had he kept his gaze on me.
I stayed silent for a moment, trying to decide just what I should say. Finally I answered, "I was thinking about our parents' marriage."
He opened his eyes, confused. I explained. "Had our parents not gotten married, we wouldn't have known each other, never would have talked; I wouldn't be in your kitchen or in your t-shirt..." I trailed off before I could get myself in any trouble.
Another deep breath. "Anything else?" he asked.
Why was he so curious? I asked him so. For the first time since our conversation, he broke eye contact with me, crossing his arms and looking at nothing on the ceiling, searching for the right words to say. Whatever he was looking for, he found, as a smile spread across his face, catching his dimples.
"Just wondering, 's all."
I couldn't help but laugh, despite my frustration. "Oh come on! I told you and you're going to cheat like that? That's not fair!"
He laughed. "Life's not fair."
