by C. M. Owens
“It was just as disgusting!” Brin calls back.
Do I want to work here?
Hell, it’s paying too much not to work here.
The two call-backs I got while still in Georgia sounded promising. I never heard this in the background.
Shaking my head, I manage to find a pen under some papers on his desk and start filling out the paperwork as Rye says, “I’ll fire you.”
“I’ll tell your daddy on you. You know he likes me better than you.”
That has me grinning. I don’t quite understand the dynamics of their relationship, but it at least sounds like it’s a lot of fun.
“Fine,” Rye growls. “But you have to come out sometime.”
There’s nothing about his posture or tone that makes me believe he’s saying that with malice.
“I love you,” Brin says through the door, mock apology in her tone.
“Then get all the glitter out of my hair when we get home. The last time it took me months to get it all out. Tag still fucking calls me Tinker Bell. And I swear I still see a sparkle from time to time.”
A smothered laugh is all I hear in return from her, and Rye, looking utterly ridiculous in the copious amounts of glitter that continues to flutter from his hair, giving the illusion of purple dandruff, sighs as he returns his attention to me and sits back down in his seat.
“I swear this has nothing to do with Wrench leaving us, by the way. Are you certain you want to work here?” Rye asks me with feigned exasperation.
“I’ll bring this back with me in the morning,” I tell him, holding up the papers. “Seven, right?”
“Seven,” he agrees, glaring at the door when it cracks open a little. It slams back shut, and he rolls his eyes.
Laughing quietly, I stand and start toward the door.
The sound of a chair sliding and slamming into a wall sends me turning around, watching as Rye grabs Brin mid-jump as she tries to escape. His arms come around her waist, and she bursts out laughing as he starts rubbing all over her, spreading the glittery love around.
He even shakes his head over her head, making it rain. Which has Purple Rain start playing in the background of my mind during all this. In my head, all this happens in time with Purple Rain as well.
And pathetically, I envy that moment. Their moment.
I’ve never had that moment, and this is probably just one of their many.
Her laughing as he blows raspberries on her neck, and him smiling against her after she has completely covered him in glitter. I don’t look away until their lips connect, and then I start feeling less like a covetous onlooker and more like a skeevy voyeur.
I see so much of the fake stuff all the time that I often forget what it’s like to see the real stuff.
Smiling a little dreamily, I turn and find Sean pinning me with an are-you-serious look, paired with a perfectly-executed condescending eyebrow arch. Cue record-needle scratch and the abrupt ending of Purple Rain.
“What?” I ask a little too defensively. And loudly.
A snort of derision answers that.
Little smartass.
Another few knowing stares are on me from the waiting room.
Rolling my eyes, I start down the stairs, and Sean follows with his judgy little eyes all the way behind me to the truck.
As soon as we’re inside, he opens his mouth to speak.
“Don’t you dare say it,” I quickly caution, holding my finger up like it wields the power of the universe.
I crank the truck as he laughs to himself. Just as we get pulled out, he can’t deny himself any longer.
Exaggerating his Southern accent, he asks, “How’d those shorts work out for ya, sis?”
“Hilarious, Sean. Real freaking hilarious.”
“Bless your heart,” he retorts mockingly.
The men in my life are always such exhausting smartasses.
Chapter 10
MAVERICK
“A kid?” Kode and Dane ask in unison.
I run a frustrated hand through my hair. “How did this happen to me?” I groan.
“You do realize that you only had sex with her less than a week ago, right? I highly doubt the kid is yours,” Kode deadpans.
Dane chokes on a laugh, masking it with a cough as the other dickheaded cousin of mine smirks. I give him an incredulous glare.
“Sorry,” Kode says, not sounding sorry at all as he rocks back on his heels, his hands in his suit blazer’s pockets. “Had to be said.”
