acted on it, too, while I was busy at work, earning money for both of us. And she’s here now.
“Hi,” June says softly, her doe eyes big and trusting. "I was hoping you'd join us."
Without saying another word, I walk in like I’m in a trance, and when Parker catches my eye, he winks at me.
He winks at me.
I’m about to strangle him, but in the next second, I’m wrapped in a bear hug by June. “I missed you so much,” she whispers in my ear.
I have to restrain myself, so I don’t respond to her affection, and my hands form fists at my sides. She’s pressed so close to me I can feel her jutting hip bones poking me through her jeans. All I want to do is tear her the fuck off me. Get her the hell away before my body acts of its own accord, and I force her to do something else entirely.
“What is she doing here?” I ask Parker, stepping out of June’s touch and ignoring the hurt coming off her body like a fragrance. "Did you invite her, or is this another one of her stalkery trips?"
“I thought it was about time we buried the hatchet,” Parker says cheerfully and brings a bowl of salad to the kitchen table. I see that it’s already set with two plates and there’s sliced baguette as well as some charcuterie. I wonder who paid for that, I think bitterly. It's probably the money for takeout I keep leaving him... “It’s been too long since we had June over, don’t you think?” Parker teases.
Oh, so she’s June now, when before, he always called her little sis. I hate his guts right now, and I know I’m being unfair, but I want to grab her and carry her into my room to do all the things I’ve dreamed about to her. Forget Parker. She belongs to me.
“Am I allowed to eat here?” I ask viciously instead of responding to my brother’s words, nodding toward the two places he’s set. “Or should I leave?” Somehow, I don’t feel welcome in my own goddamn apartment.
“Yes, please—stay,” June jumps in cheerfully, and I turn around to look at her. She’s acting like she owns the place, and it bothers me because it’s the one thing I paid for myself. I’m the one who pays the rent here, and her dirty money will do her no good, no matter how good those jeans look on her. And I’m trying not to look.
“Are you staying?” I ask her, and she flinches a little.
“Parker invited me for lunch,” she says softly, but then she raises her chin. “I didn’t know we needed your permission.”
Well, that’s fucking new. June is always quiet, obeying everything we say. But now she’s standing up for herself? How goddamn refreshing.
“It’s my place, so you do, yes,” I reply coldly, and her eyes burn with a quiet fire I’ve never seen before. And I’ll be damned if it doesn’t turn me on even more than her usual sweet and submissive personality. Fuck me. I've been with her for a few minutes, and I'm already losing my cool. "So? What do I need to do so you’ll leave? You need a written note or something?”
She looks taken aback for a second, but I don’t regret it in the slightest. She doesn’t belong here, not in her designer heels while carrying a handbag that costs more than our rent does.
“Ignore him, June,” Parker tells her cheerfully. “He’s being an ass. Why don’t you sit down? I’m sure we can have a nice time without Kade, too—his loss, right?”
He’s shooting me daggers with his eyes across his shoulder as he sits June down. I’m so angry I could slap him on the spot even though I have no right to do that. It was my idea, I think, just to punish myself further.
“Enjoy your dinner in that case,” I say, the venom spilling out of my words. I turn on my heels and walk out of there. I have no idea where I’m going, but I need to get away. I'm not about to sit down to a family reunion with a stepsis I want to be balls deep inside, and my idiot fucking twin brother.
Because it might have been my idea, but it should have been me sitting there with her. I should be the one she looks at adoringly with those huge eyes, not my brother. And I’m afraid that had I