Chapter 3

“I’ll help you with that” Aaron’s voice echoes, stopping her on her track

“Sure” she retorts. As she hears his chair squeak, she knows he has gotten up and is following her

The preparation for desert is done in silence. Cassie moves around putting pies in the different plates, while Aaron just stands by the dishwasher watching her, taking in her every movement, enjoying how her muscles tense up each time their eyes meet or she was in close proximity to him. It was a sight to see and he enjoyed every bit of it.

“You didn’t look happy about the fact my brother and I are moving into town” Aaron remarks, slowly tucking a loose portion of her hair behind her ear, making sure both their skins grazed each other

Cassie feels like jumping in the pool behind the house, her heart is beating faster, it is like she is definitely about to burn the house down with the heat of the moment

“Thanks…” she says moving away from him. She picks up the plates and hands them over to Aaron to help carry, considering he was actually there to help

“…And it was just a surprise that you two were moving here. There’s nothing about being happy or not, I’m just indifferent about it, that’s all”. For a split moment there is an awkward silence as she desperately tries to hide her embarrassment. She coughs out lightly as they walk back to the dining, knowing that Aaron’s eyes had remained fixated on her all along.

They all dig into the dessert whilst talking and catching up on different random stuff. Cassie still can’t completely control the heat building between her legs, but she manages to stop thinking about it as she is distracted by casual conversations with everyone at the table.

Time fly’s past and its nearly midnight before Aaron has a glance at his watch and they all realize. Mr. Adam and Alexander decide to retire for the night, leaving the boys to help Cassie clear the dishes. Being alone with them was something she had to begin to get used to, but damn it was near impossible to be okay with.

Alex turns his attention to the plates in the sink, while Aaron and Cassie clear the table, but each time she entered the kitchen to drop off plates at the sink, she would let herself get lost in her thoughts as she stared at Alex’s arms. With his sleeves folded neatly as if they were deliberately made that way, how his veins popped out as if they were rebelling against his flesh, how his hands moved so gently, a part of her wished she was the plates, and each time the thought crossed her mind, she would realize how far she had fallen.

Then back with Aaron, she could not be certain if he was purposely flirting with her or just being nice. How he would come close to her each time, not close enough for a true physical contact, but close enough for wave sending gazes. She liked it, she wanted more, so much more.

How could she be drooling over Alex, wishing she was each plate he washed, and dying to have Aaron touch her in the same breath? She needed this night to be over. She would hit up Jason, her no-strings-attached fuck buddy, first thing in the morning. She was certain that with one good fuck, which Jason was always certain to deliver, all these thoughts about her step brothers would vanish. But first she needed to survive this night.

They are finally done doing the dishes and clearing up when Aaron asks Cassie if they could watch tv. Trying to avoid any more awkward stare moments, she suggests they all just talked without their parents hovering around them, so doing it over crime documentaries wasn’t totally a bad idea. They settled in and chatted about basic stuff; work, friends, hobbies, relationship, dreams and childhood stories

The tension in the air had somehow vanished while they talked and got to know each other. Cassie enjoyed how Aaron and Alex listened to her each time she brought up a conversation, even when she realized she had totally derailed and was mumbling on about her new book she was working on. She loved how Alex would always remind her of the last thing she said when she suddenly stopped mid conversation, and Aaron would urge her to continue.

“So, why aren’t you two seeing anyone?” Cassie asks as the silence began to take over. It wasn’t awkward or weird, she just wanted to know

“We never said we weren’t seeing anyone” Alex interjects with a raised brow

“But you said weren’t in a relationship” Cassie defends

“Yes?”

“So, you’re seeing someone but not in a relationship? The both of you?” Cassie asked, now interested, and a little rather confused

“Yes, you get it now” Aaron says nodding his head in agreement

“That doesn’t make sense, I think. But why though?” she asks, now turning to the boys fully, giving them her undivided attention which they seem to fancy.

“I guess we’ve always had something missing” Alex says, his hands still folded across his chest, his eyes fixated on her like he wanted more to do with her in this very moment, than just have a conversation about his relationship status.

Cassie wonders why each one could conveniently speak for the other even when she asked direct questions and how they could be experiencing the same feeling or going through the same thing. It didn’t make much sense and all she could get out of it was that the boys were extremely close

“What’s that?” Cassie asks with curiosity

“We didn’t know for a while, but...” Alex starts to tell, but stops halfway like he is being remotely controlled

“But what?”

“We know now” Aaron helps him complete the sentence as both men keep their gaze on her like a prey fixated on its meal. If one didn’t know better, one could think they were both talking about her, the way they stared at her.

“Well good for you. I’m off to bed, tomorrow’s a long day for me” Cassie says getting up and stretching same time.

“Our room?” Aaron asks

“Oh yeah! Last room on your right, mine is just before yours, so no noise making alright? I really my love sleep” Cassie warns with a pout before saying a good night and heading upstairs.

“This would be harder than we imagined” Alex tells Aaron, turning to him with the softest eye’s one could have. His aura shifting from cold to vulnerable in a matter of seconds was magnificent, like a grown man who just turned into a child in a blink of an eye.

Aaron turns to him with a look of reassurance, and places his palms on the back of Alex’s hand. He exhales silently before breaking into a warm smile

“I know. Let’s distract ourselves with work, then address this when the time is right. Sounds good?”

“right” Alex replies with a sigh of relief

“Awesome. Let’s head up” Aarons says before the two get up, put off the tv and head up the stairs. It had been a pretty long day and they anticipated even longer days ahead