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7: The Dream Catcher
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
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Dear Stepbrother 8: The Morning Glory
[ K A R A ]A couple of days had passed since the whole bonfire fiasco and I was feeling much better. A few days ago, I got to see Ryder's surfing match for the first time with mom and Peter. I didn’t quite know the rules of surfing matches, but I knew that Ryder did very well. I was told that he scored enough points to compete in the next round.Though I didn’t understand the rules, I now understood why girls would want to date surfer guys. I mean, just look at how cool and passionate Ryder was when he was competing. There was something about all that passion that just drew you in. And don’t get me started on that moment when he returned to the shore after his surf. Shaking his wet hair from side to side, he would get up from the waters below with his board shorts hanging low, his toned body all wet and tan and that gorgeous smile on his face...Holy cabbage! Stop thinking about that— you're not helping yourself, woman!Anyway, things were great for us. Mom and Peter seemed really ha
Dear Stepbrother 9: The Crashing Tide
[ K A R A ]I had never had an interest in extreme sports before, but I must admit, watching Ryder surf was really sexy. Ryder had another surf match today, so Peter, my mom, and I went down to the beach to support him. He did great out there, something about him making the finals, and everyone was really excited for him, including me.Wait. Did I just become a Ryder groupie? Oh God, no.When Ryder returned ashore and he found us, all three of us jumped and waved excitedly at him. He came over and I ran towards him in excitement, wanting to give him a hug."Congratulations..." I said with open arms, but he just dodged me, as if he didn't want to be touched. And so, I moved my hand around into a high five and gave him an awkward high five instead.What was that all about?“Ryder, you were amazing out there!” my mom beamed."Let's go celebrate, the four of us, as a family. How 'bout we go take the boat out and have a nice meal together?" Peter added, smiling from ear to ear.Peter was o
Dear Stepbrother 10: The Grand Gesture
[ R Y D E R ]I never thought I'd say this, but meaningless sex isn't as fun as it used to be anymore. Yeah, but that didn't mean I was gonna stop doing it. I still did it whenever I could. It was just that they used to be fun, and now it just felt like work. They got too predictable almost. It became boring.That being said, every night there would still be girls coming in and out of my room. This wasn’t anything new. This had been going on for years. Dad knew and he didn’t care. But for Kara and her mom, this was something else. I could see it from the way they looked at me. I saw that look on Kara’s face when she noticed a girl coming out of my room with her clothes all messed up.Oh yeah, she was so grossed out by me.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *[ K A R A ]Ever since that night at the yacht, Ryder and I stopped talking. I saw him around the house a lot though, parading around his latest conquests. Sometimes I wondered if he did
Dear Stepbrother 11: The Hidden Treasure
[ K A R A ]I was hoping I wouldn't run into Ryder this morning, spare me the awkwardness, please and thank you. I still didn't know how to deal with him, so I was super glad to see that he wasn't in the kitchen when I walked in, it was just Peter and my mom."Morning honey, we missed you at dinner last night," mom said."Yeah, sorry, I went out with a friend,""You've been spending a lot of time with this friend of yours. When are we gonna meet him?" she gave a teasing look."Mom. It's not like that,” I rolled my eyes at her. “We're just friends,""Sure, they all started that way," she said again with a wink."Lacey!" I hissed."Fine, fine. So what's your plan for the day? If you're free, you should come with us and watch Ryder compete,""Oh I can't," I quickly said. "I have plans," I lied, I didn't have any plans. I just didn’t want to see Ryder right now."Oh, plans. With that friend?" my mom smirked naughtily."Mom!""Just kidding,” she giggled away. “Don't be home too late, honey
Dear Stepbrother 12: The Silent Words
[ K A R A ]Hiding in the comfort of my room, I made sure the door was closed and I opened the notebook. Pretty soon, I realized that the book was filled with all sorts of scribbling and poems. They were all handwritten, most likely by none other than Ryder himself. Several of them caught my interest, notably the poems titled ‘Dear K’. It went something like this:* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Dear K,Should I call you a stranger?Or maybe a friend, or an acquaintance.A housemate. A playmate. A play date.I find it hard to act and behave.When I don’t know the meaning of what I see.You are you, and I am me.And these are the only things that we'll ever get to be.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Dear K,It was just a day. Maybe a Thursday. Maybe a Friday.It was just a girl. Brunette, sweet, and small.It was just talking. She said she wants to believe in love.It was just a kiss. Except
