Anti-Stepbrother(24)
I’d come to this event a nobody, but suddenly, with the acknowledgement that Caden Banks knew me, I knew I wouldn’t be a nobody for long. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that or not. Girls who were somebody were also targets. Maybe I still wanted to be a nobody?
“Why’d you do that?” I asked Caden as he pulled away. “And it’s Stoltz. I’m not a Matthews.”
I couldn’t keep that question in. A touch of panic settled at the bottom of my stomach, lining my insides, and I couldn’t get rid of it. I knew I was overreacting, but I couldn’t shake the look that Jill and everyone else in her truck had given me.
Maybe I liked being boring after all. I could be invisible.
Caden threw me a frown, turning at an intersection. “Say what?”
I twisted in my seat, facing him, and ignored all the other emotions going on in me. It was him. He made me crazy. I only acted like this in his presence. “They were all looking at me. Why did you do that?”
He gave me a crazy look, like I’d grown two heads. “What the fuck’s your problem?”
A new, more-alarming sensation dipped low in me, all the way down between my legs. I was attracted to him. I slammed back into my seat. I couldn’t be attracted to him. He was Asshole Caden. Granted, he was my asshole, and that was the wrong thought too. I took a breath. I had to calm down.
I had to be reasonable.
“Now people know that I know you.”
“Is there something wrong with knowing me?”
“Yes.”
“What? What was I supposed to do? Pretend you weren’t there?”
“Yes.”
“You might not like me, but I’m not a complete dick.”
“You’re an asshole.”
He grunted, turning onto the interstate. “Don’t hold back, Stoltz. Tell me what you really think.”
“I—” was being the dick. Not him. “I’m sorry.” I sighed. “I’m not used to this.”
He glanced over at me. “What are you used to?”
Being invisible. “Kevin was the popular one in high school. I…”
“Wasn’t?”
I nodded. “I wasn’t an outcast or anything, but I wasn’t what he is, or was back then. I just was.”
He gave me a half-grin. “If it makes you feel better, the only people Kevin’s popular with here are girls who want to cheat on their boyfriends.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Touché.”
He chuckled, and I closed my eyes. His laugh slid over me like a warm caress, and a tingle shot through me, giving me an excited buzz low in my stomach. I pressed a hand there, trying to calm my nerves.
“You shouldn’t do things like that,” I told him.
“What?”
“Laugh like that.”
“First you didn’t want me to acknowledge you, and now I’m not supposed to laugh?” He shook his head, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “You have issues.”
I sat back, dumbstruck for a moment. It was true. Kevin was my issue. “I meant that when you laugh like that—” I stopped. I was about to confess all the tingles and warm feelings. He was right. What the hell was going on with me? I’d never been like this before. I frowned to myself as I thought back.
I’d been nice.
I’d been quiet.
I’d been boring.
That was all in high school. I snuck a glance at Caden. I was saying things I normally wouldn’t. I was feeling things I normally wouldn’t. This guy was an asshole at first. I hadn’t liked him, but now he was different. It had been Kevin for so long, and now suddenly someone else was getting inside of me.
“I’m sorry.”
He took an exit and turned into a ritzy neighborhood. “Sorry for what?”
“For being crazy.”
A small laugh left him. “You’re a bit much. I have no idea what’s going to come out of your mouth, and I’m usually prepared when it comes to chicks.”
My lip twisted as I held back a grin. “Chicks?”
“Yeah.” He took a right, slowing down, but he looked at me for a second. “Why? Was that wrong to say?”
“No. I don’t know why that’s funny to me.”
He didn’t reply, but nodded toward the street. “This is the neighborhood Jill said Marcus is in. Keep an eye out. I don’t know if your people are with them or not.”
The houses were extravagant. Some had gated driveways. Some had fountains on their front lawns. Some were completely hidden behind a wall. My dad was the general manager at a large company in the town where we lived, and Kevin’s mom was a nurse. I knew both were well-off, and we’d moved into Sheila’s home because it was the bigger one. More space. We’d had our own pool and an extra floor of guest rooms, but it wasn’t anything like these houses. These weren’t houses. They were mansions.