Stepbrother Dearest (2 page)

It’s hard alright. God, I can’t get it out of my head!

Pierced mushroom head.

Shit.

“You think I would like him?” Victoria asked.

“What do you mean? I told you…he’s the devil,” I snapped.

“I know…but do you think I would
like
him?”

Honestly, I knew he was exactly Victoria’s type. She loved dark and brooding guys even when they

weren’t as good-looking as Elec. This was another reason I had to keep the details of the bathroom

encounter to myself. All she needed to hear was that his cock was pierced, and I’d never get her out of my

house. But she’d find out what he looked like soon enough, so I figured I’d be honest.

“He’s really hot, okay? Really…fucking…hot. In fact, his looks are just about the only thing he has

going for him.”

“Okay, I’m coming over.”

“No, you’re not.” I laughed, but deep down, the idea of Victoria throwing herself at Elec made me really

uncomfortable even if I didn’t think he’d return the attention.

“What are your plans for tonight, then?”

“Well, before I actually met him and realized he was an asshat, I was supposed to be making Sunday

dinner for all of us. You know…my one specialty.”

“Chicken Tetrazzini.”

I laughed because it was the only thing I knew how to make well. “How did you guess?”

“Maybe you can serve up a can of whoopass on the side for stepbrother dearest.”

“I’m not engaging him. I’m gonna kill him with kindness. I don’t care how much of a…dick…(oh

goodness) he wants to be to me. The worst thing I can do is let him think he’s affecting me.”

***

Mom helped me set the table while we waited for the Tetrazzini to bake. My stomach was growling, but

it was more nerves rather than the smell of cream sauce and garlic emanating from the oven. I really wasn’t

looking forward to sitting across the table from Elec, that is, if he even agreed to join us.

“Greta, why don’t you go upstairs and see if you can get him to come down.”

“Why me?”

My mother screwed open a bottle of wine. She was the only one who would be drinking, and she likely

needed it. She poured a little, took a sip then said, “Look, I can understand why he doesn’t like me. He sees me as the enemy and probably blames me in some way for his parents not being together, but there is no

reason for him to be treating you poorly. Just keep trying to get through to him, see if you can get him to

open up a little.”

I shrugged. She had no idea how all out in the
open
things were in the bathroom the other night: balls to the wall open.

As I walked up the stairs, the theme song to
Jaws
rang out in my head. The thought of knocking on his door terrified me, and I didn’t know what I would be faced with if he even opened the door.

I knocked.

To my surprise, he opened right away. A clove cigarette was hanging out of his mouth. The sweet smell

of the smoke traveled quickly up my nostrils. He took a long drag then slowly and intentionally blew the

smoke right in my face. His voice was low. “What?”

I tried to seem unaffected until an uncontrollable hacking cough broke out.

Very cool, Greta.

“Dinner is almost ready.”

He was wearing a tight, white ribbed tank top, and my eyes drifted down to a tattoo that said “Lucky”

on one of his muscular biceps, which was now leaning against the door. His hair was wet, and his jeans

hung low, showcasing the top of the white boxer briefs underneath. His steely gray eyes stared into mine.

He was breathtaking…for a bastard.

I had zoned out when he said, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re trying to remember what I looked like the other night…like you’d rather have
me
for

dinner.” He snickered. “And why are you winking at me?”

Shit.
My eye twitched whenever I was nervous and made it look like I was winking.

“It’s just a twitch. Get over yourself.”

His expression turned angry. “Really? Should I? My looks are all I have going for me, right? So, I

should capitalize on that.”

What was he talking about? I stood there speechless.

He continued, “What’s the matter…too hot in here for you? Then, he said in a mocking tone, “So…

fucking…hot.” He flashed a wicked smile.

Shit.

Those were the exact words I had used to describe him on the phone to Victoria earlier.

He had been eavesdropping on my conversation!

My eye twitched.

He continued, “You’re winking at me again. Am I making you nervous? Look at your face! Red’s a

good color on you.”

I immediately left to go back downstairs.

He yelled after me. “We’ll match, seeing as though I’m the DEVIL!”

***

Elec picked at his meal without saying a word as I fixated on his lip ring. Randy was glancing over at

him with a look of disdain. My mother refilled her wine glass more than once. Yup, our very own version

of the Brady Bunch.

I pretended to be enjoying the Tetrazzini while ruminating over the fact that he’d overheard me talking

about him that way and therefore, now knew I was attracted to him.

Mom was the first to speak. “Elec, what do you think of Boston so far?”

“Seeing as though I’ve ventured nowhere but this house, it sucks ass.”

Randy slammed his fork down. “Can you show some respect to your stepmother for five seconds?”

“That depends. Can she stop boozing it up for the same amount of time? I knew you married a cheater,

Daddy
, but a lush, too?”

“You worthless piece of shit,” Randy spewed.

Whoa.

Once again, Randy had floored me with his choice of words toward his son. Elec was surely being an

asshole, but it still shocked me to hear that kind of language coming out of my stepfather’s mouth.

Elec’s chair skidded back as he threw his napkin on the table and got up. “I’m done.” He looked over at

me. “The Titty Zinni or whatever the fuck it’s called was wonderful,
sis
.” The word “sis” had rolled off his tongue with sarcasm.

After he left the table, the silence was deafening. My mother put her hand on Randy’s, and I was left

pondering what could have happened between Elec and his father to cause such a rift.

I impulsively got up and walked upstairs. My heart was pounding as I knocked on Elec’s door. He

didn’t answer, so I slowly turned the knob and found him sitting at the edge of his bed smoking a clove

cigarette. He had headphones on and hadn’t seen me enter. I stood just past the doorway and observed him.

