Wrong: A Stepbrother Romance

“Yes, we do. There have only been zero other times in our lives when we’ve been crazy and head over heels for an awesome guy at the same time – guys who are best friends, by the way – so you better fucking spill.”

She exhaled. “Fine. Basically my laundry didn’t dry in time for the date so I wore my ugly panties with the hole in them and I told myself it was a sign that I should wait to sleep with him but then things got kinda hot and heavy and I went back to his house and got him as hard as possible before running the fuck away like the weakest little psychopath, oh my God, hand me that toy pistol so I can shoot myself in the face.”

I covered my mouth with my hand.

“That’s right. Suppress that giggle, you whore. Not everyone can have a perfect love story like you,” Aria sassed, feigning anger with me. “You’re the steamy hot romance and I’m the rom-com starring the super quirky actress everyone hates. Except it’s not going to be a comedy when I find out that A.J speed-dialed his favorite groupie after I left and subsequently emptied his balls.”

I wrinkled my nose. “That… di

dn’t necessarily happen.”

“Yes, it did,” Aria insisted with a groan as she wandered into the next aisle. “Think about it, Sash. He and I are nowhere near exclusive, he had a boner to tend to and every girl on the East Coast is thirsting for his dick. Those boys at Liam’s gym – they don’t have to wait to feel good. If they want to go for drinks, they know every GM in town. If they want in at a club, they get Max to call the guy at the door. And if they want to empty their balls, they go to their contacts and order a hot chick like a frickin’ pizza. Boom.”

“Why do you keep saying ‘empty their balls’ like that’s how you talk?”

“Sorry. It’s how A.J talks,” Aria grumbled, “and clearly, I am fucking obsessed with him and sabotaging myself by acting like a complete freakshow. But maybe I’m not acting. Maybe this is just my life now. I got a taste of the man of my dreams and now I can’t handle the pressure that comes with being the hot chick that he’ll clearly need to stay interested. So I’m crazy now.” She plucked a costume strait jacket off the shelves. “I’m going to wear this to the party and every day after. Congratulations. You are now the girl with the nut job best friend.”

“Aria.” I giggled as I hung the straitjacket costume back on the shelf and placed my hands on her narrow shoulders. “You’ve always been my life coach, but now it’s my turn to tell you to calm down. First off, I so understand how you feel. I would be lying if I said I was a hundred percent comfortable with dating Liam.”

“That’s different.”

“It’s not. Aside from the fact that he’s my stepbrother, I also have to worry about the daily fangirls. You know Liam has them the way A.J does.”

“Worse, actually,” Aria sighed. “Times a million.”

“Yes, thank you for pointing that out. And you know that half the girls who bought tickets to the party this weekend bought them so they could meet Liam.”

“More than half. And more than meet him. Those girls want to fuck his brains out.”

“Again, thank you for reminding me. Asshole. So you know I’m in the same boat as you, girl.”

“Except your man loves you. Like, would die for you kind of loves you,” Aria pointed out. I was quiet for a second, realizing I actually felt no need to argue that. “See? You’ve locked him down and you know it. But me? I haven’t locked down shit.”

“We’ll take it a step at a time, starting with these costumes.”

“Fine.” Aria snatched two off the rack in front of us. “Here. Fuzzy Bear and Old Man Flasher. We’ll wear these and take ourselves out of the sexy equation entirely. Let the fangirls know that we’re perfectly comfortable in our skin.”

“Are you really comfortable with that or are you just giving up?”

“I’m giving up.”

I snorted. Once again, I hung the costumes back up and ushered her out of the store. “Nuh-uh. I refuse to let you give up. Let me do a little digging and figure this out for the both of us.”

“I don’t trust you to care enough,” Aria said, crossing her arms as she dragged her feet on the sidewalk. “You always half-ass your costume and end up wimping out on these parties early.”

“Hey,” I argued, though it was true. I generally made my appearance, said “hi” to Liam and the guys and then left. I always used Ethan as my excuse but the truth was I hated the parties back then. Watching naked girls bribe their way into the VIP level to rub up on Liam all night was pure torture. And I was sure it would be torturous again this year but this time, Liam wouldn’t be single. He wouldn’t be taking any of those girls back to his apartment – he’d be going home with me. No one would know it though, and that made me a bit uneasy. Which was why, for the first time, I was intent on putting an actual effort into Halloween. I had Liam already but I wanted to keep his eyes on me all night.

Every second of it.

“I’m not leaving early this year, Aria. And I’m not wimping out on anything. We’re both going to have fun with Halloween this year,” I said firmly. “It’s gonna be one we’ll never forget.”

“Fine.” She huffed. “You promise?”

I hugged her to my side and planted a confident kiss on her cheek. “Yes, lady. I promise.”

Chapter Eighteen

There was a line wrapped around the block of Atrium, the East side party venue known to host all the most lavish socialite weddings and galas. Whenever I passed by the place, there was a white carpet rolled down the stone staircase, its entrance flanked by vintage candelabras and model-esque bridesmaids in Monique Lhuillier. But for Liam’s party tonight, the carpet was black and there were spotlights beaming purple and blue onto each looming limestone wall. Five men in black suits were planted at the door handling the monstrous line, which thankfully, Aria and I got to skip every year.