Stepbrother Inked(38)

"It's really good," I said, handing the spoon back. She smiled at me  again and as her full lips twisted up into a grin, I could see she  wasn't just pretty but gorgeous, much prettier than when she'd been  covered in makeup. Even then, dressed as a drag queen, she'd been  stunning. If she looked even better in a domestic setting like this,  what chance did I stand?

"Thanks," she said, turning back to her food and closing her eyes, like  the smell of the food alone was enough to tell her how much salt and  pepper she needed to add. I fidgeted, my coat hanging over one arm, my  heart pounding a strange rhythm inside my chest. My hidden feelings for  Flor had morphed into something different, something that I was afraid  was even worse than the sickening shame I'd held onto before: guilt.  "Flor should be back soon. I don't know about Max." She glanced over her  shoulder at me, her gaze assessing. I couldn't read into her  expression, but I could probably guess what she was doing. Max and Flor  were similar in so many ways, and I figured she was trying to puzzle out  what a good looking guy like Max would want with me. "Did you want to  stay for dinner?"

I watched her move around the kitchen and felt my insides twist  uncomfortably. She'd obviously spent a lot of time here if she was okay  staying at home without Flor, taking care of his kittens, and cooking  dinner for him. And apparently, Flor hadn't said or done anything in the  past few days to make her suspicious.

I'm the other woman.

My throat closed up.

And the sister.

The worst part of it all was that no matter what I did or how guilty I  looked, nobody would even consider the possibility that Flor and I had  done what we'd done. It was too taboo, too far outside a normal person's  comfort zone. I looked down at the toes of my tan leather Steve Madden  boots, another gift from Addi.

Say no and walk out the door, Abi. Make up an excuse to go.

I glanced up, the words dying on my lips when I heard a key being  inserted into the lock on the front door. Crap. Max or Florian, I didn't  really want to run into either of them right now. I mean, I'd come over  here looking for Flor, but talking to him about what had happened with  Rhonda around, yeah. Not happening.

"Hey baby," Rhonda called out, opening the oven and checking on whatever  was inside. "We're in the kitchen!" I stood there facing the window to  the backyard, my chest tight and my breath coming in labored gasps. A  song was playing lightly in the background, so I hoped nobody would  notice, but I should've known better  –  this was Flor.

I listened to his footsteps, the cry of kittens, and saw him pause in  the entrance to the kitchen from the corner of my eye. I refused to look  his way, not yet.

"Smells good in here," he said as Rhonda danced over to him and threaded  her hands behind his neck. I glanced away until their kiss ended and  tried to keep a mild expression on my face. How could he do that? Kiss  her like that and pretend that  …  that everything was okay, that it was  normal.

"And look who's here. Finally, I get to spend some time with this sister  of yours. She's staying for dinner." I glanced up sharply and ended up  getting stuck on Flor's eyes. They were narrowed on me, focused, and  filled with something I couldn't quite name  …  anger, maybe? I wanted to  look away, but I couldn't help myself, desperately wanted to deny the  invitation for dinner but couldn't force the words past my suddenly dry  lips. The memory of Flor's body inside of mine was fresh in my thoughts,  flickering to the surface and making my cheeks flush and my fingers  curl into fists. I stared at him, at the mild frown pulling down the  corners of his beautiful lips, the scar on his chin that I'd finally,  finally gotten to trace with my own fingers. How could it have finally  happened and then be over so fast? How? "He talks about you all the  time," Rhonda added, unknowingly adding a layer of tension between Flor  and me that we so didn't need. "I feel like I know you already, you  know?"                       
       
           



       

I nodded, but I couldn't pull my gaze from my stepbrother's.

"What do you need, Abs?" he asked finally, turning away like he was  already done here. "You could've just called." I pursed my lips. I had  called, and he hadn't bothered to answer, so here I was. Without waiting  for me to respond, Flor continued on down the dark hallway and I  followed after him with a quick apology to Rhonda. If I was any other  girl, I doubt she'd have let me trail her boyfriend into his bedroom,  but I wasn't. I wasn't just any other girl. I was his freaking sister.

