Beast Brothers

“Why the hell not?” Zoe says, her volume rising again. “You need to hit that — them, both of them — as much and as often as you can!”

“Zoe, were you listening earlier? They’re going to be my stepbrothers.”

She just makes a face and shakes her head, letting me know she thinks I’m crazy for raising objections. I look to Tara for support. She’s quiet, and looking thoughtful, but finally she says, “It’s just your parents getting married. You’re not related by blood.”

“But it’s not appropriate,” I say.

“Love knows no bounds!” Zoe says, as if quoting someone.

“It’s not love,” I quickly interrupt, because that word makes me feel fluttery and a little panicky.

Zoe throws up her hand. “You know what I mean. Love… sex… so long as you’re all consenting adults who are not actually related at all, no one should care or criticize you.”

“Most people will not be so understanding,” I point out.

“You’re not breaking any laws. Who cares what people think? People will be jealous, that’s all. Me for one,” Zoe says. “But I’m happy for you too,” she quickly adds.

“Do you feel good when you’re with them, Megan?” Tara asks.

Ecstatic, I think. As in amazing ecstasy. “I feel a lot of things with them,” I say. “Nervous, excited, sexy. But yes, they make me feel good. I like being with them.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Zoe says.

Tara’s face and voice get softer. “Did Jason make you feel like they do? I don’t mean now. I mean before you left him.”

I hesitate for a moment and really think about it. Sometimes, I felt I had to be someone I’m not when I was with him. Sometimes I had to walk on eggshells so as not to put him in a mood. “No,” I finally say. “Not for a long time.” Cheating on me really was the best thing he ever did for me.

“You deserve to be happy,” Tara says. Her heartfelt words and the touch of her hand on mine again have me fighting back tears. God, what is wrong with me lately?

Zoe interrupts the moment, saving me from ruining my makeup with waterworks. “Let’s go get the stuff from your car — for real this time! — and then we’re taking you out for retail therapy.”

“No shopping for me,” I say. I need a job first.”

“Our treat,” Tara insists. “I’m sorry for the reasons you’re back in town, but I’m really glad you’re here, and I want to celebrate. Besides, you deserve some cheering up.”

“I think Cody and Brock cheered her up just fine last night, but I agree. Let’s go shopping. You need a fresh start,” Zoe says. “I have my employee discount at the shop. Let’s go there. It’ll be my belated birthday present to you.”

“You sent me a gift last month,” I remind her, but Zoe raises her hand again to stop my protests.

“We’ll get started on your Christmas gift, then,” she says.

Tara and Zoe leave their cars in the restaurant’s big parking lot and ride with me in Dad’s truck to the garage. The mechanics don’t have much to report yet, but assure me that they’ll be in touch on Monday. My friends help me transfer my things to the truck, and then I drive us to the exclusive little boutique where Zoe works.

As I catch up on their lives and we make plans for future outings — new movie releases, new stores and restaurants that have opened since I’ve moved away — it dawns on me that my life in Omaha was all wrapped up in Jason. Everything was always about him, his teammates, and their wives and girlfriends ... all of whom have now abandoned me in favor of that cheating snake. Being back home and having a genuine support network makes me realize what I’ve been missing.

I feel a little out of place at the boutique. I’m more a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but Tara and Zoe insist on making me try on a bunch of clothes — just for fun, they say. When I try to look at price tags, Zoe reminds me of her employee discount and tells me to be quiet. The three of us giggle together, and it’s just like old times, only with fancier clothing.

After trying on several items, I come to a little purple dress with a zipper in the back. It fits so snugly that I can’t get it zipped on my own.

“Hey, can you help with this?” I say as I step out of the fitting room. “I don’t think it’s the right size though.”

Tara steps up to help, while Zoe surveys me from the front. “That’s the one!” she says. “Don’t even bother with the rest of them.”

I’m skeptical, the dress hugging me much more tightly than any of my clothes. “It doesn’t fit,” I tell her. I’m not crazy about the color either; nothing in my wardrobe is purple.

Zoe steers me to the full length mirror and steps back.

“Oh, yes,” Tara says, taking in the reflected view.

The little scrap of fabric doesn’t extend very far down onto my thighs. It hugs my waist and pushes my breasts up high, so that they’re nearly spilling from the neckline.

“I can’t wear this,” I say, though I have to admit my body looks pretty great in it. And the purple does unexpectedly nice things for my coloring, making my auburn hair seem more vibrant.

“That,” Zoe says, “is the perfect outfit for getting back in the saddle, on those big, big horses that you know you want to ride.”

“Zoe!” I hiss.

“Megan, Zoe’s right. You have to get that dress. It was made for you,” Tara says.

I look at it a moment longer, trying to see it through their eyes, then I imagine Brock and Cody’s reaction. Yeah, maybe it would be fun to wear this dress when I’m with them and see what happens.

I change back into my own clothes and bring the stack of things I’d tried on out with me. Zoe pulls the dress, a blouse, and a skirt out and insists on getting all three items.

“Take these up front and wait for me. I’ll be right there,” she instructs us. She disappears toward the back of the store, where I assume she’s talking to a coworker. Before Tara and I reach the register, though, Zoe reappears with small scraps of fabric in her hands.

“You’re getting these too,” she says. She holds them up for me — a bra and panty set, barely there, sheer, and leopard-patterned. They are edged in black lace, and they’re very, very naughty.