Stepping Out Ch. 02

For an instant, she wondered what they were doing. Was this charade really worth it? Was there really purpose to it? However, those feelings quickly faded with the knock on the door. As she went to answer it, her heart beat a little faster, and she tried to rationalize the attraction she had to Joseph. In many ways, he was a lot like Mark, but the differences were ones that appealed to her. Joseph was not over studious like her stepbrother. He did okay in school, but was more casual about homework and studying, as was she. Also, like her, he liked to party and have a good time, whereas Mark was more content in smaller, quieter groups.

When Joseph told her his recommendation for dinner, she was happy to go along. She liked burgers as much as the next person, but she was glad he had taken the initiative to make a decision. Always eager to please, Mark's approach was typically to let her choose to be certain they were doing what she wanted.

But with all of that in mind, Kendall was not sure where this was all going. Would this be their last single date? Did she want it to be? Since she had gotten no sense from Joseph to the contrary, she felt she had to assume that this was all just part of the plan of illusion. Perhaps that would be a good subject to discuss this evening.

Then there was the issue of sex. It was too good with Mark to risk losing that.

Surprisingly, Joseph beat her to the subject after they ordered their burgers.

"I don't know quite how to say this," Joseph began nervously, "and I hope this doesn't turn you off, but . . . well, I know these dates were just supposed to establish that we appear to be dating, but . . . well, I have to tell you I think I'm liking you a lot more than that."

To be sure, Kendall was caught off guard, so she carefully considered what he had said before responding; however, he took her delay as a bad sign.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Please just forget it and don't think badly of me."

"Oh, no, no," Kendall quickly corrected. "I just wasn't expecting that. To be truthful, I kinda feel the same."

"You do?" A big smile formed on his face. "But I also feel guilty about Jackie. I mean, we discovered that we had a thing for each other and we've had great times together. I love being with her." A pained expression crossed his face. "But I really like being with you, too."

"I know exactly what you mean," Kendall agreed. "Mark and I have been together longer than you and Jackie, and I feel as though I'm betraying him. I mean, this wasn't supposed to happen."

"I hate that society says that you can only be with one person at a time," Joseph grumbled.

"Well, it actually says that you can only be married to one person," Kendall corrected.

"Do you think Mark would like you dating both of us?

"Probably no more than Jackie would like you dating her and me."

With a heavy sigh, Joseph said, "You're right. This wasn't supposed to happen. So, what do we do about it?"

"Enjoy it while we can? Maybe a solution will present itself."

* * *

Jackie was her usual gorgeous self and Mark was once again smitten when she answered the door. She was dressed a little more casually than last night in a short jean skirt and tight fitting button up shirt with the top few buttons undone to show off her sculptured cleavage. And of course, the smile she displayed over his reaction lit him up. But he was just as quickly reminded that she was wearing something that he loved seeing Kendall in. And though Jackie wore it just as convincingly, it was a reminder of what was really going on here.

"I'm really becoming accustomed to your expressions," Jackie said by way of greeting. "I hope you continue to be as happy to see me."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to ogle."

"You're not. I take it as appreciative attention."

"Then I'll try not to disappoint," Mark said. "Although, that might become difficult when we move on to the next phase of this . . . this . . . whatever we're calling it."

"Oh, yeah," she said as they departed. "I kind of wish . . . oh, never mind."

"Never mind what?" he wanted to know.

"Nothing. It was . . . I don't know."

"Please just say what's on your mind." Mark thought he had a sense of where this was going, but he wanted to hear her say it.

Jackie conceded, but slowly. "This is becoming more complicated than I thought."

"How so?"

Jackie took a deep breath. "I didn't plan on being attracted to you," she blurted out. Fortunately, inside the darkened car, he couldn't see her blush.

"Oh. I didn't see that coming. I thought it was only me."

"What do you mean? Only you?" she questioned.

"I thought it was only me being attracted to you," he clarified. "I hadn't gotten any signs from you."

"Oh," Jackie said. "This really complicates things."

"Yes, it does."

"How many more single dates do you think we could get away with?"

"Not many."

"Any chance Kendall might have developed similar feelings for Joseph?" Jackie asked hopefully.

Mindful of his stepsister's voracious sexual appetite, and their discussion about the unlikelihood that Joseph and Jackie were also having sex made Mark highly doubtful that Kendall would have any more than a casual friendship with Joseph. The thought of sex lingered in Mark's mind. That was an integral part of his and Kendall's relationship. It was what had started them off. Could they exist with just that? See other people, come home and fuck to fill just that need?

"I'll take your lengthy silence as a no," Jackie deduced.

"Oh, I was just carefully considering your question," Mark explained. "But knowing my stepsister as I do, you would probably be correct in your assumption."

"I was afraid of that. What can we do?"