He was bouncing his legs nervously, looking frustrated and defeated. Eventually, he put the cigarette out

only to immediately reach into his drawer and grab another one.

“Elec,” I shouted.

He jumped and removed his headphones. “The fuck? You scared the shit out of me.”

“Sorry.”

He lit the cigarette and gestured toward the door. “Leave.”

“No.”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly, returning the headphones to his ears and taking a long

drag.

I sat down next to him. “Those are gonna kill you.”

Smoke billowed from his mouth as he said, “Perfect.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Please leave me alone.”

“Okay, fine.”

I left the room and went back downstairs. Seeing him looking so down when he didn’t know I was

watching him made me more determined than ever to break through to him somehow. I needed to know if

this was just a façade or if he were truly a genuine asshole. The meaner he was to me, the more I wanted to

make him like me. It was a challenge.

I returned to the kitchen and asked Randy for Elec’s cell phone number before programming it into my

phone. I then typed out a text.

You don’t want to talk, so I’ll text.

Elec: How did you get my number?

Greta: Your father.

Elec: Fuck him.

I decided to change the subject off of Randy.

Greta: Did you enjoy the meal?

Elec: Scramble the letters of meal. You get LAME. Your meal=lame.

Greta: Why are you so mean?

Elec: Why are you so lame?

What a jackass. This was going nowhere. I threw the phone on the counter and marched up the stairs.

Now, he’d put me in the mood to do something that would piss him off.

He was still sitting on the bed smoking when I opened the door after neglecting to knock. I headed

straight for the drawer, grabbed his box of cigarettes and ran out.

I was laughing all the way back to my room. That is, until my door burst open. I quickly stuffed the

cigarettes into my shirt. Elec looked ready to murder me, although admittedly, the glare in his glowing eyes was pretty sexy.

“Give them to me,” he said through gritted teeth.

“I’m not giving them back to you.”

“Yes the fuck you are, or I’m reaching into your shirt and getting them. You choose.”

“Seriously, why do you smoke? It’s so bad for you.”

“You can’t just steal my shit. But then again, like mother, like daughter.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Go ask your mother,” he muttered under his breath. He held out his muscular, tattooed arm. “Give me

my cigarettes.”

“Not until you explain why you just said that. She didn’t steal Randy. Your parents were divorced before

my mom even met your dad.”

“That’s what Randy wants you to believe. She was probably fucking around on your father too, right?

Poor gullible bastard.”

“Don’t call my father a bastard.”

“Well, where was he when Sarah
was fucking my father behind my mother’s back?”

My blood was starting boil. He was going to be sorry for asking. “Six feet under. My father died when I

was ten.”

He was silent then rubbed his temples in frustration. His tone eased for the first time since I’d met him.

“Fuck. I didn’t know that, okay?”

“There’s a lot you’re probably assuming. If you’d just talk to me…”

Elec almost looked like he was going to apologize.
Almost.
Then, he shook his head and turned right back into evil Mr. Hyde. “I’ll be fucking damned if I have to talk to you. Give me my cigarettes, or I’m

ripping them out of your shirt.”

My body buzzed when he said it.
What was wrong with me?
A part of me wanted to see what that would

be like, his rough hands pulling at the material on my shirt, ripping it off. I shook my head to rid the

thought and backed away as he slowly approached. He was just inches from me now. The heat radiated

from his body as he moved up against me, squishing the cigarette box into my chest. My nipples instantly

turned to steel. I had never felt so out of control of my own body and was silently begging it to stop

reacting so intensely toward him. Let’s face it. My body was an imbecile with poor judgment. How could it

want something so badly that hated it right back?

His breath smelled like clove. “That was the last package of that brand. They’re imported from

Indonesia. I don’t even know where to buy them here yet. If you think I’m difficult to deal with now,

you’re not gonna want to see what I’m like with no cigarettes tonight.”

“They’re so bad for you.”

“Ask me if I give a shit,” he said uncomfortably close to my mouth.

“Elec…”

He backed up a few inches. “Look…smoking is the only thing that has brought me any peace since

walking into this hell hole. Now, I’m asking nicely. Please.”

His eyes softened, and with each second that passed, my resolve weakened. “Okay.” His gaze followed

my hand as I reached into my bra for the cigarettes. I handed them to him and instantly felt the cold air

replace the heat of his body as he walked away.

If I thought giving him back the cigarettes would initiate a truce, I was wrong.

He turned around one last time to face me, and his eyes were no longer soft. They were piercing.

“You’re gonna pay for that.”

The start of school went exactly the way I expected. Elec ignored me anytime we were in the same class

or in the cafeteria. Girls flocked around him everywhere he went, and he instantly became popular while

barely having to say a word. Probably the least surprising development was Victoria’s covetous reaction to

him.

“What do you think my chances are?”

“Of what?”

“Of bagging Elec.”

“Don’t get me involved in that venture, please.”

“Why not? I realize you don’t get along with him, but you’re my only in.”

“He hates my guts. How am I going to be able to help you with this?”

“You could invite me over, set it up so we’re all in the same room and then leave us alone.”

“I don’t know. You don’t understand how he is.”

“I mean, I know you don’t get along with him, but does it really bother you if I try to make a move? It

might actually help your relationship with him if I ended up dating him.”

“I don’t think Elec is the dating type.”

“No…he’s the
fucking
type, and that’s okay with me, too. I’ll take that.”

My heart was beating faster, and I hated myself for it. Every time Victoria would bring this up, it made

me insanely jealous. It was like a secret struggle I was constantly battling. I could never admit this to

anyone. Which part bothered me most was unclear. Was it the thought of my friend screwing Elec, getting

to touch him and living out my darkest fantasy? That bothered me, sure, but I think what upset me the most

was the thought of Elec connecting on a deeper level with someone else while he continued to apparently