Read HIM—A Stepbrother Romance: With BONUS NOVELLA: PERSONAL Online
Authors: Stephanie Brother
As we left the press conference, my arm secured tightly and proudly with his, surrounded by the media flashing bright lights at us, a woman stopped us.
“Excuse me, Ramon?”
I knew instantly who she was.
"I... I... it's me. Your mother. I saw the news of the scandal. I didn't know how to find you all these years, but now I have. Abandoning you’s been my biggest regret.”
She got spoke quickly, probably in fear that Ramon would walk away. But he stood strong and quiet, listening to every word in spite of the media swarming around us, eager to soak up what they could.
She shifted nervously as she continued. “But… I would like to mend what's been broken. I'm not looking for money. I'm looking for forgiveness, for relief of my guilty, heavy heart that I’ve carried over the last twenty-two years.”
We all stood stiff as a nail, wondering how the most famous, most highly anticipated NFL athlete in the nation would react. He opened his arms and welcomed her in them. Everyone grew silent as the shutters clicked and the paparazzi managed to become human for once, behaving with enough decency and respect to let them have their moment.
"Gosh you’re strong. You’re my little superman.” She pulled away. Her voice picked up its cadence, full of excitement only a mother could have. “A god from the stars, I tell you. I'm sorry. I am. And I promise it's not because of the football star thing. I saw the scandal! I don’t watch TV, but I was at the mechanic’s and your story was on TV. I almost turned away that the headline they had, but as soon as I saw those eyes and they did the story of your father dying of cancer… and I heard his name, I knew it was you.”
Tears welled in her eyes. She looked at him as if he were a miracle to behold. “God look at you. You look just like your father, except packed with meat! I didn't even know your father’s last name, you know? Those things didn’t matter back then. We thought the world was ending, and I knew I didn’t - I mean, I knew I
couldn’t
give you a normal, grounded life like your father’s good family could.”
“It's okay... Mom. I forgive you,” he assued. “
I really do. Let me take your number and we can talk about this sometime. In private, away from all of this.” He gestured to the media frenzy around us. “Okay?”
She nodded, fresh tears springing from her eyes as she gave him her number.
“Are you sure you’re okay? Do you have a place a stay?”
She nodded. “I promise I do. I just came to find you. I found what I came looking for.”
Home, at last.
“Are you sure you’re okay? That was pretty heavy back there.”
“Yeah, of course. It was unexpected, but it seemed right at the same time. I look forward to meeting her again, my mom.”
“She called you Superman, just like I had.”
His smile hung quietly on his face.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go out and celebrate with Major tonight and a of your other teammates?”
“You kidding? Tomorrow I want to be fresh as a newborn. Speaking of Major, read his text he sent me a few minutes ago.”
Major Clementine
:
Alright, alright we okay, we okay. Listen I got that Lindsey babe anyway, pa! The model. We good. We straight. See you on the field, Ramy, baby. Happy to have you on my team.
Oh, his precious ego.
His team. Oh was he something.
I knew that he wouldn’t want to go out, which is why I had prepared well in advance. Prior to the event, I cooked and transformed our new home so it was ripe for seduction. I turned the place into a romantic, welcoming environment with dozens of exotic flowers, scented candles and sensual music. As he unlocked the door, we were greeted to our haven.
“You can have one glass of red wine for your heart.” I winked at him.
He stopped at our entryway, the dozens of flames dancing around the room. The view was further enhanced with brilliance of the city’s sparkling in background, creating a dazzling backdrop in conjunction the night sky.
“Wow, baby. You did all this for me?”
“Of course I did. Now, I’ll be right back.”
I poured him a glass of red wine and quickly made my way to our huge walk-in closet, a perk of our new high-rise condo in
Manhattan. I reached for the photo I shot for him, wearing his jersey. I had the photo placed in a custom gold baroque frame.
Nicholas.
“Are you ready?” I called out.
“For what?”
“You’ll see!”
As I rounded the corner of the wall that separated the sleeping quarters from the living room, I caught a glimpse of my player, in his trousers and no shirt on, holding his wine, I couldn’t help but to smile a pretty damn big smile. Life was pretty fucking amazing!
“Ready?”
He took another sip of his wine, waiting with a smile on his face as I spun the picture around. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened with awe.
“Damn, baby! This is fuckin’ sexy. No one gets to see this pic except me.” He leaned forward, biting his lip as he took in the view, his eyes darkening with lust as he studied.
“Of course, baby. It’s for you.”
“Come here.” He motioned for me to sit on his lap. “It’s going to be a wild ride, C. You know that, right? Practice starts tomorrow. Tunnel vision. I’m going hard for that ring.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Ramon. You can always count on me. As long as my legs receive that tunnel vision at night, I’m all yours.”
