STEPBROTHER: Bad Boy Blues (Taboo Romance) (4 page)

“S
o, Mom, can I go?” I asked her pleadingly that evening.

“No, you can’t,” she answered as she continued to wipe the plates, preparing them for dinner.

“But Mom, the whole school will be there,” I told her.  I wanted to throw a tantrum to express how much I really wanted to attend Emerson’s party.  But that was way out of my character.  She knew that I was never brattish.

“It’s too late in the evening,” she explained.  “You know we have rules.  Since you were small, we always had rules.  No staying up late.  No parties.  You’re a girl, and your safety is the most important thing for me.”

I was getting desperate.

“But what if someone would accompany me?” I remarked, hoping to change her mind.

She paused for a while and stared blankly outside through the kitchen window.  She was deep in thought.  There was hope.

“Who’ll accompany you?” she finally asked.  “Maggie?  She’s a girl too.  I don’t know how much safer you’ll be.”

“No, no... a guy,” I reasoned out.

“A guy?  Do you have a boyfriend, Betty?”

“No... of course not!  I was thinking... maybe... Darwin could go with me.”

“Darwin?” she asked in disbelief, visibly sniggering.  “You’ll ask him to accompany you?”

“Yeah.”

“Good luck with that!”  She wasn’t able to restrain her laughter anymore as she started to cackle.

“Does that mean that I can go, Mom?  If I’m able to convince Darwin to come with me?”

“Sure,” she answered, still chortling.

I left her at the kitchen and went to the living room.  I sat down on the couch and analyzed the situation.  Darwin was upstairs, resting in his room.  All I had to do was knock, ask him to go to Emerson’s party with me, beg him if necessary, and everything will be good.

However, knowing how inconsistent his behavior was caused some concerns.

If he was as kind and warmhearted as he was last night, then there was a good chance that I would be able to convince him to come.  If he was as conceited and self-absorbed as he was two days ago, things will be a little more difficult, but there was still a chance that he’d say yes.  But if he was as strange and uncivil as he was earlier in school, then my chances of attending Emerson’s party would be nil.

There was only one way to find out.

I took a deep breath, stood up, and proceeded to go upstairs.  Before I could even reach his room, however, I heard a very unusual sound. 

Darwin was singing.

Way out of tune at that!

Every rose has its thorn

Just like every night has its dawn

Just like every cowboys sings his sad, sad song

Every rose has its thorn

What the hell?  I thought he hated that song!

I put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing hysterically.  He was such a bad singer... singing the most banal song that I know!

I felt a tinge of nervousness, however, when a tingle crawled up my spine.  I didn’t realize the sensation, but I did know that Darwin’s attempt at crooning was rather... cute.

Was it fascination?  Was it admiration?  Or was it fear… fear of being enchanted by someone who is absolutely untouchable?

I didn’t want to dwell on such thoughts, so I immediately knocked on his door.

I heard him curse before a loud thud echoed in his room.  Did he fall from his bed?  I heard his heavy footsteps running towards the door.  He opened it, and he was just as surprised to see me as I was to see him, shirtless, probably naked, his body garbed by a mere towel...
a very skimpy towel
...

His body was glistening with sweat, thanks to the humid California weather in September.  Drops of his perspiration rolled from his strong neck towards his rock solid chest, downwards to his washboard abs, and further towards the brim of his white towel.  I swallowed some air in awe at the physical specimen before me.

“You need anything?” he asked quizzically.

I realized that my eyes were looking down on his body.  At the sound of his voice, my head quickly tilted up towards his eyes.  He was looking at me intently, with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Uhm...” I was at a loss for words.

“How long have you been there?” he questioned, a hint of anxiety in his tone.

An opening!

“Long enough to have heard you sing that ridiculous song!” I exclaimed.

He gulped as his eyes widened.  He was like a kid whose hand was caught inside the cookie jar.

“Yeah, about that,” he started, “I was just... it was just... it was just an LSS thing.”

“An LSS thing?” I questioned him suspiciously as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“I dunno why, but that song’s been playing in my head since we talked about it last night.”

“I see,” I said, as I began to titter.

“What?” he asked, noticing my snigger.

“Nothing,” I answered as I tried my best to refrain from guffawing too hard.

“Well, what do you want?”

“Uhm... are you free Saturday night?”

“We’re supposed to be siblings,” he answered as he squinted his eyes.

