What're You Doing Stepbro?

Chapter 2

We looked to the door as Sylvia walked in on Cole’s arm, smiling brightly and waving excitedly at the both of us. It took everything in me to keep myself from staring at Cole with my mouth open. His brown hair fell just above his eyes, he was wearing black basketball shorts, and a black fitted cotton t-shirt. He had definitely buffed up. I thought he had stopped growing when he left, but he looked taller, he had to be at least 6’3.

He had been looking at and conversing with my dad while I unintentionally ogled him. While my dad was talking, Cole looked at me. I quickly looked away feeling ashamed. How could I check him out like that? What the hell was wrong with me?

Sylvia slipped in beside my dad, leaving the only place for Cole to sit beside me. I kept my eyes straight; I wasn’t going to look at him again during this dinner. Instead, I decided to focus on Sylvia.

“Isn’t my son just the most handsome?” She was looking right at me, expecting an answer. Well s**t, I guess I should have chosen to play on my phone.

I cleared my throat. “Um...yes.” I didn’t want to offend Sylvia, but maybe I should have, considering my response earned me a snicker from Cole. She looked satisfied and turned her attention to my dad, cooing to him about how she missed him. Sylvias had shown over the years that she really loved my father; I couldn’t have asked for a better stepmother.

I felt the booth shift under me as Cole leaned close to me. “You look good too.” he breathed in my ear. I could feel my face get hot, six years had passed, and he still teased me whenever he got the chance. I ignored him, I refused to give him the satisfaction. He leaned back away from me, picking up his menu to peruse it. I decided to do the same thing.

The waitress came back taking our orders. She seemed to give Cole the most attention. “Is there anything else you’d like, honey?” the waitress cooed flirtatiously.

“No.” Cole was cold like usual, giving her no further attention. I watched as she pouted and walked away feeling disappointed. I shook my head to myself; it looked like the only thing that changed were his looks. The conversation flowed effortlessly between my dad, Sylvia, and Cole. I kept to myself, letting them spend quality time together while I played solitaire on my phone.

About three games in, while we were still waiting for our food, I felt Cole’s hand rest on my thigh. I was shocked. I tried to push it off, but he held it there firmly, giving a couple gentle squeezes. I stopped trying to push his hand away, realizing he was way stronger than me. I guess it would be fine if he wasn’t going to hurt me. This is the most affectionate he had ever been. Maybe this was a step in the right direction.

I focused back on my game of solitaire, drowning out their conversation, and trying to ignore the warm hand on my thigh. I was doing well, my mind almost completely off of the situation, that was until Cole’s fingers started to softly stroke my inner thigh. I pushed my thighs together, ultimately trapping Cole’s hand in between my thighs. I looked up at him, my face surely red, to see him looking at our parents, a small smile playing on his lips. My dad and Sylvia were so wrapped up in their conversation that they didn’t notice anything out of the blue. I squeezed my legs tighter.

Cole leaned over to me again. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop.” His husky voice was low and hinted at amusement. I slowly let my legs spread, letting his hand go. He removed his hand from my thigh, placing it between us, resting it against the side of my thigh instead. I guess this was preferable to what he was doing before.

A few more minutes passed by before our food was placed in front of us. Cole and I may have looked at the menu, but we got the same thing we always got. Cole got a rack of ribs with loaded mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. I got a juicy bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries and a cup of their delicious tomato bisque soup. My mouth watered as the smell of the food wafted up to my face.

“Alright dig in everyone!” My father cheered as he dug into his fried chicken sandwich. Sylvia had decided on a taco salad that I didn’t even know they had on the menu. I picked up my burger, taking a huge bite. This place was known for their burgers. No other restaurant in town could beat them. As soon as it touched my tongue, I let out a contented sigh. I didn’t realize how hungry I’d been until our food came out.

Everyone ate in silence, an air of joy settled in between us. This restaurant was always a good choice, but we only ever come here for special occasions. After almost finishing my burger, I peeked over at Cole, he had finished his ribs, and his fingers were coated in sauce. He looked over at me, meeting my eyes as he licked them clean. I hurriedly looked back down at my plate, avoiding more awkward eye contact. He was acting so weird today. What was his deal? I decided to give my attention to my fries instead, dipping each one in the house-made buttermilk ranch. Maybe Cole was just acting weird because he was nervous about being gone for so long, at least that's the only thing I can think of.