“Smells good in here,” he said as Rhonda danced over to him and threaded her hands behind his neck. I glanced away until their kiss ended and tried to keep a mild expression on my face. How could he do that? Kiss her like that and pretend that … that everything was okay, that it was normal.
“And look who's here. Finally, I get to spend some time with this sister of yours. She's staying for dinner.” I glanced up sharply and ended up getting stuck on Flor's eyes. They were narrowed on me, focused, and filled with something I couldn't quite name … anger, maybe? I wanted to look away, but I couldn't help myself, desperately wanted to deny the invitation for dinner but couldn't force the words past my suddenly dry lips. The memory of Flor's body inside of mine was fresh in my thoughts, flickering to the surface and making my cheeks flush and my fingers curl into fists. I stared at him, at the mild frown pulling down the corners of his beautiful lips, the scar on his chin that I'd finally, finally gotten to trace with my own fingers. How could it have finally happened and then be over so fast? How? “He talks about you all the time,” Rhonda added, unknowingly adding a layer of tension between Flor and me that we so didn't need. “I feel like I know you already, you know?”
I nodded, but I couldn't pull my gaze from my stepbrother's.
“What do you need, Abs?” he asked finally, turning away like he was already done here. “You could've just called.” I pursed my lips. I had called, and he hadn't bothered to answer, so here I was. Without waiting for me to respond, Flor continued on down the dark hallway and I followed after him with a quick apology to Rhonda. If I was any other girl, I doubt she'd have let me trail her boyfriend into his bedroom, but I wasn't. I wasn't just any other girl. I was his freaking sister.
“Flor,” I snapped, trying to keep my voice low enough that we wouldn't be heard by Rhonda. Luckily, she'd turned up the music and started singing along with whatever song it was that was playing. Let me hold you tight, feel you close for just one night.
Jesus. I had the worst bits of luck. The lyrics she was singing were not helping any.
“Flor,” I said again as he tossed a small bag onto his bed and proceeded to strip off his shirt. My throat clenched tight and my entire body lit up like a Christmas tree. It was too much too soon. I bit my lower lip.
“What is it, Abi?” he asked, like we had nothing at all to talk about, like we hadn't been dancing around our love for one another, like we hadn't just fucked for the first time. “And are you really staying for dinner? Isn't that a little weird?”
“Weird?” I asked, wishing I could screech the word at him, claw it into his back and force him to turn around and fucking look at me. “Of course it's weird, Flor. All of this is. What are you even doing? What are you going to tell Rhonda?”
He whirled on me then and I took a step back, hitting the wall with my shoulder as Flor leaned over me, his bare chest beautiful in the dim afternoon sunshine peeking through the nearby window. He pinned me there with an arm on either side of my face, his palms pressed into the wall.
“Are you serious, Abi? We're not going to tell Rhonda anything.” He leaned back and I swear, the air around me cooled by several degrees. It was like when we were together, the friction of our feelings lit up the room. “There's nothing to tell her anyway.” He waved his hand dismissively and this time, when he said it, he didn't look at me. I watched Flor move over to his dresser, my mouth open in shock and an angry tendril of hurt working its way into my belly. No.
“I won't let you use me and toss me away like all the rest of your girls,” I said and his back stiffened. Flor shoved clothes around angrily until he had a small stack in his hand. When he turned around and moved back towards me, he paused, eyes on the wall and not on my face.
“I'm not having this conversation with you right now,” he growled and then we both paused as we heard the front door opening again.
“Wow, does that smell good.”
Fuck.
It was Max.
Flor and I exchanged a look before he shoved past me and moved further down the hall towards the bathroom. I closed my eyes for a moment, made myself take several deep breaths, and shoved off from the wall. It was better I go to Max before he came looking for me. I hadn't spoken to him since the night Flor and I had slept together and with all that had happened, it felt like forever.
