Chapter 2

Alicia arrived at 6:00 exactly. Not that she was excited about babysitting again. No, she hadn’t picked out the matching baby blue bra and boyshorts for any specific reason. And the silky blue mini-dress was just something she liked to wear on Tuesdays. It wasn’t like she’d slicked off twice the night before thinking about ... giving rewards. Or step-brothers. Fuck.

Madeline answered the door with an expression of shock. “I don’t believe it.”

Alicia instantly worried that the guys had blabbed to their mother. “What?”

“Adam and Carlos,” Madeline said as she motioned for Alicia to enter and continued speaking in a whisper. “Carlos is cooking dinner and Adam is cleaning the house without being asked. What happened last night?”

Worry sizzled in her stomach. “Uh, nothing special?”

“They said you helped them with their homework and talked to them about how you learned to get along with your sisters. It’s a miracle!”

“What is?” Alicia was still having trouble tracking the conversation with her heart pounding like crazy.

“They’re getting along. I heard them talking to each other and they didn’t yell or do anything mean. It’s the first time since Javier and I got married that they’ve been like this.” Madeline gave Alicia a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Whatever you did, keep doing it because it’s working!”

“Okay,” Alicia said, taken aback by the change in Madeline. The desperate woman from the night before was gone and she’d never been so demonstrative.

“I’ve got to leave now, but I’m so grateful for your help. Maybe we’ll call this tutoring instead of babysitting from now on, since you’re helping with their school work.” Madeline grabbed her large purse and headed for the door to the garage. “I’ll be home by eleven!”

“Okay, bye,” Alicia said to the closed door and then caught a wonderfully spicy scent in the air. She followed her nose to the kitchen and found Carlos washing pans in the sink.

“Hey,” he said over his shoulder, his face breaking into a grin as he saw her.

“What smells so good?” Alicia couldn’t help walking over to look at the large covered skillet on the stove.

“Arroz con Pollo,” Carlos said. “My mom made this all the time before she got sick.”

“Wow.” Alicia muttered as she peeked under the lid and found a mixture of yellow rice, peas, mushrooms, and sliced chicken breast. “This smells amazing.”

“Tastes even better,” Carlos said with a sad sigh. “It always reminds me of her.”

“She passed away?” Alicia asked as she settled the lid back on the skillet.

“Yeah,” Carlos said. “Cancer, back when I was ten. It really sucked.”

“I’m sorry,” Alicia said.

“Me, too.” He was silent for a moment, then looked over. “Madeline is really sweet. She knows she can’t replace Mamá, but she’s been really nice to me. And I’ve been a shit.”

“Well, she just left as happy as I’ve ever seen her.”

Carlos nodded and was silent for a moment. “Adam broke up with Becky today.”

“So he really did it?” she asked as she turned around to lean back against the counter, her minidress tickling against her thighs.

“Yeah, right in the middle of lunch. Adam asked me to join their table and Becky made a face. He called her on it and she doubled-down. Called me dirty Mexican right there in front of everyone.”

“What did he do?” Alicia asked.

Carlos gave a half-grin and grabbed a towel to dry his hands. “Said he’s my brother now and her racist ass can fuck right off. She looked like she was gonna swallow her tongue.”

“Cool,” Alicia said with a chuckle. “I’m glad it worked out.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “It’s the first time I ever felt like he had my back.”

“Family can be good. I can call my sister on being a bitch, but if someone else does it, the gloves come off.”

Carlos raised his chin in greeting as Adam came in the kitchen. “I’m done with the vacuuming. Do I have time to hit the shower before dinner?”

“Yeah, it needs some more time for the rice to soften. Yell when you’re done in the bathroom, I need one too.”

“Hey Alicia,” Adam said with a cute blush before running back the way he came.

“So,” Carlos said as he opened the silverware drawer. “How was your day?”

“Good. I’ve got some studying to do and a sociology paper to write.” Alicia walked to the cabinets to pull plates.

“I was wondering if you’d help me with algebra. We started quadratic equations today and I thought my head was going to explode. I’ve got my notes from class, but I can’t understand what I wrote at all.”

“Sure,” Alicia said, unusually pleased that he’d asked for help.

When the table was set, Adam appeared with wet hair wearing loose shorts and an oversized jersey. “You’re up,” he said to Carlos, who ran up the stairs.

“Wanna check me?” he grinned and lifted an arm.

Alicia caught nothing but clean skin and soap when she sniffed, then inspected his hands. “You need a manicure.”

Adam barked a laugh. “As if.”

“It’s no big deal. Come here.” She dragged him over to the couch and pulled her book bag over. After digging out her zippered nail bag, she got a small pair of cuticle scissors and started working on his nails.

“So a manicure is just cutting my nails?” he asked as he watched her work. “I could have done that.”

“Not just that,” she said as she finished a rough trim. Then she dug out her emory board and began to shape each nail. “You also file down the sharp edges, then trim back the cuticles. See here? This sharp bit that sticks out of the edge of the nail?”

“I usually just bite those off or pull them out.”

“And they bleed and get infected, right? It’s better to trim them back.” She got her cuticle scissors and demonstrated what she meant. She was just finishing when Carlos came back and leaned over the back of the couch.

“Is it my turn next?” he asked with a false, high-pitched voice to mock Adam. His grin took away the sting.

Alicia laughed as she ran hand lotion over Adam’s fingers, working it into the calloused skin.

“It’s nice,” Adam said to Carlos with a shrug. “Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it.”