Dear Stepbrother 13: The Fire Works
[ K A R A ]I spent the entire night reading and rereading Ryder's notes over and over again. His poems were honest and raw. He wrote so beautifully. I never would have imagined the same mouth that said all those dirty jokes could write such romantic things.And okay, I don't mean to sound narcissistic, but are these poems written about me? Am I… ‘K’?Not trying to get a big head or whatever, but my name started with a K. Also, a lot of the things he mentioned in his poems were like they were taken from our daily lives. I wanted to believe that theory, but I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Ryder had said it from day one, he didn’t believe in love and all that crap. This book and his personality was a total contradiction.Maybe he didn’t write this book? Or maybe he did? What is happening?* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *For the next few days, I hadn't seen Ryder at all around the house. Things ended somewhat awkwardly at our last
Dear Stepbrother 14: The Ground Rule
[ K A R A ]By midnight that night, our Fourth of July party had come to a close. Peter and mom were downstairs somewhere, and I think Ryder went out to send Vanessa home. I told Gabe that I wasn't feeling well and I sent him home as well. But I lied. I just wanted to be alone right now so I could think. I needed to figure this thing out with Ryder.My mind was in a complete mess. When I went to confront Ryder, I thought I was doing it so we could set the record straight. But no, that plan went down the drain when I ended up kissing him instead.How could I let that happen? And where do we go from here?I had never felt this way about anyone before. I knew this was wrong, but I also couldn’t deny the fact that I want to see this through. No, I didn’t mean that I want to be in a relationship with Ryder. That would be too much and people would get hurt. I didn’t want a relationship or anything like that, I just wanted to see where this feeling was taking me.So, now I’m wondering, is th
Dear Stepbrother 15: The Chasing Cars
[ K A R A's P O V ] To say that the past few weeks were fun... was a wild understatement. After our mutual understanding that Fourth of July, Ryder and I spent all our days together since then. It was just Ryder and me, two people against the world. We spent the whole day out, exploring the island, jumping off of waterfalls, swimming in the ocean, and Ryder even taught me how to surf, in which I gave up after a good 20 minutes. Surfing is really hard, and you must be in a really good shape! Which luckily, Ryder is… Speaking of good shape, Ryder and I spent the whole night together too. We would sneak out through the back door and to the beach, we’d get milkshakes at the drive-thru, and we watched the Godfather and Fight Club, Ryder's favorite movies, in his room when our parents were asleep. And after that, we would make out until the sun rises and do it all over again. I didn't know how we weren't sick of each other yet, we literally spent every waking moment together. Not to men
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Dear Stepbrother Epilogue
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TWO YEARS LATER GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * [ R Y D E R ] The dawn was breaking outside the window. This bluish and orange light was creeping up the night sky, signaling the beginning of yet another day. 6:30 AM, the clock read. Kara was still sound asleep, maybe last night took a toll on her? Last night was... a lot of fun. I was getting hard all over again just thinking about it. Slowly I rolled over to my side, carefully wrapping her tiny body in my arms. My fingers ran to caress her soft cheeks. "Hey..." I murmured to her ears as she shuffled a little. "Mmhmm," she mumbled, still closing her eyes. "Merry Christmas, baby," It was Christmas day in Australia, you would not have guessed it from the weather outside. It was 85 degrees and nothing but sunshine on the horizon. Apparently, that was how Christmas was done over here in the land down under. Kara wasn’t saying anything. She refused to wake up
Dear Stepbrother 66. Letters To K
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *ONE YEAR LATERTAHITI, FRENCH POLYNESIA* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *[ K A R A ]“Ry…?”I woke up this morning shivering and cold. This usually wouldn’t happen. Especially that we were living in Tahiti now, it was 80 degrees outside. And normally, I would wake up with Ryder’s body wrapping around mine like a blanket. He always made me feel warm, so I didn’t even need a duvet. But today, I woke up with the bed empty and it felt cold.“Ry?” I said again, but I heard no answer.I stirred in bed and slowly propped myself up. Ryder wasn’t anywhere in the room. I glanced at the clock and it was still 5 o’clock in the
Dear Stepbrother 65. The Honey Moon
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *ONE MONTH LATERHUNTINGTON BEACH, CA* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *[ K A R A ]The first thing I noticed about California was the air. The air was salty, but breezy and cool. Ryder and I arrived in the golden state a few days ago. We were living in a cute little Airbnb right by the beach. It was the coolest thing ever.Every morning, Ryder would go out to train by the beach. The first contest on his world tour would be held here next week. Every morning, I would wake up with him, make coffee, and I’d do a little writing as I