I stepped out into the hall and adjusted my dress, taking a deep breath and sauntering into the living room with a smile. He was just coming out of the kitchen with a curious look on his face, his brown hair mussed and sexy. I wish I could've loved him like I loved Flor, but it was never going to happen. I was sure of that now.
“Hey Max,” I said, tucking my fingertips into the pockets of my black dress. It was crisp cotton, short, sexy, and it went perfectly with my boots. Or so Addi had said. She was about a hundred times more fashion forward than I was, so I listened. Max took me in with a smile and then stepped close, bracketing my face with his hands and pressing his lips softly to mine. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, I thought as he leaned back and smiled down at me. I'd cheated on Max just the same way Flor had cheated on Rhonda.
“Long time no see, dope,” he said with a wink, imitating one of Flor's favorite pet names for me. The two of them had occasionally teamed up to pick on me when we were kids. I remembered one particularly terrible prank where they'd sliced a hole in the back of my gym shorts. I hadn't even noticed until I'd left the locker room and been swarmed by concerned girlfriends. This moment, for whatever reason, felt a lot like that. Had Flor told Max anything? No, not if he was kissing me like that.
“Two days,” I said and he shrugged, glancing down as one of the kittens latched onto his jeans and began to climb right up his leg. “Not really all that long,” I said as he grinned and detached the furry little beast from his pants, handing it over to me with a smile.
“Oh, so you're not excited to see me?” he said, his tone light but suggestive. Our night at my parents' house was just as fresh in my mind as the one I'd shared with Flor and I felt sick to my stomach.
“Of course I am,” I said again, forcing back thoughts of my idiotic stepbrother. For whatever reason, the idea of Max finding out what had happened between us terrified me almost as much if not more than my own parents. He'd grown up with Flor and me, and I just did not see it going over well. “I just wanted to talk to Flor about something and he's being an ass.”
“So what's new?” Max asked with a laugh, pausing and then snapping his fingers. His voice took on a gentle expression as he reached out and cupped my face. “A new sibling this late in the game, huh? It's a little weird, isn't it?” I nodded, feeling a little relieved that I had a valid excuse for being here. “But you are staying for dinner, right?”
“Yeah,” I said because what choice did I have now? If I left, everyone would know something was up.
“Awesome,” he replied, kissing my cheek again. “I'm gonna go change real quick, 'kay?” I nodded again and Max moved away, disappearing into the bedroom at the end of the hall. I paused for a moment and then decided to follow after him. I couldn't stand the thought of being stuck out here alone with Rhonda again. My guilt was eating away at me and making me sick.
I moved after him when the bathroom door to my right suddenly opened and Flor appeared, cloaked in steam and wrapped in only a towel. He paused, eyes widening like he hadn't expected me to be there and then glanced towards the kitchen. Neither of us could see Rhonda from here, but the fact that she was there was unforgettable.
I found my eyes straying to the drops of moisture of Flor's bare skin, clutching at the bright lines of his tattoos. His dark hair dripped into his eyes and his breath caught harshly in his chest.
“Do you need something?” I managed to squeak out, my brain flooding with a million memories of Flor doing this at home, yelling something out the bathroom door. I'd been sent to fetch him shampoo, conditioner, and once, he even asked me to grab him a pair of boxers. That'd been the one time I'd slammed the
door in his face.
He looked at me, really looked at me, and then reached out, wrapping his fingers around my wrist. Flor tugged me roughly into the bathroom and slammed the door, pushing me against it with the full force of his body. In the background, the shower continued to run and the fan whirred, but I couldn't hear anything but the beating of my own heart.
“What … what are you doing?” I choked out.
Flor leaned down and his mouth closed over mine, his hands sliding down my sides. At first, my eyes were wide and my body stiff with guilt and fear and confusion – what if we got caught? – but then his tongue found mine, infusing me with heat, and I went limp in his arms, my eyes flickering closed with a flutter of lashes. My fingers strayed to his damp hair, his bare chest and felt their way down until I found the towel wrapped around his waist. With little effort it slipped to the tile floor beneath our feet.
I opened my eyes.
