Anti-Stepbrother (22 page)

The last knot in my stomach unraveled. I shook my head, unable to hide my grin now. “I hope not.”

He grinned back. “It’s awkward enough with Diego, much less some chicks Marcus knows. Word would get out that we were hanging out here.”

My grin fell flat.

People knew we were friends already. Caden had been in my dorm, for goodness sakes, but the way he said that—it was like he didn’t want anyone to know we were hanging out here together. Like I was a secret.

I tried to tell myself that was Kevin baggage, nothing to do with Caden, but the knot in my stomach tightened back up.

“You okay?”

“Huh?”

“You got quiet all the sudden. That’s not normal for you.”

I forced a smile. “I’m good. Just…maybe tired is all.”

“You sure?”

He cared about me. I tried to remind myself of that. “I’m good.”

“My friends!”

Diego made his entrance, his arms stretched out once again. Everyone on the veranda looked up, saw it was Diego, and went back to their conversations. A few offered greetings as he made his way to our table, but once he dropped into his seat, it was like the last time we had been here. There was no awkwardness after that.

Diego filled the air with stories, and if he was quiet for a moment, Caden would start a new one. Diego would quickly join in, taking over. I laughed the entire time.

A couple hours passed before trouble started. I felt it coming more than anything else.

I didn’t hear the girls approach. The veranda had filled while we were out there. But Diego’s gaze trailed past my shoulders, and his smile vanished. His eyes lost their warmth, and a beat later, I heard that same drunken voice, but this time she wasn’t slurring.

The air cooled dramatically, and it wasn’t the temperature.

“Caden! What are you doing here?” she asked.

Caden didn’t turn hostile, but his smile vanished. “I’m here with friends.”

She waited, standing there.

He didn’t say anything more.

Then her eyes fell on me and lit up. A fake warmth oozed from her. “Oh my gosh, you’re Kevin Matthews’ stepsister, aren’t you? I thought I recognized you.” She dragged an empty chair from two tables over to ours, plopping down. She scooted up right next to me, pressing her arm against Caden. “I live in your dorm.”

She paused again, looking around the table. When she saw Diego, her head cocked to the side, like she didn’t recognize him. “You’re the bartender, aren’t you?”

Caden started laughing.

Diego cleared his throat. “Yes. I’m the help.”

“Oh.” Her head bobbed up and down, the smile still plastered on her face.

She looked back to Caden with a calculating gleam in her eyes, then switched it to me.

Something was going to happen. Something shitty.

“Is it true what everyone is saying? You didn’t really come to school thinking you’d be with your stepbrother? I thought that was hilarious when I heard it. I mean, that’s kinda sick too, isn’t it? He’s not your blood, but still. His parent is fucking your parent. That’s gotta be up there on the ick factor.”

Yes. She went there.

She waited for a response from me, but it came from Caden.

“Fuck you.”

He said it low, quiet, but the words sent a chill down my back.

Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

“You came over to our table to insult my friend?” He didn’t move. Not a bit, and that made his words even colder. “Get the fuck away from this table.”

Her mouth opened.

He cut her off. “I don’t care who your friends are. If you don’t walk away from this table in five seconds, I will make my opinion known about you. I can’t guarantee you’ll still have friends after that.”

Diego’s eyebrows lifted. He muttered under his breath, “Damn.”

Caden ignored him. “I don’t like being an asshole, but when it comes to certain friends, I’ll be the worst asshole I can be.”

He’d laid it out for her, but she didn’t move.

Diego got up and put his hands on her shoulders. “You should go. Caden doesn’t make threats lightly. When he does, he follows through. Don’t test him.”

He herded her away from our table.

I was stunned. No one had ever done something like that for me. I wanted to thank Caden, say something to show him my appreciation, but I could only gape at him.

He laughed softly. “Do not cry.”

Two tears formed at the corners of my eyes. I wiped them away and blinked rapidly. “Who’s crying here? Not me. That’s for sissies.”

“You’re not a sissy.”

“Well, we both know you’re not. Holy crap, Caden. No one’s ever stuck up for me like that before.” I felt choked up again. “Thank you.”

He shrugged. “It’s no problem, but maybe we should get going? I don’t want to deal with a crazy chick.”

My lip twitched. “No doubt. They’re like serial killers. They bounce back.”

“Yeah. Just like serial killers.”

Our eyes caught and held as we smiled at each other, feeling all sorts of feelings—emotions that maybe we shouldn’t have been feeling. Or at least I was.

Caden’s eyes darkened. His look was like a sensual caress, moving over me, sending tingles and sensations in its wake, and getting me all sorts of excited. Images of us in his bed flashed in my mind. How I sat down, straddling him. How his hands grasped the back of my legs. How he held me tight, then pulled me on top of him. How he carried me to his bed, our lips touching, kissing, exploring. My hand resting on his stomach, the way his paused on my jeans, his thumb at the ready, just waiting for my permission.

I wondered why the hell we’d stopped in the first place.

“You scared that girl out of her skin.” Diego plopped back down in his chair, setting a beer on the table. “I should know. I had to give her three shots on the house.”

I coughed, feeling yanked out of my sensual cocoon. It’d been so nice and warm in there.

“You should’ve let her try,” Caden remarked, recovering more quickly than me.

Diego harrumphed. “And let you have a second go at that girl? No, thank you. You might not like having them here, but I welcome almost all patrons. And girls who look like that and drink like that? Bring on all their friends.” He began to raise his arms, like he was going to make an announcement, but he stopped. He looked between us. “Am I missing something?”

“No.” Caden sat forward and patted his friend on the arm. “We’re going to head out. I think we’ve done enough damage for the night.”

Following his cue, I stood.

