“Really?” I raise an eyebrow at him before turning to Wild as if to saydo you want to do the honors?
“Well…” Wild downs the rest of his scotch. He waves to the bartender and points at his glass, indicating that he’d like another one. “Please, thanks,” he mouths before turning back to Noah. “If you must know, something was going on.”
Noah’s eyes widen before he slams his hand down on the bar. “Shut the fuck up, I knew it. God, it all makes so much sense now. All those times you two would show up late or sneak off somewhere during a party. I knew you had to be going somewhere to fuck. It was just so obvious, but also not obvious because you were stepsiblings…” He darts his eyes back and forth between us a few times. “Are you… still…?”
Wild and I exchange a look, confirming that we’re agreeing to be honest, before I nod slowly. “Do you think we’re sick?” I ask him.
“What? No, why would I? It’s your life, and you’re not actual siblings. If I grew up having a hot stepsister, I’d probably be obsessed with her too. Do you know how many guys were jealous of you for getting to live with Halle?” Noah laughs.
“Alright enough, I don’t need to hear about how you guys were all thirsting after my girl,” Wild snaps before his hand finds mine and threads our fingers. He drags my hand to his lips and kisses my fingers, and I realize that this is the first time we’ve engaged in any public display of affection around someone we know.
“No, but really, why would I care that you guys are together?”
“Some people aren’t exactly taking it well.”
“Oh. Well, fuck ’em. You’re not hurting anyone.” Noah shrugs before pulling out his phone. “Oh, there’s this fucker.” He holds the phone to his ear. “You’re never going to guess who I ran into,” he answers before he gets off the barstool and walks away from us to take the call.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting that.”
“I think he’s hammered.” Wild chuckles. “But your friend Dex took it the same way. Everyone is going to take it differently. Eventually, everyone will know, and then we can put an end to guessing how people will respond. We’ll know who wants to be in our lives and who doesn’t.”
We’ve been at the bar for about an hour, and I’m starting to feel my drinks after I ordered a second martini and took a lemon drop shot with Wild and Noah. I think something must have happened with Zack, and he got delayed or isn’t coming, but he hasn’t shown up yet, leaving just the three of us to reminisce about high school. I’m still seated between them at the bar, so I’m surprised when someone brushes against me, then a hand grips my shoulder.
“If I knew you guys were continuing the party, I would have joined you.” I hear in my ear, and when I turn to face him, Dylan is somewhat between Wild and me.
My heart starts racing, thinking this is not going to end well, and also because I want to know how he knew where we were.Could it really be that much of a coincidence?Or did he follow us?We aren’t that far from the venue, and this is the main bar area, but there are at least ten other options he could havestopped in on this block. “What—what are you doing here?” I turn my body so his hand falls from my shoulder, and I know Wild can hear the panic in my voice, which contributes to the absolute fury written all over his face.
“And what did I fucking say?” Wild grabs Dylan by his shoulder and pulls him back hard and out of my space. “I said to stay the fuck away from her. Which part aren’t you getting? I didn’t want to cause a scene at our parents' party likeyoufucking did, but we can absolutely step outside if you’re having trouble understanding what the fuck I said about Halle.”
What did he say? What did I miss?
My brain is a little hazy from the drinks, but I try to make a mental note to ask Wild about that.
“Seb, you good?” I hear from next to me, and I turn to see Noah looking at him with a look of concern.
“Yeah, he’s fine,” I tell him, putting a hand on his shoulder because it looked like he wanted to stand. Noah looks at me before surveying the scene behind me.
“Yeah, we’re all family now,” Dylan responds, gesturing toward Wild and me. “My dad is marrying his mom.”
“Oh,” Noah says before narrowing his eyes. “Seems like there’s already some family drama going on,” he jokes, I think as an attempt to defuse the tension.
“Nope, just wanting to get to know my new sister a bit better, and her bodyguard here has a problem with it,” Dylan answers.
“Oh, yeah. Not happening.” Noah laughs. “He’s been that way since we were younger. Better to just not waste your time.”
“Not to mention, I said I had a boyfriend, and I’m not interested. What are you not getting?”
“You don’t have a boyfriend. You have an inappropriate childhood relationship you didn’t grow out of.”
My jaw drops, and I freeze, stunned by his words. I hear a sharp intake of breath from the other side of me, followed by Noah grunting out, “Shit.”
“Out-fucking-side,” Wild says through gritted teeth. “I’d lay you out here, but I’d rather not get kicked out of the bar.”
“Wild…”
“Halle, stay inside. Noah, stay with her.” He points at Noah, and he must be furious if he’s telling another man to stay with me.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Dylan says before waving over the bartender. “I’m having a drink.” He walks past Wild, banging his shoulder hard into his while he passes. “Feel free to join me.” He turns to wink at me before he walks toward the other end of the bar.