“Flor,” I began again, but he hadn't invited me in here to talk. Florian slid his warm, damp hands up my bare thighs and hooked his fingers over the waistband of my panties, tugging them down with excruciating slowness, leaving me panting for breath. The ache between my thighs was unbearable as he slipped the underwear off and tossed them in the corner. Already my mind was getting away from me, wondering how we'd manage to get through this without being caught – not to mention what might happen if I forgot my underwear in here. But then Flor stood back up and hooked his left hand under my right leg. I suddenly didn't give a crap about anyone but us.
Flor shoved himself into me, slamming our bodies into the door with a grunt that I could only hope was covered up by the whir of the fan and the noise of the still running shower. I wove my fingers together behind his neck and leaned in for a kiss.
Only he wouldn't kiss me.
Flor turned his head and my lips scraped up against his cheek, but he didn't give me any time to let my anger bloom. His body moved inside of mine, rough and tender all at once, like he couldn't decide if he was in love with me or if he hated me. A whimper escaped me, and I did my best to silence it, pressing my face against the curve of Flor's neck while he fucked me against his bathroom door. While both our significant others waited outside.
He didn't say anything, not a word, and it was all I could do to keep quiet, so we stood there, bodies melting together, fingers hot and breath harsh. Flor and I fucked until he was spent and stumbling back from me, a very familiar look in his eyes.
A look that said I was too dangerous to touch.
Flor and I stood a few feet apart, staring at one another, our chests rising and falling as we struggled to catch our breath.
“Get out,” he said, and I found myself blinking stupidly back at him while hurt surged hot and hard inside my chest.
“What?” I managed to sputter out, pushing my dress back into place. I was too stunned to move, too confused, like I was being held prisoner by my own emotions.
“Get out,” he said again, turning away and climbing into the shower. He flicked the curtain closed behind him, apparently satisfied that that was the end of the discussion. I swallowed back a surge of fresh tears, my hands quivering, my body still aflame from the heat of his fingers. How … why would you do this to me, Flor?
I reached down and grabbed the knob, stepping out into the hallway at the same moment I bit back a sob. I didn't think to check for anyone before I went out, but fortunately for Flor and me both, it seemed nobody had noticed our very brief double absence.
I leaned back against the wall and took several deep breaths, squeezing my thighs together as I fought the tears. Damn you, Florian. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. I kicked back, hitting the wall with my boot just as Max opened his bedroom door and gave me a raised brow.
“What's wrong?” he asked, making me feel naked. I was already missing my panties. I felt exposed, and I didn't like it one bit. I shook my head and shrugged, forcing a smile that tasted like broken glass in my mouth. I decided since I was already bleeding inside, since I was already a cheater, I might as well add liar to the mix.
“Addi called and she's having a fight with Patrick. She wants me to come pick her up.”
“I can go with you,” Max said, stepping forward. He looked handsome, really, he did, but I could barely even look at him I was so ashamed. “You can bring her back here and we can all eat together, like we did way back when.” I made my smile wider and shook my head.
“I think she needs some girl time,” I said and then jumped when I heard Rhonda's voice from over my shoulder.
“Never underestimate the power of girl time,” she said as I turned to look at her eager face and kind smile. I think I'm going to be sick.
I moved forward, gave Max an obligatory kiss on the cheek, and left with a promise to Rhonda that I'd stop by tomorrow and pick up some leftovers.
Hell, if I didn't intend to keep that promise, who would ever know?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I didn't want to burden Addi with another failure of Flor story, so I kept the news of what had happened between us to myself.
“Where you been, stranger?” Addi asked me as I slunk into the kitchen and deposited my purse on a stool at the breakfast bar. Where had I been? I felt like that was a question that even I didn't know the answer to. Hell and back, that's what I wanted to say. My legs felt shaky and my heart was still running along at a mile a minute. The lack of underwear wasn't helping my mood much either. Two pairs of my favorite panties were gone now because of Flor.
Flor.