“Oh, they will, trust me. And it won’t be long before you’ll have your own ring.” He kissed my neck as his hand slid between my legs and found my clit, which he started rubbing sensuously. Moments later, we were making love underneath the chandelier of our master bedroom in our new condo. Familiar strokes of pleasure were experienced for the first time in celebration of the new life we were creating together.
We were just two kids from Texas living our dreams in the Big Apple, a city that promised if you worked hard enough, believed in yourself, and never gave up, your wildest dreams might indeed just come true.
Epilogue:
Twenty years later.
(That’s right, it was love! Real LOVE! Twenty!)
“Last take you guys, I can feel it. I know your energy is waning, but remember, enthusiasm! Ready, action.”
Our director called out to us on set. I eyed Ramon suspiciously. Would this be our last take? We smiled at each other and nodded.
Go.
The pointer finger was waving at us.
“Hi, I’m Ramon.”
“And I’m Cat.”
“And we’re—”
“The Nicholases,” we said in unison.
“I used to be called Fat Cat. Don’t believe me? Take a look at my before and after. I can promise you, it doesn’t matter your size, it doesn’t matter how far you think you have to go. You can do it one step at a time. We’ve got the workouts and daily inspiration to keep you motivated and covered.
“I’ve been through it all: my high school weight, three pregnancies, being a busy mom holding down the fort - and I can show you what it takes to get the body you want.
“And as for this guy?” I pointed to my husband. “You may recognize him from a few Super Bowl Championships, but don’t let that intimidate
you. He can whip any backside into shape. He was my very first trainer. That’s right. We met each other in high school.”
I rotated the football I was holding to my left arm and turned to face my husband of nearly two decades as I rested my hand on his shoulder. I still looked at him with the same glow, the same love, the same awe.
Time may have matured his handsome, tanned face just slightly, but his puppy dog eyes still held the same boyish charm I’d fallen in love with, as did his signature golden brown locks, which still hung around his eyes. He would always be the hottest guy I’d ever seen.
“As with anything in life, you have to have dedication. But we promise you, if you stick with us, we’ll get you looking good naked in no time,” Ramon cut in.
We said that last part in unison as we slapped each other on the butt.
“Oh… the irony,” Ramon joked. Our sex tape was locked away in the vault forever.
“Good game, babe. Good game.” He slapped me on the tush.
We wrapped up our tenth training DVD. Ramon and I had made several together over the last few years. It was our new career, and our new purpose in life—to inspire and coach others into personal fitness and success.
As we loaded up our black Range Rover and drove back to our home outside of Plano, Texas, this retired model and quarterback were ready to have a relaxing day in the pool as one big happy family.
Family.
Dallas.
A home that became home again five short years into the NFL where Ramon took his rightful place among the stars that inspired him in the wee hours of dawn and the late hour of dusk.
His dreams finally came true.
In a place where hospitality was the norm, where you respected your elders, and you said “yes ma’am” and “no ma’am,” Ramon and I returned home to the place that made us who we are: Dallas.
The Quarterback God had returned back to his Mount Olympia!
But even gods still had occasional duties. He’d never grow tired signing thousands of footballs, either. As one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the NFL, it was a job he’d have for life. He loved inspiring the next generation, volunteering at camps, and was the same leader off the field as he was on.
Good game, babe. Good game indeed!
We floated on our backs in our beautiful pool. We lived in an extravagant home on rolling acres. We were indeed blessed for all of our hard work. But deep inside, no matter what, we were still the same twenty-two year olds that reconnected years back.
“Everything’s gonna be alright, if we just keep dancin’ like we’re…”
“Forty-two!” Ramon and I sang out at the top of our lungs to the Taylor Swift song that somehow managed to play in the middle of this weird crap our kids had blaring in the speakers. And our parents thought music turned weird in 2016!
Marissa, our oldest, rolled her eyes at us and mumbled to her friends, “My parents are sooooo embarrassing.”
“Yeah well at least they still like love each other!” One smart young soul returned.
Whether you’re in Plano, or New York, a model, or professional athlete, one thing remains the same and keeps the world in check no matter who you are, what you do, and where you live: teenagers.
About Stephanie Brother
Stephanie Brother writes scintillating stories with step-siblings as their main romantic focus. She's always been curious about the forbidden, and this is her way of exploring such complex relationships that threaten to keep her couples apart. As she writes her way to her dream job, Ms. Brother hopes that her readers will enjoy the full emotional and romantic experience as much as she's enjoyed writing them
.
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