Studying Dylan, I waited for him to make a move, but he sat on the dresser instead.
“Why me?” I asked when I realized he wasn’t leaving.
“You remember that camping trip?” he said, studying his hands. “I got that damn fish hook stuck in my hand and Dad yanked it out. Just tore it out like it wasn’t attached to my fucking body. I was bleeding and it fucking hurt. Margo patted my shoulder then walked away. Your mom is a bitch, you know? Like all of the women Larry marries, she’s a cold bitch. My mom is like that too. You were gentle though and cleaned it up. I liked how gentle you were.”
My question finally answered, I stepped closer to Dylan with the book in my grip for security.
“Other girls would be gentle. You just need to find someone who’s not like our moms. Don’t be like Larry.”
“He’s a cold fuck too.”
“Choose to be someone else. We all choose. Larry chooses to be an asshole. You need to make a different choice and find a woman who isn’t like the ones you grew up with.”
Dylan studied me through squinted eyes. “Is that what you did? Chose not to be your bitch mom and sister.”
“Raven isn’t a bitch.”
Dylan laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
“She’s not a bitch like my mom,” I said, smiling grudgingly. “She just seems bitchy because it’s how she protects her heart. I assume that’s why you act like an asshole.”
Dylan grinned. “It’s one reason, yeah.”
“Choose different, Dylan. You’re young enough to be anyone, so don’t be Larry. I hate that one of him exists. The world doesn’t need more.”
“True,” he said, jumping off the dresser. “If you had let me, I would have kissed you until you forget about that tattoo thug.”
“He’s not a thug and I don’t doubt your kissing skills. I just doubt I could ever think of you as anything more than a brother.”
“We could try.”
“No offense, but eww. I don’t want to kiss my brother.”
Dylan rolled his eyes and walked out the door. “Not your brother.”
“Still eww,” I called out to him as he disappeared down the hall.
When I heard Dylan laugh, I finally set my book down. The feel of him on my skin creeped me out, so I washed my face then showered when that wasn’t enough. Later, as my damp hair dripped on the boring school book, I realized why Dylan’s touch bothered me. Not because he was my brother. He just wasn’t Aaron.
Chapter Twenty Six - Aaron
The Christmas before, Mom bought me a tiny trampoline that I was supposed to use while watching TV. When I saw the gift, I thought it was a joke, but she actually thought I would enjoy bouncing. Apparently when I told her I needed more exercise than I was getting by working so much, the trampoline was her solution.
After putting the thing together, I stuck in the corner of my gym so Mom would think I used it. I never did, of course, and figured I’d give it away eventually. Seeing Lark bouncing on it though, I was very thankful for that trampoline.
Painting her while she bounced nearby to The Breeders, I alternated between laughing at her enthusiasm and adjusting my shorts as a result of my enthusiasm.
“We had a trampoline when I was a kid and I loved it.”
“I see that. Please, don’t stop.”
Grinning, she winked at me and bounced around in a circle. Her small breasts bounced along with her, unhampered by a bra since we’d gone straight from bed to the studio. Wearing only a pink tee and purple panties, she looked colorful, yet overdressed for my taste.
“You’re making my butt too big in the sketch,” she said, bouncing slower now while studying my pinup version of her. “It’s not that round.”
“As someone who had spent the last day admiring your butt, trust me that my sketch is accurate.”
“Really? I have a nicer butt than I thought.”
Laughing, I tried to focus, but she was really bouncing again. Once her tee came flying at me, my focus wasn’t on the painting.
“Can you show me how to draw?” Lark asked, sliding up against me. Each time she wiggled her butt, those panties slid farther off.
Taking her hand, I dipped those slim fingers into the dark chalk. Lark leaned against me as I guided her fingers where I had been sketching her breasts.
“Can I make them bigger?” Lark mumbled, concentrating on the picture.
“Only if I can touch them while you work.”
“Sure, have at it.”
As Lark sketched herself huge breasts then giggled about the result, I explored her delicate shoulders. When I grazed her spine with my fingers, she shivered and smiled back at me. Soon, I kneeled down behind her and removed the barely clinging panties.
“Yes, I know this butt,” I murmured, stroking each cheek and leaving smudges of chalk behind.