Free Stepbrother With Benefits #9 (Second Season) by Mia Clark

other about something, I don't even know.  Ashley's mom talks to my dad, and he nods.
    You know what I do?  Roast some fucking hot dogs and eat them.  We have a bag of chips, too.  Real traditional campground food right here, nothing crazy.  I eat and get pissed off more, and eat more, and... yeah.
    It's a never-ending cycle, I guess.  The circle of fucking life over here, except I guess it's actually just the circle of me being pissed off.  Yeah yeah, I'm used to it.  I used to be an angry kid, too.  I thought I was over it a long time ago, but I guess not.
    Everyone's done.  We're clearing up.  The fire is down to regular levels, just crackling, nice and warm but not super bright.  Ashley takes off and heads to the tent.
    "Are you sure you don't want to share a tent with your mom?" my dad asks.
    Fuck off, Dad.  Seriously, just go fuck off.  I don't mean to call my own dad a dick, but right now he's being a dick.
    "No, it's fine," Ashley says, smiling.  "Thank you, though."
    She unzips the tent, but before she gets in, she smiles at me, too.  Waves a little.
    Yeah... good night, Princess.  Sorry.  I love you...
    "Hey, can we talk for a second?" my dad says to me as soon as Ashley's zipped up in the tent.
    "Yeah sure," I say.
    He gets up.  I guess we're going for a walk in the woods or something, some father and son bonding time.
    Or not.  Fuck.
    "What are you doing?" my dad asks.  "Caleb seems nice.  You need to leave him and Ashley alone.  Let them have fun and get to know each other."
    Can he say anything worse than that right now?  If he can, I don't know what it would be.  Seriously, no fucking clue, and I'm pretty sure that's the worst.  I don't want to hear this shit.
    "We're only going to be here for a week or two," I remind him, trying to be logical here.  How does Ashley do it?  Fuck if I know.  "It's not like anything serious can happen."
    "Who said anything about serious?" my dad asks.  "That's how long you always spent with your girl of the week, isn't it?  You seem to have figured out how to have fun and spend time with them given a limited timeframe."
    Wow.  Holy fucking wow.  Did he really just say that?  Fuck!
    "She deserves better, Dad," I say, trying to calm down.  I'm seeing red, though.  It's dark as fuck and we're in the middle of the woods and the only thing I can see is bright fucking red.
    "It's not up to you to decide what Ashley deserves.  She can make her own decisions.  Maybe this is good for her, too.  I don't know.  Breakups are always hard, and sometimes rebound relationships like this can help.  You of all people should understand that relationships don't always have to be serious, Ethan."
    "Yeah, I guess so," I say.
    It's true, right?  Who the fuck am I to fight against my own past.  I never treated anything serious before.  I was the rebound relationship guy more than once.  I liked being that guy.  I liked showing girls a good time, helping them get over their shitty relationships with asshole douchebags, and then moving on to do it again.
    I can rationalize it all I want, but it doesn't change what I did.
    Well, fuck.
    "Just let it play out," my dad says.  "For all we know, nothing's going to happen.  Ashley might not even like him.  If so, that's fine, but don't force her away from him, alright?  Let it happen on its own.  Got it?"
    Fuck you, Dad.   "Yeah, got it."
    We head back to the campsite again.  Ashley's mom is sitting by the fire, packing up some of our leftovers, bagging the trash.
    "You look tired," she says to me.  "Maybe you should get some sleep?"
    "You sure you don't need help?" I ask.
    "There's not a lot," she says, smiling.  "Go, go.  Have a good night, Ethan."
    I don't know what that smile is about.  Maybe she doesn't realize what the fuck is going on here.  I sure do.  I hear it loud and clear.
    I go to the tent I'm sharing with Ashley, unzip it, and step inside.  Our sleeping bags are all set up, plus our bags