Score - A Stepbrother Romance

by Daire, Caitlin

  “Hey, Jessie,” I said to the one I knew, a shy smile on my lips. She was the daughter of a prominent Republican politician, so she was rather well-known around Chicago because of her father. Just like Chase. In fact, I was quite sure her father was actually Peter’s main opponent in the gubernatorial race, but I’d have to check to make sure.

  She gave me a strange look as I said hi, so I headed for the fridge, realizing she probably didn’t even know my name. It was silly of me to assume everyone would be friendly, I guess—you can’t have everything.

  I was pouring myself a drink when someone bumped into me, hard. Coke spilled over the edge of the glass and all over the floor. I stepped aside just in time to salvage my shoes.

  “Oops, sorry,” a voice snickered behind me. I turned around, sidestepping to avoid the puddle of Coke on the floor, and I looked up into a pair of cold, hard blue eyes. It was Jessie, the girl I’d said hello to before.

  “That’s okay,” I replied with a smile. “Were you trying to get something from the fridge?”

  She gave me an incredulous look and the girls behind her laughed at me. I felt uncomfortable now, like I’d stumbled upon some serious trouble.

  “Nope, I was trying to salvage your outfit, sweetheart,” Jessie replied condescendingly, giving me a once-over. “Was just doing you a favor. Too bad I missed; I’m sure you’d look better naked than in this horrendous get-up. Those shoes need to go.”

  She strolled right up to me, giving me a syrupy sweet smile as she delivered the last blow. “And so do you, sweetie. Go on now. Shoo.”

  My eyes started watering before I’d even comprehended her words, and I was left staring at her in disbelief. Had I somehow taken a wrong turn and stumbled onto the set of Mean Girls 2?

  “I’m sorry…what?” I asked in a shaky voice. Surely she couldn’t be for real…all the mean girls should have been left behind in high school, right?

  Jessie stepped even closer, her thick perfume cloying the air around us. Violet and orange blossom. I’d never get that smell out of my nose now.

  “I said, get lost, you cheap slut,” she slurred, already a bit drunk and very, very pissed at me for whatever reason. “You don’t belong here. I don’t even know who invited you.”

  Tears were starting to fall from my eyes, as hard as I tried to hold them back. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Once more, I was a fish out of water.

  “Watch your mouth, Jessie,” a growl came from behind me. I didn’t need to look over my shoulder to know it was Chase. Instead, I focused my gaze on the floor, swallowing the lump in my throat.

  “Chase, hi,” Jessie purred. I could tell she had no idea that Chase and I knew each other, let alone the fact that we were soon-to-be-related. “You didn’t come speak to me all night…thought you’d forgotten all about me.”

  “Might as well,” he said. “Apologize to Lina, please.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. Say you’re sorry. You shouldn’t treat people like that.”

  “You’re defending this…” I could feel her eyes on me, even though I was busy inspecting the carpet and fighting back tears of anger. “Trash?”

  Ouch, that stung…badly.

  “Apologize,” he snarled at her, and I could tell he was getting angrier by the second. “That’s my stepsister you’re bullying.”

  There was a long moment of hesitation, followed by a shrill laugh.

  “Sorry, pumpkin,” Jessie purred, evidently changing her tune to appeal to Chase. Typical. “It was just a lame joke…your shoes are totally cute. You know I was kidding, right?”

  I could just imagine her mouth set in a thin line. She’d probably make my life even more hellish now, knowing that I had Chase on my side. I was just a girl, and she obviously saw herself as the queen of the college hallways. She’d never step down for someone like me, and she’d make sure I regretted Chase coming to my rescue.

  I couldn’t take it anymore. I burst out of the room, leaving all of them behind me. The ugly words, the mean girls, and the prick with a secret golden heart, whom I could never have. I just needed to get away.

  “Lina! Wait, Lina—please!”

  He caught up to me just before I reached the door, and for once, I was thankful for the loud music thumping through the house. It meant no one could hear my sobs.

