THE FORBIDDEN STEP-SIBLING AFFAIR

Chapter 6: I don't need a step-dad

Ivy

The day lived up to the expectations it had shown earlier that morning, a good day. Less class work and more fun and games, lovely interaction. At the peak of it, our Cheer leader training session that turned into a dancing competition and attracted a much bigger crowd than usual and those who could, used the opportunity to shine and showcased their dancing skills on the dance floor just not me, I was seated by the side cheering them, occasionally getting lost in a whirlpool of thoughts, desires and mood swings. Ophelia's effect with her s*x talk. She had instigated a debate in me.

What was I missing? Did I really need to change who I was to get to enjoy life like everyone else or what? Sure, I liked being the friendly neighborhood church girl, student leader with good grades and likable both at school and church but turns out that was making me miss out on a tone s**t of teenage stuff not to mention it was my last teenage year in high school. College was around the corner and in matters of romance I was green. Anyone who was going to have me was going to lay the foundation of my belief in love matters and you might agree with me no one wanted the likes of Ethan as their first. He needed someone used to having their hearts broken and good at giving blow jobs, hand jobs you name it. Until then my dad's death had been the most heartbreaking incident in my life and I was not intending to feel like that again. And yet Selena Gomez wasn’t high when she said "the heart wants what it wants"

"b***h that was super fun too bad you got two left feet" we were walking to the car, a day of fun had ended, time to go home and grumble with my mother. I was really hoping the nurse in charge sent her on the night shift, too bad she was the nurse in charge.

"Instead of insulting my feet just say I'm not good at dancing"

"And miss the opportunity to tease you. Naah, but you know I love you right?"

"That's for sure, you have an awkward way of showing it" I said scrolling on my phone.

"Don't freak out but I think your possible daddy is looking for you"

"What?"

When I raised my gaze Coach Watson was walking towards us, in his black with white stripes tracksuit. There was no guarantee he was looking for me but maybe unlike the son he was not going to assume everything was okay between us. As he got closer Ophelia and I seemed to be walking backwards.

"Good evening girls"

"Good evening Coach" this time I chose to be talkative one just to show him how much pissed I was.

"Good evening" Ophelia said making herself scarce.

"I'll assume her leaving means you want to talk. Come on, my office" He said walking past me.

I gave Ophelia my bag pack and briskly walked after him, jogging a little to match his pace. His strides were long and he looked more fit than half the boys in the school. Climate change was not our only disaster in the making, obesity too. The games department was at the field area and his office had trophies and foot balls, framed in glass probably signed by his fellow pro-footballers. There were also pictures of the team hanging on the walls, and another set of framed shirts of prominent football stars. His desk, wooden and vanished to perfection was in the middle of the office with a tray of papers, some office accessories such as a laptop, printer, stapler and paper punch. A long black leather rotating C-suite chair behind the desk on which he sat and rummaged through the drawers, no idea what he was looking for. Behind him was a large floor to ceiling glass window directly opposite the field, on his left a shelf of books and files and also what seemed like a strategy board. White, a replica of a standard football field with black and white circular rings hanging on it.

"Please, take a seat" he showed me a couch

"I'd rather stand"

My confidence probably confused with aggression caught his attention. For the first time he looked at me, his elbows resting on his desk forming a triangle with his arms. Now that was a posture for some serious talk because that's why I was there.

"You seem angry at me"

"Let's see, you lied about having a flu and missed your team’s performance only to be found kissing someone's mother in their living room. Bravo! Am not mad”

Can you believe that good-looking bastard just chuckled and took a swing on his chair as though the words I said were music to his ears. He was either dumb or he didn't care much.

"Ooh, is that funny?"

"No. It's just that you're so much like her. Very confident, I don't know so many girls who'd confront their mother’s boyfriend"

"How long?"

Coach didn't see that coming and I could tell from the look of despair in his eyes he really didn't want to go behind my mum's back and say something he wasn't supposed to say. Then why on earth did he ask to meet? He should just have ignored me like his son after all they say like father like son, right?

"First time I saw her was during the parents meeting, lively, a spark like no other in her eyes and of course no surprise, hot" he took a quick glance at me then got on his feet, grabbed a ball from his stash, "Then whenever my boys got injured and had to be transferred to the hospital she was always there, concerned, making my work easier and we started interacting a lot. She just melted the impenetrable sheet of ice around my heart..."

"For crying out loud coach this is not another episode of how I met your mother! How long have you been sleeping together secretly?"

