by Alexis Davie
She pushed Ethan from her head for the fifth time in the last minute and focused on Lee. He was cute. He had blond hair that kind of flopped over his forehead and he had beautiful, blue eyes. He had a little dimple in his chin, and Madeline knew she would find him attractive any other time, but now when she looked at him, she couldn’t help but compare him to Ethan, and he just didn’t measure up.
She forced herself to smile when Lee met her eye, reminding herself none of this was his fault, and it had been she who asked for this date. She was starting to feel bad for Lee, and she told herself to just focus on him.
“So, are you glad to be home?” Lee asked her.
“Yeah,” she replied. “I guess so.”
Lee looked like he was going to say something else, but he didn’t. Madeline knew why. Everything he said, she shut him down. She answered his questions politely enough, but not in any way that could lead to an actual conversation. Feeling guilty again, Madeline smiled at Lee.
“Should we go get a drink?” she asked.
He nodded, looking grateful to be able to get up from the couch they were sharing and move around. He took her hand in his and she felt nothing. He led her through the crowd and into the kitchen where he grabbed two bottles of beer. He opened them and handed one to Madeline.
“Thanks,” she smiled.
She held her bottle up in the air and clinked it against his.
“Cheers,” she said.
“Cheers,” Lee replied. “Here’s to the start of something special.”
Madeline almost choked on her beer, but she kept her fake smile in place and nodded. She was glad when Charlie and Scott came into the room and headed toward them. Scott said something to Lee, who nodded.
“We’re going out the back for a smoke,” Scott said.
Charlie and Madeline nodded. Madeline was relieved to get a moment away from Lee.
“How’s it going, then?” Charlie asked as soon as the guys were out of earshot.
“I don’t know,” Madeline said. “I mean, Lee’s great and everything. He’s cute. He’s funny. And he seems to really like me.”
“But?” Charlie prompted her.
But he’s not Ethan.
“But I’m just not feeling it,” Madeline said.
Charlie frowned at her and Madeline knew exactly what she was thinking. She grabbed Charlie’s hand before she could say anything.
“Let’s go dance,” she said.
Charlie looked surprised, but she let Madeline lead her into the dining room where all of the furniture had been pushed to the edge of the room to make a dance floor. Madeline found a space and the girls began to sway to the music. Within minutes, they were laughing and dancing along with the rest of the crowd.
As she moved, Madeline heard a lot of shouting and laughter and she turned her head to see a group of guys coming in. They looked like they’d already had a fair amount to drink, but everyone was greeting them warmly and she shrugged. They were just having fun.
Her eyes were drawn to one guy in particular and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as her heart began to pound. It was Ethan, and he was looking right at her. She gave him an awkward wave, wishing it was Lee she was dancing with so that Ethan could see she wasn’t into him in any way.
She turned back to Charlie, who was looking at her in an I-told-you-so way. Madeline ignored Charlie, thinking about how good Ethan looked in his black jeans and white t-shirt.
She looked up and saw Scott and Lee hovering at the edge of the room as though her thinking about Lee had conjured him up. She smiled and beckoned and Lee began to walk toward her. Scott followed behind him, a little less enthusiastic about the idea of dancing.
Madeline threw her arms around Lee and began to move against his body. He put his arms around her and began to move his hands up and down her back. She didn’t like it, but it was serving her purpose.
She told herself her purpose was to convince herself she wasn’t into Ethan and she wanted Lee. The truth was, her purpose was more about making Ethan jealous. If she could do that, then at least she would know for sure that she wasn’t crazy and he was feeling this weird craving too. She still wouldn’t be able to act on it, but at least she would know.
6
As Ethan stepped into the party, the first thing he saw was Madeline. She was dancing with Charlie and Ethan felt both his cock and his wolf responding to the sight of her as she moved her hips side to side, her arms in the air. She was smiling, clearly enjoying the freedom of dancing.
