“Oh, I’m fine. I couldn’t be better. Really, I’m truly wonderful. What could be the problem?”
“I don’t know, babe. The whole constant awkward silence thing and staring at me like you’re completely surprised isn’t helping your case.” He took a seat beside me. “Tell me the truth because there’s more to your freaked-out face than all of a sudden finding out an asshole like me is gonna be your stepbrother?”
I let out a deep breath. “It’s not that; it’s just this is a complication that I don’t need at the moment. There’s the whole show, the bar, and the four of you all giving me all sorts of grief.”
He laughed. “All four of us, huh? And what sort of grief? I don’t know about the others, but I’ve been hoping you’ll return a message and meet up for a date.”
Realizing I had said things that I shouldn’t have said, which made even more complications for me, I shook my head but meant nothing by it.
He’d jumped to a conclusion about the Rollins twins. I wasn’t going to deny it, but I wasn’t intending to confirm it, either. I didn’t want to confess or give him more details. And it wasn’t for me to kiss and tell on his teammates.
“Nah, nah, I’m not going to judge you, babe. If you found happiness with the twins, good for you. If they found you, then good for them. I’m personally not going to give a shit if you do something that makes you happy. I want you to be you. Do what’s best for you, Kayla. Don’t overly fret on this shit, because we only have one short life on this earth, so live it.”
“Is this you trying to go and be a helpful big brother to me?”
“Hell no. I ain’t your big brother, Kayla. I want to be more than that.”
I raised an eyebrow. “But our parents...”
“Are our parents? But we are grown-ups. What they do ain’t got anything to do with us. Step-siblings aren’t real siblings to anyone with any sort of sense. At least in cases like ours. If we were both kids living under the same roof, it might be different, but right now, it isn’t anything.”
A smile came to my face. A bit of reckless honesty. “Aren’t you the one obsessed with your image? I thought you’d be worried about the media perception of you and shit.”
He threw his arm over my shoulder and brought me closer, this time being decidedly less platonic than all of his actions before. “I’m not going to let that get in the way of me having you. You don’t understand, girl, you’re something special. I can tolerate some bullshit, but as soon as it gets in the way of my girl, my tolerance ends.”
I still didn’t fully understand. There were so many roadblocks in the way of his acceptance of me.
He was still fully driven to go after me. It didn’t matter that other guys wanted me equally as much, or that he would be my stepbrother, or that I might potentially ruin his reputation.
Would it be the same for the others? I couldn’t imagine people in the hyper-macho world of professional football tolerating a man sharing his woman with other men. That didn’t seem to jive with their whole toxic macho ethos.
“If you’re fucking Ethan. That’s fine. Jake and Lewis? Also fine. Just let me be a part of your life, Kayla. Let me be your lover, even if I ain’t your only lover.”
There it is.
A more or less clear declaration that he didn’t give a shit about what I did with his friends. Which was comforting; one less person who might turn on me and eventually hate my guts. Maybe if everything else blew up, I’d still have Tyler. Who happened to be my stepbrother. Joy.
But if none of that mattered?
He was there for me. He cared for me.
His hand cradled my cheek and guided my face closer to his. His lips went to mine.
We kissed.
Fuck, it had only been a day since his friends touched me, and I already yearned for more attention, for more lust. Meeting the four had awakened a sluttiness in me that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to put away again.
My heart pounded for more, but I’d have to hold myself back. I couldn’t indulge now. Not outside the restaurant and with my parents so near.
Life was rude sometimes.
A flash of light hit the corner of my eye, and right after it, the kiss stopped.
Tyler jumped to his feet and started in the direction of the flash. “Oh, that little shit, I’m going to break his fucking neck.”
He was off. Fast too. He was a world-class athlete, after all. He ran some distance, but the cameraman had a few seconds head start and managed to get away. Tyler slowed to a halt and shouted profanities into the distance.