Anti-Stepbrother - Tijan Page 0,39

desire or something else, were beginning to loosen now, and I sank back into the couch. My chest felt looser too.

“When you gave me a ride home after that party, Claudia couldn’t believe it. She told me something about how you weren’t known for dealing with underclassmen, and certainly not freshmen. She said you weren’t mean, but not that nice either.”

“She told you that?” He leaned forward. Slowly.

My neck stiffened, but I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Then she’s a bitch, and she doesn’t know me.” The corner of his mouth curved up again. “I have nothing against giving freshman girls rides.”

I would’ve rolled my eyes, knowing it was a joke, but Claudia’s assessment of me still stung. I couldn’t hide it. Caden watched me. I knew he’d figure it out, and a moment later, the couch shifted. He reached over—my stomach twisted—and tugged me next to him. He pulled me into his side, his arm draped over my shoulder.

I sagged into him. I couldn’t help myself. He was warm, strong, and fast becoming an addiction.

“I don’t know why she said that to you, but I’ve had people around me all my life who judge and misperceive things. I have a reputation. I know that, and some of it is true, but most of it isn’t. One of the truths is that I am picky about my friends.”

“Yeah?” I looked up.

He tapped the cleft in my chin. “And for whatever reason, you’ve become one of them.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

We sat like that. It felt nice. It felt right. We watched television, and every time Caden got up for a beer, he brought one back for me and resumed our position. Eventually he laid down on the couch. I shifted so I was half sprawled on top. I was three beers in by then, and with the feel of his arm over my back, holding me in place, and my cheek resting against his chest, hearing his steady heartbeat, I fell asleep.

I woke once when he carried me to a bed and pulled the covers over me. He asked when I had to get up the next morning, and then the light streaming from the door darkened.

The sun shone into the room, and it took me a few moments to realize where I was. I didn’t recognize the king-size bed, or the black sheets, but then Caden walked past the open door and all the memories flooded into place.

I slept at his place.

I glanced around the bed… I slept in his bed!

“Your alarm’s about to go off in ten minutes,” Caden called from the doorway. He had a cup of coffee in hand and wore only jeans.

I tried to keep my eyes front and center, but I lost. The tattoos were a nice little zig-zag pattern, pulling my gaze down, all the way down. Caden’s slow, smooth chuckle told me he knew what I’d just done. My cheeks only warmed a little.

I shot him a look, falling back to the pillow. “I feel like this should be the first skip day of my school career.”

“You’ve never skipped before?”

I shook my head, rolling it side to side on the pillow. “Am I missing out? Should I embrace my inner deviant?”

He smirked. “You can skip a class for any reason in the world. It’s your life.”

I sat up, eyeing that coffee. “You were supposed to be the bad influence.”

His eyebrow lifted. “I’m not selling it enough?” He lifted his cup. “You want some coffee?”

“I’m wondering if today is the day I try coffee too.”

“You’ve never had coffee?”

“I’m beginning to think I’m lame.” I thought about it. “Really lame.”

“You slept at some guy’s house last night. Think of it that way.” His smirk was back. “Not so lame now.”

I could do one better. “I slept at a fraternity house.”

“And you drank beer.”

“It was the second night in a row that I drank beer.”

“See? Not so lame after all.”

“You’re right.” I sat up. “I’m halfway to total badass.”

He grinned. “We cuddled last night, and you could think of it as dry humping. You almost got some last night.”

Except I hadn’t, and we were in the friend zone. Why were my hands curling around the covers into tight balls? I glanced down and forced them to loosen, then shrugged, trying to be the nonchalant badass I was.

“You carried me to bed. Almost the same thing.”

Suddenly, the joking was gone, and his eyes burned. I could feel his heat from across the room, and my body reacted, instantly warming even before he said a