Wrong: A Spoiled Stepbrother Romance (11 page)

As I was eating, to help keep me company, I had placed my phone on my lap, under the table and out of sight. Derek must've been bored because his texts were coming in quite frequently.

“wish I could dance with you there” he wrote in one text, “we would've had a real good time there together”.

My fantasy of him being lonely and wanting to be with me dampened when I realized he just might want the chance to get in good with Mr. Fratelli. If I were to believe him, he wanted to be with me but I knew that was too good to be true. My new powerful stepfather might actually be able to be used as leverage with Derek, might help convince him to let me move in. It bothered me a ton to have to resort to deceit and manipulation but if I didn't learn how to act like that, I'd have no home. And I did feel nice to feel wanted by someone I wasn't related to, even if it was a sham.

“I feel bad for you, that guy Rorke seems like he's such an asshole.”

That text from Derek came out of nowhere and brought me right back down to reality. He didn't even know Rorke and here he was, just like everyone else, believing terrible things about a complete stranger. This was the judgmental Derek I knew well and always disliked. My phone went back in my purse, he had used up all of my goodwill and I was done talking to him, at least for the rest of the wedding. Just as my purse was about to close and the clasp ready to be secured, my phone lit up again. Of course it was Derek.

“we should meet up sometime soon. come to my place and we can talk.”

My heart fluttered upon reading it and I hastily closed that purse tight, knowing that decision was too important to make while emotional. I knew what I wanted and what I needed, I just had to somehow figure out to make those two the same.

Any hopes for some fun dance music was squashed when out trotted a full-on band, members who were the oldest people I had ever seen. They sat behind their instruments and played that old-timey kind of music I only knew as novelty. This is the kind of music I was used to hearing in cartoons or black-and-white movies, it was background music. It didn't do much for me and three hours of it was going to drive me up the wall. Knowing that this place had several banquet halls and potentially a more fun outside, I decided to go explore and do some people watching. As soon as I reached one of the exits, I found I wasn't the only one who had had that idea.

“Let's go find something to do,” Rorke told me before reaching out and holding the door open for me. My plan was only to observe the other weddings from afar but his famous cheeky smile let me know he had a little mischief on his mind.

*****

*****

Rorke

God, my dad's wedding was so boring. On top of not really knowing anyone there, the only person close to my age was my dear stepsister and she was sitting all the way across the room. When she informed me that there wouldn't be any booze at the reception, I had half a mind to take off before they even served dinner. The only reason I didn't was because I hadn't given up on the prospect of having some fun with Madelyn.

In order to entertain myself, I was able to sweet talk one of the waitresses into messing with Madelyn's order. I just wanted to see her face when she got a bowlful of fish lentils. It played out as I had hoped, her reaction let me know I got her good. After she tackled her modified main course with a smile, I knew I needed a little more entertainment to sustain me for the rest of this boring party.

I kept an eye on her the whole reception, looking for any opportunity to be near her. There was a family picture where we squeezed together tightly; our bodies pressed firmly together as we forced smiles. After I made sure to fully enjoy my fat steak, I tried to come up with a plot to get us together again. When I saw her head for the door, I raced to go meet her there and convince her to ditch the reception all together.

While I knew she very well could just be heading off to the bathroom, I hoped that my sudden suggestion may actually interest her into getting out of there. A long shot but one worth taking. I was more than pleasantly surprised when she agreed.

As we walked through the hallway outside the boring reception, we immediately noticed that several other rooms were audibly bumping with better parties than the one we had been at. Thankfully, one of these weddings posted a bar station outside of the room, able to be accessed by just about anyone.

"Drink?" I asked Madelyn and she didn't respond. As she stared off into space, I took a moment to get a good eyeful of her beautiful body wrapped up in that peach dress. It clung to her curves and showed me the figure I had been dreaming about for weeks. Her brown hair playfully bounced on top of her exposed chest and covered shoulders as she moved her head, pondering my proposal.

