To Tempt My Stepbrother novel Chapter 5

The tall building of Carlton’s High stretches into the blue sky. Dad drives on to park his car, a smile on his lips as he tells me to have a good day. I walk up the stairs but the door opens before I reach it.

Rose steps out first. Taylor is right on her heels. They flank me on each side, linking their hands through mine as we fall into step.

“Amelia called us, she’s not coming today,” Rose says with a pout. “Who drove you?”

“My dad.” They snicker. I elbow Rose in the rib but Taylor jumps out of my reach. I might have complained once or twice about my dad’s long talks during the rides to school. “It was not that bad.”

As a matter of fact, it was going well until he-who-shall-not-be-mentioned showed up. Just the thought of him and the teasing kiss make my cheeks warm. What if Dani had stumbled in?

“Next time, call me,” Rose says. I pout and she pinches my cheeks. “I’ll come pick you up, alright?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

The three of them might dare me to do the most ludicrous things but they are the best friends a girl could ever have. And I should tell them about him.

“My stepbrother came in today,” I say as we cut into the hallway bursting with students. “This morning.”

We stop at Taylor’s locker for her to get her books. Both of us have first period together. Then Rose and I have choir practise later. Rose leans on the other locker while Taylor retrieves her books.

“Is he hot?” Rose asks.

“Shut up,” I mumble. That’s not the reply I was expecting.

They exchange a glance and grin. “Yeah, he’s hot,” Taylor comments. “Is he hot, hot or just hot?”

“I’m leaving you two,” I reply, feet rooted to the ground. Rose slings an arm over my shoulder. I stare at her red toenails and sigh. “Yeah, he’s hot.”

“Hot enough for a fling?”

“How old is he?” Taylor asks instead. She’s more logical than the two wild urchins I have as my best friends. I shrug. “Is he hot enough for a fling?”

There goes the logic. We resume the walk to my class. “I’m not having a fling with my brother.”

“Stepbrother,” Rose corrects.

“Yeah,” Taylor adds. “You can have a fling with your stepbrother since you’re basically not related. Think of it as two familiar strangers having fun.”

Familiar strangers is a good way to describe what we are. “Let’s just talk about something else,” I say. We stop at the front of my class. Rose opens the door and I give her the look. She’s not getting another word about him from me. The class is not empty. Taylor and I settle into the backseat. Rose plops into a seat ahead of us. “Go away, Rosie.”

The window rattles against its hinges, earning a look from three of us. The wind settles and the rattling stops. I take out my physics textbook.

“But you haven’t answered us,” Rose says.

They think because I have not had a boyfriend since my mother died that something must be wrong with me for my lack of a love life. As if.

What’s the fun of dating anyone when they are going to die anyway? They should be more like me. Kiss, fuck, go to the pub and have fun. No commitments. Because life will be meaningless for a long time after their partners leave or die.

“Yes, he is,” I murmur. I flip to the next page of my textbook without reading it. He’s hot and should be shown off to the world. “But I’m not having a fling with him. End of discussion.”

Rose’s eyes narrow and I imagine the wheels turning in her head. She twirls her hair around an index finger. “You should totally do him. He might turn out to be better than you think,” she says. I used to think Amelia was the worst of our girl group but Rose is just as dogged. Stubbornly cute. “You are not going to find anyone in this town.”

Our town is a small but very peaceful one. Almost everyone in this part knows everyone and we are always in each other’s business. If a boy from this town could have gotten me out of this funk, it would have happened a while ago. Rose pinches me and I shake my head. Her idea is appealing and I don’t want it to be. He makes me feel, even if it’s just a rush of short-term excitement.

“It’s not fair on my dad,” I finally say. Making a disgusted face, I add, “Dad sees him as his son.”