My stomach tightened and turned over and my breath caught harshly in my throat.
“Out with Max,” I said, which wasn't a complete lie. Max had been there; it just wasn't him that I'd had sex with. “Why? Anything interesting going on?” I moved into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of iced tea, desperate to make a run for my bedroom (and a clean pair of panties), but also unwilling to let my friends see me shake. Theo was over, again, not an unwelcome sight necessarily, but I also knew that he was at least twice as perceptive as Addison. At least at the moment he was wholly and completely focused on painting her toenails.
“Patrick's flying up here last minute and wants to go to dinner on Saturday. When I even hinted that I'd rather stay in and binge on ice cream and cheesy Netflix movies, he practically freaked.”
“We're debating the idea that he's either proposing or changing his mind about moving up here,” Theo added, leaning back and looking too perfect in his 'casual' T-shirt and jeans. Nothing that boy did was on accident. I smoothed a hand down my rumpled dress and tried to keep smiling. Inside I still felt sick. I'd never cheated on anyone before and I didn't like it, not one bit. Nor did I like being the other woman. Or the sister.
“I'm praying it's neither,” Addi said with a sigh. “I'm not getting married before I can legally purchase alcohol, no way no how. And if he changes his mind about moving … ” She trailed off with a sigh and shook her newly blonde head of curls. “Oh,” Addi began again as I started to sidle off towards my bedroom door. “Your stepmom called me again and made me promise to escort you to family dinner this week.” A lump caught in my throat. Family dinner. It seemed a constant source of trouble as of late and I was near desperate not to ever go back to that house again.
“Yeah, sure, thanks,” I said, turning down the hallway and moving away before they could engage me in conversation again. Damn it, Flor. He'd warned me and I hadn't listened, hadn't wanted to believe he'd treat me like just another piece of ass. I was starting to wonder if I'd been wrong about that. This new … thing that was happening between us was even worse than what we'd had before. I felt isolated from my family, my friends, my own heart. I touched my fingers to my chest, grabbed some clean clothes from my dresser and hit the shower.
Maybe the steam would be warm enough to wash away the breathless depths of my own shame?
The next few days passed by in haze, like the world around me was blanketed in fog, distant. I couldn't stop thinking about what Flor a
nd I had done, couldn't stop feeling guilty about it. I hoped he was suffering too, being crushed under the weight of his own guilt. Of course, that was just wishful thinking since I didn't have a single message from Florian on my phone. I'd thought about stopping by his place again, but look how well that had turned out the last time.
I sighed and adjusted myself in my chair, squinting down at my calculus exam and trying my best not to get frustrated. Because of all this drama, I was behind on my homework and only half sure I was doing the problems right. At least my lowest test score gets dropped. Still, I couldn't help but seethe, thinking of my stepbrother and his chickenshit attitude. Where was he when I needed him most? Hiding from me? Feeling sorry for himself?
No.
Apparently, he was waiting outside the classroom for me.
I finished my calculus exam, turned it in, and prayed to the God of Derivatives that I'd actually gotten a passing grade. My head was so muggy that I didn't even see him at first.
“Hey, nee-chan.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up as I turned to glance over my shoulder. Crap. Not that I even needed to look. That smooth, sexy voice was more than enough to signal Flor's presence. I paused and turned towards him, the stream of students from the classroom the only barrier between us. He waited until there was a momentary pause and stepped forward to join me. Just standing this close to him, my body was already in overdrive, my head dizzy with the smell of him, the sight of that dark silken hair, that perfect mouth, the scar on his chin.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as Flor walked alongside me, down the steps and out the doors of the math building. I briefly entertained the idea of taking off in a wild sprint, leaping into my car and hauling ass out of there before he could say anything to me, but it just wasn't in the cards. I knew Flor could outrun me on even my best day. He was that annoyingly athletic type who hated sports and only exercised a bare minimum yet somehow managed to stay ripped. I hated him for it.
Kicked: A Bad Boy Sports Romance Page 43