Anti-Stepbrother - Tijan Page 0,86
the butt as she disappeared into the house.
I added, dryly, “But he is for her.”
“Do we hate her?”
I could tell Clarissa wanted to hate her. “She’s my friend.”
“Oh.”
“Sorry.”
She took in a deep breath, her smile reinforced, and linked elbows with me. “Then let’s get in there and meet a different guy. It’s prime picking for us, or me. Me. It’s prime picking for me.”
We went inside, and I introduced her to the guys I knew. When Avery came over, I knew I didn’t have to worry about any hating. Clarissa melted as soon as Avery hugged her, saying how much she felt she knew her already through me. The rest of Avery’s friends came over too, inviting Clarissa to stay in one of the rooms they’d already sequestered before the guys could claim them.
“Not that all of us are even going to be using these rooms.” Avery laughed as Clarissa staked her claim on one of the beds. It was a double for her roommate too, and Avery asked, “When’s she coming over?”
“As soon as her last class ends. I kept my Friday afternoons free on purpose, and I came over when I heard the Alpha Mu visitors had arrived.”
“Heard?” Avery questioned.
“The Alpha Mu frat is a big deal here. They throw the best parties, so when word spread that another chapter was coming in, yeah—word got around. The party tonight is going to be insane.”
A flicker of worry sparked in me. Maybe I should check to see if our bedroom had a lock on it.
“Where are you staying, Summer?”
The question came from Clarissa, but I could feel Avery’s keen interest too. I shrugged, feeling itchy all over, all the sudden. “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.”
“Are you planning on asking for directions and my dorm key later tonight?”
“What?” Avery asked.
“Yeah.” Clarissa pointed to me. “This one here called me a couple weeks ago and asked if she could stay at our room if it got too crowded here. I told her she was nuts. Everyone is hoping to get in this party. Why wouldn’t you stay? You know?”
Avery laughed, but it sounded a bit forced. “Oh yeah. I know.”
I relaxed. We were laughing. It was all good. They were getting along, and then Avery stopped. “Are you staying with Caden tonight?”
We weren’t laughing anymore.
The itching doubled, and I tried scratching my ear against my shoulder. “Uh. What?”
“Caden. You rode with him. You said he got upset before. Are you sleeping with him?”
“You mean is that just the place I’m going to crash?”
Her eyes held mine, and when I glanced away, I felt a gotcha vibe coming from her.
“You know what I mean,” she said.
“Yes. I might crash there, but I don’t know. We haven’t talked.’
“Who’s Caden? The guy outside said his name too.”
“You should go ask him.”
“Is he the guy?” Clarissa leaned closer, whispering.
“The guy?” Avery’s attention snapped back to my high school friend. “What do you mean?”
“There’s a guy—”
I clamped a hand on Clarissa’s arm. “My friend. That’s what she means. I told her about my weird friendship with Caden. She thinks it’s more than that.”
Avery frowned. “It’s not a weird friendship.” Her tone softened. “You’re not weird, Summer. You just think you are.”
Now I frowned. What did she mean by that?
“There’s Paige!” Clarissa burst out, waving. “Paige, over here.”
A girl with short hair, stunning green eyes, and a slim figure darted around a group and came into the room. She was wearing a black sarong-like skirt with a cropped green top. It hung loosely from her breasts, lightly falling over her stomach, and she’d topped it with a tiny black leather jacket. She was punk, edgy, and beautiful, and I was instantly jealous.
Avery skimmed her up and down, and I caught a slight curling of her top lip. I wasn’t the only one.
Then Clarissa did the introductions, and as much as I hated it, Paige was nice. I liked her. She had a sweet southern drawl, which was a magnet for the guys. Suddenly Marcus came over to welcome our friends. His buddies were with, and more of Caden’s fraternity brothers materialized. They all wanted to “make sure we were okay.”
Avery snorted at that excuse, and after the fifth guy wanted to be the polite welcome wagon for Paige, she muttered under her breath, “What are we? Chopped liver?”
Marcus put an arm around her shoulders. “No, you’re just spoken for.”
That did the trick. Her cheeks grew pink, and she softened all over again.
“What about you, Summer?”
The