Hard(46)

Azariah mouthed a silent apology and scrunched her nose. She pretended to pass a menu to Heaven though Nikkole wasn’t having any fries or any of my excuses.

“Know what you do?” Nikkole said. “You take all that money your daddy left you, and you buy yourself new a hairdo and find a man.”

Nikkole had a bad habit of picking my greatest insecurity and blabbing it loud enough for everyone around to hear. The rumble of conversations quieted as she waved a hand over my outfit.

“Look at this shit. Button up blouse? Knee-length skirt? Christ, Shay. Let the girls get some air. Plenty of fine looking men on campus would be willing to play teacher with you.”

Heaven studied the menu, dispassionately. She cracked her gum and twirled a finger around her curls, interrupting the conversation in her usual style. “I’m getting a salad.”

We ignored her. Azariah and Layna usually agreed with Nikkole, but Azariah had the tact to phrase it better.

“You’re better than this stress, Shay,” Azariah said. “Go buy yourself some fancy clothes, a new car. Hell, travel to Europe. What do you need school for?”

I shrugged, sipping my drink instead of answering. It wasn’t about the money. It was about what I wanted to do, how I wanted to help people.

“She needs to get laid,” Layna said. “Sit on some big ol’ cock and forget all her troubles.”

Nikkole snickered. “But Azariah said—”

Azariah cleared her throat, pushing her drink at Nikkole. “Here. Take this. Shove something in that fat mouth of yours.”

Oh, Christ. She didn’t. I stared at her. “You told them?”

Heaven still flipped through the menu. She arched an eyebrow. “That you’re banging your brother? Way to go.”

“I’m not—”

Banging him? I stopped myself, but that didn’t make the words any less true.

It was twice now. Twice I spent the greatest nights of my life in his arms, cuddled to his chest, slamming on his cock.

I had no idea what happened last night, and so I panicked. I didn’t talk to him. I didn’t think about it. I didn’t explain. I…froze.

And when Zach came to talk to me?

I retreated so damn fast I was lucky I didn’t fall on my ass and reveal everything that clutched at my heart, fluttered in my stomach, and scared the ever-loving hell out of me.

“He’s not my brother,” I said. “He’s my step-brother…if it even counts since our parents are dead.”

“Still fucking weird,” Heaven grumbled.

“Heav, shut your mouth.” Azariah threatened her with a drink umbrella. “It was only once. She didn’t know who he was.”

I took another swig. It wasn’t as casual as I thought. I should have stood in the booth, crashed my glass to the floor, and shouted to the masses Incest is Best!

“Oh, shit, Shay,” Azariah said. “You didn’t.”

“It’s not like that.”

“You fucked your brother again?”

“Really, it’s not—”

Nikkole snorted. “I told you to live a little, girl.”

“Can we not talk about this?” I asked. “Please?”

Wasn’t going to happen. My friends cackled with the great and juiciest piece of gossip since Nikkole’s brother accidentally knocked up his girlfriend and her best friend—at the same time.

Well, they weren’t getting any details about my night. I needed to figure out what happened before I could explain it to them. They didn’t know Zach.

Yes, he was sexy, but he was also the type who knew it.

Yes, he was a man-whore, but he sounded so sincere when he reassured me.

Yes, he was my step-brother, but we didn’t grow up together. Our parents only married a short time ago, and we were two consenting adults.

My friends waited for the dirty details, but the person I should have talked to waited for me at home. He was probably looking for an explanation…or a sequel to last night’s events. And the way my body still buzzed? He’d get both.

But I expected him to make a fuss when I brushed him off. Zach usually fought to the death over a choice of pizza toppings. Pissing me off was his favorite damn sport. He came to me, and I freaked, but instead of calling me out on it—like he did everything else—he said he…wouldn’t wait up?

The hollow exhaustion in his voice pitted my stomach more than the judgmental glances that passed between my friends.

Maybe Zach…didn’t care?

“Are you still graduating? Shay?” Layna drew my attention. “If you aren’t student teaching, can you finish school?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“What about your party?”