Ethan’s friends were already tipsy, as was he, but the shifter genes meant he could handle his alcohol a lot better than most people and he wasn’t at the stage where he was shouting and causing a scene like the rest of his group. He stood slightly off to one side as the others shouted greetings and generally made an entrance.
Madeline turned her head in the direction of the noise, drawn by the fuss. Her eyes scanned over the small crowd and then they landed on him. For a moment, it felt as though they were the only two people in the room. The other partygoers faded away, the music was suddenly quieter. Madeline held Ethan’s gaze for just a second too long, and then she waved awkwardly and turned back to Charlie. It broke the spell and Ethan was once more aware of the crowd around him.
Someone slapped him on the back and he shook an outstretched hand. His group made their way to the kitchen where Cole filled red cups for them all from one of the kegs. They made their way back into the dining room and Ethan felt like his heart was breaking when he glanced toward the dancing crowd and saw Madeline dancing in her date’s arms.
“Who’s that guy?” Ethan asked Cole, nodding toward Lee.
“Lee something or other. Lee Spencer? I’m not sure. Why don’t you ask your sister? Seems like she knows him pretty well.”
“She’s not my sister,” Ethan snapped.
Cole shook his head and laughed.
“Why do you hate her so much?” he asked.
Ethan was relieved that Cole had taken his protest as a sign of his intense dislike for Madeline, but this time, that was not what he had meant. He had protested because it wasn’t right to feel this way about someone who people thought of as your sister.
“I don’t know,” Ethan said.
And that was the truth. Suddenly, he couldn’t remember why he had ever hated Madeline. Sure, she was a little immature, but she was two years younger than him. And yes, she was self-involved, but was it really a bad thing to enjoy your life and have goals? Maybe if he had stopped to listen to her chatter, he wouldn’t have minded it so much, rather than hearing it as a constant droning noise in the background of his life. And maybe if he hadn’t acted like such a dick around her all of the time, she would see him as something more than Ruth’s annoying son.
Cole laughed and shook his head.
“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” he observed.
“Jealous? Of what?” Ethan said.
He was horrified to learn that his jealousy was so obvious.
“Well, because your mom likes Madeline. Are you scared she likes her more than she likes you?” Cole teased him.
Ethan knew he should be annoyed at the joke, but he was just relieved that Cole didn’t mean he was jealous of Lee.
“Yeah. That’s exactly it. And I’m worried if we ever move, she’ll get the biggest bedroom,” Ethan said sarcastically.
Cole laughed and then he nudged Ethan.
“Two o’clock. There’s a little hottie checking you out.”
Ethan rolled his eyes. He wasn’t interested in any little hottie except Madeline. His wolf was calling out for her, telling Ethan she was something special. He ignored his wolf and looked where Cole had directed him. He didn’t want Cole to think he was acting oddly, and under any other circumstances, he definitely would have been looking to see who was checking him out.
The girl was tall and slim with a fantastic body. She had short, blonde hair that she wore flicked out in crazy-looking layers. She looked down at the ground
for a moment when she saw Ethan looking at her, and then she looked back up with an enticing smile. Ethan wasn’t blind, and he knew the girl was smoking hot. On any other night, he wouldn’t have been able to believe his luck that a girl like that was looking at him. But tonight, he only had eyes for one girl. He looked away from the blonde girl and back at Madeline. She was still swaying in Lee’s arms, and the pair of them were laughing at something.
“You should go talk to her,” Cole said, nodding toward the blonde girl.
Ethan nodded. Yeah, why not? Madeline wasn’t interested in him, and maybe the best way to get over this infatuation with her was to get under someone else. He started walking toward the blonde girl. Cole slapped him on the shoulder as he walked away.
“Hi,” he said as he reached her. “I’m Ethan.”
“Reese,” the girl replied, smiling shyly at him.
“Do you maybe want to grab a drink or something?” Ethan asked.
