Step By Step Ch 02 2

Thanks for the amazing reception and feedback for Chapter 1! Feedback is welcome again. Hoping you like this installment just as much or even more than the first.

Sorry for the wait! I'm assuming there's been a long wait between chapters. It took more than a month for Chapter 1 to be published after submitting. Hopefully, Chapter 2 doesn't take as long to be published.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was woken up by my alarm blaring in my ear. I checked my phone to see that it was only 6:30 in the morning. That's when I remembered I was opening the store today. Reluctantly, I got out of my bed and walked to the bathroom.

Even though Charlotte said she was an early riser, there was no way that she would wake up after only a few hours of sleep. As I brushed my teeth, my mind replayed the events of last night, still trying to wrap my head around it.

We knew we needed to talk about it, but the question was when. She had less than two weeks before she returned to Chicago. Would it happen again?

I rinsed my mouth, changed my clothes, and headed downstairs to prepare a simple breakfast. While eating, Samantha came down the stairs, a black robe over her white pajamas.

"Good morning. You got the morning shift today?"

"Yeah. I have to get in by 8 to open the store. That's how my managers reward me after getting two days off."

"What time did you guys get in last night?"

"Couldn't tell ya. It was after midnight though."

"Hmm. Your dad stayed up wanting to see how last night was. I'm sure he'll ask you guys about it later. Do you want me to make you something as well?"

"No, I'm good with my eggs and toast."

Jackie texted me to remind me to pick her up from the airport. But since I had forgotten I had worked today, I couldn't. I asked Samantha, "Could you do me a favor?'

"Are the eggs and toast not doing it for ya?"

"No, not that. Jackie's coming today, and I told her I would pick her up, but I forgot I worked today."

"No problem. I'll tell Charlotte to pick her up. Is that it?"

"Yeah, thank you so much."

"Don't worry about it."

I finished my breakfast and went to work. When I pulled into the parking lot, the rest of the opening crew was already there.

They exited their cars and walked towards the doors as soon as they saw me. I opened the store and let everyone in. I wasn't close with anyone at work, as my manager strongly advised me against forming friendships within the workplace. He told me that if I wanted to move up, having close bonds with coworkers would work against me. I don't know why I took his advice, but I did.

Now, I'm not an asshole or unpleasant to them, as many of them still view me as their favorite store leader.

There was a checklist waiting for me about things that needed to be done before we opened, so I assigned everyone tasks and helped them, too.

Shortly before opening, my manager, Todd, walked in. "Welcome back! We missed you. I'll let you take point today, and I'll be on standby for any big issues or manager calls. Sound good?"

"That works."

Todd was annoying, but he also was the manager who did his job the best. He took no bullshit from customers and held everyone accountable, which I respected.

The day went by with no hiccups, and at 4 o'clock sharp, I clocked out and went home. Jackie texted me that she had arrived home. Embracing the Christmas spirit, I decided to stop by our favorite taqueria.

I walked in with two bags of food in one hand and a holder of drinks in the other. Charlotte took the food and drinks off of me, which let Jackie and me hug. Jackie looked the same as before, but she seemed to be curvier. She was wearing loose sweatpants, but I could see she had a nice ass underneath. Even her boobs seemed to have gotten bigger as they strained against her small, white t-shirt that showed a hint of midriff.

As our bodies closed together, my mind immediately went to the thought of her boobs smashing up against my chest.

Blood began to flow to my penis, and I quickly pulled out of the hug. What is going on with me?

After setting aside my dad's share, who was still at work, the rest of us digged in. The four of us talked, and Jackie and Charlotte got along particularly well. Samantha insisted on cleaning up to let us three talk and then excused herself to her room after she was done.

"So, Shrimp. What's new with you?" Jackie asked.

Before I could reply, Charlotte asked, "Shrimp? Is that a nickname?"

"Yeah. Noah wasn't always this tall. Even in high school, he was pretty short. That's when I started calling him Shrimp. When I got back home after freshman year, he was suddenly taller than me, but the name stuck."

"You think he would let me call him Shrimp?"

"Go for it. What's he going to do to shut you up?"

Charlotte and I locked eyes. Those were the exact words she had challenged me with last night before we had sex. There was an unnatural silence in the conversation.