“What?  Why?  Oh... no... nothing like that!  It’s just that I want to attend a party, but Mom doesn’t want me to go there alone.  She said that if I could convince you to accompany me, I could go.”

He crossed his arms as he paused for a while.  He eyed me keenly, as if he was trying to determine if I was serious or not.

“Okay,” he finally said and my eyes lighted up.  “But...”

Shit!  There’s always a but.

“But what?” I asked, as my enthusiasm dissipated.

“But if I do this favor for you, you will owe me two favors in return.”

“Two favors?  For one?  Don’t you think that’s unfair?”

“It’s called leveraging for profit.  Basic business strategy.”

Given how capricious his moods are, I was fairly confident that he’d soon forget that I owed him those favors.

“Okay, you’ve got yourself a deal!” I acknowledged.

“Good.  What time is the party?”

“It starts at nine.  We could leave the house at around eight-thirty.”

“Okay then.”

Whew!  I never expected things to go that smoothly.

“Oh, by the way,” Darwin interposed.

He didn’t finish what he was saying as he went inside his room to get something, or so it seemed.  As he was away, I caught a whiff of the scent that emanated from his quarters... the smell of cigarette smoke and musk... very manly... very him...

He went back by the door and gave me a paper bag.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“I took the liberty to get your shoes from your room earlier.”

“My shoes?”

“The pair you wore for school today.”

“Why?”

“A strap came off.  I fixed it.”

He noticed that? 

“Fixed it?”

“Yup.  With Super Glue.  It should hold up for quite some time as long as you don’t drag your feet while walking... which you always do.”

He noticed that too?

“Uhm...” I struggled for words.  “Thank you?”

“Okay.  See you tomorrow.  Good night.”

He hurriedly shut his door.  I was left standing outside... paralyzed... tantalized.

He noticed.

All the while, he noticed.

After what seemed like minutes, I proceeded to my room with a giddy smile, humming a song that I hated... the same song that he sang so badly that it sounded like tumultuous noise... an irksome melody… a reminder of joy… a beautiful kind of chaos.

D
arwin arrived late for school the next morning.  He didn’t even bother to apologize to Ms. Tesmacher.  He just went straight to his seat next to mine.  He looked straight ahead, blankly starting at the blackboard.

He wasn’t planning on recognizing my presence again, that much I could tell.

I scribbled a note on a piece of paper and crumpled it.  I threw the scrunched up note on his desk.  He was surprised when it fell flatly in front of him.  He picked it up, unwrapped it, and read what was written.

Don’t forget your promise.  :P

He looked at me and smiled.  Then he mouthed something like “I’ll keep this note near my heart so I won’t forget.” 

What he did next shocked me.

He crumpled the piece of paper once again and threw it in his mouth.  He looked at me and winked.  Then he swallowed it.

I laughed so hard that I actually forgot I was in class.

“Miss Smith!” Ms. Tesmacher called out.  “Is there anything funny about the Salem Witch Trials?”

I looked at her as terror gripped my heart.  It was never my intention to disrespect her or her class.

“N-No Ma’am,” I struggled to answer, “it was just... I....”

Words escaped me.

“That’s very unbecoming of you, Miss Smith,” she continued.  “Of all my students in this class... nay, in this batch, you’re the one whom I least expected to be involved with such impudent mischief!”

I bowed my head in shame as I heard the class with their
oooohhhhhsss
.  They too, apparently, were in a state of disbelief.

Then suddenly...

“Nah... don’t be too tight, Ms. Assmuncher,” Darwin casually uttered, with his arms rested behind his neck and his feet planted on top of his table.

“W-What?” Ms. Tesmacher asked, with greater shock than the one I caused.  “What did you just say?”

“I said don’t be too tight, Ms. Assmuncher,” Darwin repeated with a wide grin.

“H-How dare you!” Ms. Tesmacher was livid.

“How dare me what?” Darwin replied as he shrugged.  “Ohhhh... I said something funny.  Don’t be too tight, Ms. Assmuncher... we can shorten it and say, don’t be a
tight ass
.”  He started laughing, and as if on cue, the entire class began to laugh with him.

I knew the trouble that Darwin was getting himself into.  I had to do something.

“Ms. Tesmacher,” I started to say, “please forgive Darw... please forgive my brother.  His medications are just starting to kick in.  The doctor warned us that he would act weirdly for a few hours after ingestion.”

Darwin gave me a perplexed look.