Dear Stepbrother 64. Peter and Lacey
* This is a bonus chapter with Peter and Lacey's POV. Enjoy! *[ P E T E R ]“It’s a great wedding, huh?”My eyes were glancing around the room and I locked eyes with my ex-wife. We exchanged a smile and I thought it was polite to make small talk. What I didn't realize was how awkward it was, talking to my ex-wife at our children’s wedding.“Yeah, it is,” she replied.I was holding a glass of scotch and she was holding a glass of champagne. We were both standing by the sidelines, watching our two kids share the dance floor as bride and groom. It was quite an ironic sight. Life had a pretty crazy sense of humor. I remembered a few years ago when it was Lacey and me out on this dance floor, dancing as the bride and groom. We were so happy back then. We thought we were in it for the long haul. And yet here we were, only a
Dear Stepbrother 63. Colle and Elle
* This is a bonus chapter from Elle and Cole's POV. Enjoy! *[ E L L E ]It was a beautiful night in Hawaii and a wonderful wedding. My best friend, Kara, just got married to the love of her life and I couldn’t be more proud. Today was supposed to be one of the happiest days of our lives, but it felt rather bittersweet.One person’s happiness is another person’s tragedy.I saw Cole standing silently by the sidelines and my heart sunk to my feet. Cole had been in love with Kara for years. That was actually how we met and became friends. He was introduced to me by a friend and he was telling me how he was in love with his best friend. I thought guys like him were so adorable. They were a rare breed. He was so thoughtful and kind. They don’t make guys like this anymore.I decided to help him win the heart of his best friend,
Dear Stepbrother 62. The Blue Moon
[ R Y D E R ]Kara was probably thinking that I was taking her up to our room, but no. I liked to keep things interesting.So instead, we got some milkshake from my favorite diner and made our way to our Secret Beach. The night was young and full of possibilities. We were giddy and excited, laughing at each other as walked down the beach, barefoot with our hands clasped together. I was reduced to a grinning and smirking mess. Thankfully, she was too."Kara, you're smiling like crazy," I commented."It's because I'm crazy about you, Ryder Jake Williams,""You're so perfect in every way. I'm the luckiest man alive," I stopped our tracks and stood right in front of her.I reached out to hold her hand, and I caught her by her wrist. She flinched when I touched the scar over her tattoo. It had healed, but the mark was still there.
Dear Stepbrother 61. The Pura Vida
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *ONE WEEK LATERKAUAI, HAWAII* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *[ K A R A ]"Oh my God!” mom gasped as soon as I walked into the room. “Ryder's gonna go crazy when he sees you,""Mom!" I hissed and looked away, totally embarrassed."Seriously though, if I swing that way, I would've married you right now," Elle added.It was our wedding day today and I was all dressed up in the bride’s attire. I had curled my hair and let them down, and I was wearing this lovely white lace gown that cascaded down my body so heavenly. When I looked into the mirror, I was in awe too, I couldn't believe myself when I saw my reflection.Ryder going crazy... a girl can only hope.
Dear Stepbrother 60. The Promised Land
[ K A R A ]The next thing I know, Ryder and I were driving down the highway in this convertible car. The summer wind was blowing through our hair and Ryder was holding my hand in his throughout the entire ride."We just passed the city limits,” I noted the sign. “Seriously, you're not gonna tell me where we're going?""And ruin the surprise? I think not,""Okay... just answer this then, is it somewhere where we could get a milkshake?" I said it naughtily."Damn, look at you go," he stifled a laugh."Six months of being away from you would do this to a girl,""Baby, I wish I could. But, actually, I want to wait," he said suddenly. "I wanna be that whatever unicorn-guy you've been dreaming of. I'll be that guy that waits for you and loves you no matter what,""What?"
Dear Stepbrother 59. The Magic Carpet
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *SIX MONTHS LATERNEW YORK CITY* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *[ K A R A ]"I still can't believe you're getting married to Ryder next week," mom said as she stomped to the kitchen with our dirty plates."You've known him how long exactly? Three months?" she teased, referring to the time when I argued with her over her choices on marrying Peter."Ha-ha, very funny," I laughed sarcastically as I stalked to the living room to continue packing my things.There was so much stuff that I had to sort through, my room was a mess. I even had to use the living room because there wasn't enough space. And now the living room looked like the ballroom in Titanic as they were sinking.If you were