"Did I say something weird?" Jackie asked, confused as to why we both went silent.

"No!" Charlotte responded. "I think I'll hold off on calling him Shrimp until I get to know him better," she said with a nervous chuckle.

"Suit yourself. I'm going to take a nap. Either I'll see you tonight, or I'll see you tomorrow morning." She got up and left us alone.

I looked at her and asked, "Now?" on whether it was the right time to talk about last night.

She let out a deep breath and nodded her head. "You want to start?"

"Sure, but I don't know where to start. And should we move this to somewhere a little more private?"

"Where? If we go into one of our rooms, it'll be weird if my mom or Jackie sees us coming out of it. We'll keep our voices down and be on the lookout for anyone."

Neither of us spoke for a while. Unable to stand the silence, I started. "Ok. If you don't have anything to say, I'll say it. I enjoyed last night. Like, really, really enjoyed last night. I know it's weird to say that, but it's the truth. I didn't realize how much I needed that till it happened."

"Same. It was weird and something that probably shouldn't have happened. But I don't think we're in the wrong."

"Huh?"

"Think about it. No blood relation. It's like we're two friends hooking up, or you picked me up at a party and had sex. It's not that weird if you think of it like that."

"Yeah, but can you think of it like that? Because I can't."

"Why not? Or let me ask you something else. Would you want it to happen again?"

That got me. How would I answer that? If I was being honest with myself, I would want it to happen again and again and again. But the moral part of me knew that it was wrong that it happened in the first place, and it happening a second time would secure my place in hell, if it wasn't already.

With me not answering, Charlotte went ahead and answered the question for me. "Yes, you would want it to happen again. You would be lying if you said anything else. And I would like it to happen again, too."

"Really?"

"Yes. The sex was phenomenal. You know what you're doing. But I also felt like we had a connection that wasn't sexual. I don't want to say romantic, but something was there. It's like the difference when you have it with someone you love and a random hookup. You understand?"

"I think so. Are you saying you want it to happen again?"

"Did I not just say that in simple English?"

Feeling like it was the right thing to do, I leaned in to kiss her, and she returned a few of my kisses before pulling away.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"You're going to think I'm crazy, but I think we should hold off."

"Huh? You just said you wanted it to happen again."

"And I still do. But I also think it's important we give it some time to prove to ourselves that we have control over the situation. Don't ask me to explain it to you, because I'm not sure I understand either. It makes sense in my head, though. Please?"

I let out a frustrated sigh and said, "Fine. Are all girls like you? Confusing? Difficult?"

"Most," she said with a giggle.

My dad walked in after work. "Nice to see you two bonding. How was last night? I didn't get a chance to ask you guys."

"Uhm, it was good," Charlotte replied. "Nothing crazy happened."

"C'mon. You're telling me two young adults had a normal night in the city? I may be old, but I'm young in spirit. Tell me what happened. I want to know, and I promise I won't freak out."

I would take out a million dollar loan and bet on him freaking out. Charlotte made up a believable story that pleased him. I told myself I was tired and going to change after getting back from work.

Just as I was about to enter the bathroom, my dad called out for me. "Noah! Your friends are here."

I knew it had to be Jordan and Alec, and so I went downstairs to meet them. "What's up, guys?"

"We were in the neighborhood, so we thought we'd stop by," Alec said as he looked around. He was looking around for Jackie or maybe even Charlotte, but neither of them was downstairs.

Jordan was talking to my dad, and I could overhear them talking about college, with my dad stealing glances in my direction. I ignored him and told Alec to head up to my room, letting Jordan know to meet us there.

"I know why you're here," I told Alec once inside my room. "Jackie is used to it, but don't try anything with Charlotte."

"Chill, dude. You were never so protective of Jackie. And I'm not going to do anything except for being me. I can't be responsible for anything that happens because of that."

I shook my head and told him to hang out in there while I showered. Unsurprisingly, when I got back to my room, he wasn't there. I heard voices coming from the common room, and there he was with Jackie.

If I had noticed Jackie's new figure, he would definitely have noticed it. Alec was questioning her on her Florida life, and Jackie played along. Jordan came into the room a while later, and I said, "Sorry that you had to talk to my dad for that long."

"No, it was great. He told me that if I couldn't get an internship, he would help me out at his company."

