Stepbrother dearest.
“Really?” I say, gaping at his friend.
He puts his hands up, feigning innocence. “I swear I didn’t know he was in there.”
Cross is clearly surprised. His brows are furrowed as he looks between me and his friend.
I quickly push past him, making sure to nudge him with my elbow on the way, and go to slam the door. Anything to get away from them.
Except, it doesn’t shut, and suddenly, I’m not alone.
[ 9 ]
CROSS
“I’ll dealwith you in a minute,” I grit out to Tyler then scoot in behind Scarlett into the bathroom. I close and lock the door behind my back then lean on it for good measure. God only knows why my best friend was escorting my stepsister to the bathroom, but I’m about to find out.
She spins, her long hair fanning out with the movement. It carries a strong whiff of beer.
“Jesus, you smell like a brewery.” I raise my eyebrow. “How long have you been here?”
“Like five minutes,” she says under her breath. “And I’ll be leaving as soon as you give me a minute of privacy.”
I scoff. “Yeah, right. I give an inch, and you take a mile.”
Her jaw drops. “Are you kidding? You’ve made my life impossible.”
“I haven’t even gotten warmed up, princess.”
Ooh, she doesn’t like that pet name. Her face pinches, and she abruptly turns away from me. Still, she can’t hide her anger. Her reflection in the wide mirror over the counter gives her away.
Someone bangs on the door. “Come on! There’s a line!”
I motion for her to get going with whatever she needs to do. It was important enough for Tyler to walk her over here…and no one would mess with him cutting the line.
“Get out,” she hisses.
I roll my eyes. “Do you not know the meaning of the wordno?”
She pales but tries to cover up her unease with a roll of those annoyingly pretty eyes.
I settle against the door and cross my arms. After a long pause, she shrugs out of her sweater and turns on the tap. My eyebrows nearly rise into my hair at the sight. Her smooth, pale skin… She’s wearing a bralette that extends halfway down her stomach. It covers more of her than a bikini top would. But she still turns away from me slightly as she cups water in her hand and rinses off her arms.
“What are you doing?”
“Some girl spilled beer on me,” she says hotly.
“And here I thought you just had a drinking problem.” I cock my head. “Why wear a sweater to a party, anyway?”
“I didn’t know I was coming here, genius. And I’ll be leaving immediately after this.”
“Right.”
She’s intriguing. I hate to admit it, but I can’t tear my attention away from her. And she took her shirt off with barely a push of peer pressure. What else could I get her to do?
“You don’t believe me?” Her eyes narrow briefly, meeting mine in the mirror. Before we can lock in, she crouches and opens the cabinet doors, digging through some stranger’s shit until she emerges with a dingy washcloth.
My eyebrows rise higher, but I don’t comment when she uses it to pat dry her skin. It’s probably cleaner than the damp hand towel everyone else has been using tonight.