“What kind of medication?” Ms. Tesmacher asked.

“Uhm... for ADHD?” I hesitantly answered.

“What the fuck?!” Darwin immediately yelled.

Ms. Tesmacher eyed me earnestly, as if she was trying to determine if I was telling the truth or not.  Darwin was looking at me furiously.  I guess, for him, my poor excuse damaged his reputation.

“I see,” Ms. Tesmacher sighed.  “Very well, Betty.  Please accompany your brother to the clinic and stay there until the effects of his medication subsides.”

I nodded and hurriedly picked up my books and my bag and started towards the door.  Darwin refused to move.  I had to look back and signal him to come with me before he stood up and grumbled some words I didn’t understand.

He didn’t speak a single word on our way to the clinic.

I stopped in front of the nurse’s station but he continued to walk... away from me, towards the football field.

“Darwin,” I called him.  “We’re supposed to stay here.”

He didn’t even turn to look at me.  He continued on his way and I had no choice but to follow him.

We reached the field and he rested his back against the goal post.  He grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.  He drew a stick and lit it up.

“You’re not supposed to smoke inside the school’s premises,” I told him.

“We’re not supposed to do a lot of things,” he replied.  He still avoided facing me.

“What was that all about?” I asked him.

“What was what?”

“That stunt you pulled off in class.  That was highly disrespectful.”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“What?” I was appalled by what he said.  Is he insinuating that he did that for me?

“I had to do it,” he continued.  “You were in trouble.  I had to divert Ms. Assmuncher’s anger to me.”

“I could’ve handled it myself!”

“No.  You were stuttering.  You didn’t know what to do.  It was an entirely new experience for you.  You were never in that kind of trouble your entire life.”

He was right.  I never had problems like that in school.  I was always the donnish student who wallowed in anonymity and focused on my books.  Troublemaking was a concept that was alien to me.

“I’m a glass half-full kind of guy,” Darwin carried on.  “Something good came out of that... episode.”

“Yeah.  Like what?”

“A lesson learned.”

“What lesson did you learn?”

“Not for me.  For you.”

“Me?  And what lesson did I learn?  Do pray tell...”

“That you shouldn’t pass cutesy notes in class.”

“Oh, cutesy note?  That’s what it was for you, huh?  For your information, Sir, it was a simple reminder about accompanying me this Saturday evening...”

“A simple reminder with a smiley?”

I cleared my throat.  I didn’t think that the smiley I added at the end of the note would be given an entirely new meaning.

“What?” I asked cynically.  “It was just a polite postscript!”

He finished his stick and flicked the cigarette butt.  It flew all the way to a quarter of the field.

“Time to go back to class,” he said.  “The effects of my medication are gone.”  He gave me an angry look.

“About that... sorry,” I apologized.  “I had to say something and it was the first one that came to mind.”

“Yeah, yeah... now everyone thinks I’m like Bart Simpson.”

“Sorry,” I repeated.

“Give me your hand,” he suddenly ordered.

“What?  Why?”

“Give me your hand,” he repeated.

I extended my right hand and he took it with his.  His touch was warm, gentle... tenderly affectionate, yet possessing a grip with guarded strength that reflected his masculinity.

He studied my palm.  He tilted his head left and right as he tried to find a good angle.

He finally dropped my hand after what seemed like a minute or so.  Strangely enough, I felt a tad of disappointment as soon as his graze withdrew from my skin.

“Duality,” he remarked, out of nowhere.

“Duality?  What do you mean?”

“Your life is bound by duality.”

“What?  You can read fortunes now?”

“Yup.”

“Really?  Like since when?”

“My aunt thought me.  A long time ago.”

“So what’s this thing about duality?”

“You’ve got two lifelines, which is very uncommon.  Your lifelines intertwine at several points.  Your life is guided by two selves.  You are always conflicted.  You are always confused about which path you should take.”

The sudden depth of our conversation jolted me into speechlessness.

“In short,” he continued, “you’re a walking contradiction with a nice ass.”

He chuckled as he left the field and proceeded on his way back to class.

I was left by the goal post, watching him as he drifted away.  What he said about me... somehow it made sense.  I always felt that I was at the center of dissension, only to realize belatedly that such dispute was happening within myself.

Soon, Darwin disappeared from my sight, but the tepidity of his touch lingered on my hand.

Wait.  Did he just say that I had a nice ass?