Wow, way to turn the conversation awkward.
Tony looks mortified, his cheeks red with fury, and he's about to speak up when my mom puts a hand on his fist.
"Let's all calm down," my mother suggests, shooting me a warning glance, but Cassidy is having none of it.
"Whatever," she sighs, throwing her apple core on the table. "I'm out of here."
She storms out of the kitchen, and I think we all lose our appetite. I mumble an excuse that goes unnoticed. Next, I head outside onto the patio, where the water in the newly installed pool is shimmering, enticing me to jump in.
Which I would do, but then I spot Cassidy setting up a lounge chair in her bikini. I can't resist taunting her some more. It is quickly becoming my favorite pastime.
I head over there, standing in front of her as she glares at me and plops down on her chair. She puts her heart-shaped sunglasses over her eyes and makes a point of ignoring me.
I don't move, knowing I'll be able to crack her resolve.
"You're in my sun," she spits at me, and I shift so I'm blocking the sunlight from her body. She sits up.
"You should put on sun block," I tell her.
"Yes, I can tell you're very concerned about my skin." She rolls her eyes but throws a bottle of sunscreen in my direction anyway. She's got a good aim, and the bottle flies straight towards my head. But I'm too fast for her, catching it in midair.
Cassidy turns on her tummy, exposing her tanned back and tight ass to my eyes. I have the urge to tear that bikini right off her, but I resist it, thinking of Tony – a guaranteed way to get me to cool off.
Sex games aren't the only ones I know how to play, though.
I shake the product well, then squirt the contents of the entire bottle on Cassidy's back.
As soon as the cool liquid hits her skin, she screeches and jumps off the lounge chair. She swipes her back and her fingers come away completely white.
"What the hell is your problem?" she demands to know as I laugh my butt off, shrugging.
She snarls in my direction, and before I can move out of the way, she slams into me. And even though I'm bigger and know full-well I could resist her attack, I let her push me towards the edge of the pool.
When I'm just about to topple over into the water I was admiring moments ago, I wrap my hands around her tiny waist, pulling her in with me.
She shrieks, but then we hit the water, going under, and it's like we've entered a different world. I open my eyes underwater and see her struggling to break the surface, but I pull her closer. Her eyes open in surprise, and I stare at her, the world so calm and still suddenly.
My hands glide over her skin, stopping on her inner thigh. I would like to rip that bikini off. Actually, I want to do it right now.
But then we both run out of air, coming up and gasping, desperate to get that precious oxygen in our lungs.
"You fucker!" Cassidy screams, attacking me like a banshee. I'm laughing my butt off again. She tries to hit me, failing when I grab her wrists and pull her writhing body towards me until it touches my skin under the water.
She stills, but just for a moment; long enough for me to position her sweetest part right against my crotch. Her eyes widen when she feels my hard length against her body, and then she fights me so furiously, I let go.
Cassidy swims towards the edge of the pool, pulling herself up and onto the hot tiles. I float on my back, a smile playing on my lips as I watch her.
"Hope that cooled you off." My voice is mocking, but all she does is glare at me over her shoulder.
"I don't think I'm the one that needs to cool off," she snaps in my direction.
"Oh yeah?" My grin is all over my face as I nod to her chest. Her nipples are hard and straining against the thin fabric of the bikini top. "What's that, then?"
She looks down and blushes when she realizes what I'm talking about. Without saying another word, she storms back into the house to the soundtrack of my laughter.
Chapter three
CASSIDY
I walk out of the house with murder on my mind. I'm fuming, but somewhere along the way to my unknown destination, I feel hot tears falling down my cheeks.
I wipe at the wetness, angry with myself for succumbing to his sick little game. I don't know who my stepbrother thinks he is, but he will not be getting as close as he did today, ever again.
As I walk, I think about Valerie. I have no trouble believing she's all right, but it hurts to see her sitting at the kitchen table. It used to be ours, but now it seems as if she's claiming my mother's place.