Reese looked pointedly at his cup and smiled.
“It looks like you’re still full,” she said.
Ethan brought the cup to his lips and downed his beer.
“Looks like I’m empty now,” he winked.
Reese laughed and nodded. Ethan led her to the kitchen, forcing himself not to look in Madeline’s direction at all. He poured them both a drink and Reese spotted a stack of vodka Jell-O shots. She nudged Ethan and grinned toward them. He grimaced.
“Really?” he said.
“Really,” Reese replied. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
She went and grabbed two of the shots and handed one to Ethan. He smiled and poured it into his mouth, cringing at the slimy feel of the Jell-O and the sharp taste of the vodka. Reese giggled when she’d swallowed her shot. She stuck her tongue out and Ethan laughed. It was bright green.
“Show me yours,” Reese laughed.
Ethan stuck his tongue out, knowing it would be purple. Reese laughed again.
“Makes you wonder what shit is in those shots, doesn’t it?” she said.
“I’d rather not think about it,” Ethan smiled.
“Same,” Reese agreed. “Should we go dance?”
“Sure, why not?”
It would give him an excuse to be closer to Madeline again. Just to make sure Lee wasn’t trying anything with her, he told himself, knowing it was nothing to do with that.
He followed Reese into the dining room and out onto the dance floor. It was filling up more now and sweaty bodies pressed against him as he made his way through the crowd of people. He spotted Madeline instantly, though. She wasn’t dancing any longer. She was crammed onto a two-seater couch with Lee on one side of her and Scott on the other. Charlie was perched on Scott’s lap. Madeline was turned toward Lee, listening to something he was saying and smiling. Ethan felt an overwhelming urge to go and punch Lee in the face. His wolf agreed with the sentiment. It had laid claim to Madeline and it didn’t like her being in the company of other men.
Well, neither do I, but that’s what’s happening and we both have to just suck it up, Ethan said inside of his head. His wolf took no notice of him, stirring in agitation at the thought of Madeline not being his.
Ethan felt a warm hand on his arm and he turned to see Reese smiling questioningly at him.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “You seem to be watching that girl. Is she your ex or something?”
Ethan forced himself to focus on Reese. God, what’s wrong with me? he asked himself. There’s a perfectly nice, totally hot girl here who actually wants my attention and I’m fucking it up by having her think I’m watching another girl. He decided the partial truth would work in his favor here.
“No, she’s not my ex. She’s my stepsister. I guess I’m just being a little overprotective. It’s her first date with that guy and I’m just keeping an eye on them, you know?”
“That’s sweet, but he seems nice enough,” Reese said with a shrug. “He’s not, like, groping her or anything, and look at her. She’s clearly having a good time.”
Ethan nodded. That’s what was bothering him. Madeline did look like she was having a good time. Well, two could play that game.
He pulled Reese into his arms and began to dance with her. She relaxed into him, swaying slowly with him as the song changed to a slower one. They moved together until almost the end of the song and then Reese moved her head from Ethan’s shoulder and looked at him expectantly.
Should he kiss her? He didn’t know how Madeline would react to that. Whether it would make her jealous or not. She won’t even notice, he thought to himself. She doesn’t feel this and she won’t care one way or the other.
Ethan knew if he didn’t kiss Reese now, she would think he was weird or that he didn’t like her. And he did like her. She was a nice girl and he didn’t want to make her feel bad about herself. It wasn’t her fault Ethan and his wolf had taken a shine to Madeline.
Ah, screw it, Ethan thought.
He leaned down and pressed his lips against Reese’s. She tasted of beer and sweet Jell-O and he knew he would be counting his lucky stars that he was kissing this gorgeous girl at any other time, but tonight, all he could think of when he was kissing Reese was what it would feel like to kiss Madeline. What her lips would taste like.
7
Madeline was sitting wedged in tightly between Lee and Scott and she was so hot. She was debating going out to the kitchen to cool down a little when she saw Ethan coming back into the room and she decided to put up with the heat for just a little bit longer.
