“Well, whatever. I need a break.” Zane starts packing up all his math stuff into a huge pile. Then he takes it all and shoves it into his book-bag and zips it shut. It looks more like he’s done studying all together than a break to me. A forever break maybe.
Suddenly I’m all too aware of how short the distance is from one side of the couch to the other and I casually try to move away from him a few inches at a time. Zane smirks and reaches over, grabbing one of my legs, and pulling it up so that it lies across his lap. And there’s the electricity I’ve been trying to avoid.
“Why do you always act like I’m going to hurt you, or something?” He starts to rub the lower part of my leg slowly, making it hard for me to concentrate. “You need to relax, not everything is as big as a deal as you make it in your head.”
His eyes are on me, his hands slowly working up and down my leg. It takes all my strength but I force myself to try and pull out of his grip, but it’s no use, he’s way stronger than me. He tightens the grip on my leg in response, enjoying the power he has over me.
“Where you going?” He takes his other hand and places it on my ankle as if to make his point even clearer. “I want us to hang out.”
“I should go,” I tell him, not meaning it as much as I want to.
“What could be more important than spending time with your big brother?”
I take my leg and kick him in the stomach at the comment. He laughs and releases me. “Okay, okay, I’ll be good, I’ll be good. Just don’t go. Please?”
I sigh. “What do you want to do?”
Zane smirks.
“Don’t make me kick you again.”
He laughs. “I’m kidding. We could watch a movie.”
“My pick?” I perk up, curious.
“Sure, sure,” Zane says, shrugging me off.
“Great!” I jump up and head toward the stairs. “I know the perfect one!”
I jog upstairs as fast as I can and start digging through the shelf where we keep all our old DVD’s until I find it. Then I start to head back down to the basement holding my prize proudly. A Walk to Remember is the movie I picked. It had been my favorite movie years ago when it had first came out. I would force my dad to watch it with me over and over again. It drove him crazy because it was a huge chick flick. It had been a book first that was later made into a movie.
The plot involved the most popular boy in school being forced to spend time with this nerdy girl because they had both been cast in the school play. At first he’s super annoyed by it but soon he ends up falling in love with her and picking her over everything that he once thought was important. Then it turns out she has cancer and he has to fight for her love even more. It was one of my all time favorites and I hadn’t it seen it in a while. It also helped that I knew it was the type of movie that Zane would absolutely hate.
“This is the one I pick,” I announce, waving it back and forth in front of Zane’s face. I don’t know what I expect in return but Zane barely glances at the cover of the DVD. His eyes are glued to his phone, and he nods toward the T.V., motioning for me to pop it in. I roll my eyes and walk over to the T.V., opening the DVD slot and bending down to pop in the movie.
Zane whistles. “Now that’s a nice view,” he says, referring to my bent over ass. I shoot up instantly, feeling the same crimson color starting to creep into my face that appears every time he says something boarder line inappropriate to me. I turn around and try to hide my face from him but it’s no use, he’s not an idiot.
“I meant it in a good way, Kayla,” Zane says, trying to reassure me.
“Whatever,” I say. I walk back over to where he’s sitting and sit down next to him like being this close to him isn’t a big deal at all, even though it is. Normally I wouldn’t sit so close to him, but I do, allowing my shoulder to even rest against his arm a little. It’s almost like I have something to prove to him. Like I want to show him that him making sexual comments to me or flirting with me doesn’t phase me, like it happens to me everyday. Like I can totally handle it from him, even though I’ve done a poor job at coming off that way thus far. “Let’s just watch the movie.”
“Good thinking,” Zane says, sitting up straight now like he’s taking the whole thing very serious. “I can’t wait. What did you pick, anyway?”
“A Walk to Remember.”
“Oh,” he rubs his hands together in suspense, “sounds scary.”
“It’s not,” I say. “It’s romantic.”
“Romantic?”
“Yeah, it’s, like, a romance.”
“Who’s in it?”
“Mandy Moore and Shane West.”
“I’ve never heard of either of them,” Zane says, starting to look bored. “This must be a low budget movie.”
“It’s not low budget! They’re both super famous. Especially Mandy Moore, she’s a pop star.”
The opening credits start to roll and the soundtrack comes to life through the speakers. Zane looks a little more interested. “What does she sing?”
“Sing?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah, you said she’s a singer. What does she sing? Like what’s one of her hits?”
“That song ‘candy.’”
Zane frowns. “Didn’t that song come out, like, ten years ago?”
“I don’t know,” I say, even though I do. “Shhh, it’s starting.”
A few minutes later after one of the kids has jumped off a high bridge into a lake of shallow water and almost died, Zane looks happier than a few minutes before. “Oh, this is going to be a good one,” he says, leaning back on the sofa.
It’s short lived though and pretty soon he’s huffing and puffing every change he gets. I shoot him looks every time he does it but he just keeps going, sighing loudly and crosses and uncrossing his arms.
Finally, after an hour and a half that was almost too much to take, I snap the T.V. off and turn my attention to him. “Way to pretty much ruin my favorite movie.”
