Anti-Stepbrother(47)
“Do you think you’re going to hear from Kevin?”
“I have no idea.” I was okay with that too. The confrontation would come, but I had no burning desire to meet it head-on. “I think I’m going to go see Caden today.”
“What are you going to say to him?”
There wasn’t anything to say really. “Well, I might apologize for beating him in the Most Gutter Balls competition.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Only you thought that was an actual competition.”
I scoffed at her. “Says the runner-up by only three gutter balls. If you’d won Most Gutter Balls, you’d be demanding a trophy too. Admit it.”
“Okay.” She kept laughing. “Maybe. I’ll get you a sash to wear.”
My eyes lit up. “And a tiara too.”
I was nervous going to Caden’s.
What did he think of me now? Did he look down on me because of Kevin? Was he disgusted? Did he hate me because I’d lied to him? I hadn’t felt nervous around him in so long, but it slammed back to me now, like a two by four across the chest.
I’d grown used to our evenings. Studying. Sometimes movies. Most of the time beer. I watched the games with him. He liked sports. He watched them more than I think others realized, and he knew information even the commentators didn’t. I never cared; whatever was on television I was happy to watch, and he returned the favor. If I didn’t want to miss an episode of The Walking Dead, he flipped the channel for me, no matter what game he was watching.
When he’d started recording Gilmore Girls for me, everything melted.
I had feelings for Caden. They’d been there, under the surface, constantly being stirred up, but now they were on top—ripe for everyone to see and me to feel. I couldn’t deny them anymore. I wasn’t about to lose his friendship. I couldn’t. I wasn’t going to let that happen, and I couldn’t even summon a joke. That’s how serious I was.
My hand shook as I knocked on the door. Please don’t let Bowling Bar Girl be in there. I prayed internally, and when Caden answered the door, I blurted, “Is that girl here?”
“What?”
I gestured to his arm. “Arm tattoo girl.”
He glanced down. “I didn’t call her.”
Instantly I could breathe easier, and I walked inside. “Why not?”
He shut the door behind me, following me to the living room as I plopped down on one of his couches. “Why didn’t I call that girl?”
“She was gorgeous. She wanted sex. Seemed like a sure thing to me.”
He shook his head. “You completely confuse me sometimes.”
“I’m used to that reaction.” I sat up when he went on to the kitchen, and pulled a pillow onto my lap. “But why didn’t you? Call her, I mean.”
“You want something to drink?”
“A diet soda?”
He reached inside his fridge and pulled out a can. “Because she hit on me in a bowling alley bar. That’s why.” He handed it over, sitting on the chair next to me.
I popped it open and sunk back into the cushions behind me. “But she was beautiful.”
“She’s not my type.”
Good grief. What was his type? “She was beautiful.”
He raked a hand through his hair. The snake bulged, winking at me. “Why are you stuck on that? Looks aren’t everything.”
I snorted. “That’s not what I’ve been told.”
“By who?”
“By society. Guys like boobs and ass, and lips, and a body, and a face. Guys like gorgeous girls. Don’t act like what I’m saying isn’t true.”
“It is, but sometimes the hotter the girl, the crazier she is. Trust me. That girl is not my type. I don’t go for the crazies.” He thought about it and added, “Unless I just want a screw, but even then.” He cringed. “Bad idea.” He nodded at me. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be making up with your stepbrother lover?”
Stepbrother lover. I sighed. Two words I hated to hear now.
My hands began to shake again, so I put the can down and tucked them around the pillow. “About that…”
“You don’t have to.”
I looked at him. He’d been joking before, but his last words were soft. I gulped. Soft and gentle, and I could feel them wrapping their hold around my heart. When had he woven this magic over me? I hadn’t realized, or maybe I hadn’t wanted to admit it.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I’d already guessed, remember?”
“When you found out I had feelings for him?”
I suddenly felt warm, holding his gaze. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I figured something happened to make you fall for him. I doubted it was because of his personality.”