Diego remained sitting, a befuddled look on his face. “Something happened. What was it? What’d I miss?” Then a gleam appeared. “Wait. Are you guys—”

“Going home.” Caden touched my arm, gently guiding me in front of him. “I’m dropping her off at her dorm, and I’m going to my place.” His hands came down on my shoulders, and I almost jumped out of my skin. He was touching me, holding me in front of him. He guided me away from the table and out the back way like before.

We were leaving. That was all. I tried to tell myself that, but as Caden said goodbye to Diego and maneuvered us through the remaining tables, I could only concentrate on the feel of his hands.

His thumbs slipped over my collar and began to rub against the skin there. And he was right behind me. I could feel his heat. I could almost feel him. If I paused, I knew I could lean back against him and he would hold me a moment. When we got to the fence, I did just that. I closed my eyes, leaning against him. His hands dropped to my waist. Soon he would hoist me in the air, lifting me over the fence. It’d come any second…but it didn’t. He stood like that too.

His fingers tightened around my waist. I held my breath. He’d break our contact any second now.

He let out a soft sigh, warming the back of my neck, and I was airborne as he lifted me up and over.

My legs were shaky as he leaped across, landing in front of me. He moved so seamlessly. He didn’t stand there and gape at me, like I had with him. His eyes didn’t even meet mine, and I frowned at that for a beat, but then his hand grabbed mine and we were walking to his vehicle.

I didn’t say anything when we got inside the Land Rover.

He didn’t reach for me, or grab my hand, so I kept it on my leg, palm turned up. He could grab it any time he wanted.

He didn’t. A part of me ached at the emptiness, as if the weight of his hand on mine had become natural, like my own skin. I bit my lip, not sure how I felt about that. Well, I knew how I felt. I didn’t know how I
should
feel.

When he stopped at my dorm, I murmured, “You really did bring me back here.”

He frowned. “Did you want to go back to my place?”

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. I wanted him, and I knew what would’ve happened if we’d gone there instead. I would’ve kissed him, or he would’ve kissed me. I would’ve let him do a whole bunch of other stuff that he would be fine with and I couldn’t handle.

I swallowed over a lump in my throat. “No. This is okay. I’m…I’m kinda tired anyway.”
Liar. You’re wide awake.

He nodded. “Talk tomorrow?”

My heart slammed against my chest. “About what?”

“About anything. Do we need reasons to talk to each other now?”

“No.” I laughed. “I’m being weird again. Okay.”

We were friends. That’s right. Friends.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“’Night, Summer.”

I walked away, but I couldn’t shake a nagging feeling.

I wasn’t sure I knew how to be just friends anymore.

Family Weekend started off like a zombie apocalypse.

At least it did in my mind. The morning was normal, like any other Friday morning. I woke up, went to class, and got coffee and a bagel before going to Intro to Physiology.

Marcus didn’t glare at me. Thank goodness. I never knew what I was going to get with him now. We were making progress. He now mostly ignored me, which was fine. I ignored him back. Afterwards, I brought Shayla with me to lunch with Avery and her friends. Claudia even smiled at me.

If that had happened a week ago, I would’ve considered it a clear sign of the apocalypse, but I had other issues on my mind now. Caden, mainly, but also, Sheila and my dad called early this morning. They were coming, and so were a lot of others, it soon became apparent. I went to the library with Shayla for a study session, and when we left, parents were everywhere.

People were hugging. Moms cried as dads stood awkwardly to the side. Dads cried. Others shrieked their reunions. Soon I was back in my dorm room, ready for my own hugging/crying/shrieking parents to arrive.

Someone knocked on my door, and I plastered on a welcoming smile as I opened it.

It was Kevin.

My smile faded. “What are you doing here?”

He gave me a crooked grin, raking his hand through his hair. “Mom called and said to meet here.” He walked in, his hands in his pockets, and glanced around. “This is nice. You didn’t end up with a roommate this year, huh?”

I eyed the door. To close or not? Gah! I would’ve been all for that a few weeks ago. Close the door, be in my room with Kevin, hope someone would make a move… That seemed so far away, and not far at all. That damn hole inside me started to burn again. I left the door open and sat at my desk. Kevin continued looking around the place like he was the health inspector.

“Do you know what your mom has planned tonight?” I asked.

He flashed me that rakish smile again.

I scowled.

He sat on my bed and sank backward to lean against the wall, his legs sprawled over my entire bed.

Well, just make yourself at home.

“You know my mom. She’ll have something elaborate. I’m guessing dinner tonight and then private box tickets for the football game tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“What’s right?”

“I forgot we had a football team.”

“Family Weekend usually coincides with Homecoming. The football game is a big deal.”

“Huh.” Now I remembered Caden talking about the game. “That makes sense. There were a lot of extra people on campus today.”

“They do a lot of reunions this weekend too. It’s kinda a big free-for-all, but there are parent and family activities planned.” He leaned forward. “You know about the big brunch before the game tomorrow, right?”

“Uh…”

“Your resident advisor should’ve told you about it.”

Avery and I had other things to talk about. “It’s all good. I’ll look it up. I’m sure there’s information online. I can print out an itinerary.”

“You have to reserve tickets ahead of time.”

“Oh.” I glanced down. “Maybe we shouldn’t mention the brunch to Sheila.”

“What brunch?” she called from the doorway.

Too late.

She and my dad had appeared, grocery and Target bags in their arms and on the floor by their feet.

Family Weekend had officially begun.

I welcomed them with open arms, and after the barrage of hugs, Sheila beamed at us. My dad started bringing in the bags, and she said, “Okay, we have a dinner reservation in thirty minutes, but we wanted to come here first and drop everything off.”

Kevin peeked in one of the bags. “Any of this for me?”