  Chase’s fingers wrapped around my forearm, and he made me turn around, but I wasn’t having it. I wouldn’t let him feel sorry for me, because there was nothing wrong with me, nothing at all. Those girls were stupid for thinking I was worth less than anyone else, and it spoke volumes about them, not me.

  Even though I knew all that, it was still too hard to stop the tears. I needed to be alone for a while so I could try to calm down.

  “Just let me go!” I snarled at Chase.

  “Calm down! Jesus,” he said. “They’re just fucking bitches, Lina. Just mean, vapid girls. You know none of that is true!”

  “They seem to think it is,” I said. “And you probably agree. Everyone here probably thinks so too. I don’t belong. I don’t know why I thought I ever would.”

  Chase stared at me incredulously, ready to protest, but I gathered the last of my strength to rip my arm out of his grip. Then I ran outside, slamming the door behind me.

  My phone had died in my bag, so I couldn’t call a cab, and it was raining outside.

  Of course it was.

  I ran through the thick curtain of water falling on top of me, the drops heavy as they mixed with my salty tears. Soon, I couldn’t tell them apart, but it didn’t even matter. I just needed to find a way to get home, find a bus stop or something.

  I knew I was being a bitch to Chase. He didn’t deserve any of it; he was just trying to protect me. Maybe I was as bad as those mean girls, because I’d put them in the same box, labeled them with the same words. Rich, snarky, mean.

  Chase wasn’t like that, though.

  As I hiccupped and cried, I thought of how he’d come to my defense. He was so sweet…and also totally off-limits, as I was so often painfully reminded of.

  I made myself think about something else, even though he kept popping into my head, and I swallowed a sob, promising myself it would be the last one of the day.

  The bus stop was nowhere in sight. Instead, I found refuge in an alley; a dirty and stinky place just off the main road. At least it was empty, and I hovered under a rooftop, deciding to wait for the rain to stop.

  It was falling hard, noisy and aggressive, the thick drops hitting me like bullets. I could hear a strange sound as well…something other than rain hitting the pavement.

  My eyes widened, and I looked around. The last thing I needed was some frat boys assaulting me in an alley.

  But the sound was softer, sadder. It sounded like someone calling out for help.

  Despite knowing I’d probably get sick, I stepped out into the rain again, trying to follow the noise. It was coming from a trashcan, louder and louder as I neared it. Maybe someone had dropped a cellphone in there? If that was the case, I was stupid for following the sound.

  As I neared the cans, I heard footsteps echoing behind me, and a voice cut through my thoughts only seconds later.

  “Lina, for fuck’s sake! You’ll get sick out here!”

  “Shh!” I motioned for Chase to be quiet as he tried to catch his breath. He was soaking wet, water dripping from every part of him and running down his body in rivulets. “Can you hear that?”

  My bad mood was momentarily forgotten as we both listened to the creepy sounds of the alley. Rain hitting the metal trash cans, cars driving by. And then, right there…a small, mewling sound, scared and begging for help.

  Chase and I rushed forward. He lifted the lid off the trashcan and we peeked inside, looking for the source of the sound.

  A pair of eyes stared back at us. Big blue eyes, with huge dilated pupils.

  “A kitten,” I said. “Someone stuck her in the trash!”

  Chase lifted her out of the c
an, and we huddled under the rooftop, the kitten protesting loudly as Chase held her close. We stepped closer together, my heart beating faster at his proximity, but I was too busy worrying about the little kitty we’d just found to even think of our current closeness as meaningful.

  “Who would do that?” I wondered out loud.

  “Some fucking jackass,” Chase growled. The kitten looked tiny in his robust hands, like a wet rag. She was shivering and mewling even louder now, but that didn’t stop her from snuggling into the crook of his arm. “We need to get to my car and get home. She needs to be warm and dry.”

  I found myself nodding as he gave me the kitten, sheltering her from the rain. Even though she’d been stuck in the trashcan, some rain must’ve gotten through the holes because she was soaking wet. I couldn’t even tell what color her coat was—she was a mess of sticky fur and angry claws.

