things out and overcome obstacles. Zoe was definitely the toughest and most determined girl I know.
“Your spotter won’t be quick enough for me,” I shot back.
“Wanna bet?”
“Yeah, how much?”
“Loser has to eat a whole bottle of chocolate syrup in under ten minutes.”
“You’re on.” It was little games like this that made things especially fun in the field. Raising the stakes.
“See you at the barracks, Bolt.” Zoe cleared her tray and gave me a hip check to the shoulder as she took off. As she walked away I noticed something was different. Her confidence was sky high. It was always high, but now especially so. When she hip checked me I naturally swatted back at her hip area. I just missed giving her a quick slap on the ass as she turned to avoid the slap. She stuck out her tongue and continued on her way. I noticed something as she walked away. Her ass was big, round, and looked like a perfect apple ready to pick and enjoy. I had never noticed it, especially under her camouflage fatigues. I knew she was in good shape, but how did she keep that big butt?
“Damn, Bolt. Your stepsister has a nice ass,” Private First Class Perry said.
“Cut it out man!”
“Hey, you can’t blame me. I saw you looking too.” He was right. I didn’t have much of a reply to that one, but there was no way I was going to let somebody talk about my stepsister that way.
“I catch anybody checking her out or making a move on her and they’re gonna get it.”
“OK, man. OK. Calm down. I was just having a little fun. Why’re you wound so tight today?”
He was right. I normally could take a joke better than anyone, but not when it came to Zoe. Not when it came to my stepsister. She was a tough girl, but I was still her stepbrother. I’m going to watch out for her and do whatever it takes to make sure she’s safe. And that nobody is disrespecting her behind her back.
I guess it’s one thing when you’re almost forced by your parents to like your siblings. Our situation was never like that. When two families come together you can always expect some time for the kids and parents to get to know each other. Some acclimation. Working things out. Not us. I remember the first day we moved into Zoe’s house. She showed me a secret fort she had been working on all summer and asked me if I wanted to help her finish it up. She trusted me right away. She welcomed me in with open arms. I knew right away we were going to have some great adventures together.
I saw Zoe in her barracks room after chow playing PlayStation.
“Sorry.” I said standing behind her.
“How long have you been standing there?”
“Just a few minutes. I felt bad about what happened with you at the rifle qualification range. It’s going to take you a day or two to catch up on your adjustments. Once you get it figured out it will be time for qualification. I made it tough on you.”
“I can’t say I didn’t deserve it,” she admitted.
“Isn’t it crazy how we’ve been doing this so long? Over half of our lives now.”
“Yeah, but I sure do enjoy it.”
“You’re right. Life would be so boring without our fun. Without you.”
Zoe put down her controller. She looked me in the eye with a certain calmness. I couldn’t tell if she was calling a truce, or just caught off card by my apology. An apology that would surely be disregarded in the next 24 hours when she exacted her revenge in some unexpecting way.
“It’s like we hate it, but we love it. Kind of a love hate, but actually there’s not hate at all,” she was talking herself through an answer she already fully understood.
“Exactly,” I agreed.
“Do you see any of the other Marines acting the way we do?”
“They play a lot of pranks. That’s
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