“Oh, hush, you.” She waves me off as the bartender slides our drinks over, and she shoves one my way. “I saw the two of you out there, chitchatting, holding one another, him wiping the tears from your eyes. Please, you were practically Romeo and Juliet. All those sparks you were shedding, it’s a shocker that altar didn’t erupt in flames.”
“I suggest that you, my lovely childhood friend, is the one who hushes.” I take a long smooth drag from my white frothy drink and marvel at how well coconut is able to mask the disgusting taste of alcohol. Any and all liquor is sort of what I imagine nail polish remover to taste like. Nothing I would ever seek out willingly. “This is how rumors begin, and I’m all about keeping myself drama-free.”
“Speaking of drama.” She nods to the middle of the room where Savannah and a few of the girls from her slutty little pep squad skip over in our direction.
“Hey, Scarpette!” Savannah lunges over me with a spontaneous embrace, and for a moment, I’m trapped between her sweaty yet baby fresh armpit and a sea of blonde hair. “So, like, where’s your brother?” She and her sidekicks do a quick scan of the area.
Cassidy and I exchange brief glances as I choke on my next words. Just as I’m about to say something, anything to get her bouncing cleavage out of my face, Rex steps into the room with Owen.
“Actually, it’s Scarlett,” I correct. “And he’s right over there.” I give a friendly wave in his direction, and he offers a pleasant smile back before his eyes round out once he spots his own little personal cheer-bot bopping over in his direction.
“Is she for real?” Cassidy clucks her tongue as she takes her next sip.
“As real as silicone comes.”
“Is she datin’ him?” She gawks as Savannah hops up onto his waist and dry humps him for all to see.
“Who the hell cares?” My stomach swims in its own juices as if the sight of the two of them makes me want to hurl.
“Oh, hon”—Cassidy bumps me with her shoulder as we watch Rex pluck the dumb blonde off his body like prying barnacles off the bottom of a boat—“the sooner you stop denying your attraction to one another, the sooner the real party begins. Until then, you’re going to have her little slutalicious behind trying to storm your man.”
“My man?” I mumble, baffled by Cassidy’s insistence that I’m attracted to Rex, let alone ready to claim him as my anything.
The rest of the wedding party ambles in to raucous spontaneous applause, and Cade sweeps Cassidy off to the back to continue the celebrations. The music starts up again, loud and aggressive, as if the party were merely getting started, and Savannah begins swaying her hips over Rex’s. Her lips brush over his chest as if she were laying claim.
“Quite a show.”
I glance up to find Piper watching the debauchery right along with me.
“Although”—she grunts as we spy Savannah trying to dig her paws into the back of his trousers—“he is trying his best to evade her.”
Rex gives a nervous laugh as he brings her hands back to the front and tries to deposit them onto her lap, but Savannah’s tentacles are too busy moving and grooving all over his stately frame.
“So”—Piper nudges her elbow into my ribs—“what were the two of you discussing today out by the altar? It looked pretty serious.”
“Life and his mother. My general dislike for her, and why I can’t seem to pinpoint what exactly it is about her that I can’t stand.” I wrinkle my nose in his direction. “It actually wasn’t that abrasive. He was pretty nice. He seems really understanding of how I feel.”
“Is Operation Drive a Hatchet into Your Father’s Wedding Plans still a go?”
“Yup. Next week we’re meeting at my father’s stuffy old country club. I’ve no doubt once their geezer friends spot Rex and me shoving our tongues down one another’s throat it will sink them straight to the bottom of the social totem pole.”
Piper balks. “You think that’s all they’re in this for? Some slimy social circle? Don’t you think what they have is real?” She waves her hand in front of my face in an attempt to capture my attention.
“No, I don’t,” I say, craning my neck so as not to miss a minute of the Savannah takes Toberman hour. Dear God, according to that disgusting look on her face, she’s moments from dry humping herself into a bona fide orgasm. Sure, Rex looks physically uncomfortable as he tries to carry on a conversation with Owen as if the blonde anaconda wasn’t about to wrap herself around him and strangle the life out of his penis, but still, my money says he takes her home at the end of the evening, and, that, right there, draws the bile to the back of my throat.