  I looked up to find Chase stripping off his leather jacket. It was probably his only protection from the weather; the material making all of the raindrops bounce off it. He wrapped the kitten in it gently and held her tight, and seemingly on an impulse, he took my hand in his…

  I felt warmer right away.

  We ran as fast as we could. Chase clutched the kitten to his chest with one hand and helped me along with the other, making sure I didn’t trip and fall in any puddles. It was only a short distance to his car, and in a few moments, we’d piled inside the Lexus, both of us out of breath.

  Chase flashed me a victorious look, and my insides almost melted.

  “Got her. Better take her home and make sure she gets something to eat, and warm her up as well,” he said, starting up the car.

  He was soaking wet, and his white T-shirt was plastered to his skin, making his ripped stomach plain to see. We’d probably both die of pneumonia in a few days, but looking at those big blue eyes of his made me have absolutely no regrets.

  I took the kitten from him, placing her gently on my lap. The engine revved, the car seats began heating up, and right then and there, I knew that the whole day hadn’t been so awful. Even though the rain was still bucketing down, we were warm and cozy in the car, with soft music playing in the background.

  I unwrapped the kitten from Chase’s jacket and checked her all over to make sure she was all right. She was definitely a female cat, and she was still shaking and complaining about her horrible day with loud meows.

  “Poor thing,” I muttered as I held her close.

  “We’ll get her sorted,” Chase promised me, his eyes on the road. “I promise, Lina.”

  For a moment, he looked in my direction, his gaze focusing on mine. Butterflies took flight in my stomach from the simple gesture, and I smiled, my stupid way of apologizing for storming off.

  “Thank you.” My voice was barely above a whisper as we drove onto the highway.

  Chase returned the smile, his eyes floating back to the road a second later. Feeling strangely bereft, I looked down at the kitten on my lap. She was starting to dry up, and although she was settled in my arms, she was still meowing up a storm.

  I felt something warm on my leg, and I looked over to find Chase’s hand resting on my thigh. It wasn’t raunchy or seductive, even though he was pretty close to my inner thigh. It was just sweet, tender and caring.

  It also made me ache for more.

  Chapter 10

  Chase

  Something had changed for the better…and I had a cat to thank for that.

  Never thought I’d utter a sentence like that, but there it was.

  Ever since we’d rescued the poor little kitten from the alley near Brett’s house, Lina and I had wordlessly declared a truce. The kitten had desperately needed our help, and we’d needed to work together to provide that help, forgetting about any childish problems we’d ever had with each other. It had taken the two of us to convince Nina and my father that the kitten—whom we’d named Goldie due to her greyish-blonde patches—could stay, and we’d needed to take her to multiple veterinary appointments to get her dewormed, treated for fleas and vaccinated.

  Lina didn’t roll her eyes or glare at me every time she saw me like she used to, and she actually spoke to me now. Real conversations, not just the occasional witty insult in the hallway. Hell, she’d even hung out with me a couple of times in the last week, watching as Goldie dashed around my bedroom, hunting pieces of dust and pouncing on all of my shoes.

  I had to say, as much as I’d been turned on in the past by Lina’s scathing insults and haughty looks in my direction, I was enjoying being her friend far more.

  Well, maybe we weren’t exactly real friends yet, because I was pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to want to fuck a friend’s brains out. But shh…that could be our secret for now. If she only ever wanted to be friends with me, then so be it. Besides, our parents had been so happy to see us getting along, and I didn’t want to spoil that for them.

  I was seriously turning into a pussy little bitch because of Lina and this kitten, though—no pun intended. I’d gone to a scheduled fight the other night, and with every strike, jab and chokehold I’d put my opponent in, I’d thought of nothing but Lina and Goldie, even though my mind was supposed to be focused on victory and the roaring cheers of the crowd. I’d still won, but I hadn’t cared anywhere near as much as usual.

  All I’d wanted was to get home and be with them.

  Fuck, what was wrong with me? I was losing it, and pretty soon my lack of concentration would probably result in me losing matches…all because of a girl and a cat.