"Flor," I snapped, trying to keep my voice low enough that we wouldn't  be heard by Rhonda. Luckily, she'd turned up the music and started  singing along with whatever song it was that was playing. Let me hold  you tight, feel you close for just one night.

Jesus. I had the worst bits of luck. The lyrics she was singing were not helping any.

"Flor," I said again as he tossed a small bag onto his bed and proceeded  to strip off his shirt. My throat clenched tight and my entire body lit  up like a Christmas tree. It was too much too soon. I bit my lower lip.

"What is it, Abi?" he asked, like we had nothing at all to talk about,  like we hadn't been dancing around our love for one another, like we  hadn't just fucked for the first time. "And are you really staying for  dinner? Isn't that a little weird?"

"Weird?" I asked, wishing I could screech the word at him, claw it into  his back and force him to turn around and fucking look at me. "Of course  it's weird, Flor. All of this is. What are you even doing? What are you  going to tell Rhonda?"

He whirled on me then and I took a step back, hitting the wall with my  shoulder as Flor leaned over me, his bare chest beautiful in the dim  afternoon sunshine peeking through the nearby window. He pinned me there  with an arm on either side of my face, his palms pressed into the wall.

"Are you serious, Abi? We're not going to tell Rhonda anything." He  leaned back and I swear, the air around me cooled by several degrees. It  was like when we were together, the friction of our feelings lit up the  room. "There's nothing to tell her anyway." He waved his hand  dismissively and this time, when he said it, he didn't look at me. I  watched Flor move over to his dresser, my mouth open in shock and an  angry tendril of hurt working its way into my belly. No.

"I won't let you use me and toss me away like all the rest of your  girls," I said and his back stiffened. Flor shoved clothes around  angrily until he had a small stack in his hand. When he turned around  and moved back towards me, he paused, eyes on the wall and not on my  face.

"I'm not having this conversation with you right now," he growled and  then we both paused as we heard the front door opening again.

"Wow, does that smell good."

Fuck.

It was Max.

Flor and I exchanged a look before he shoved past me and moved further  down the hall towards the bathroom. I closed my eyes for a moment, made  myself take several deep breaths, and shoved off from the wall. It was  better I go to Max before he came looking for me. I hadn't spoken to him  since the night Flor and I had slept together and with all that had  happened, it felt like forever.

I stepped out into the hall and adjusted my dress, taking a deep breath  and sauntering into the living room with a smile. He was just coming out  of the kitchen with a curious look on his face, his brown hair mussed  and sexy. I wish I could've loved him like I loved Flor, but it was  never going to happen. I was sure of that now.

"Hey Max," I said, tucking my fingertips into the pockets of my black  dress. It was crisp cotton, short, sexy, and it went perfectly with my  boots. Or so Addi had said. She was about a hundred times more fashion  forward than I was, so I listened. Max took me in with a smile and then  stepped close, bracketing my face with his hands and pressing his lips  softly to mine. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, I thought  as he leaned back and smiled down at me. I'd cheated on Max just the  same way Flor had cheated on Rhonda.

"Long time no see, dope," he said with a wink, imitating one of Flor's  favorite pet names for me. The two of them had occasionally teamed up to  pick on me when we were kids. I remembered one particularly terrible  prank where they'd sliced a hole in the back of my gym shorts. I hadn't  even noticed until I'd left the locker room and been swarmed by  concerned girlfriends. This moment, for whatever reason, felt a lot like  that. Had Flor told Max anything? No, not if he was kissing me like  that.

"Two days," I said and he shrugged, glancing down as one of the kittens  latched onto his jeans and began to climb right up his leg. "Not really  all that long," I said as he grinned and detached the furry little beast  from his pants, handing it over to me with a smile.