Crush (13 page)

“I’m sorry if I offended you. I was wrong. It won’t happen again,” she replied. Her face was beet red now.

“I appreciate that, but you shouldn’t be saying sorry to me. You should be saying sorry to her,” Brad said, jerking his thumb in my direction.

The girl muttered an apology in my direction, and I looked up at Brad as he returned to my side.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I murmured, my cheeks turning warm.

“Yeah, I did. I’m not gonna let anyone make assumptions about you and treat you like that.”

I’d never felt so small around him. Not because he’d belittled me in any way; he’d done quite the opposite. He just looked so big and powerful as he gazed down at me, his expression still angry over the sales girl incident. It made me feel…protected. That was the word for it.

He’d caused a bit of a scene, but I was grateful to him for doing it. If he could stand up for me like that, then maybe I should be more willing to stand up for myself rather than letting things slide so easily. After all, if I was ever going to be anything like my Dad with his career, then I needed to start being able to defend myself before I could defend others.

“Thank you,” I finally replied.

“You’re welcome,” he said before turning his head over his shoulder again as we began to walk away. “Jesus, she’s still looking at us. Might as well give her a show.”

As he spoke, he grabbed my ass cheeks and squeezed hard, sending another jolt of electricity through me.

“Stop it!” I said, giggling and pushing Brad’s hand away. ‘What if someone we know sees us and thinks we’re actually hooking u
—
“

The end of my sentence was cut off by a feminine voice behind us.

“Brad? Is that you?”

Brad and I whirled around, our faces etched with guilt. A petite brunette was standing there, staring at us, and Brad’s eyes narrowed slightly as he shifted nervously where he stood.

“Er…hi, Amanda.”

Oh no.

This must have been Stepsister Number One, right here in the flesh…and there was no way she hadn’t seen Brad groping me.

Crap.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

BRAD

Shit. Amanda was standing right behind us. When we’d turned around at the sound of her voice, it had looked like she’d just stepped out from behind a rack of scarves, so I hoped to God the scarves had blocked her view of me grabbing Mia’s ass. If not, we were in trouble. Amanda worked with one of my Mom’s friends, and she’d more than likely gossip to her about what she’d seen, provided she had seen anything. That coworker could then pass on the gossip to my Mom, and we’d be screwed.

“I thought I heard your voice! I haven’t heard from you in a while,” she said, flashing us both a bright smile. ‘You never respond to my texts!”

I ran my hand through my hair and scratched my head. “Yeah, sorry. This semester has been pretty hectic.”

“It’s okay, I get it. Anyway, is this your girlfriend?” she said, focusing her attention on Mia.

Mia moved slightly further away from me, as if to say ‘no, we’re not together.’

“Uh…no. This is Mia. My new stepsister,” I said.

If Amanda had seen me groping her ass a few seconds ago, she wasn’t letting on.

“Oh, awesome! I totally forgot your Mom remarried. I’m the ex-stepsister,” she said, extending a hand to Mia.

“Hi,” Mia replied, shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too. So what are you guys doing here? Last minute Christmas shopping like everyone else?”

Mia smiled. “Yep, that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

“Cool. So what do you do, Mia? Are you at the same college as Brad?”

“No, I go to Overton,” Mia replied with a smile.

“Oh, nice! I have a couple of friends who go there. I go and visit them a lot, so we might end up running into each other at some point.”

“Cool. I don’t know about your friends, but I practically live in the library or at the main coffee shop there,” Mia said with a sheepish grin. “Maybe I’ll see you there one day.”

Typical Mia. Even though I’d told her how nutso Amanda was, she was still being nice to her.

“Yeah, maybe! Anyway, I have to rush off, but it was lovely meeting you, Mia. And Brad
—
I’ll talk to you later,” Amanda replied.

With that, she smiled and waved before taking off at a brisk pace. Mia waited until she was a safe distance away from us and then leaned in closer.

“Do you think she saw you touching me?” she asked, her eyes flashing with concern. “And would she tell anyone if she did? I mean, she seemed pretty nice, but you know her way better than I do.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think she saw us. At least I hope not. She works with a woman who knows my Mom, and she has a big fucking mouth, so if she did see anything, then I guess we’ll find out soon.”

“I hope not. We were just kidding around. It’s not like we were actually doing anything wrong,” Mia said.

I stared down into her wide brown eyes. She didn’t look or sound convinced about what she’d just said. We
had
just been kidding around, but that didn’t mean it was right for us to be kissing and groping each other. That wasn’t how stepsiblings were meant to behave. Hell, it wasn’t even how friends were supposed to behave.

“Mm. Yeah. Anyway, let’s go get that tie,” I said.

Our day of shopping soon drew to a close, and after we’d grabbed a bite to eat at a pizza place, I said goodbye to Mia and watched her head back to her car.

“I’ll see you in McComb in a few days!” she called out, looking over her shoulder.

“Yep! See ya then.”