“See?” Alicia said as she showed Adam the results. “Short, smooth nails that don’t catch on everything.”

“Let’s eat,” Carlos said with a sudden frown. He was wearing shorts and a white undershirt that was tight enough to highlight the muscles in his shoulders and chest.

“I’ll do yours after dinner if you want,” Alicia offered.

“Sure,” he said, his tension easing a little. Alicia wondered if he was jealous of the attention to she’d paid to Adam.

“So I hear someone is newly single,” Alicia said as they all sat down. Carlos spooned some of the rice and chicken in each of their plates. “Oh, it smells wonderful. Thanks for cooking.”

“De nada,” Carlos said, but his pleased smile said otherwise.

“Dude, this rocks,” Adam said around a mouthful. “I can’t believe you’ve never made this before.”

“Thanks, man,” Carlos said. “It’s my mom’s recipe.”

“The best I can do is mac and cheese with hot dogs cut up in it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Alicia said. “Sometimes I made that on my nights to cook.”

The meal continued in silence marked by moans of pleasure as they ate. When their plates were empty, Adam and Carlos began to clear the table and do the dishes while Alicia wiped down the table to prepare for their homework time. When they all gathered around the table again, Carlos and Adam kept glancing at each other and nodding their heads at Alicia.

“What?” Alicia asked them as she booted her laptop.

“Uh,” Adam started and cleared his throat. “So Carlos and I were talking.”

“Yeah?”

“We were wondering if maybe,” Adam began again, but stalled before racing through the rest. “I mean, if you would help us get better with girlfriends and sex and stuff.”

“Help you how,” Alicia asked, suppressing a grin at their obvious discomfort discussing the request.

“L-like,” Carlos stuttered. “How do we get a girlfriend to do ... stuff ... with us. Like you did last night.”

“Ask them?” Alicia offered with a shrug and an escaping grin.

“Jeez, nevermind.” Carlos flipped open his algebra book and sighed.

“Let’s get the homework out of the way and then we’ll talk about it,” Alicia said. “Okay?”

The three of them focused on their respective work for a while. Carlos sought some help solving quadratic equations and Alicia walked him through the process a few times until he got it. Adam presented her with the final draft for his essay and she offered a few suggestions. Then they put their books away and Alicia sat between the guys on the couch in the living room. Madeline wouldn’t be home for over an hour, so they had some time to talk.

Alicia had known what the guys were asking, despite playing dumb. She remembered her own confusion about relationships and sex at their age. The older guy who took her virginity showed her how to really let go and enjoy sex. First, by helping her find what she liked, and then giving her the confidence to ask for it. After him, she found others who expanded her horizons in new ways. Even the previous evening with the young brothers had been exciting for her.

She’d never been attracted to younger guys. Her favorite hookups had always been with guys who knew their own bodies and were willing to learn their way around hers. She’d always thought of it as trading orgasms. Even the few guys she’d been more sexually dominant with had been satisfying, although it was because she took her pleasure instead of teaching them to give it to her. This opportunity provided something new and exciting. If she could train them well enough, there would be a number of very happy girls following them around.

“So, what do you guys want my help with?” Alicia asked.

Carlos looked at Adam before speaking. “We want to have real girlfriends.”

“And learn about sex,” Adam added. “But neither one of us knows how to get started. Or how it works. I mean, girls. How girls work. Down there.”

Alicia nodded, keeping her expression serious only through the force of her will. She pulled her nail bag out and grabbed Carlos’ hand to begin trimming his nails. He had long, slim fingers. Once she got the nails trimmed she took out her file and began working to smooth the edges.

After minutes of silence, Carlos finally asked, “So will you help us?”

“I already am,” she said. “Think of how sensitive the skin on your balls is. If a girl had long raggedy fingernails, would you want her playing with them?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Short nails, clean hands, and soft skin are required if you even want a chance down there. Clean bodies are critical, so keep up the good hygiene. And make sure you pay attention to your teeth. Nothing kills the mood quicker than dragon breath and gunky plaque. Beyond that, most girls are interested in sex with someone who sees them as a person rather than a sex toy.”

“Oh, okay,” Carlos said and let Alicia work on his fingernails.

“I don’t have a problem helping you guys out, but we need to get a few things out in the open.” Alicia finished buffing his nails and put her things away. Excitement burned in her stomach, but she kept help face neutral as she kicked off her sandals. “We’re gonna do this like school. I’m the teacher and you’re going to be my young padawans. But the first time you break my rules, this is all over.”

“Okay,” both guys said together. “How do we start?”

“If you want to get something from someone, how do you do it?” she asked them as she sat back and crossed her arms.

“Ask them?” Adam guessed with a grin that meant he was echoing her answer from earlier.

“Exactly. Be up front and confident about what you want. You may get shot down a hundred times, but it’s better to be clear that you’re interested than waste your time playing games. The other thing is make sure you take care of them first. That means listening to them talk about school or families or whatever they want to talk about. Just pay attention to her. Trust me, it’s the sexiest thing a man can do.”

“Wait, so treat her like a friend?” Carlos asked, confusion evident on his face.

“Yes. Girl-friend, remember? Once you both agree there is interest beyond a simple friendship, you need to move things to the next level. Not her, you. Sucks, I know, but I don’t make the rules. If you want to kiss your girlfriend, are you going to ask her first?”

“Yes?” Adam guessed.

“No. You’re going to look for the signs that she wants you to kiss her and then you’ll make your move. Even if she shoots you down, you still have to be the one to lean in first. Have either of you ever kissed a girl before?”