“Make it two whiskey sours then, Jessup.” Matt grinned at me and led me to a table. He greeted a few people on the way by, patting their backs and shaking hands. The bartender poured our drinks, then started serving a free round to the rest of the bar, courtesy of my rich stepbrother.
I sat down and leaned over to whisper to him, “Do they know who you are?”
“Nah.” He took a sip of his drink. “I told them I won the lottery. No one really asks too many questions, as long as the free drinks keep on coming.”
We had a few drinks, then a few of Matt's bar buddies came over to join us. They all started talking, with one man telling a story about a recent run-in with the law, and another telling the tale of the time he got jumped by five punks at a highway rest stop.
“I had to call an ambulance for the poor fools,” he said at the end, laughing and slapping his knee. “Put all five of them in the hospital.”
“Yeah,” I said, snorting. “Sure. Sure you did.” I rolled my eyes.
He slammed his hand down on the table. “You calling me a liar, girl?”
I cringed and nearly fell back off my chair. Then the man's expression dropped into a grin and he laughed. The rest of the group laughed as well, a few of them clapping me on the back.
“Don't take the boys too seriously, Anne,” Matt said. “It's all in good fun.”
“I'll try to remember that.” I eyed him sidelong, wondering if this sort of place was where he always spent his time.
We spent a few hours at the bar, drinking with the guys and listening to their tall tales. At one point we started doing a line of shots, while a few people took bets on who would last the longest. I was out after three shots, though Matt and a husky, bearded fellow kept going until I was sure one of them was going to kill himself from so much booze.
The bearded fellow eventually fell face-first into the table, to the cheers and applause of the crowd. Money changed hands, and Matt took another drink in celebration. Then he got up, patting one of his friends on the back, and said, “Well, fellas, the road calls. Take it easy.”
I followed him out the door, my legs wobbly. “Are you sure you're okay to drive?” I asked him.
He pulled out the helmet and handed it to me. “Do you trust me?”
“No.” I pulled the helmet on and strapped it in place. “But I'm too drunk to care.”
He laughed and climbed onto the bike. We tore off through the streets again, the rushing wind helping to clear my head. The street lights flashed by, making me dizzy, and everything started to blur together. Somewhere along the way, I blacked out.
I woke up in an unfamiliar room, laying in an unfamiliar bed. I was stripped down to my bra and panties. The bed was covered in silvery silk sheets. It was the softest and most comfortable bed I'd ever been in. I was freaked out at finding myself there, but the bed was so warm that for a moment, I just hugged the sheets tighter around myself and savored the moment.
Then I turned over and saw my stepbrother sleeping next to me.
“Oh God.” I sat up, pulling the sheets up to cover my nakedness. “God, no. No. We didn't.”
Matt stirred, looking up at me sleepily. “No, we didn't.”
“We didn't?”
He laughed and propped himself up on his elbows, yawning. “No. I'd never take advantage of a drunk girl.” He looked me up and down, watching the way the sheet molded against my ample curves. “Though now that you're sober.”
“Gross,” I said, smacking him in the face with a pillow. “You're my brother. Technically.”
“Stepbrother,” he said, holding up a finger. “It's not like we're related by blood.”
“I don't care. Eww. No.” I climbed out of the bed, wrapping the sheet around myself like a toga. When I pulled the sheet off the bed with me, I saw Matt was wearing nothing but a pair of briefs. I saw his bulge straining against it, revealing that he hadn't been joking when he came on to me.
“Where's my dress?” I asked.
“Garbage, remember?”
I sighed, remembering the way he'd torn the dress. “So, what am I supposed to wear?”
He pointed across the room to a package sitting on the dressed. “I had something delivered.”
I opened the package and found a blouse and a pair of pants that looked about my size, along with a stunning blue dress to replace the one I'd lost. The clothes had designer labels, and I went pale thinking about how much they'd cost.
“Thanks,” I said, keeping my back to him. “Is there someplace I can go change?”
“Too shy to do it right here?”
I glanced over my shoulder at him, my face heating up. Part of me was tempted. He was certainly attractive enough, and I liked the way he was looking at my body. But it was too weird.