My cock stirred in my pants as I watched her walk away, hips swaying from side to side. Even though she was dressed in a demure coat and stockings, she still looked sexy as hell. My mind strayed to thoughts of her naked and glowing with sweat, lying beneath me and gasping as I fisted my hands through her long dark curls. Christ, she was so totally and utterly fuckable. I wanted her in every single way; under me, riding my cock while I gripped her ass and hips, up on all fours, legs over my shoulders. I wanted it all. Every damned inch of her. Knowing I couldn’t have her only served to make my fantasies even hotter, and I knew my dick was going to go off like dynamite the next time I came.

Normally my favorite part about Christmas was the week or so beforehand rather than the actual day itself. The excitement and anticipation had always felt great as a kid, but right now, that had changed. I wasn’t going to see Mia again until Christmas Eve, so as far as I was concerned, Christmas couldn’t fucking come fast enough this year.

***

“I can’t believe you actually got this for me!”

It was late Christmas morning, and we were all in McComb, unwrapping presents in Michael and Mom’s lounge room.

Mia squealed again as she held up the dress I’d bought her. After she’d left the mall the other day to head back to Overton, I’d dashed back into the store and bought it for her. It was pretty damn expensive, but seeing the enraptured look on her face was priceless. Any amount of money on a gift that’d make her happy would have been worth it.

“Like it?” I said with a grin.

She held it up against herself and did a twirl. “Do I like it? No…I love it! You know that!”

“I do,” I said, giving her a cheeky wink. “Thanks for the watch, by the way. I needed a new one.”

“Glad to hear it,” she said. She moved a little closer, out of Michael’s earshot. “Brad, this was too expensive. I love it, but you shouldn’t have. I know how hard you work just to pay for college.”

I shook my head. “Nah, it’s cool. I did a few extra overtime shifts in the last couple of weeks. I had a little extra to spend.”

“Well, thank you,” she murmured, standing up on her tiptoes and gently kissing me on the cheek. She’d kissed both Michael and my Mom on the cheek earlier as well after they’d given her their gifts, so it didn’t seem too odd for her to be doing the same to me. Still, I wished it was more than a platonic gesture of thanks.

My face burned where her hot lips had just brushed across my skin, and I absentmindedly stroked my cheek, wishing her mouth was back on me again.

Michael grinned from across the room as he unwrapped the new button-up shirt I’d bought him.

“A lawyer can never have too many shirts! This is great,” he said. “And this book you got me as well…I’ve heard wonderful things about it. Thanks, Brad.”

“You’re welcome.”

Mia was still holding her dress up and gushing about it, and Michael raised an eyebrow and nudged my Mom. “You know, after we first got married, I thought we’d have to buy an extra house so we could keep these two separate to stop them from fighting,” he said before looking at me. “But look at you now. You’re like real siblings!”

“Nah, if we were like real siblings, we’d still be fighting,” I joked.

Everyone laughed, and Mia dashed towards the kitchen a moment later. “Anyone want any more fruit mince pies?” she called out over her shoulder.

“No thanks. I’m saving the rest of my stomach for dinner tonight!” I called back before gathering up the pile of gifts I’d received and looking over at my Mom. “I better go put these upstairs before someone accidentally steps on them.”

I padded upstairs to the spare room which Michael had converted into a bedroom for me to sleep in whenever I was in McComb, and I almost dropped my gifts all over the floor out of surprise when I walked in.

On the bedside table, there was a large potted fern, adorned with homemade cardboard decorations. I grinned as I stepped over to it and tore open the envelope which was attached. There was a small card inside with Santa and his reindeer on the front, and a scrawled message on the inside.
We can’t let your favorite old traditions die!

“Hey.”

Mia’s voice sounded from behind me, and I turned towards the door, still holding the card.

“You did this?” I asked.

“Yep,” she replied, her eyes sparkling with cheer. “You said it was one of your favorite things about Christmas, and I knew you missed it, so I thought I’d bring back the tradition for you.”

To anyone else, it would have seemed like a small, inexpensive gesture, but to me it was more meaningful than any kind of pricey gift a person could buy from a store. The dress I’d bought for her suddenly paled in comparison with what she’d given me – the perfect Christmas, with all the good memories from my childhood resurrected.

Mia truly had a warm soul which could melt the coldest of days, and she was beautiful in the heart and in the flesh. She didn’t even seem to realize how beautiful she was.

In that moment, I knew it. I knew exactly how I felt about her.

There was no point deluding myself and pretending I only saw her as a friend, all in the name of being a good stepbrother and upstanding family member. Screw that. I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. She wasn’t my sister, and she wasn’t my platonic friend. She was something else entirely, and
I was falling for her.

Hard.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

MIA

“How was your Christmas?” Tamara asked on the other end of the line.

It was the day of New Year’s Eve, and I was still in McComb, lying on my bed with my cell phone balanced between a pillow and my ear.

“Good,” I replied. “How about you?”

“It was fine. I still can’t believe we have to go back to school soon. The winter break is way too short!”

“Yeah, I know,” I said with a sigh.

I wasn’t looking forward to going back either. It had nothing to do with not wanting to study, though. I was just frightened. A few days after Christmas, the Overton rapist had struck again, attacking a girl who’d stayed on campus over the break while the rest of her family were elsewhere. Once again, the victim hadn’t been able to identify the guy as he was wearing a black balaclava, and that meant he was still out there, roaming around and hunting for his next victim.