“Geez, Scarlett.” Piper steps square in front of me. “You look like you’re about to be sick. Come on, I’m not letting you torment yourself like this.” She scoots me to the back of the bar where the wedding party is toasting through tears while Bryson and Holt take turns saying nice things about Annie. Both Cade and Piper step up and say a few words about their brothers, and before I know it, my eyes are running like a damn faucet again.
“There’s a drought in California.” Rex lands in the seat next to me and tosses me a napkin.
“I bet you’d like to get rid of me.” I dab the tears from my eyes with such violence it wouldn’t shock me to wake up to two black eyes in the morning. “Is that what this is about?” I scoff at his meager attempt to make me disappear. “Once I break that spell your mother put over my poor unassuming dad, you can bet the entire lot of us will be out of your hair.”
His head ticks back a notch. “Are you calling my mother a witch?”
“If the broomstick fits.”
Rex gapes at me as if I’ve just initiated a war, and so what if I did? It’s been a long time coming.
“I’m willing to overlook that because I know you’re hurting.” His eyes lock with mine, and as much as I may not like it, the words reek of sincerity. “But for your own good, stop acting like a child and admit to the fact you’re in pain instead of resorting to name calling. It’s not a good look on you.” His eyes soften. “You’re better than this, Scarlett. You’re a good person with a broken heart, and, believe me, I know how you feel.”
“Do you know how I feel?” Now it’s my turn inching back with righteous indignation. “Or do you know how Savannah Anderson feels pawing all over your body as if you were her new favorite chew toy?”
“So that’s what this is about. You don’t like Savannah?” A snide grin springs to his lips. “Or is it that you don’t like me with Savannah?”
I suck in a sharp breath, so fast and hard, I almost inhale my own tongue.
Dinner gets underway as Piper, Owen, Cassidy, and Cade sit down with us at our small round table. Owen engages the three males at the table in a snooze-worthy conversation regarding how valuable Rex is to the WB football team. And when he or Cade isn’t putting us to sleep singing Rex’s prize fighting praises, Piper and Cassidy fill them in on what a skilled huntress I am—completely incorrect because archery and hunting are literally two different animals—pun intended—and, on top of that, Daisy bops by and adds to the conversation telling everyone what a magnificent GPA I’ve managed to amass my first year at uni, and also regales our male guests with the fact I hardly snore at all.
The brides and grooms all file out toward the dance floor, and the room evacuates right along with our friends. Soon it’s just Rex and I staring one another down.
“So, what do you think of that hour long infomercial on all my best attributes?” The words drift out far angrier than I intended. Oh hell, I don’t know what I intended. Rex has my emotions hopelessly tangled like a necklace.
He pushes out a sleepy grin. “I think I’d much rather listen to you snore than meet up with you in a dark alley and risk an arrow to the heart.”
“Oh, come now”—I lean toward him as the heady scent of his cologne pulls me in—“I’d aim for far more creative places.”
We share a heartfelt laugh as the music switches rhythms, something hopelessly roman
tic that affords a lifetime’s worth of first dance memories.
Rex ticks his head toward the exit. “You want to hit the dance floor?”
“Sure thing. You’d better get out there before that Savannah cat drags you off to her twisted den. I’m pretty sure cheerleaders aren’t allowed to snore, but, then again, I’m sure the things you two do in private involve very little sleep.” That lemon chicken I just inhaled does a clucking revolution in my stomach at the thought of what Rex and his sex kitten might be doing behind closed doors.
“I meant dance with me.” He helps me up and lands his warm arm over my back as he leads us out to the bar proper.
“You mean I get to dance with the boy who scored the winning touchdown for every single winning game WB has ever had going back from the dawn of time?” I bat my lashes up at him as we make our way through the tangle of bodies.
Rex laughs as he lands his arms around my waist, and we begin to sway to the music. “They did lay it on a little thick, didn’t they?”
I bite down on a smile as I lock eyes with this tall, handsome boy that my father is determined to add to my sibling roster, and, for the first time, it doesn’t seem fair. But what doesn’t seem fair? I’m baffled by my own defenses. I don’t want Rex in my life as my brother or my anything, do I?