“None of the girls I need to talk to are apparently available to talk to me right now, despite the fact that I’m friends with them for times precisely like this. I called you two assholes—”
“And you expect us to tell you to enlist to play daddy?” Dane asks me with a hint of laughter in his tone. “Maverick, you took my daughter to the park two weeks ago, and said you’d never do it again because too many single moms kept asking you out. And you can’t do—”
“Can you stop talking now? You’re sort of making me sound like an asshole,” I interrupt dryly.
Kode turns away this time, trying not to laugh. I’m glad they find me so motherfucking amusing. I’ll kick their asses later for this.
Fighting a smile, Dane goes on. “I’m just asking if you want to actually date this chick? It’s sort of out of the blue.”
I’m not sure what exactly about Salem has me so ramped up to begin with. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t expect anything from me. Or maybe it’s because of the way she looks at me.
It’s not just a hungry look. It’s a look of torture—one where she wants more but doesn’t want to risk it.
Something I can relate to.
Or maybe I’m just getting too fucking old to keep pretending like what I have is enough, and Salem is the breaking point for me.
“She’s my stepsister, and I have to see her on a regular basis. Which means—”
“Stepsister?” Kode interrupts, and two pairs of wide eyes stare at me. I guess I glossed over that juicy little morsel during that summed-up story.
“Let’s skip the shock factor, and the what-the-hells and yada yada and pretend this was common knowledge. The point is, I have to see her on a regular basis. For who knows how long. And she’s in my head a little. I didn’t expect to actually like her after I talked to her. No, I’m not in the market to be a dad. Hence my dilemma. I have to see her, and it’s going to be a little uncomfortable when I go from stalking her to avoiding her upon discovering she has a kid.”
“Ahhh,” Dane says, leaning back against the desk in his office.
“That is going to be really awkward,” Kode says with mock sympathy.
With an exhausted sigh, I say, “Thank you, Captain Fucking Obvious.”
Dane, taking a little pity on me, claps a hand on my shoulder. “Ian will understand that you screwed your stepsister. Don’t worry. It’ll all be all right.”
So much for pity.
“We owe you at least two thousand more smartass remarks in return for the ones you’ve given us over the years for women,” Dane says, grinning like a cheeky bastard.
Touché. “Can we put my tab on hold for five minutes?”
Dane grins tauntingly, but he says, “Be her friend. You told her that’s what you were going to be. You’re not going to catch a case of ‘DAD’ if you spend some time around a single mom.”
I roll my eyes and flip him off. “Fuck you very much for your uselessness.”
“Maverick,” he calls, half laughing as I turn to leave.
Was I really this unhelpful to them?
Yes. Yes, I was. Many times.
Walking out now.
Of course, I flip them off one more time when they call for me again, never looking back as I head outside.
I start to call Dale, then halt myself. Every time I call, Harley has found some new toy to throw into their kinky damn sex life, and he wants to ask me about it, since he can’t seem to fucking use Google like every-damn-body else in the twenty-firs
t century. He clearly thinks my knowledge is far more extensive than it is, and he has to describe whatever it is in detail.
I have nightmares, people.
Night. Mares.
His fiancée created an app for him to use, and he still asks me questions!
Despite the joking around, Dane really did just unintentionally make me feel like an asshole. And all he was doing was repeating my words. Talking to Salem about the worst one-nighters also left me feeling like an asshole.
I told the story to be funny, but it wasn’t so funny when I said it aloud to someone other than the guys. Telling a girl I’ve been with that I forgot about another girl I’d been with, but remembered her creepily decorated unicorn room…
I admit, I might have showered an extra ten minutes that night to wash that story off me.
Instead of calling Dale, I pretty much hear his voice in my head. I’ve had to hear hundreds of his unsolicited pep-talks/lectures in the past.
Uneasy feeling suddenly in my stomach, I pull out my phone, deciding to do something non-dickish for a change. And I order a pizza, while also hoping I’m not about to be an asshole in my quest to not be an asshole.
