Step Bros - Part 8

Everyone in this story is 18+

After the insanity of the past week, a normal day felt almost strange. No wild parties, no sneaking around for hookups—just me and Jax, being the stepbrothers we’d always been.

We had slept in, letting the Sunday morning sunlight creep through the dorm window before eventually dragging ourselves out of bed for breakfast. The cafeteria food was as questionable as ever, but at least the coffee was strong.

"Fuck, I needed this," Jax muttered, shoving a forkful of eggs into his mouth. "A day of just chilling. No hangovers, no distractions, just vibes."

I snorted. "What, is Jax the party animal finally taking a break?"

He scoffed. "Pfft, please. I’m just pacing myself. College is a marathon, not a sprint, Nickyboy."

I rolled my eyes. "Right. That’s why you spent last night railing some girl so hard I had to crash next door."

Jax grinned, stretching lazily. "Speaking of which..." His eyes flickered with amusement. "Still can’t believe it, you and Asher, huh?"

I paused mid-sip of my coffee. "What about it?"

His grin widened. "C’mon, man. You know what about it."

I shrugged, trying to play it cool. "It was… fun."

Jax eyed me for a second, then just smirked and went back to eating. Too chill. Too casual. Almost like he was holding something back.

--- --- ---

The rest of the day was surprisingly normal.

We hit the campus gym, where Jax spent half the time flexing in the mirror, showing off his biceps. "Damn, I look good today. Maybe I should start charging for tickets."

"Yeah, let me know how much you’d pay to see yourself," I shot back.

Then, it was video games back at the dorm, both of us getting way too into it—shouting, talking shit, Jax throwing a tantrum at me when I wiped the floor with him in FIFA.

It finally started to feel easy again. Like we were back to just being dumbass stepbrothers, no tension, no weirdness.

Except… there was something there.

A few times, I caught Jax looking at me, like he was trying to figure something out. And every now and then, his teasing would veer into something else.

As we continued playing video games. Jax was hopelessly behind, so I showed him how to sync his phone as a controller.

"Here, you just tap this—" I leaned over, holding my phone out to demonstrate.

Right as I did, a notification popped up. A text from Brady.

Brady: Thanks for yesterday, it was fun. Lemme know if you want a re-run.

Jax’s eyes flicked to the screen before I could lock it. He froze. Then, ever so slowly, he turned to look at me, eyebrows raised high.

I sighed. "Alright. Fine. Yeah, it wasn’t just Asher."

Jax leaned back, letting out a bark of laughter. "No fucking way. You hooked up with Brady, too?"

“Fuck,” I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah. And…" I exhaled. "Might as well just say it. Jake, too."

Jax blinked. "Jake? As in… Jake, our RA?"

I nodded.

Jax whistled lowly, shaking his head. "Holy shit. My stepbro’s a full-blown slut."

I scoffed. "Oh, like you can talk."

He grinned wide, still clearly processing the information. "Bro, you went from 'figuring yourself out' to taking a whole tour of campus dick in a week."

Or when he nudged my leg under the table, grinning. “So, what’s next? You trying to work your way through the whole dorm, or just the hot ones?”

I rolled my eyes, but Jax was still smirking as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

He continued, shaking his head. "I’m sure as hell not gonna be bested by my lil’ bro—or should I say, Lil' Slut."

I threw a pillow at him, and he just laughed harder.

Jax served me a beer as we laid sprawled out on our beds, when Jax finally went for it.

"So," he said, swirling his drink. "Real talk. Just those 3 or more?"

I let out a dry laugh. "What, you keeping score?"

"Just curious, man." His grin was wide, but his eyes were sharp, studying me.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"Yeah, just those three," I admitted. "Jake, Brady… and, yeah. Asher as you knew."

Jax’s eyebrows shot up. "Bro, that really is next-level slut behavior."

I smirked, sipping my beer. "Hey, I told you—I was gonna make the most of college."

Jax shook his head, grinning. "Damn, dude. No offense, but I did not see that coming. Cindy was covering for you that much?"

"Yeah," I said simply. "It was never real. She helped me keep people off my back."

Jax let out a long exhale, then shrugged. "Huh. Well, I mean… I guess it makes sense. Still weird thinking about it, though." He paused, narrowing his eyes. "But tell me, how many did you hook up with back home?"

"None," I admitted. "I was a virgin."

Jax’s jaw practically dropped. "Hold on—so you just went into turbo-slut mode your first week of college? No slow buildup, no testing the waters? Straight-up throwing yourself in?" His disbelief turned into something closer to admiration. "You fucking legend!" He actually looked like he was about to applaud.

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help chuckling. "Yeah, yeah. Get it out of your system."

"But still… You’re taking this better than I expected," I admitted after a beat.

Jax shot me a look. "What, did you think I was gonna freak out?"

I raised a brow. "I mean… you did find out about me through overhearing me getting railed and everything, so..."

Jax made a face, tossing a pillow at me. "Yeah, thanks for putting that image in my head, asshole."

I laughed, dodging the pillow. "Oh, please. I know you got just as loud last night."

Jax smirked, stretching his arms behind his head. His muscles flexed, his abs shifting. "Yeah, but at least I was the one doing the fucking."

I huffed a laugh, rolling my eyes. "You really have to make everything a competition, huh?"

"Hey," he grinned, "why not?"

And just like that, the idea clicked.

Jax suddenly sat up, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Alright, let’s settle this, then."

I narrowed my eyes. "Settle what?"

"The score," he said, grinning. "Bet I can hook up with more girls than you can guys."

I blinked at him, then laughed. "You’re joking."

"Nah, man. Let’s make it official. A friendly competition. You rack up your numbers, I rack up mine, and we see who’s the bigger stud by the end of the semester."

I raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly do we win?"

Jax smirked, tapping his beer can. "Dunno yet. Bragging rights? Loser has to do something humiliating? We’ll figure it out."

I tilted my head, considering it. On one hand, it was completely ridiculous. On the other…

I never backed down from a challenge.

"You’re on," I said, shaking his hand.

Jax grinned. "Atta boy."

But as we settled back, finishing our beers, I caught Jax glancing at me again, something unreadable flickering in his expression. Then he smirked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I can’t believe my little bro is already the campus sex legend but I’m sure as hell gonna beat you to it.

“You’re on." I smirked.