  Little Lily was absolutely loving having the cat around, though, and I had to say, I was starting to feel slightly betrayed. Goldie had taken to sleeping on her bed every night instead of with me or Lina, and Lina and I would always tuck the two of them in and make jokes about how Lily had stolen our precious kitten from us. It was all in good fun, of course—they were totally and utterly adorable together, all curled up under the blankets together with Goldie’s velvety nose pressed up against Lily’s shoulder.

  Right now, it was a little after midnight, and I’d just drifted off to sleep after finishing up an exhausting day of strenuous workouts and two major assignments for my college classes.

  I was woken by a strange rustling sound only moments later, and I rubbed my eyes and rolled over to see Lily standing beside my bed, clutching a doll. She’d really taken a shining to me since moving in, and she’d woken me up a few times in the middle of the night after having nightmares. Usually I’d just make her a hot chocolate and read her a book until she drifted off again.

  “Chase? Wake up, please.”

  She reached out and prodded my shoulder, and I groaned and sat up. “What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream again?”

  She shook her head. “Goldie did a wee on my bed. I’m scared.”

  I sighed and swung my legs over to the side of my bed before turning a lamp on. “It’s okay, Lily, don’t be scared. I’ll change your sheets and put the dirty ones in the wash. You can just sleep in one of the spare rooms for now, or I can put you in Lina’s bed with her.”

  “I’m scared because it looked like there was blood,” she said, hugging her doll tighter against her chest.

  “What?”

  My blood ran cold, and I followed Lily down the hall and into her room to see Goldie curled up on the side of her bed. Weak mewls escaped her mouth every few seconds, and Lily tentatively patted her as I stepped closer to the spot where she’d peed.

  Lily was right. There was a little bit of blood mixed in with the wet spot, and I swore under my breath. “Shit.”

  “I heard that. That’s a bad word,” Lily said. “Is Goldie sick?”

  “I think so,” I said. “You keep patting her for now, okay? I’m going to wake Lina up, and we’ll take her to a twenty-four hour vet clinic. Can you do that?”

  She nodded. “Okay. Please ask the vet to make her all better.”

  “Will do.”

  Lina’s bedroom door was unlocked, and I quietly pushed it open before tu
rning her light on. She grumbled and called out to me.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Goldie is sick. She peed on Lily’s bed, and there’s blood.”

  She sat bolt upright. “Oh my God.”

  After following me into the other room, she hugged Lily and then stroked Goldie’s furry little chin, tears glistening in her eyes. “Poor baby. She’s already been through so much.”

  “I know. I’ll be back in a sec.”

  I raced into my room and grabbed my wallet and car keys. “Here,” I said, passing them to her when I returned. “Do you wanna take her to that clinic on Oak Street? It’s only fifteen minutes from here. Put everything on my credit card.”

  “Aren’t you coming?” she said, looking up at me with wide eyes.

  “I would, but someone’s gotta clean this up and put Lily back to bed. I thought you’d rather be with Goldie than clean up cat piss.”

  She gave me a tight smile. “Thanks, Chase,” she said softly. “I’ll grab her cat carrier and a blanket to put in it.”

  “No, she can have mine!” Lily demanded, grabbing a small blanket from the little sofa that sat on one side of her room.

  Lina smiled and thanked her, her face lighting up as she looked down at her little sister. I could see in her eyes that she was still deeply worried about Goldie, and I was too. I had no idea what could be causing her to pee blood, and I desperately hoped that the vet could help her before it was too late. That gorgeous little fur-ball had really grown on me, and I hated the thought of losing her.

  Lina headed out with the kitten, and I stripped Lily’s bed down and threw everything in the washing machine. As I was waiting for that to finish, I took Lily into one of the spare rooms and tucked her into the bed, making sure she had plenty of her dolls and teddy bears to sleep with.

  “Here you go,” I said. “Here’s Paddington Bear as well. They’ll all make sure you have good dreams, and when you wake up, Goldie should be home.”

  “Do you promise she’ll be better?” she asked, looking up at me through sleepy brown eyes.