She felt her spirits dampen a little when she saw Ethan was being led out to the dancing area by a very pretty blonde-haired girl. She felt like going up to Ethan and asking him what the fuck he was playing at. Reminding him that he had felt things looking at her. But how could she do that? Aside from the fact that it would be too humiliating to even contemplate, how could she judge Ethan for being with a girl when she was here with Lee?
Ethan had obviously worked out the same thing that she had: nothing could ever happen between them and so they might as well just move on. She had to do the same. She turned to Lee.
“How do you know Scott? Do you go to the same college?” she asked.
“No,” Lee said. “I met him the summer before college started. We were both working at the movie theater. Scott and I were always coming up with new ways to do the least amount of work possible. This one time, Scott paid a new starter ten bucks to ‘accidentally on purpose’ lock us in a storeroom. We spent the whole shift locked in there, and the company couldn’t refuse to pay us, because obviously it looked like it wasn’t out fault.”
Madeline laughed and shook her head.
“That’s genius,” she said. “What happened to the new guy?”
“Nothing,” Lee smiled. “Everyone denied locking the door, including him, and the cameras didn’t cover the staff areas, so the manager could never prove who actually did it. After that, though, all of our keys were taken away and we had to go to the office and sign for a key if we needed to be in the storerooms for anything.”
Madeline laughed again.
“That was a good summer,” Lee mused.
Scott leaned behind Madeline and said something to Lee. She leaned forward so that they could talk more easily over the loud music. She looked out onto the dance floor, her eyes automatically drawn to Ethan. The second she saw him, she wished she hadn’t. He wasn’t just dancing with the blonde girl anymore. He was kissing her, his hands cupping her face.
Madeline felt as though someone had taken a hot poker and pushed it through her heart. She felt tears prickling behind her eyes and she blinked them back quickly before any could spill down her face. She had known nothing could happen between her and Ethan, but seeing him with someone else like this hurt a whole hell of a lot more than she had thought it would.
She reminded herself that it didn’t matter. Ethan was practically her brother and they could never, ever act on their attraction, even if he didn’t have his tongue stuck down some oth
er girl’s throat.
She tried to convince herself this was for the best, but it was too hard to do. She kept hearing Charlie reminding her that Ethan wasn’t really her brother. And she had to admit she didn’t think of him as her brother. Their parents had only been married for a year and she had been away for most of it. It wasn’t like she and Ethan had been raised as siblings or anything. It really wasn’t that different to her meeting him at a party and liking him. And if that had happened, and they’d gotten together and then their parents had met and liked each other, no one would have thought that was weird, so was this really any different to that?
Madeline didn’t know. She didn’t know anything anymore except that suddenly, the heat was too much. The bodies pressing in on her from either side were too much. She felt like she was suffocating, like she couldn’t breathe. The whole time the thoughts had swirled in her mind, her gaze had been firmly fixed on Ethan and the girl. They were still kissing, still tearing Madeline’s heart out, and she knew she had to get away from here.
If she stayed sitting here, she was going to end up throwing up on her own feet, or passing out, or something even more embarrassing like bursting into tears. She had to get out.
She turned and tapped Lee on the arm, interrupting his conversation with Scott. She hoped her face looked normal and her voice didn’t sound shaky. She didn’t want him to think something was wrong and somehow put it together.
“I’m going outside for a moment. I just need a bit of air,” she said, fanning herself with her hand to show Lee she was just too hot.
“Okay,” he said, going back to his conversation with Scott.
It was the final insult. For all that she didn’t want Lee to ask her too many questions, she had thought he might show a tiny bit of concern for her. She pushed herself up off the couch and stumbled away, pressing through the crowd, not caring whom she bumped into. She paused in the kitchen long enough to grab another bottle of cold beer, and then she slipped out the back door and into Jackson’s garden.