Neither did I.
Already I was thinking about his mouth. Again.
I clamped down on my lower lip.
“You seemed to have quite a few momentary lapses around me,” he said smugly, like a guy who was used to girls fawning over him.
“Get over yourself.”
Brock had an ego that skyrocketed to the heavens. “I’m still waiting for you to confirm if you have a death wish?”
Rolling my eyes, I replied, “Rest assured, I don’t. I had to grab some things at my house, clothes and homework. You can’t buy my math assignment that’s due on Monday.”
A dark brow rose, contradicting me.
I shook my head. “God, is there anything money won’t buy?”
He stepped away from me, the Academy shirt falling to cover his flat-ass stomach. “I haven’t found it yet.”
“I’ll take your word for it. Look, I knew you wouldn’t let me go.” My shoulders were tight, anticipating a fight.
Scowl lines appeared at the corners of his mouth. “Damn right, Firefly. You need to trust me. I can’t keep Carter from hurting you if you constantly run off on your own.”
“Like you trust me?” I tossed back. “Besides, you can’t always be by my side.”
“There are four of us,” he reminded me.
As if I needed to be reminded. Brock. Grayson. Fynn. And Micah—the infamous Elite of Elmwood Academy. The four most sought-after guys at school, and somehow I ended up on their radar. Well, I had done my fair share of shit to cross paths with them, thanks to the grand scheme Mads, Ainsley, and I concocted. Little did I know, I’d been on their radar long before my first day at Elmwood Academy. Even before that fateful night I hooked up with Brock at my mother’s wedding.
“Fantastic,” I mumbled. “I’m not used to having someone look out for me. It’s weird.”
“Well, get used to it, Firefly.”
I groaned as another car swerved around us, laying on the horn. The sound echoed around us, the driver staring with his nose pressed to the glass. My hand flew up in the air with the middle finger extended before I thought about it. “We can’t keep arguing in the middle of the road,” I complained, concerned some idiot might actually hit us. This wasn’t a busy road in general but we’d lingered too long.
“You want to go back to kissing then?” he asked, his gaze flickering to my mouth.
“Brock,” I groaned again.
Before he made any indication toward his car, the lightness in his eyes flickered, there one second, gone the next. It was kind of scary how fast he could switch his emotions. “Was he home?”
Carter’s name wasn’t necessary. I leaned a hand on the Lexus, stabilizing myself from the quick flash of my stepbrother’s face. “That’s not important.”
Something in my voice must have given me away, or perhaps my face lost shades of color. “What did he say to you?” Brock demanded.
The fight I’d been trying to avoid brewed again in his expression, and telling him that my stepbrother was trying to blackmail me to do his dirty work wouldn’t help his temper. So I said, “Nothing.”
“James,” he growled.
“Taylor,” I spat back.
His arms folded over his chest, that sexy mouth no longer smirking. “I’m still furious with you.”
The rigidness in my shoulders eased. “I know.”
“We’re not done. Follow me.”
“In those sweatpants… anywhere,” I said lightly, adding a grin to ease up some of the tension.