Almost Stepbrothers

Chapter Five: Not Impressed

Robyn

I might have been lying when I said I’d seen better. I’d seen a few good looking male bodies in my figure drawing class and lots of fit men at the dojo, but his perfectly sculpted chest was next level. I wonder what he did to keep that physique?

No, I needed to put Jack out of my mind. First of all, the guy was a total tool. Clearly he didn’t like us, and he didn’t want us here, and he wasn’t even trying to hide it. Second of all, I didn’t have the time or the energy to be distracted by a hot body and a handsome face, especially not one that would only be in my life for such a short time.

Focus, Robyn, focus.

I sighed and flopped down on the bed. It was extremely springy and bouncy, like it had never been slept in before.

It was hard to settle down and fall asleep in a strange bed in a strange room. The house made weird noises. I could hear the hum of the central air, I could hear Phoenix moving around through the wall that separated our rooms. I could hear the muted sounds of traffic, and a dog barking somewhere down the street. On top of that, the bedding smelled weird, like some kind of strong,flowery fabric softener, and blankets weren’t heavy enough to calm my nerves.

I used to have a weighted blanket, but it had gotten lost somewhere, in one of our many moves.

All of these things were like sandpaper assaulting my senses. I reached for my phone and found my white-noise playlist. I selected my favorite Tibetan singing bowls and rain and turned up the volume until I no longer noticed the other sounds. I tried to lay still and focus on my breathing. But even with all that it was still after 2:00AM when I finally dropped off to sleep.

I never needed to set an alarm. My body naturally jerked me awake at six. Just once I wished I could have a long, lazy sleep-in, but that hadn’t happened since before my dad had been murdered. With a tired sigh, I untangled myself from the bed and shuffled to the door. Just as I stepped out of my room, Phoenix was coming out of the bathroom in a billow of steam. He was wearing nothing but a towel slung loosely around his hips.

“Good morning, Robyn. You are up bright and early!” He flashed me a sexy smile, which I didn’t return. He was entirely too cheerful. I may have been awake at six in the morning, but I wasn’t friendly.

Phoenix’s bulky body blocked my path to the bathroom, so I had no choice but to look at him. He was jacked, with big, bulgy muscles and a perfectly hairless chest. He had the same gothic angel of death tattoo as his brother, but his was situated over his chest. Noticing where my eyes had landed, he flexed his pectoral muscles and grinned.

I gave him the stink eye. I bet he fancied himself god’s gift to women or something. Well, he didn’t impress me. Especially not at six in the morning, when I’d had very little sleep, and I really needed to pee.

“My mom said there is a gym in the house,” I said flatly. “Could you direct me?”

“Oh yeah. It’s in the basement. Give me a minute to get dressed and I’ll show you.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled. I finished my business in the bathroom and then went back into the room to change into my workout clothes. Nothing fancy, just a pair of bike shorts and a tank top over a sports bra. I untangled my hair and piled it on top of my head. I grabbed my favorite stainless steel water bottle and my journal and waited in the hallway for Phoenix.

He came out of his room clearly dressed for the office. He even had a tie on, which looked really ridiculous and out of place on him. The dress shirt was so tight around his biceps I wondered how he didn’t just split them any time he bent his arm at the elbow.

He gave me another friendly smile and led me down the stairs and behind the kitchen to another door which led to the basement stairs. He flicked on the lights and I followed him into the finished underground level. There was a mini bar and lounge set up, with leather couches and large screen TV mounted on the wall. In the opposite direction was a glass walled home gym. There was a variety of equipment inside, including a treadmill, stationary bike and rowing machine, as well as a variety of free weights.

“Well Robyn, does it meet your standards?” he asked me, and I couldn’t tell if he was truly curious, or if he was making fun of me.

“It’s fine. Thanks.” He had been nice enough to show me the way, so I dug down deep and tried again. “Have a good day at work.”

He flashed me another smile, and of course, the man had dimples. Like it wasn’t enough that he had that body, he had to add the most charming smile on top of it. I was relieved when he finally left me alone in the gym. I made a notation in my journal and climbed onto the bike. I had to make some adjustments for my short legs before putting my earbuds in. I started my playlist and started to pedal through a hill course, with the resistance turned up almost to max.

Exercising my body was one of the things that kept me sane. There was so much in life I couldn’t control, but I could control my body. I could push myself harder and faster, I could lift heavier, I could add more reps. I hated it, and I loved it at the same time. I did 20 minutes on the bike before I did my stretching routine. I hit the weights until my muscles were trembling and begging for mercy. And finally, I moved in front of the mirrors to practice my katas. By the time I was done I was sweaty and exhausted, but I was also calm and relaxed. My racing thoughts had quieted, for the moment, and my mood was about 400% better. I almost felt human.

After putting my soiled towel in the hamper I sprayed down the equipment with the disinfectant that was on the back table before I headed back upstairs to the ground floor. I pulled a hoodie over my tank top before I found my mom and the professor in the kitchen sipping coffee and eating bowls of oatmeal.

“Good morning sweetheart,” my mother smiled at me. She was dressed for work in one of her proper secretary pantsuits and her hair was styled nicely.

She looked so happy that I thought maybe it was worth enduring all this awkward discomfort.

“Phoenix told us you found the gym this morning.” She wrinkled her nose at me, as she found exercise and anything that made her sweaty extremely distasteful. “Did you have a good workout?”

“It was fine,” I said with a shrug. I pulled open the fridge, not caring that it wasn’t my house. If I was going to live here, I was going to make myself at home. “Do we have any lemons?”

“Um,” Andrew scratched his balding head. “The housekeeper does the shopping. If there is something special you need, just add it to the list on the side of the fridge.”

I dug through the produce bin until I turned up one shriveled lemon that looked like it was about two months old. I added lemons to the list on the fridge and then squeezed the little juice I could extract from old fruit into my water bottle.

“Would you like some oatmeal?” Andrew asked. I could tell he was trying really hard to be nice to me, probably in some misguided attempt to impress my mom.

I could have told him he didn’t need to try so hard.

“No thanks,”. I took a long drink from my bottle. “I don’t eat breakfast.”

I saw the look that passed between my mother and the professor, but I chose to ignore it. What I ate and when I ate was really not their business. “What are you doing today?” I asked my mother.

She made a face, “I’m headed into the office. And Andrew has classes today. Will you be okay here by yourself?”

I rolled my eyes, “I’m a big girl mom, and I’ve got my own stuff to work on.”

“That’s right!” The professor set aside his bowl. “Your mother tells me you want to be a writer. I’d love to read your work sometime.”

“I am a writer,” I corrected him quietly. I wasn’t trying to be anything.

“Oh, I don’t think so Andy,” my mother jumped in quickie and dropped her voice like she was revealing classified secrets. “She doesn't let anyone read her stories.”

There was a very good reason for that. I tried to keep my face perfectly straight. Somehow I didn’t think the stuffy professor would really approve of the steamy romance novels I was writing.

I gave him a half smile and decided to make an exit before they started prying into exactly what genres I was working in. “Thanks anyway, professor. Have a good day mom.” I leaned down and kissed her smooth cheek, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume, and then made for the door. I had been thrown off my schedule by the moving-in ordeal, and I had a lot of work to make up.

At least I had been spared an awkward family breakfast scene with the professor’s sons.