“I guess they like the idea of us getting along.” I swallow audibly, but thanks to the volume of the music, Rex isn’t privy to my “embarrassment.”
He shakes his head. His face inches closer to mine, and my entire body freezes solid as an iceberg. “You and I both know they’re gunning for a little more than that.”
My heart races as his lips hover inches from mine. Everything in me demands to lunge in and land my mouth over his for a moment, just to see how it feels in an effort to quell this dull ache in the pit of my stomach. That sweet spot between my thighs goes off as I indulge in a series of mini orgasms.
God, this is going to be one for the family album—the day I climaxed sixteen times in my new stepbrother’s arms. Our family Christmas cards are going to be rife with alarming secrets. My present orgasmic state of existence is a prime example of why my parents should never have divorced to begin with. Everyone knows that stepbrothers are off limits, and whatever could have been between Rex and me is forever forbidden no thanks to yet another unwanted benefit of my father’s new familial arrangement.
A hard tap falls over my shoulder, and I turn to find Savannah and her frosted powdered donut lascivious smile just waiting to devour Rex in three easy bites.
“Hey, Starla, can I have this dance with your big brother?” She bats her lashes at him, but Rex’s hands only secure themselves tighter over my waist. It feels amazing with him holding me, with his strong protective body wrapped around mine, but this feeling was never really meant for me. I may as well relinquish him right here and now to the vapid skank by my side. They’ll probably end up together one day, and I’ll have an entire lifetime of watching Savannah enjoy Rex Toberman’s perfect body. The urge to weep comes again. This time it’s all for me.
“Not now.” Rex twirls me around so that he’s the one next to Savannah. “I need to talk to my little sis about a few things.”
Her eyes fill with instant rage at the idea of a rejection, and a tiny inkling of joy swims through me. Who knew watching WB’s best and not-so-brightest cheerleader experience her very first shutdown had the power to turn my mood around?
Savannah might have to face the fact she’s not finishing up this song with him, but, knowing my life, she’ll be finishing up the night with him.
Her girlfriends float up around her, and soon they’re swaying to the music right alongside us, glaring as if I’ve personally pissed into those glowing drinks in their hands.
“So, what’s the big family discussion about?” I’m still biting down that grin that’s dying to take over my face. Not only did Rex gift me the privilege to witness his obvious disdain for the queen of Whitney Briggs, but, as an added bonus, I had the opportunity to participate.
His chest expands, touching over mine. “About us.”
“Us?” Every cell in my body leans in to get a better gander at whatever is about to pop from his lips.
“Yes. In a few days, we’ll have to turn up the heat if we’re going to repulse our parents into rethinking their nuptials.” His Adam’s apple rises and falls as if whatever comes next has the power to rattle him on some level.
“Turn up the heat,” I say it right back like some robotic moron, but, the truth is, I’m too far gone, losing myself in those ocean deep eyes. I’m drowning, losing myself in Rex Toberman in the very worst way. Maybe it’s the frosty drink Cassidy poured down my throat, maybe I listened a little too long while Owen and Cade tried their best to sell me on the Rex Toberman lifelong commitment plan, or maybe it’s the fact that smelly alley cat and those stray kittens she flanks herself with are giving me the evil eye, but, God Almighty, all I want to do is test drive this boy’s lips. “How would we do that?” It comes out breathy as I hike up on my tiptoes.
Rex leans in. His lids hood low. His eyes glaze over as the smile dissipates from his face. “Like this.”
Rex lands his feather soft lips over mine and doesn’t pull away.
Dear God, he’s done it!
I press in, careful at first, then hard and demanding, not daring to open up and let him in, not daring to pull away and end this blissful moment either. A sharp electrical jolt travels from his mouth to mine, spraying throughout my limbs, through every muscle, bone, and nerve. This is explosive, unsettling in an earth-shattering way.
A series of gasps break out all around us.
“Holy shee-it!” That would be Cassidy.