Maybe with more detail he was going to stop hitting around the bush and tell the truth. Which I did know what to do with, another reason of being careful what you wish for. The truth only sets free the ones holding it hostage, the recipient not so much.

"Not so long..."

"How long is not so long coach?" My arms were tucked, I meant serious business.

"Bethany will kill me for this. You know I asked you here so I can apologize. Me for one wanted you to know but she insisted on keeping it a secret because of your reaction and from the look of things she was right"

"Yeah she called me childish, thank you for the compliment but you still haven't answered my question"

"Two, three months"

"You're not even sure. Coach this is my mum, she is not another girl on your hit list"

"I was telling you about how she melted the thick sheet of ice around my heart. Since my wife died I have never felt this good about a woman like I feel for her. You make it look like am taking advantage of her but that's not the case, we like each other very much. Just two people who thought had lost everything but then fate gave us a second chance"

Until he said those words I had forgotten the fact that Ethan's mum had passed away. While that made us at least similar it also changed everything. Coach sounded genuine about his feelings towards my mother. When you have the self-proclaimed human truth meter, Dr. Ophelia, PhD… sorry ADHD as a friend you pick a few tricks in reading people. I felt guilty really. Once again, my needs were going to deny my own mother her happiness, she had craved for long to be happy but as long as I was my selfish little self didn't care about her. Hopefully it was just a fling because one thing with men and boys, this one is universal truth, they are all good actors and they can lie.

"Don't worry, mum will not know about this meeting. But you should know my father left us sorted out for life, that's why we can afford this outrageously expensive school anyway. I don't need a step-father coach stick to coaching and not poaching!"

He didn't say a word to me as I walked out of his office and banged the door. It was time to find out how mum felt about him. What if she was the one taking advantage of a handsome single dad? Don't give me that look, we both know it's possible nowadays. It's a crazy world, lucky Dube sang.

****

Ethan

After school the boys and I stopped by the pizza joint in town as it was our tradition on Fridays. We took our usual table at the entrance opposite the busiest street, from there we could see everyone passing, cool cars, hot girls. The place was filled to the brim, waitresses were on their toes trying to meet the order demands as more customers kept coming in.

"Tests like heaven" Vic was in his second piece, the rest of us on our first. Every group of more than two has that avid eater, ours was Vic. If a zombie apocalypse was to hit us he was definitely going to eat the hell out of us all.

"Dude you were starving" Mocked Doug who was left frozen just looking at him.

"Let a brother eat. Anything fun for the weekend lads? I can't imagine seating at home with my dad" Jake complained. Which was ironical since his dad was always in the sky, the real definition of airplane mode.

They had no idea how much I wished my dad was so involved in my business like theirs were. One man's meat is another man’s poison, remember to be grateful. You want to own car but someone else wishes they had legs to walk.

"Jake's right man” Vic said wiping his mouth.

"Relax boys. As the Leader of the group I got you covered" he spoke through a mouthful of pizza in his bulging mouth, we had all eyes on him especially because of the leader part.

"Wait a minute, I thought am the leader of this group. I started it" argued Vic.

"Ethan is the leader of this group, everyone knows that" Jake, after letting me down earlier on was looking for unnecessary forgiveness.

"Why does Ethan get to be the leader?" Doug was done with chewing, "I don't remember us voting him in, this group is a democracy"

"Exactly" Vic seconded.

"He is what in lycanthropy we call true Alpha"

I was yet to say something about being the leader of the group which I was but we just loved to argue amongst ourselves. You should have found us arguing about the craziest of things.

"Elaborate, not all of us want to be vets here mate" mocked Doug.

"He rose to his position by sheer will, without trying too hard"

"What the vet is trying to say is, Ethan is more popular than the rest of us. So, Doug what do you got for us?"

"Four tickets to the Hillside Panther's game this weekend"

"Now you talking. As leader I appoint you leader for the weekend" I said taking my own ticket.

Jake grabbed his and went to clear the bill as we walked outside the pizza joint.

"You serious? What are the privileges of being leader?"

"You get the hottest chic in the group" Vic said circling his arm around Doug's shoulder. He looked at me for assurance.

"Yeah, that's it among other things like paying for drinks"

"Assholes, you screwed me!"

"See you tomorrow Doug!" I shouted getting into my Subaru outback.

The game would be a date with destiny, as a familiar face would come back to town. Time to peel back the mask of pain.