Smash_ A Stepbrother MMA Romance(98)

“Speaking of assholes,” I said.

“What? Reid?”

I nodded. “Look at him.”

We watched as the girls caught up to him and they began to talk, obviously flirting with him.

“He’s okay,” Lindsey said.

“I don’t know. He’s so arrogant sometimes.”

“Can you blame him? I mean, you have eyes, right?”

I gave her a look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s the hottest guy here, Becca. Probably in all of Ridgewood.”

“No way that’s true.”

She laughed. “Trust me, Climber is way too gorgeous for this little town.”

I frowned and watched as he said something to the girls and then walked away. They didn’t follow him. He looked up and caught my eyes, giving me a huge grin.

“Shit,” I muttered.

“What?”

“He just caught me staring at him.”

“Well, now he’s coming over.”

I watched as he picked his way through the crowd and walked over to us.

“Climber,” Lindsey said.

“Linds. Becca. You guys having fun?”

“About as much fun as you can have in this place,” Lindsey said.

He stared at me and I took a sip of my drink. I noticed he wasn’t holding anything but decided not to mention it. He was probably staying sober to drive us home later, which was a little surprising. I’d expected him to at least drink a little bit, but maybe Reid was more responsible than I gave him credit for.

“What about you? Loving the finest Ridgewood has to offer?”

I shrugged. “It’s pretty cool.”

“Pretty cool? This place is a dump.”

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

He smirked. “Now that I get to stare at those nice legs of yours, I am.”

Lindsey giggled, clearly surprised.

I rolled my eyes. “Cut it out, Reid.”

“I can’t help myself. Something about you in a skirt drives me crazy.”

“Aren’t you guys like, brother and sister?” Lindsey asked.

“No,” I snapped, probably too quickly. “We’re just stepsiblings.”

“Our parents didn’t get married until the summer just before she left,” Reid said, nodding at me.

“We’ve barely lived together,” I added.

Lindsey gave me a look that was obviously suggestive of something I couldn’t let myself think about.

“I got to go,” Reid said, looking back into the crowd. “Duty calls.”

“What’s that mean?” I asked, but he was already walking away and didn’t answer.

“Probably meeting up with Thom,” Lindsey said.

“What’s with him and that guy? There’s something mysterious going on that I’m not aware of.”

“Ask him about it,” she said, shaking her head, only adding to my curiosity.

It felt like everyone knew but me.

I sighed and sipped my drink, not willing to press her harder.

“Oh shit, looks like a flip cup game is starting,” Lindsey said, pointing. “Let’s get in on that.”

Reluctantly, I stood up and followed her over to the crowd of people that was forming around a table. Lindsey got us on to one of the teams, and we lined up on our side.

I wasn’t huge into drinking games. Really, I wasn’t a huge drinker, but I hadn’t been home in so long that I didn’t want to seem like I was no fun. When my turn came, I drank the beer in my cup and managed to flip it over on my second try. We ended up winning the first game by a mile.

I laughed as everyone cheered. Josh was standing next to me, and we exchanged looks. For a second I felt like I was actually part of the group.

It had been awhile since I last played flip cup or any other game like that, and it became really clear by the third game that I wasn’t in drinking shape anymore. I had gone to a few parties in college, but I mostly studied and spent time with my roommates. I never got into the crazy party scene out at Dartmouth.

I was probably pretty boring. But I really was trying to be a little less lame.

Game four started, and I watched as the people in front of me drank their beer and flipped their cups. When it was my turn, I managed to do it in one try.

“Hell yeah, Becca,” Josh said, hugging me.

I laughed, feeling a little tipsy as we won the game again.

“You’re a pro at this,” he said to me.

“No way. I’m awful.”

“Really, you’re killing it. Hot and talented, a great combo.”

I blushed. “Thanks, I guess.”

The group began to break up, people losing interest in playing more. I watched as Lindsey went off with two grungy-looking guys, heading over toward the RV. She didn’t even bother to say anything to me, just disappeared without a word.