The Stepfather (MxM) ✓

Chapter 17

It was a full blown kiss, right on the lips. One that caught me by surprise, so much that it took me a few moments to actually register what the hell was happening. That Alex was standing there, facing me, with his hands on either side of my face as he pressed those lips against my own. We were in the middle of a children's karate tournament, and my soon to be step-father was giving me the mother of all smooches. So why was it so damn difficult to pull away? It wasn't as though it was a particularly exceptional kiss, our lips were just touching. No movement, no tongue. Just a kiss, something that you'd give an elderly relative when unable to dodge those wrinkled lips.

Although Alex was a far better substitute for wrinkly lips, it was hardly the ideal location or an appropriate action to do.

But I still didn't move. I didn't give him a right hook like I should have, I didn't even have that knee-jerk reaction that tended to result in people crumbling to the floor with curses tumbling free from their lips. None of that. I just stood there, in utter shock.

Alex was actually the one who moved and, when he did, it was almost as though he hadn't even bombarded me with those plump lips. It wasn't exactly the time to have a crisis over what the hell happened, especially not considering the fact that Alice was thundering her way through the crowd to us – seemingly oblivious to how befuddled I was as to what had just transpired.

I had to snap out of my stunned state, for Alice. This was her moment, she had become the victor in something that she obviously loved. She deserved the recognition that she had earned. Some part of me had to wonder if Violet, should she have ever found out about that exact moment, would regret telling her daughter that she couldn't do something that she could so obviously achieve with hard work and determination. With a victorious squeal, Alice was lifted up into Alex's arms as he made a fuss over her achievement – hugging her close and tickling her to make her smile. Which, in turn, probably made me smile more than I should have.

Because, let's be honest here, I should have been fuming. Steam should have been erupting from my ears as I clenched my fists at my sides, shaking in utter fury as I made Alex the next hit on my list.

But, no, there was none of that. Rather just a slight buzzing in my ears that I was pretty damn sure would turn into an insistent barge of inner questions. Questions that only Alex held the answer to.

There was a profound difference between fact and opinion, and the only conclusion that I could come up with as to why that happened was that Alex got carried away with the moment. It was like those cringe-worthy moments during some kind of sporting event in which people would grab the person next to them when their team scored or whatever. It was probably just like that, Alex expressing his job for Alice winning.

Which, yes, I was definitely thrilled for. But I was equally confused as to why the hell that had just happened, which really just stirred a glare within me – a glare that was directly aimed towards Alex and burned through the back of his skull as he tossed Alice up in the air once more.

Fuck him. Seriously, he shouldn't do things like that to people. Just how many people have been confused in this way before? Caused by the one and only Alex.

"Sam?" he said, nudging me a little with his arm as Alice tilted her head to the side to glance at me curiously. With my labelled 'bitchy resting face' displayed, I didn't blame them for being a little concerned about my sudden silence. "I was just saying that we should go out for milkshakes."

I shrugged, relapsing into silence until Alice wriggled free from Alex's grip in favour of coming into my own. She didn't say anything, but some part of me felt as though she knew what was whirring around in my mind. How the restriction in my chest that I hadn't felt  as frequently had returned yet again. And Alex was the cause of that, which was exactly why I had no problem with him buying us milkshakes.