“So why do you want me to go?”
“I don’t know. I mean, none of my friends are home for the summer, and I need someone to go with. I figured . . .” she trailed off.
“Are you asking me to be your date?”
She gaped at me for a second. “No! I mean, no, it’s not like that.”
“Seems like it is, Brie baby.”
“Come on, asshole.”
I should’ve said no. I should’ve walked away as fast as my broken legs would take me. Especially after Cliff had just told me to stay away from her. And especially since Cliff could easily have me sent off to jail.
“So you’re asking for a favor?”
“Yeah. This is my favor.”
I should’ve said no.
“Well, then my hands are tied. I said I’d do anything.”
“This isn’t a date. Just as friends.”
“I’ll do whatever you want, Brie.”
She bit her lip and I felt my cock stir. I wanted to push her down on that pool table and taste her perfect little pussy. I wanted to feel every inch of her skin. And I wanted to get the fuck out of there before I did something completely idiotic.
“Okay. Cool. I’ll let you know more about it later.”
“Sounds good.”
She paused and looked like she wanted to say something else. I raised an eyebrow at her, not trying to hide the fact that I was taking in her body. If I was going to fuck myself over, I was at least going to get a good view out of it.
“Thanks, Lincoln. See you later.”
“No problem, Brie baby.”
She pushed off the pool table and walked fast out of the room. I watched her go, savoring the movement of her sweet ass.
“Fuck,” I said to myself out loud.
I turned back to Batman and began to play again, but my heart wasn’t in it.
All I could think about was how badly I wanted Brie, and how impossible that was. And yet there she was, asking me to be her date to a charity event. My mom’s event, but still.
I was capable of going as her friend. We were stepsiblings, after all.
Maybe if I lied to myself, I’d start to believe it.
Chapter Nine: Aubrie
Charity Event #1
I stood stationed near the front door about a half hour before the start of the event with a clipboard in my hands and a walkie-talkie earpiece shoved down my ear canal. I felt like an idiot talking into it, like I was a crazy bag lady or something, but I kept reminding myself that I was doing a favor for Jules. Apparently there was going to be some talk by a popular environmental activist later in the evening, which was the big headlining reason for people to show up.
Tickets were 200 bucks a pop. Proceeds went to nature preserves all across Colorado. Without a doubt, I was the poorest person in attendance, if you didn’t count the other staff. Maybe even if you did, since I didn’t exactly have any of my own money. Going to school full time didn’t leave much room for anything else.
I was supposed to be greeting everyone as they entered and pointing out the coat check, but I was a little preoccupied. My conversation with Lincoln kept playing over and over in my head, and although it felt like he had been avoiding me in the days leading up to the event, he had promised he would show. He was already a half hour late, but I didn’t exactly expect him to be prompt. Still, a phone call or even a text would have been great.
“Everything going okay, Brie?” Jules’s voice chirped in through the earpiece.
I cringed. “Yep. We’re all good up front. Need me to do anything?”
“No, dear, not at all. This is going fantastic. Thank you so much.”
Her walkie clicked out and I smiled to myself. I had to admit, for a last minute rush job, I had managed to find a pretty decent place. It was an old firehouse that had been bought and converted into event space a year or two earlier, and they luckily had a cancelation last minute. Some wedding that was called off or something.
Oh well. That couple’s tragedy worked out pretty well in my favor. It was probably for the best that they didn’t get married. Better they figured it out before the wedding than after it.
I spaced out for a few minutes as the sea of guests began to increase. Not too much longer until show time, I realized. As I was about to turn away and check on Jules, a familiar voice cut through the din of the other chatting guests.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
I turned and looked. “Hey, Dad. Broke out the tux, I see.”
He grinned. I had to admit, my dad was in good shape for a guy his age, and he looked pretty dapper in his fancy clothes. Not that he dressed up very often. Actually, I had no clue how often he dressed up. I was beginning to realize that I didn’t know much about my dad, despite having been raised by the man. But things weren’t exactly weird between us, regardless of what Lincoln had told me about him. I was having trouble seeing him as anyone other than the man who was there for me when mom died, all those years ago. Even if he was distant, I knew that he loved me.