Anti-Stepbrother - Tijan Page 0,10

their names during the introductions. We had to wait for one more girl, and as we did, they prepared their drinks. Wine, rum, soda, vodka—all of it was poured into water bottles. Each girl had a backpack, and they stuffed the containers inside, sometimes two of them. They offered me one, I took it.

I’d had drinks before. The act of drinking or getting drunk wasn’t a big deal to me—it was who I drank with. In a group of strangers, I wouldn’t have taken one, but I trusted Avery. She asked if I wanted to stash a back-up in her bag, and I nodded.

We’d just finished when the last of the group arrived, and the whole alcohol-prepping process started again. The last girl took three bottles.

“When we go to a big party, we bring our own booze,” Avery told me. “We might know the guys who live in the house, but we don’t always know everyone. We’ve heard too many stories, and none of us feels like getting drugged or raped. That’s why we look like full-on alcoholics.”

I nodded. That made sense. These girls were smart.

Another girl chimed in. “And we move in a buddy system. It’s not obvious at the parties, but none of us is ever alone unless we explicitly tell the others we’re doing a one-nighter.”

“One-nighter?” I echoed.

“One-night stand.” A different girl shrugged. “It happens. There’s no judgment here.”

“Unless someone has a boyfriend.” A third girl nudged the one who’d explained. “Right, Shell?”

Shell rolled her eyes. “I still wouldn’t regret a night with Caden Banks.”

I paused. “Wait. What?”

The girl who’d nudged Shell laughed and looked back over her shoulder at me. Her eyes twinkled. “Caden Banks. He’s one of the bigwigs in a fraternity around here. If you meet him, trust me, you’ll know it.”

I was pretty sure I had.

Avery glanced sideways at me. “She might already have met him. Kevin Matthews is her stepbrother.”

I wasn’t prepared for the effect those words had.

Everyone stopped and turned around. I suddenly found myself the center of attention as seven girls each gave me a different look—surprise, caution, intrigue, nervousness. Everyone was silent for a moment until Avery laughed out loud, forcing the sound a little bit.

Her hand perched on her hip, and she lifted her chin. “What? Don’t hate her because of what her stepbrother’s done.”

Wait. What? I fixed Avery with a look and raised an eyebrow. “What haven’t you told me?”

One of the girls stepped forward. “Your brother’s an asshole.”

“Claudia,” Avery reprimanded.

I held my tongue on that one. I couldn’t really argue with her, but I did say, “Stepbrother.”

Shell let out a sigh. “He dated me last year and slept with two of my best friends.” She paused before adding, “In the same weekend.”

“We’re an against-Kevin Matthews group. Neither of those girls is friends with us anymore.” Claudia looked at Avery. “Well, the rest of us. They’re not friends with us.”

Avery shifted back on her feet, letting out a small sigh. She crossed her arms over her chest. “One of those they’re talking about is Maggie.” She said to them, “And I went to high school with Maggie. There’s a whole group of us who are still friends. I can’t just leave them.”

Shell said, “We know. We’ve talked about it, but you know how we feel about him and Maggie.” Claudia raked me up and down. “And if you think bringing his stepsister around us is going to make us soften, think again, Av.”

“I’m not,” she protested. “I didn’t bring her because of that. I’m no fan of Kevin either, but she’s cool. That’s why I brought her.”

I felt a full-body flush coming on. Avery had taken pity on me. I knew it, and she knew it, but she didn’t tell them that. I’d been alone in that bathroom and looking pathetic. She’d invited me out because she was nice.

“Look.” I gave them a tight grin. “I’m under no illusions about Kevin.” Liar. “He’s my stepbrother, so he’s family, but trust me, I’m well aware of his history with women.”

And you need to remind yourself of it. Over and over again. And again, I chided myself as I waited for the hostility to cool to a simmer. When it did, I knew I’d said the right things.

Now I just needed to listen to them myself.

The party was huge, and we had to walk three long blocks from campus to get there. As we went up the driveway, a guy held open the front door. I ducked under his