Even though I hardly ever went anywhere on campus alone anymore and stayed within well-lit, crowded areas at night, I was still scared that it could happen to me or someone else I knew. Hell, even if it was someone I didn’t know, it was still awful, and I wished the police would hurry up and find the attacker. Dad had been talking about getting me to transfer to another college, and if they didn’t find the guy soon, I probably would.

“How’s your Dad and Karen going?”

“Really well,” I said. “I’m staying with them for the rest of the winter break.”

“And Brad?”

My cheeks flushed, and I was glad we were on the phone so Tamara couldn’t see my embarrassed expression. “He’s…er…he’s going well too. Apparently his bio dad wants to meet me next time he’s down here from Chicago. Oh, and I can’t remember if I told you or not
—
I met his ex-stepsister a couple of weeks ago.”

Since we’d run into Amanda at the mall, I’d been worried that she might’ve seen Brad jokingly grabbing my ass and told someone, but we hadn’t heard anything about it. Either she hadn’t seen, or she hadn’t told anyone who would’ve passed it on to Karen like Brad had been concerned about.

“Really? What was she like?” Tamara asked.

I shrugged, then remembered she couldn’t see me. “I dunno. She seemed nice, but we only talked for a minute. Brad seems to think she’s crazy and obsessed with him.”

“Who could blame a girl for being obsessed with him? He’s so hot,” Tamara replied with a giggle. “Seriously, though, that doesn’t bode well for Brad.”

“Huh?”

“Calling girls crazy. I know some girls really are crazy, but a lot of guys who call them that are actually the crazy ones.”

I wrinkled my nose. Brad wasn’t crazy. Sure, he’d had a bit of a messed up childhood and went through a rebellious phase as a teenager, but he seemed to have his head screwed on perfectly straight now. He’d just had bad luck with attracting certain girls, like Amanda and Rose, and as far as I knew, he always politely let them know he wasn’t interested. Or in the case of Rose, not-so-politely, from what I’d seen at the Halloween party.

“So is he staying in McComb with you guys now?” Tamara continued.

No. I wish.

Brad had left two days after Christmas for work back in Hattiesburg, and as usual, he’d been on my mind ever since
—
this time for yet another reason. Something had changed between us. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but ever since Christmas Day, he’d been acting kinda strange around me. He was still being friendly, but it seemed like he was almost afraid to talk to me for very long, as if he was worried he’d say something wrong. I had no idea what it was he was afraid of saying to me, though. Was there a chance he still wanted me but couldn’t say it because of our parents? Maybe, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

“He had to go back to Hattiesburg, although he’s coming back this afternoon to hang out with me and watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks from the porch later on,” I replied.

I could practically hear Tamara pouting dramatically on the other end of the line. “Where was my invite to watch the fireworks?” she said. “Just kidding. I’m going to a party with Ben. I was gonna invite you, but you’re still all the way over in McComb.”

“That’s cool. I’ll come to the next party with you.”

“Speaking of parties, guess what?”

“What?”

“Even though you blew off Jeremy at the Halloween party, he’s been asking about you again,” she replied.

“Really?”

“Yep. Ben told me. But it’s okay, I told him why you didn’t like Jeremy. He understands. He was surprised though; he said Jeremy has always seemed like a really nice guy. Although to be fair, they haven’t known each other that long, and they only really hang out after class sometimes.”

“I see. Well, yeah…definitely not interested in him.”

“Oh well. You’ll meet the perfect guy eventually,” she said.

Maybe I’ve already met him.

“Mm, yeah. I guess I’d just rather concentrate on studying at the moment,” I replied.
Studying Brad’s body,
I silently added. A girl can dream, right?

“Fair enough. God, I can’t wait until we’re finished with college so we can have real jobs.”

“Same. Although with the market these days, we’ll be lucky if we can even get jobs,” I said. “Apparently for every three law students these days, there’s only one job available.”

“Yeah, although I bet your Dad could help us out. Anyway, if our careers totally fail, we can always become phone sex line operators. Did you know they’re still around? They make bank.”

I giggled. “Oh, sure, we can definitely do that.”

“I can’t even imagine you doing it. You’re such a goody two-shoes,” she teased.

“No way!” I replied. “I could do it. Hold on, I’ll give you my best impression.”

I cleared my throat and affected the sultriest voice I could muster up. “Hey, big boy…I’m wearing those red panties you love so much. Mmm, yeah, the lacy ones. I could take them off nice and slow for you…or I could keep them on while you bend me over and spank me like the naughty girl I am. Ooh, yeah…you know just how I like it…”

Tamara cracked up laughing. “Okay, you’re definitely hired for my future phone sex line!” she said. “Anyway, I’ve gotta go.”

“Yeah, I better go too. Brad will probably be here soon. See ya back at school!”

After hanging up, I checked my watch. It was later than I thought. Hmm. Brad should’ve already been here by now.

Then I heard the door slam downstairs.