“The bathroom is right over there,” he said, pointing to a door to my left.
“Thanks.” I headed in and shut the door, locking it behind me. There was a spacious shower, which I made use of before drying myself off and getting dressed. By the time I finished, Matt was already gone. I searched through the apartment, looking for him. The place was huge. My entire apartment could have fit into just his living room. It was decorated with expensive furniture, a leather sofa, a gigantic widescreen TV, and works of art that had probably cost six figures each.
While I searched the living room, a girl in a maid's uniform entered, carrying a vacuum. She was dressed so skimpily that I thought she looked more like a porn star than an actual maid. “Miss Anne?” she asked. I nodded. “Mr. Partridge said to tell you to make yourself at home. And there's a car waiting for you downstairs, whenever you wish to leave.”
“Thanks.” I took one more look around the room, sighing. I wasn't sure how to feel about my stepbrother running off and leaving me like that. I was oddly angry, though I told myself I had no reason to be. It wasn't like he was a guy I'd dated who'd left the morning after sex. Nothing had happened between us, and nothing ever would.
At least, that was what I kept telling myself.
* * *
Over the next few months, Matt and I saw each other on a regular basis. I was continually invited to rich, upscale parties where I didn't fit in at all, and I knew I was only invited because of a sense of obligation. My stepfather never gave me so much as the time of day, and I didn't really see any windfall from his massive wealth. Mom was living the luxury life, spending her days in his gigantic mansion, catered by his staff of chefs, and using his money to buy herself an expansive wardrobe. She invited me to come live in the mansion with them, promising me my own wing, but I couldn't deal with living that sort of life. I could barely deal with being connected with it.
I escaped a lot of my obligations to my mother and stepfather by slipping away with Matt to go have some real fun. When they hosted a cocktail party as their first gathering as a new couple, Matt took me to see a rock concert. When we were invited to a big time actress's birthday party, I showed up long enough to have a few pictures taken with the birthday girl, then Matt and I rode off to a beach bonfire party down at the shore. We became such a regular thing that on my birthday, he bought me a leather biker jacket. I refused to think about how much it might have cost him and just focused on how badass it make me look.
The first time I succumbed to temptation was on New Year's Eve. My stepfather brought us to a big gala filled with people wearing custom-tailored tuxedos and colorful dresses that probably cost more money than I made in a month. I wandered the room for the first half hour of the party, helping myself to free food and expensive champagne, while I looked around for my stepbrother. I knew he'd be there; he always at least put in a brief appearance at these things, even if he was planning to duck out halfway through.
I was about to give up looking when I heard his voice coming from behind me. “You look like a woman who wants something.”
I turned to face him, my face heating up. I wasn't ready to admit what I wanted, though when I looked up at him and saw the possessive look in his eyes, it made my knees weak.
“Just looking for a chance to blow this lame party,” I said.
“Is that all you're looking for?” He reached out and ran his fingers through my hair. I whimpered and leaned my face into his hand, then pulled away when I realized what I was doing.
“Well, a place to see the fireworks would be nice, too,” I said, trying to cover my reaction to his presence. I downed the rest of my champagne, turning away from Matt so he wouldn't see my blush.
“I know just the place,” he said.
He took my hand and led me across the room, then out into the hall. We got into an elevator and went all the way up to the top floor of the high-rise building. I thought we were stopping there, but then he led me down the hall and to the stairs that led up to the roof.
“Are we allowed to go up there?” I asked.
“Do you care?” He smirked at me.
I smiled as well. “I guess not.”
The door was locked, but he found a way to force it open. He led me up the stairs and out onto the rooftop. We walked past air conditioning units and a satellite dish, then sat on a metal box that covered some kind of electrical equipment.
“It's beautiful up here,” I said.
“I'll say.”
I looked over at Matt and saw that he wasn't looking at the view. I blushed and turned away. I felt his eyes still on me.
“You're making me uncomfortable,” I whispered.