Chapter 11
SALEM
Pumped from my successful interview, and loaded down with groceries for the week, I head inside with Sean. Just as I finish putting everything away, someone knocks at the door.
“I got it,” I say to Sean, who is simply smirking on the couch for reasons unbeknownst to me.
I swing open the door, and my breath sort of does a shaky squeak thing. Maverick is standing there, sexy in a T-shirt that looks too soft, and a loose fitted pair of jeans. And two pizzas in his hands.
On top of the pizza boxes are the clothes he borrowed. My eyes swing up to find him smirking down at me.
“Too soon for pizza again?” he asks.
“Never too soon for pizza,” I answer on autopilot, still a little stunned to see him.
“I can leave if you want, but—”
“No. No. Sorry. Come in.”
Normally, guys I’ve been with don’t get to meet Sean, but since Sean and Maverick are going to be meeting anyway, and Maverick and I are going to be FRIENDS, it’s not like it’s the same. I’m not sure how much Maverick will be in his life. Considering Ian seems like the family type—bet Mother is loving that—it could be a lot.
“Sean, Maverick Sterling is here. The new stepbrother I told you about,” I call out.
Sean cuts his gaze toward me, eyes widening just a little before a ghost of a smile appears. Maverick stares at Sean, clearing his throat.
“We actually met earlier,” Maverick says.
My eyebrows go up. Sean has been here all—
I cut my gaze to my brother to see his wicked-as-hell grin as he winks at me. “Is he going to be my new daddy?” Sean asks, throwing me off.
What the—
“Why the hell would he be your new—”
My words cut off, and I glare at my brother as his smile just grows.
Maverick, to his credit, just stands there a little awkwardly instead of a lot awkwardly.
“Maverick, this is my brother, Sean.”
Maverick’s eyebrows go up, confused for only a second, as Sean flicks a thumb at him. “For the record, I didn’t know he was our stepbrother until just now. You now know he’s probably a little too gullible this late in life, which makes him sort of too basic, if you know what I mean. You also know he’s either into MILFs or he’s a pervert. You’re welcome for the breakdown.”
Maverick glares at Sean, and I try not to smile, because obviously I’m not supposed to encourage bad behavior and all.
“Oh, you little—” Maverick’s words bite off on his own as his face turns a precarious shade of red.
He thought Sean was mine and brought me pizza?
Yeah, sort of sweet.
No, I’ll never tell him that.
Maverick moves to the kitchen, shaking his head as he drops the pizzas to the counter.
“Paybacks are hell, kid. Remember that,” Maverick says to Sean, who simply laughs without concern.
“Is he always such a gem?” Maverick asks me, and I finally burst out laughing, unable to help myself any longer, even though I try to smother it with my hands.
He works really hard not to smile, because he’s trying to hold onto that anger just a little longer. Finally he gives in and scrubs his face with his hands.
How lovely it is to know that my eleven-year-old brother has somehow already deduced the fact I slept with our new stepbrother. I’m such a great influence. Sadly, I’m the best one he has, besides Tyler. But Tyler has his own family and his own career.
Good thing Maverick and I weren’t hopeless, star-crossed lovers who had to sneak around in secrecy. We apparently suck at discretion.
Sean gives me a knowing look that says he sees my thought bubble.
Creepy perceptive.
Sean returns his attention to the TV, and I look over at Maverick again.
“You said you had a brother near Atlanta and one in Boston. You never mentioned you also had one here,” Maverick hedges, like he’s accusing me of setting this up with Sean.
“That’s because where I am, Sean is. I wouldn’t live in a different city from him,” I say, expecting that to be obvious to a guy who is still a stranger.
Getting just a little too comfortable around him.
Understanding dawns in Maverick’s eyes, and he gives me a nod, finally getting the answer to his question about why I would move where my mother does.
Sean pops his headphones on, bobbing his head to music like he doesn’t want to hear us talking anymore.
“So, pizza,” I say when the awkward silence settles in.