"What is it you really want? Do you not want to date your stepbrother anymore? How serious is your relationship with him? Is it not so serious that you could easily be attracted to someone else?"

"All good questions," Jackie noted, "for which I have no answers because I didn't plan on this happening. What about you?"

With a grimace, Mark said, "I have no better answer either. So, it occurs to me that we need to think about those questions, and once we have answers we can decide how to proceed."

As they finished eating and Mark paid the bill, Jackie said, "That's one of the things I like about you. Your approach is very logical. Joseph does not quite organize his thoughts so well."

"Thanks, but sometimes it's not always a good thing."

"Do you think we could maybe go somewhere quiet and think aloud about our situation some more?" Jackie asked.

"Works for me," Mark agreed. "Don't really feel like doing much anyway—except being with you."

"That's sweet. Thanks."

* * *

Because of their dinner revelations, Joseph felt bold enough to take Kendall's hand as they walked to his car. She looked up at him and smiled. It was a small gesture, but she had big feelings from it.

Once inside the vehicle, he asked, "What would you like to do now?"

A couple of things came to mind that she felt she could not mention. "I'm game for anything," she said leaving it to a wide interpretation.

"There is one thing I'd really like to do," Joseph hesitantly said. "But I'm not sure you'd want to."

"I said I'm game for anything," she repeated.

"Even this?" Joseph twisted in his seat and quickly leaned over planting his lips on hers. It was more than a peck, but it lasted only a few seconds before he worriedly pulled back.

"I said anything," Kendall reiterated as she put her hand around his neck and pulled him back to her. She kissed him softly, intensely, but not quite passionately. It was good, and if either wasn't so nervous, it could be a lot better.

When they stopped this time, he said, "Wow!"

"Wow is right."

"You're good at that," he exclaimed.

"Anything worth doing . . ."

"Is worth doing again?"

"Is worth doing right," she corrected. "But we can use your definition."

This time it was mutual, and they'd calmed down a bit so it was much better—and considerably longer.

On their next break, Joseph admitted, "I should feel bad about this—"

This time Kendall put a finger to his lips to hush him. "Don't spoil this. I think we're beyond ruefulness."

He grinned. "Okay, well, if we're going to sin, let's sin big."

Their lips came together again. Each kiss was a little more intense than the previous one, and with Kendall's overactive libido, she was reaching an acute level of arousal. She realized she had to calm herself down. Breaking it off, she said, "We should probably not do this in the parking lot of a restaurant."

"Okay. Where to?"

"I don't know. Just drive." Maybe that would help her unwind.

They rode around, driving back onto the campus, and at various points, the street lights illuminated the inside of the car enough that Kendall could glimpse the bulge in Joseph's pants. It took all of her self-control to prevent her from reaching over and touching it to . . . gauge his size, although from what she could make out, he was fairly well-endowed.

At a stoplight, they got into it again, until a horn from behind jolted them back to reality and they drove on.

"We need to go somewhere," Joseph reiterated.

"Anywhere we can just fuck." A microsecond later, Kendall realized, "Oh, my god, did I say that aloud?" Highly embarrassed, she turned toward Joseph.

In the relative darkness of the vehicle, she saw a horrified expression on his face.

* * *

"You know," Jackie said once they were in the car, "when Joseph and I got together it was more out of desperation. Neither one of us could find someone we really wanted to date. We commiserated with one another and I guess we each showed enough compassion that we thought we might be good for each other. So, we gave it a try. But with you, it just happened. I can't recall that ever occurring with a guy."

"Are you sure it's real and not just some kind of infatuation, maybe because of the situation?"

"I'm not sure of anything." She grinned. "But I'd like to try to find out."

"I guess that's the drawback from not having dated very much. Without that kind of experience, we don't know if what we're feeling right now is real or because it just hasn't happened enough for us to know the difference."

"There you go with that logic again, Mr. Spock. Can you use that logic to figure out a solution for us?"

"Ah, a Star Trek fan. Well, unfortunately, the only thing I can come up with is human— and it's all emotion."

"Well, you don't really seem like the emotional type," Jackie pointed out with a frown.

"It's emotional in the sense that, right now, I just want to be with you, despite all other concerns."

"I like your emotional side," she said with a smile. "So, where can we go to be together that's quiet?"

"Anywhere we can also be alone."

"Oh, you want to be alone with me?"

"You wanted to go somewhere quiet."

"I didn't say I wanted to be alone with you. Should I be worried about you?"

Mark thought sure she was toying with him, but he couldn't be certain. "I guess that would depend on where we went to be alone."

"And where would you like to go?" she wanted to know. "It was your idea for us to be alone. Where would you like to go?"

"I was thinking . . . maybe your place."

She didn't respond right away, so after a few seconds, he turned toward her. He was instantly fearful over what appeared to be an appalled expression on her face.