A few minutes later, Charlotte came into the room as well. "Oh, hi. I thought I heard unfamiliar voices. I'm Charlotte, their new stepsister."

Alec got up immediately to shake her hand. "Hello, Charlotte," trying to mimic a romantic voice. "My name is Alec, Noah's best friend. If you're from the area, you may have..."

I interrupted him, putting him to the side and introducing Jordan. Alec tried to make a move on Charlotte again, but this time, Jackie stepped in. "You three hang out. Charlotte and I will get out of your hair."

Before Alec could say anything, they had left the room.

"She is prettier than I thought she would be. She also looks familiar from somewhere."

"Bro, she's a white, blonde girl with blue eyes. You're probably thinking of someone else," Jordan responded.

We ended up playing games for a few hours before it was dinner time. Samantha and my dad insisted on them staying, but they said they were going back home for Christmas and needed to pack up.

Since I had brought tacos home for everyone, no one had a real appetite. Everyone settled for a bowl of cereal instead. Before we could get up and go our separate ways, my dad said we should all watch a movie together.

Jackie and I were on cleanup duty while the others were in charge of picking a movie.

"Have we ever had a movie night before?" I asked her.

"Not that I can think of. I don't think we've even watched a movie in theatres as a family before."

"Do you think this is Samantha?"

"No way. I think this is Dad trying to become a traditional family and trying to show Samantha he's a stereotypical family man."

"What's taking you two so long over there? It's just a few cereal bowls," my dad's voice boomed. "We're all waiting for you."

"We'll be there in a second," Jackie replied for the both of us. Before heading to the family room, she asked, "Does anyone want any drinks? Snacks?"

"Good idea," Samantha replied. "If you don't mind, I'll have a glass of wine, and your dad will have one, too."

"Charlotte?"

"Whatever you guys are having."

"Hey, go make some popcorn. I'll take care of the drinks," Jackie told me.

I made two packets of popcorn and threw them all into one big bowl. Jackie was finishing up the drinks and asked me to taste mine. It looked like regular Coke, but there was a splash of something alcoholic.

"What is that?"

"Malibu. I think we'll need something to get us through this movie, and they're having wine. But don't tell. This is from my secret stash."

"Secret stash? Where? You didn't leave the kitchen."

"Wouldn't be a secret if I told you."

We took everything to the living room, and the movie started. Charlotte picked up on the Malibu quickly and gave us a knowing smile. Jackie was right, as the movie was a cringeworthy Christmas movie. To make things worse, Dad added his commentary.

We were put out of misery as the end credits rolled on screen, and we called it a night. I let Charlotte use the bathroom first, and she knocked on my door once she was done.

After I was done, I heard Jackie and Charlotte talking in Charlotte's room. Taking up my dad's advice, I thought I'd join them to build our sibling bond. Before I entered the room, something they said caught my attention and made me stop.

"Did everything go according to plan? How did last night go?" Jackie asked.

"Uhm, it went according to plan, sorta. I wouldn't say it happened like it was supposed to."

"What does that mean?"

Plan? What were they talking about? Eavesdropping is not a habit of mine, but for some reason, I felt like I had to. I checked for Samantha and my dad, and once I was sure they wouldn't catch me, I walked back over to Charlotte's door. I placed my ear to the door to listen better.

"Well, focusing on the things that went right, I got him out of the house, and he met a lot of new people, including my friend and a few other girls. But he was drunk when he met most of them, so I'm not sure if he got their numbers or even remembers them."

"How did it go with Natalie? That was the friend you said you would set him up with, right?"

"Natalie seemed interested, I don't know if Noah picked up on it, or he did and didn't like her back."

"Knowing my brother, either he didn't pick up on it, or he was too shy to act on it. I wouldn't close that door yet. I think we need to make it more obvious but not too obvious. You still didn't specify what happened but not like it was supposed to mean."

"Yeah, I'm getting to that part."

"Oh my God!" Jackie interrupted. "Did he get so drunk that he slept with a guy?"

Hearing that, I was tempted to bust through the door and clear my name. But that wouldn't have been a smart move.

"What? No! Nothing like that happened. I had my eyes on him the entire time," Charlotte said.

"Well? What happened?"