“That’s your favorite movie?” Zane asks, shocked.
“Duh,” I answer. “Thanks for pitching a fit during the entire thing.”
“That movie was a complete joke!” Zane practically shouts. “You should be thanking me for making your horrible movie better with my fits!”
I roll my eyes. “And what exactly was wrong with it?”
“It would never happen!” Zane exclaims. “No way he would just give up everything for some girl. He was super popular, he could have had any girl in that school, and he just gave it all up for some girl who was just average! What a waste!”
“It wasn’t a waste! And it wasn’t just some girl! He loved her!”
“Yeah, well, it was very unrealistic. Just know that would never happen in real life.” He takes his phone out of his pocket and starts to scroll through his screen, looking through the texts he missed during the movie. I can’t help but wonder if he’s texting any girls and I hate myself for it instantly.
“Yes it would! You just don’t get it!”
“Oh, I get it alright. I get how stupid it is, but that’s why we’re so different. I live in the real world and you live in a fantasy world.”
I jump up from the sofa and leave him sitting there alone. I’m just about to put my foot on the first step when he catches up with me and swings me around so I’m face to face with him.
He smells nothing like he did this morning. Now the aroma of apple and strawberry drift through the air, making me wonder if he had taken a shower when he got home, or if it was the scent of some other girl. I feel my stomach turn at the thought.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He rubs my shoulders up and down, his blue eyes locked on mine, waiting for me to give him some kind of attitude, but I just stay silent, pouting.
“It wasn’t nice of me to say you live in a fantasy world,” he says. “But can you not be mad at me over a movie? Please?”
I shrug, still choosing to be a little bit of a brat.
He smirks, knowing he won.
“I have this party to go to tomorrow night, but let’s do something together Saturday, okay?”
“Why?” I ask, trying to sound like I could care less either way.
“Because we should spend some time together. I mean, don’t you think it’s a little weird that we live in the same house but barely know each other?”
“I guess I never really thought about it,” I tell him.
“Yeah, me either, until recently.”
And something in his tone makes me wonder if he actually means it.
“What should we do?” I ask him.
His phone starts ringing in his hand and he glances at it. “I have to take this,” he says. “But it doesn’t matter, you pick.” Then he picks up the call and walks away from me, leaving me standing in the doorway of the stairwell, staring at him as he walks away just like he had that morning in the hall at school.
Oh, I would pick all right.
He could count on me.
Chapter 3
“So, how do you feel now that day one is over?” Emily asks the next night. She’s lying on the floor in my bedroom, her thin body spread out all over the floor with her hair flowing in pretty waves all around her. Her green eyes are on the ceiling, searching the white paint for a hint of something interesting.
Looking down at her from where I’m lying myself on my bed I can see how flawless her pale skin is. “How do I feel? Relieved that I made it through but annoyed that there’s still so much time left before this stupid thing is over.”
Emily shoots up from the floor, causing her pale complexion to turn a little green. “Whoa, head rush.” She rubs her head, and we both giggle. She picks herself up and jumps down on the bed next to me. “See, that’s part of the problem, you’re still looking at it as torture. Kayla, you realize that you have the control in this situation, right?”
I shrug and start playing with the bottom of the oversized nightshirt I’m wearing. “I guess so.”
Emily sighs and moves closer to me, she pauses for a second, like she’s trying to find the right words to express all the thoughts that consume her mind at the moment. “No, you are. You just have to want the control. I mean, the entire bet is about you. You have the control in what does or doesn’t happen. You have the control in when and where, or who or what! Or everything!”
I don’t say anything to her, scared to make any type of contact. I knew that she was right, but it wasn’t that simple. I wanted revenge on Zane, I really did. I just didn’t know if I was that good of a liar, if I could pull off what he did so easily. And if I was being honest, it went deeper than that. But part of the real reason was too humiliating to admit.
“I want to do it…” I trail off and look around my room like what I’m about to say isn’t a big deal. “The problem is that I find myself…”
“You find yourself what?” Emily pushes. “Just say it!”
“I find myself… you know…”
“No! I don’t know! You find yourself what?”
“Err… I find myself… turned on when I’m around him.” I somehow manage to get the words out.
“Oh, OH,” Emily says. “Well, that makes sense. You’ve always had a thing for him, and he’s definitely got it going on. You shouldn’t let that get in your way, though. I mean, Zane is one of the hottest guys in school, most girls would be turned on by him.”
My heart sinks at the statement, even though I know she’s right, Zane would turn on most girls. In fact, most girls wanted to be turned on by Zane. Including you, a little voice whispers, a voice that I’ve gotten way too comfortable ignoring. I didn’t want to think about Zane and all the girls who wanted to get with him. I didn’t want to think about Zane in any other sexual situation with any girl who wasn’t me. I hated that, I hated feeling that even after everything he was doing to me he had some type of weird hold on me.
“True, but most girls don’t know that he’s trying to sleep with them so he can win a bet,” I say. I can hear the emptiness in my voice and I immediately curse myself for coming off as weak again.