“He stay with you a lot?” Maverick asks as I pull out a couple bottles of water.
He takes one, thanking me, and I glance back to make sure Sean is still distracted.
“Usually about two or three days at a time. Then a day or two off. Because we’re siblings. Eventually we fight like siblings if we spend too much time together. And that’s only as long as my mother allows it. When she wants me somewhere, I go to keep her happy. Hence the reason I’m attending this uncomfortable upcoming family dinner.”
He flashes a grin, but it’s a little weighted.
“Get all your boxes unpacked?” he asks randomly.
“I have a ton of bedroom things still to go up. Sean and I finished his room up earlier.”
“I offered to help with her room but she’s worried I’m too young for the things I might find,” Sean pipes in, the little weasel faking with those headphones on so he can eavesdrop.
Maverick chokes out a laugh then turns away as I glare at my brother, who never even glances my way, eyes on his phone screen.
“Come on. I’ll help you with your bedroom,” Maverick says, pushing away from the counter. “Pizza is probably already cold anyway.”
As we start to pass, my brother mocks us. “I’ll just bet he’ll help you with your bedroom.”
I shove his head forward as I walk by, and he laughs at my back.
“I think he’s me fifteen years ago, only twice as quick and doubly conniving. Really fucking terrifying thought,” Maverick says as he shudders.
“You just met him,” I say with a wave of my hand.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to—”
“No, I mean, you just met him; wait until about a month from now. He’ll make you feel twice as stupid as him with just a look.”
Maverick’s grin returns, and I sit down, opening up a box.
“You know you don’t have to actually help me unpack, even though your father told you to. Or do you?” I ask, prying as I study him.
“My father doesn’t ever leverage me with anything, if that’s what you’re asking. Not our style. If he asks me to do something, and I’m able to help out, I usually do. But I never heard him ask me to help you. In case you’ve forgotten, I was shocked to find you here. Had no clue w
ho you were.”
“Right. Good point,” I say, now feeling stupid.
Maybe he and my brother do have things in common.
“Family dinner in two days,” I say when the silence stretches on. And it’s just an awkward sentence tossed out without any preamble. I do this when I’m nervous.
Jealous, huh?
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll play it cool. I’m sure your brother has no problem playing it cool. And we’re just friends,” he says, shooting me a smirk even as he pulls out a stack of CDs.
“Didn’t know they still made these,” he muses.
Rolling my eyes, I snatch them out of his hand.
“On a scale of one to ten, how bad did you freak out when you thought I had a kid?” I ask him, giving him a mocking grin.
“Honestly? Nuclear meltdowns have probably been milder,” he says with a laugh, shaking his head as he moves to hang one of my pictures on the nail already in the wall.
I guess he knows I’m not allowed to punch new nails in the wall.
Considering this is sort of his place.
“But you came back with pizza,” I tell him. “Because we’re really going to be friends.”
That grin of his is definitely going to be the death of me.
“You sound very skeptical, Salem Wright.”
We study each other for a moment.
“I can’t stay too long,” he finally says, looking away. “I have to go to my mother’s to watch a movie with her tonight.”
“Your mom? Is she like your Dad?”
He laughs like I’ve asked something funny. “Polar opposites. Sometimes opposites attract; however, they don’t always stick together. But Mom is great. She’d probably like to meet you. She and my dad have been friends for the past few years.”
“Did you just ask her to meet your Mom already? Clinger alert, Salem! Major clinger alert,” Sean says from the living room, breaking up the semi-peaceful moment. “And, dude, seriously? Too soon. Just too soon.”
“That kid is vicious,” Maverick says, glaring at the wall like he can see Sean through it.
Trying not to laugh, I move the subject to boring things, not giving Sean any ammo or the wrong idea. We fall into easy conversation, which is sometimes like fun verbal sparring with Maverick, and then we’re laughing by the time he stands to go grab a piece of cold pizza.