"Ok, so you told me, at worst, have him hook up with someone. He did, and that person was...me."

My heart dropped. I couldn't believe Charlotte would tell Jackie that. I was more scared for Charlotte. Jackie was always very defensive of me, often taking care of bullies for me.

There was a scary, long pause, and I wondered if Jackie was taking matters into her own hands. Again, I was tempted to open the door to check that Charlotte was safe, but they started talking again.

"Jackie?" Charlotte said. "I know I fucked up, but it felt right in the moment. And he also wanted it."

Jackie had yet to say a word as Charlotte continued to justify her actions from last night.

Finally, Jackie spoke. "I guess I could have been clearer. And like you said, it's wrong but not extremely wrong cause you are just step-siblings."

I could hear Charlotte let out a sigh of relief.

"I just want to know one thing," Jackie said. "Did you do it for him or you?"

"Are you asking if it was pity sex?" There was no clarification from Jackie. "What you said was in the back of my mind, but I also wanted to do it at the moment. To be honest, I'm not sure yet myself. I keep flipping back and forth."

"Would you do it again?"

"He and I talked about it, and both of us want it to happen again. Of course, if you tell me not to, I won't. But like I said, I can't seem to make up my mind."

"You two are adults. You know what you're doing and the consequences. As long as both of you understand that, I don't care what you do. I'll remind you one thing. If you hurt my brother, you'll regret it."

The sound of footsteps started coming towards the door. I hurriedly and quietly rushed back to my room. That conversation gave me a whole lot to think about. I thought Charlotte was being nice to me and trying to get along, but it turns out Jackie had put her up to it. I did feel that she was genuine later in the night, but would that have even happened if it wasn't for Jackie? If she wasn't horny, would we have had sex? I spent the entire night overanalyzing everything and didn't get a bit of sleep.

Luckily, I was scheduled for a 12-8 shift tomorrow. I woke up feeling like shit, to no surprise. I got down for breakfast, and Samantha poured me a rare coffee right as she saw me.

"Thanks," I said.

"Yeah, you look like you need it, maybe even more than one."

"Didn't sleep well last night. Actually, I didn't sleep at all last night."

"Any reason why?"

"Too many."

Charlotte came down to join us and asked, "Jesus! What happened to you? You look horrible."

After my entire night of overthinking, I concluded that I should be upset at Charlotte and give her the silent treatment. I grunted in response to her, which she seemed confused by. Throughout breakfast, Charlotte made attempts to start a conversation, but I shut it down. Instead, I talked to Samantha.

I went back up to my room to try and catch some sleep before having to go to work. When it was time to leave, I snuck out of the house to not run into Charlotte. Work was as usual, with me dealing with the minor problems and leaving the bigger problems to my manager. I got myself involved in everything I could to distract myself. But any free second I got, my mind wandered back to what I overheard last night.

When I got on my break, I saw Charlotte had left a lot of text messages, mainly asking what was wrong. I decided to be a true jackass and didn't even open them. The rest of the day was the same, and I prepared myself to face an angry Charlotte. When I got home, Charlotte was waiting for me at the kitchen table, but so was Samantha. As soon as Charlotte saw me, she huffed and ran upstairs.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Samantha. I shrugged my shoulders, playing dumb. "Your sister went out with friends, and your Dad turned in for the night, saying he had a long day. Charlotte and I ate. I left you a plate of food."

"Thanks. Do you mind if I take this up to my room?"

"Go ahead, just please don't leave a mess."

"Yeah, I'll be careful. Thanks again." I grabbed the plate of food and went up to my room.

None of my friends were online, so I put on a TV show to watch as I ate. I was sucked into the TV show when my door swung open and an angry Charlotte stormed into my room.

"What are you doing?" I asked, scared shitless.

"You tell me. Why are you acting like a jackass? Ignored me at breakfast today. Ignored my text. Is this how you treat every girl you've fucked?"

"Keep your voice down. What if our parents hear?"

"If you want me to lower my voice, you better start talking. Why are you being an asshole?"

"I'm not, I wasn't feeling good today. Sorry if you felt that way," I lied.

"Bullshit! You seemed to be able to talk to my mom just fine. So, why are you being an asshole?"

"I overheard what you and Jackie were talking about last night."