we can talk,” my dad said slowly, warily. “Just let me push back my lunch with Shelley.”
Shelley, huh? That was a new one. Probably younger and prettier than the last.
She’d probably last even less time.
Alex took after my dad—they both loved themselves more than anything else. No one would ever be as important in their lives.
“Forget it,” I muttered. “We’ll talk later.”
It would be a pointless conversation anyway. I already knew the end result. My dad had made it clear my senior year. He’d pay for school but only if I majored in business.
Much as I hated living under my dad’s thumb, I’d hated the thought of graduating neck deep in debt even more. So I’d gone along with it for my first year, but now…?
I couldn’t do it anymore. What was the point of going to school for a degree I never planned to use. Add to that the fact that it was my father’s plan and all because he couldn’t stand not having power over me…
I’d been this close to just saying screw it, ditching him and his money and going to a cheaper school where I could pursue a degree in anything I wanted.
It was my mom who’d begged me to talk to him first. Try to explain and reason with him.
He and I have our issues, but I know we both only want what’s best for you, she’d said.
I held back a sigh as I thought of her words now. I owed it to my mom to talk to him, I supposed. She’d only worry if I was in debt and struggling financially. Worse, she might even feel the need to contribute somehow, which she couldn’t afford to do.
So fine. I’d talk to him.
Just not today.
“Gonna tell him that you need a fifth year because you can’t keep up with your classes?” Alex asked when my dad left. His voice was mocking, his expression practically a sneer.
“Shut up.” My own voice was nicely mild. I’d grown so used to Alex’s taunting that it didn’t even faze me anymore. Well, not unless he was talking about Avery.
“Or maybe you want to explain to Dad why you were getting hot and heavy with some girl when everyone else was out last night.”
I stopped in the middle of clearing my plate and slammed it back down on the table, making him jump. “Some girl?” I repeated with a sneer of my own. “Is that what you think of her?”
His brows arched. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I stared at him, waiting to see something. Anything.
I got nothing.
“Do you like her?” I asked point blank.
Because I do.
I wasn’t so competitive with Alex that I’d go after a girl that he liked. Actually, I wasn't competitive with him at all. He was the one who always tried to compare us, as if there was anything to compare.
He got the good grades. He’d inherited the athletic genes and perfect genes. He won at everything he set out to do.
Like I’d said, no comparison.
“Who? Avery?” He sounded so confused, I supposed that was my answer. Then his expression shifted, his gaze focused with suspicion. “Why? Do you?”
I didn’t want to answer. Not because I was embarrassed that I had feelings for the girl...sure it was early stages, but I knew a connection when I felt one. But I wasn’t such a jerk of a brother that I’d go after her if I thought he might want her for himself.
I flinched a bit at the memory of that kiss.
Alright, fine, so I wasn’t about to win any ‘brother of the year’ awards any time soon, but still…
Alex leaned back as he eyed me. “Avery’s cute.”
I froze with my back toward him as I reached the sink. I didn’t say anything, just waited him out.
“She likes me, you know,” he said.
I gave a little grunt of acknowledgment. So he knew, then. Anger had me gripping the edge of the sink. “So you just decided to take advantage of that, then. Real cool, man. Way to go.”
He made a hissing sound as he pushed his chair back. “Nobody took advantage of anybody...unless you did last night.”
I spun around to face him. “I didn’t take advantage. I helped your partner when you weren’t there for her,” I said as calmly as I could. “Whether she likes you or not, flaking on her like that was a crap move, and you know it.”
His frown intensified but he turned his stare to the center of the dining room table.
He didn’t