“True,” Emily pauses, “but there are other things you can do.”
I frown. “What do you mean by other things?”
Emily smiles all matter of fact. “The bet is that he has to sleep with you within the 30 days, right?”
“We’ve established that much,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“So, you can do other stuff with him without him really winning the bet. Like you don’t have to have sex. You can just make out with him, or you can give him head, or you can-“
I start choking profusely forcing her to cut off her crazy rant. Once I regain my composure I look at her with wide eyes. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
She laughs loudly. “Oh, come on, it’s not that big of a deal, people do it all the time. Not to mention it would help you for the future. I mean, think about it Zane has to be nice about it since he needs you to win the bet. He could totally make sure you know what you’re doing in the future, so that when you do meet a guy that you really like or are interested in you will have some…” she pauses for a second, “experience.”
“Hey! I have experience!” I exclaim loudly. I’m totally offended by her suggestion that I don’t! Or by her suggestion that I would need Zane to help me with getting experience! “I have tons of experience!”
She just looks at me for a few beats and then we both burst out laughing at the same exact moment. Once we start we can’t stop, clutching our stomachs and leaning our backs against one another while we try to get our giggle fit under control.
I mean, it was kind of funny, the whole situation. Me sitting here trying to convince Emily I had sexual experience so she wouldn’t think it was okay for me to hook up with my stepbrother. Especially when said stepbrother only wanted to hook up with me in the first place so he could win a stupid bet. Not to mention I specifically remember confiding in Emily about how I had no experience with boys what so ever.
I mean, I had only been kissed twice in my life. And I remembered having this big conversation with Emily about it one day after school when I was freaking out thinking about how when I went away to college I would have no idea what I was doing. And I had asked her what the hell was I going to do if a guy did try to hook up with me? Admit that I’d never done it before when I was 19 years old? How pathetic would that look? So, anyway, me saying I had tons of experience was pointless and a complete joke since I had already confined in Emily about how I had none.
“Look,” she says slowly, waiting for her breath so fully come back, “I’m just trying to remind you that you’re the one with the control here. And if you feel like you’re backed into a corner, you doing stuff with Zane isn’t the end of the world, as long as you stop it before it turns into sex.”
I don’t say anything, wondering if what she’s saying makes any sense in my already screwed up mind. I was already over thinking a million and one things when it came to Zane and this entire situation I was in with him. What was one more added to the list, right?
“In fact,” she continues, “it might even be better. The closer he thinks he is to getting you to hook up with him, the closer he thinks he is to winning. Which means he will work harder, which means the revenge will be much sweeter when you finally tell him that you knew all along what he was up to.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “That’s true.”
She sighs. “Look, you can do this, I know you can, but you have to know you can. And if at anytime you don’t want to do it anymore, if at any time you want to call the whole thing off and march right up to Zane and tell him off, I’ll be right behind you.” She reaches out and pulls me into a hug. “I’m here for you no matter what. And in case I haven’t said it; I’m really sorry this is happening to you.”
I let myself get lost in her arms for a few seconds, and I feel liquid forming behind my eyes, but I push it down not wanting to give into my tears. It just meant a lot, knowing she was there for me. Knowing that she was such a good
friend. It was something I thought I had lost once my dad died, but Emily was definitely a real friend, and one real friend was way better than a million fake friends.
“Thanks Emily,” I say once she pulls away from me. “Really, that means a lot.”
“Of course.” A huge smile spreads across her face, revealing her sparkling teeth. “What are friends for?” She walks over to my dresser and starts fiddling with the jewelry I have spread out all over the place. I wasn’t one to wear much jewelry, but my dad was one for buying me it on holidays. At the time I didn’t get it because I barely ever wore it, but now I was grateful for it. Thankful that I had a piece of each holiday my dad had left behind with me.
Emily picks up a necklace my dad got me one year for Easter and turns it over in her hand, studying it carefully. It’s really pretty, a light silver chain with a pink diamond that hangs in the middle. “Where is he tonight, anyway?”
“Some party. He asked me to hang out tomorrow, though.”
Emily nods. “He must be at Morgan Kelly’s house. Her parents went away for the weekend and she’s having this huge blowout. She invited me, but of course I passed.”
“I didn’t know you still talked to any of them,” I tell her honestly. I’m referring to Zane’s crew, the popular crew. Emily used to hang out with all of them but as far as I knew she hadn’t talked to any of them since she cut them off a year ago.
“I don’t really.” She’s still looking at the silver chain, memorized by the sparkle it gives off just like I had been the first day I got it. “But Morgan’s okay. She’s one of the few who still makes an effort to talk to me when she sees me. She could care less what any of them think, you know?”
I don’t know what to say so I just stay silent. What am I supposed to say? I don’t know, that’s the problem. I don’t know anything about any of them. I had a few classes with Morgan, but I had never said two words to her. She was just another one of them to me. I saw Zane with her a lot though, which made me instantly jealous of her.
Stepbrother Games: The Bet Book Two Page 2