Chapter 1

“Aren’t they a little old to need a sitter?” Alicia asked Madeline, the harried mother and step-mother of the two young teenagers.

The boys in question eyed each other with undisguised hostility. Then they expressed their opinion of needing a babysitter with crossed arms and hard frowns at their mother.

Madeline continued stuffing various items from the counter into her large leather satchel. “They fight all the time. I need someone to keep them in line in the evenings while I take my training class. The last time we left them here alone, they broke the television.”

“How do you expect me to deal with teenage boys that are as big as I am?” Alicia shook her head, preparing to tell her old babysitting client no.

Madeline grimaced. “It’s just for the next two weeks. They’ll be in school during the day, but my husband is out of town and this is the only time I can get the project management training I need to keep my promotion. I’m desperate!”

“You’re serious? How do you expect me to keep them from killing each other?” Alicia had such a bad feeling about the whole situation that she picked up her book bag to leave. She flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder and said, “I’m sorry. This isn’t what you described on the phone, Madeline. I don’t think—”

“A hundred bucks a night,” Madeline sputtered. “For ten weeknights. That’s a thousand dollars by the time I complete my certification.”

“Wait, seriously?” Alicia gasped. That was the kind of money to make her reconsider the job.

Adam gaped in shock at his mother. “Mom, pay us half of that, just fifty bucks a day, and we won’t fight anymore. I swear!” He nudged his step-brother, Carlos, for support. “We’ll even do the laundry and dishes, right?” Carlos rolled his eyes and shrugged like he didn’t care either way.

“Oh, no!” Madeline shook her finger at the teens. “You two couldn’t be bothered to get along when I begged you to help me, so there’s no way I’m paying you to do it now.”

Alicia had started her first year of college in the fall and needed that extra money. A grand would take a big chunk out of the gap between her school expenses and financial aid. She crossed her arms and glared back at the two step-brothers, hoping they bought her tough act.

“Fine,” Alicia growled. “But I’ll see how tonight goes before I commit to the whole two weeks.”

“Thank you,” Madeline gasped as she slipped the satchel over her shoulder. “I’ll call you if something comes up, but I should be home by eleven.”

With that, Madeline left the three of them standing in the kitchen staring at each other in tense silence. Alicia sucked her cheeks in as she studied the young men.

Adam was a typical suburban jock. He got his blond hair and good looks from his mother and his skill on the football field got him just about anything he wanted. Carlos was his polar opposite in coloring and possessed a suave confidence that Adam lacked. His father, Javier Chavez, had given him black hair and a darker complexion. He projected a more urban style and attitude that didn’t leave much room for compromise with his popular step-brother.

Alicia had known Madeline for years and had babysat Adam when their last names were still Morris. Javier and Madeline had gotten married just before school started and moved into Madeline’s house. The request to babysit the new step-brothers had come as a shock at first, but now she could understand the reason.

“Whatcha want for dinner?” Alicia asked at last.

“You can suck on this if you’re hungry,” Carlos said, then grabbed at the crotch of his shorts and yanked it in her direction.

Alicia rolled her eyes at his vulgar gesture. “I’d need more than your pitiful mouthful.”

Adam laughed and pushed Carlos. “Oh ho, rekt!’

And with that, Carlos began pummeling Adam in the middle of the kitchen. The two of them traded blows as they fell, rolling back and forth across the tiles muttering curses at each other.

Alicia put two fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle that froze them. Carlos was sitting on Adam’s back trying to choke him out with his arm. After working up a little sweat, the stink of their unwashed bodies and pungent body spray burned her nose.

“Two rules. One, you both need to work on your hygiene. I don’t know why guys your age think they can get away without washing, but you both smell nasty. Two, you help me get through the miserable torment of your company tonight and I’ll give you a reward.”

“Cash?” Adam grinned up from underneath Carlos, which changed their fight to something that looked more suggestive.

Alicia laughed as she plucked her phone from the back pocket of her jeans and snapped a shot of the two guys together on the floor. “You look like you’re humpin’ your brother,” she said to Carlos.

“Step-brother,” Carlos muttered as he pushed off Adam to stand and point at her phone. “Delete that picture.”

“Too late.” Alicia locked and tucked the phone in her back pocket. “My camera app immediately backs up to an encrypted drive online. You couldn’t delete it even if you had my pin.”

“So what’s the reward then?” Adam said as he checked a scraped elbow before standing. Carlos was already stomping out of the kitchen with a sour expression on his face.

“Depends on how nice I’m feeling later. Which depends on how nice you both behave now.”

She turned to search the pantry to find something to make for their dinner. Adam followed Carlos out of the kitchen, still inspecting the bloody scrape on his elbow.