“Eww, what the hell is wrong with you?” That would be Savannah. “That’s your fucking sister!”
The word sister circles around the dance floor as Rex presses his hand over the back of my neck, and we indulge in a meandering kiss that lights me up from the inside with an inferno that burns ten times hotter than the sun. The music comes to an abrupt end, and I pull back, gasping for breath, holding my hand over my mouth in horror.
Dear God, what have we done?
I scuttle backward until I’m swallowed whole by the crowd and find myself outside in the warm night air as the streetlights and the laughter from drunk girls slap me back to life. My feet keep moving until I’m running across the street and toward Cutler Tower.
What did I just do, and why the hell did I enjoy it so damn much?
Rex
“This is a bachelor pad if I’ve ever seen one.” Trixy balls her fists into her hips as she cranes her neck past me to the kitchen. I’ve just given both her and my father the grand tour. Knox has been here once before, on move-in day to be exact. First and last time. My brother and I haven’t fought too hard to mend that bridge we burned down years ago. “I bet the girls really love that big giant bed.” She sticks her finger down her throat and pretends to gag, and for a brief moment, I envision Scarlett on that big giant mattress, her dark hair flowing down her bare back, her tits pointed at me like an offering, her legs spread wide with promise—
“Get your head out of the gutter, kid.” Dad ruffles up her hair.
“I’ll be a senior this year. I’m hardly a kid. I’ll be at Whitney Briggs before you know it.”
“You’re coming to Briggs?” I hand both my sister and my father a bottle of water from the fridge. It’s late Friday night, and the two of them just endured a grueling hike with me up past the lookout where Scarlett and I had that private chat. My heart broke for her as I wiped away her tears. That kiss we shared has gone off in my mind like an echo ever since our lips touched Saturday night. Although it doesn’t seem to have meant too much to her. I shot her a text the next day and asked if she was up for breakfast, but it went unanswered. Tomorrow night’s our big and perhaps final performance at the country club. It’ll be interesting to see how things go.
“That’s right.” Trixy pulls a bag of cookies out o
f the cupboard and helps herself. “Knox said not to tell you, but I couldn’t care less about the beef he has with you.”
My stomach turns just hearing my suspicions confirmed out loud. I glance to our father. I was hoping it would be just he and I today at the trails. I was ready to push hard for a reconciliation even if deep down I know it’s futile. As much as I don’t quite approve of Scarlett’s hostile takeover tactics, the little boy in me demands to play along. But Trixy wanted to join us this afternoon, and I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to hang out with my favorite little sister. I wish she brought Knox along. Now that she’s flat-out told me he’s harboring resentment, I think it’s time I make a larger effort to mend fences between the two of us.
“There’s this big thing at Bradley’s country club tomorrow night.” Just saying his name in front of my father feels like a betrayal.
His chest expands with his next breath. “I know. Your mother is happy.” He shakes his head, confused as to why I would even bring it up. “Don’t worry about me. I’m one hundred percent supportive of this.”
Trixy scoffs, and something in me feels a small glimmer of victory. If Trixy sides with me, if she works as hard as Scarlett and me to help stab our mother’s new relationship to death, there might be hope for our family yet.
“You just reminded me that I have like nothing to wear.” She offers a quick peck to my cheek. “We’ll see you there. I’ve got a million things to do to get ready. Hair, nails, I might need new shoes to go with whatever dress I’m about to buy.” She looks to my father as she gathers her things. “Do you mind if I hit the mall in the morning?”
“Not at all. Have fun.” He smiles over at her as she makes her way to the porch, but a frown takes over as he looks back to me. “What’s really going on here?”
“You’re really going on here. Why aren’t you fighting for her?”
His eyes bear in to mine, hardened with a slight level of rage before softening to something just this side of pity. “I know this is going to be very hard for you to hear, son, but I don’t want her anymore. Not like that.” And there it is—the shot to the heart. “I want her as a friend, as someone who works with me to help shepherd you and your siblings through life. What we shared as a couple is over. It melted away with the web of lies and deception we lost ourselves in. We tried to hold on. Hell, the last seven years we were scraping along by the skin of our teeth.”