The Stepbrother (Red's Tavern 5)

Stupid. So stupid.

My heart was folding in on itself. I shoved the shirt down to the bottom of my suitcase, vowing to fix it in a few weeks, when I would probably have forgotten about how all of this felt, and I could sew it up and ship it off to him in New York.

By the time we arrived in San Francisco I was exhausted. We spent one night in Vegas, the night after Fox left, and I’d never felt so empty in my life. Vegas should have been fun, but instead I found myself hanging back with Logan and Cocoa in the hotel room while everyone else went out to have a good time at the slot machines.

And for the first time since before the trip, I found myself checking my phone way too damn often. At first I thought it was just because I was bored in the hotel room, checking my notifications and hoping to see likes, comments, or messages from friends. But then later, I kept doing it. Even at night.

I was waiting for a text from Fox. And even the day after he left, I’d heard nothing. I rode with Greg in Fox’s RV for the entire trip to San Francisco, and by the time we got there, I still had received nothing from Fox. When we pulled our RVs into a beautiful spot near the water in the bay, Greg finally piped up, saying Fox had texted him to let him know he arrived safe.

I glanced down at my phone to see the same generic text from him.

>>Fox: Made it to New York safe this morning after a red-eye flight. All good here. -F

It was impersonal, just like all of the things he used to send to his father.

I got out of the RV, breathing in the cool, seaside air of the bay.

“It’s incredible,” Mom said, stepping up beside me as we both looked out at the grey-blue misty water.

“It really is,” I said.

She put her hand on my back, rubbing a small circle there. “You finally made it, sweetie,” she said softly. “You’ve wanted to be here for so long.”

“I’m here,” I said.

“Did you see all of the pride flags on the drive in?” she asked. “So damn cool.”

“I even saw a pride flag on one of the boats,” I said. “I love it. They’re everywhere.”

“Enjoy yourself, sweetie,” Mom said, leaning in to give me a quick, tight hug. “We’re here for two nights. Don’t be down about Fox, okay?”

I glanced at her, shaking my head. “I’m not down about Fox.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I think we all are,” she said. “But you probably the most.”

“I don’t care that he’s gone,” I said, waving a hand.

“Hun,” she said, in a tone that meant she doubted the hell out of me.

“I expected that from him, anyway.”

“Maybe,” Mom said. “But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck. You two really seemed to forge a bond on this trip.”

I snorted. “Not a bond.”

“I saw the two of you like peas in a pod,” Mom said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I mean, other than with some of your ex-boyfriends.”

“Mom, I’ve had close friends, too,” I said. “Lots of them. I’ve had plenty of... bonds.”

“I know, I know,” she said. “I’m just saying, it seemed special. And then he just took off.”

I kept silent, just listening to the sound of the air in the trees behind us and the occasional seagull by the bay.

“I need to have fun tonight. I’m going to go out to the clubs,” I said, veering the topic as far away from Fox as I could. “I’m not going to check my phone, and I’m not going to fall for a single fuckboy.”

Mom laughed softly. “I think that is a fantastic plan. You deserve better than any fuckboy can give you.”

“Damn right.”

I pulled in a big breath of air, smiling at Mom before turning to head back to the RV and change clothes.

I checked my phone for one last time, and a tiny surge of adrenaline ran through me.

There was another text from Fox. Not just one, actually—four, with one photo before all of it, and another photo at the end.

And they weren’t just generic ones that he’d sent to the whole family. At least I hoped to God it wasn’t, because when I opened the first photo, I was greeted with a tantalizing view of Fox fully nude in a full-length mirror, taking a selfie of his body. His cock was hard, and he gripped it in his fist in the photo.

I had not been expecting that.

The second photo was a lot sweeter, a selfie of just his face, resting on a very comfortable looking pillow and looking longingly at the camera. His silvery eyes were completely stunning.

I sat down on one of the couches inside the RV, scrolling to read the texts.