“Go take a shower,” she shouted after them. “I’m serious, you both reek.”

While Alicia boiled spaghetti and heated sauce from a jar, she considered how to occupy the step-brothers for two weeks. When she dealt with younger kids, they could be tempted into better behavior with treats like favorite games or shows. She was at a loss for what could motivate these two idiots to behave.

While Alicia was setting the table, Carlos came swaggering into the kitchen wearing nothing but a towel. He was trying to be cool about it, but he couldn’t pull it off. Alicia put down the utensils and turned to face him.

“You wanna smell me?” Carlos asked, forcing his voice lower than normal. He lifted an arm to show the thin tuft of black hair growing from his armpit.

Alicia shot him a pair of raised eyebrows. She couldn’t help but notice the good muscle definition, but his smooth, hairless chest betrayed his youth. She stepped closer to check if he’d really defunked himself, but his stench made her recoil from a foot away.

“Your hair’s still dry, so you didn’t use shampoo. And you obviously didn’t scrub with soap and a washcloth. Go wash again or I’ll post that picture I took online.”

“Jeez,” he muttered as he stomped back to the stairs.

“While you’re up there, please tell Adam to actually wash before he comes down to eat.”

Alicia watched Carlos’ muscles flex as he ran back up the stairs. They were both good looking guys. She had started having sex when she was about their age. At first it was just kissing and groping, then oral sex, and finally going all the way when a smooth talking senior got her alone at a party. And she’d loved it all. Every slippery, salty, bitter, drop of it. She shivered at the memories and turned her mind back to toasting garlic and parmesan cheese bread.

By the time she had the table set, the guys came thundering down the stairs like wild animals. They wore loose shorts and t-shirts, but nothing else. Alicia suppressed a smirk when they both presented themselves for her inspection. The scent of soap and clean skin was a pleasant improvement. To prove she was serious about the cleaning, she grabbed their hands to inspect their fingernails.

“Better,” she acknowledged and indicated they should sit at the table. Alicia sat at the head of the table and they sat opposite each other at her left and right.

“So, why can’t you two get along?” Alicia asked as she spooned the spaghetti noodles and sauce for them all. She shook on the parmesan cheese over her plate, but neither guy had said anything yet. “Well?”

Carlos glared at Adam for a moment. “I had my own room before. Now I have to share and he’s constantly in my stuff.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “I only go on your side of the room to take back the stuff that you borrow without asking.”

“That was one time!” Carlos thumped the table with a closed fist. “And your Mom said I could borrow that shirt.”

“Now I have to check to see if he’s borrowed anything else,” he explained to Alicia, ignoring Carlos.

“So? You use my body spray without asking!”

“Prove it! I use the same brand!”

“Yours has been empty for over a week. How do you explain that?”

Alicia broke in to stop the bickering. “You aren’t the first siblings in the world who have to share a room. You guys need to work on your boundaries. My sisters and I went through the same kind of stuff growing up. Just work out a system you can both agree to and stick to it.”

Silence followed as they ate for a few minutes. The boys woofed down the pasta and the garlic bread Alicia had prepared. When Alicia finished her meal, she sat back and watched them finish off the remaining food like a couple of ravenous animals.

“So what else do you guys fight about?”

“Privacy,” Adam growled. “I need quiet time to study.”

“More like porn time to whack it,” Carlos muttered.

“Shut the fuck up!” Adam growled back. His face flushed as he glanced at Alicia before staring down at his plate.

“I’ll let you both in on a little secret,” Alicia whispered as she leaned forward to glance around, pretending no one else overheard. “Everyone whacks it. It’s no big deal.”

“Do you?” Carlos challenged her with disbelief in his tone.

“Sure,” Alicia shrugged, not embarrassed at all. “Everybody needs a little stress relief now and then. I mean, sex is great and all, but I’m never throwing away my vibrator.”

The guys looked shared a look of silent shock at her admission.

“Same deal as the boundaries. Work out a system. My roommate at college ties a ribbon around the doorknob if she needs a little privacy. My sister and I worked it out when I still lived at home. If you guys respect each other’s space and time a little better, I bet you can get along just fine.”

She stood and picked up her plate and utensils. “Bring the dishes and I’ll wash them while you guys do your homework.”

“I don’t have any,” Carlos said.

“Don’t bullshit me.” Alicia gave him a steady look until he rolled his eyes and sighed. “Now get to work on yours so I can work on mine.”

After rinsing the dishes and loading up the dishwasher, Alicia grabbed her book bag and sat at the table with the brothers. It didn’t take her long to get into her study groove. She read the next sections for English and Sociology, then began working on her Chemistry assignment. There was a lab on Wednesday that she needed to prepare a written procedure for.