Anti-Stepbrother - Tijan Page 0,63
for a beat, but then his hand grabbed mine and we were walking to his vehicle.
I didn’t say anything when we got inside the Land Rover.
He didn’t reach for me, or grab my hand, so I kept it on my leg, palm turned up. He could grab it any time he wanted.
He didn’t. A part of me ached at the emptiness, as if the weight of his hand on mine had become natural, like my own skin. I bit my lip, not sure how I felt about that. Well, I knew how I felt. I didn’t know how I should feel.
When he stopped at my dorm, I murmured, “You really did bring me back here.”
He frowned. “Did you want to go back to my place?”
I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. I wanted him, and I knew what would’ve happened if we’d gone there instead. I would’ve kissed him, or he would’ve kissed me. I would’ve let him do a whole bunch of other stuff that he would be fine with and I couldn’t handle.
I swallowed over a lump in my throat. “No. This is okay. I’m…I’m kinda tired anyway.” Liar. You’re wide awake.
He nodded. “Talk tomorrow?”
My heart slammed against my chest. “About what?”
“About anything. Do we need reasons to talk to each other now?”
“No.” I laughed. “I’m being weird again. Okay.”
We were friends. That’s right. Friends.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“’Night, Summer.”
I walked away, but I couldn’t shake a nagging feeling.
I wasn’t sure I knew how to be just friends anymore.
Family Weekend started off like a zombie apocalypse.
At least it did in my mind. The morning was normal, like any other Friday morning. I woke up, went to class, and got coffee and a bagel before going to Intro to Physiology.
Marcus didn’t glare at me. Thank goodness. I never knew what I was going to get with him now. We were making progress. He now mostly ignored me, which was fine. I ignored him back. Afterwards, I brought Shayla with me to lunch with Avery and her friends. Claudia even smiled at me.
If that had happened a week ago, I would’ve considered it a clear sign of the apocalypse, but I had other issues on my mind now. Caden, mainly, but also, Sheila and my dad called early this morning. They were coming, and so were a lot of others, it soon became apparent. I went to the library with Shayla for a study session, and when we left, parents were everywhere.
People were hugging. Moms cried as dads stood awkwardly to the side. Dads cried. Others shrieked their reunions. Soon I was back in my dorm room, ready for my own hugging/crying/shrieking parents to arrive.
Someone knocked on my door, and I plastered on a welcoming smile as I opened it.
It was Kevin.
My smile faded. “What are you doing here?”
He gave me a crooked grin, raking his hand through his hair. “Mom called and said to meet here.” He walked in, his hands in his pockets, and glanced around. “This is nice. You didn’t end up with a roommate this year, huh?”
I eyed the door. To close or not? Gah! I would’ve been all for that a few weeks ago. Close the door, be in my room with Kevin, hope someone would make a move… That seemed so far away, and not far at all. That damn hole inside me started to burn again. I left the door open and sat at my desk. Kevin continued looking around the place like he was the health inspector.
“Do you know what your mom has planned tonight?” I asked.
He flashed me that rakish smile again.
I scowled.
He sat on my bed and sank backward to lean against the wall, his legs sprawled over my entire bed.
Well, just make yourself at home.
“You know my mom. She’ll have something elaborate. I’m guessing dinner tonight and then private box tickets for the football game tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“What’s right?”
“I forgot we had a football team.”
“Family Weekend usually coincides with Homecoming. The football game is a big deal.”
“Huh.” Now I remembered Caden talking about the game. “That makes sense. There were a lot of extra people on campus today.”
“They do a lot of reunions this weekend too. It’s kinda a big free-for-all, but there are parent and family activities planned.” He leaned forward. “You know about the big brunch before the game tomorrow, right?”
“Uh…”
“Your resident advisor should’ve told you about it.”
Avery and I had other things to talk about. “It’s all good. I’ll look it up. I’m sure there’s