"I really shouldn't..." she started to say, annoying me greatly. Without waiting for her to flip back and forth any longer, I ordered us two flutes of champagne in the hopes she would turn around.

"Sir, this is for members of the Vegado wedding only," the well dressed bartender rudely pointed out.

"Rorke, don't, it's wrong," Madelyn chimed in, terrified of getting in any sort of trouble. Not having much money didn't stop me from flashing around the little that I did have. Upon seeing the twenty dollar bill I had ready in my hand, the smart bartender looked both ways and quickly poured two glasses full of the bubbling white stuff, handing them over rather quickly.

While I was quite proud of what I had accomplished, Madelyn looked at me with a horrified expression as I attempted to hand her one. Of course Miss Goody-Two-Shoes wouldn't even dream of sneaking alcohol that wasn't meant for us. I, however, didn't see the problem and proudly downed one after the other to show her nothing bad was gonna happen.

"Alright, now what?" I asked her as the alcohol burned down my throat. She offered no suggestions and just stood there with an indignant look of obligation across her face. Hearing the other wild parties going on was too much for me to ignore and I did my best to try and get her interested in them as well. She showed no indication that my attempts were working, as was her way.

"Wanna check out one of these other weddings? That one sounds like a lot of fun."

Madelyn's face contorted wildly in disbelief. "Rorke, no. We shouldn't. We can't crash someone else's wedding. Let's just go back."

Maybe it was the booze rushing to my head or maybe it was just frustration at watching this beautiful girl hold herself back from life. Whatever it was, I was finally done with it.

"What's your deal?" I asked her bluntly, "Why do you hold yourself back from literally everything?"

She got snippy, telling me, "No I don't. You don't know me."

"Uh huh. You were gonna eat the fish lentils because you were too afraid of confrontation. You would rather be in pain if you think it's an inconvenience to someone or better yet, because it goes against some imaginary rules. Live a little! It's sad to watch you hold yourself back all the time."

My punch had landed and she struggled to withstand the blow. With her eyes blinking rapidly and her face scrunched in a tight scowl, she again let me know that I didn't "know her" and that she was actually a lot of fun.

"I'm going back to my mother's wedding. You do whatever you want," she told me angrily before storming off, her tightly wound ass swaying hypnotically as she marched down the hall.

Once she left me, I was forced to find some fun on my own. I felt I had a point to make, to prove to my stepsister that she had prevented herself from having fun again, that she missed out on another good time.

By dumb luck, two giggling bridesmaids passed right by me, on their way back to one of the fun parties. Without hesitation, I raced to get the door for them, pulling it open and giving them my most seductive eyes.

"Ladies," was all I said, causing them both to blush once they realized who I was. After they passed over the threshold, I followed close behind, the closing door at my back as I surveyed the room in search of some trouble to get in to.

Flashing lights pulsated and slightly illuminated the dance floor, the whole party under the hypnosis of the talented DJ behind the speakers. This was like the hottest club in town, people dancing very suggestively with each other as the booze flowed and music pumped. It wouldn't be entirely easy to blend in, my notoriety followed in front of wherever I went. The increasing stolen glances and mouths pressed to ears soon let me know that the jig was up. There was no choice but to own it, give a couple of proud waves to the strangers gawking at me and show I wasn't going to be any trouble. I had crashed their wedding but I wasn't going to be rude. Just checking out the scenery.

Just as I was plotting on how I could sneak onto the dance floor and make a few new bridesmaid friends, the music cut out. Assuming security was coming to take me away, imagine my surprise when I heard a familiar song playing over the PA system.

Back to the wall, one man shall stand. Rise above and conquer them all.

Was this a coincidence? It wasn't exactly a fun, danceable song so why would the DJ play it? I looked over to the DJ for an answer and I soon realized that it wasn't a happy accident. Standing before the DJ booth was none other than my play-by-the-rules stepsister, upsetting the dancing fun of the party by convincing the DJ to help her try and pull one over on me. She had certainly succeeded, I was breathless, amazed at her stunt. Madelyn was just as delighted, hamming it up in front of the confused wedding guests as she bounced around to the sounds of my song. After hearing me play it night after night, she had come to realize that this song was important to me. I let her have her moment to enjoy her stunt and knew that there was only one proper way for me to proceed.

