The Stepbully She Craves

Chapter2

Hailey

I gasped, turning my Kindle over onto the lounge chair, as both boys burst into hysterics.

"Hailey!" exclaimed Cole. "You thirsty little slut. You really are reading porn."

Xander grabbed the Kindle and held it out of reach, continuing: "Inod while continuing to move my mouth over his cock. 'Lift your skirt up. Spread your legs. Let me see that gorgeous pussy ofyours.' Ido as he orders. 'Hell yeah. Touch

yourself, baby.' My eyes widen. I have my boyfriend dad cock in my mouth, yet I'm shocked by his suggestion. I'm too shy. 'Do it!' he demands, and damn it, but I do. "

I reached out my hand and managed to grab my Kindle from him, blushing furiously.

"It's romance!" I argued, uselessly. "Dark romance."

"So every time you're sitting out here reading," said Cole, his eyes dancing with mirth, "you're actually just getting fucking wet thinking about dick "

"I am not. What would you know about it You've never read a book in your life!"

Xander grabbed his cock through his swim shorts. "Hell, if it's dick you want ." he said with a sick smile.

"She's not ready for your big dick,Xan," Cole laughed. "Hailey's a virgin. She has to read about sex because she can't get any. Her pussy's too tight for you."

Xander growled with pleasure, as if this made it all the better, and my face

burned hot with embarrassment. I couldn't think of a quick retort because Cole was right. I am a virgin. Not that it's any of their business. But my evident embarrassment just confirmed that Cole was right, and that made them laugh all the harder. I got up and stormed off, my afternoon ruined.

"You lucky bitch," says my best friend, Sasha, over Zoom. "I would like to be right in the middle of a Cole and Xander sandwich, please. They can bully me all they like. It would be a bullies-to-lovers story."

"Oh my God, stop." I roll my eyes. Sasha is wild, outrageous and outspoken, and her sense of humour is my favourite thing about her, but it's easy to focus on Cole and Xander's looks when you don't have to spend time with either of them.

They were always the popular guys in high school, six feet tall since grade

nine, all-star athletes, and since they were only one year ahead of us, all of my friends knew who they were. Between my mother's fame, and Cole's popularity, I had my share of fake friends throughout high school. Girls who only pretended to like me so they could be invited to my house. Luckily, I've had a true friend in

Sasha since kindergarten. But she's never pretended to be anything but totally hot for my brother-and his best friend.

I mean, I can admit they're both good-looking-almost unnaturally so. In our high school, they towered above everyone. Kids parted in front of them like the Red Sea when they walked down the hall. They were Gods.

Besides being tall, they're both muscular from years of playing sports. Both dark-haired and classically handsome. Cole's hair is thick, and runs to wavy if he doesn't style it. Xander's hair is straighter and darker. Cole has blue eyes and

tanned skin; Xander has freckles over his nose and dark eyes. There are always girls vying for their attention.

Neither Cole nor Xander are virgins, I'm sure of that.

"Okay, let's just get started on our episode," I suggest, eager to turn the conversation away from Cole and Xander.

"Fine," Sasha grins. "Deny an old girl her pervy fantasies." Six months older than me, Sasha identifies as my elder. "Ready " she checks, and I nod.

She hits the record button, and two beeps indicate that we've begun.

"Hello, smut fans," she starts. "I'm Sasha ."

" . and I'm Hailey ."

" . and you're listening to the Smutty Books and Spicy Reads podcast."

We smile at each other as we pause, allowing a break for when we add our theme song later, in edits.

Sasha and I started our podcast a few months ago, and already it has become a hugely important creative outlet for both of us.

Since I first read one of my mom's Nora Roberts novels, and immediately passed it off to Sasha when I was done, we have been hardcore romance novel fans. But when Sasha discovered dark romance last year, everything changed for us. Dark romance was a revelation. And smut.it was an art form, a community, and a calling. Starting Smutty Books and Spicy Reads to connect to the bookish community and talk about the books we were so passionate about had happened almost organically. It just seemed natural to expand our book conversations, and now it was everything to me. I loved our podcast, and the weird and wonderful community we'd connected with through creating it.

"Tonight we're talking about bullies-to-lovers romances," continues Sasha, "and we've actually got the perfect real-life tie-in." She grins at me through her laptop camera.

"Oh no," I groan.

"Oh yes," she continues. "Listeners.listen up. My good friend Hailey here is in a most unusual position. She not only lives with one of the hottest fucking guys I've ever met, he's also joined at the hip to another equally hot best friend. A two- for-one."