With the confused guests still looking on, I started towards my stepsister, walking between tables as though I was on my way into the ring. Instead of the intimidating appearance I planned on putting on before my fight, I instead had fun with it, walking towards the “ring” as though I was a professional wrestler heading to the main stage. Lucky for me, the crowd of strangers ate it up. They started hooting and hollering as I made my way towards my stepsister and I proudly showed off for them. They clapped along to the beat as I showed off my gym-trained muscles and a large smile to show off just how proud I was of Madelyn for breaking out of her shell.

The DJ was kind enough to play the song all the way until I made it to Madelyn. The amped up crowd was waiting for a payoff, seemingly unaware that Madelyn was now my stepsister. The anticipation of the crowd was palpable and I felt an obligation to give my audience what they wanted. Taking her by surprise, I wrapped my arms around Madelyn's waist and pulled her in real close, right up against me. The entire wedding reception waited with bated breath for us to seal our union with our lips, a wedding tradition. She was so close, I could feel her breath against my face. Madelyn waited for me to make my move, not pulling back, just anxiously anticipating a public display of affection we were both helpless to try and stop. Our lips found each other and connected for the lightest kiss that would be appropriate. We both lingered there for a moment as the crowd cheered in approval.

When our lips finally parted, I suddenly put distance between us and, with my hand holding hers, raised our arms as though we had just won a big fight. All of the spectators went bananas and rushed the dance floor. Taking the cue, the DJ put on more danceable music and we were swarmed by what felt like thousands of delirious dancers. Women rushed to take off their uncomfortable shoes and to find space on the increasingly busy floor. Madelyn and I had no way out, the rush of people to the floor blocked any exit we could have hoped for, we were stuck in the middle of the dance floor, together. Might as well enjoy it.

Though I was clearly recognizable to most people, Madelyn wasn't. Our coupling enjoyed what felt like a little anonymity, to them Madelyn was probably just some girl, and that allowed us the chance to be a little more free with our actions. Madelyn's body pressed firmly against mine as we gyrated along to the music enjoyed by everyone in there. Hands up, mouthing the lyrics to songs I didn't even think I knew, we were dizzy together for the first time. Her hands wandered all over my aching muscles as my hands occasionally found comfort in the area just above her waist. When I felt daring, I pulled her knee up higher on my body, our taboo lower sections becoming much more acquainted with each other as our writhing flesh moved to the music, in rhythm together. Any hesitation she would normally have shown at what was “wrong” seemed to have disappeared somewhere inside the beats of the music. This was our one moment to forget all we had against us and to just let go and enjoy it.

While completely uncharacteristic of me, I felt as though I could've stayed on that floor dancing all night. Madelyn's body against mine was all I needed and would've danced to the corniest music if it meant we never had to separate. Unfortunately, this wasn't our wedding and our stamina was stronger than those who the party was for. At first I tried to pretend not to notice that the party was dying down but after several songs, it became unavoidable. Madelyn and I were soon twisting together as the only pair left on the dance floor, trying to keep the party going. Finally taking the cue, we both gave a nod and wave to the kind DJ who had brought us together and made our way towards the exit, trying to leave without causing a scene.

There were a few pats on my back, shouts from people wanting to have a conversation or maybe a picture, but Madelyn and I continued on, insisting we had to leave. I never wanted this night to end but wasn't sure as to how to make it last much longer.

“You coming?” I asked her as I held open the door. Madelyn had stopped a few paces away and seemed to be conflicted as to whether or not to leave with me, her stepbrother. I remained patient as she worked out her decision and was relieved when I watched the worry drop from her pretty face. She proudly walked to the door and with chin held high, thanked me for the kind gesture. We entered the brightly lit hallway, full of people who very well could've been relatives or guests of our parents, and tried to keep alive the fire we had started out there on the dance floor.

*****