“Yeah, I’m serious. They tore Elias a new one, and he wasn’t even saying anything particularly bad. He was just asking them to confirm that they messed around with you in the closet.”
“That was it?”
“Yeah. I stepped forward because no one talks shit about my best friend, but I didn’t need to. They were already on it.”
I let out a soft breath. I’m not often surprised, especially when it comes to my stepbrothers, but if what Dornan says is true, they’ve done the exact opposite of what I expected in the circumstances.
“So people are talking about me?” I ask.
“Don’t worry about it,” Dornan says. “Believe me, it’s nothing. No one knows what you did in the closet, not even me. You could have all stood around trying not to touch each other. Your stepbrothers didn’t confirm shit.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling relieved.
“But you came out of that closet with very red cheeks,” Dornan says slowly. “And a damp hairline. And a ruffled hem.”
Clearing my throat, I shift in my seat. “Dornan,” I say in a warning tone.
“What? You don’t want to confide in me? Am I not your best friend?”
“You are,” I say. “But…”
“But you don’t want to tell me that your three stepbrothers got you off like a rocket.”
“Dornan!”
“What? Are you forgetting you’re at college? These are the years you’re supposed to have fun and make crazy mistakes.”
“But some mistakes are better left unspoken and unrepeated.”
With a long sigh, I hear Dornan shifting. “You don’t need to be so uptight, sweetie. I’d hate for you to get to your thirties and look back with regrets because you didn’t let your hair down when you had the chance.”
“Are you seriously suggesting I should look to repeat what happened in the closet?”
“Well, I don’t know what happened in the closet, so I’m not sure I can tell you that. I’m saying that all the grumbling you do about your stepbrothers has always felt like a cover for other feelings, and if that’s the case, maybe you should grow up and face what’s in your heart rather than ignore it.”
“I don’t believe you,” I huff.
“Ah, Ellie-Belly, don’t be like that. You know I have your best interests at heart. Which of them are you crushing on?”
The little flutter of my heart in my chest is more ache than excitement. Dornan isn’t to know that all three of my stepbrothers have wormed their way through my frosty, hard outer shell for different reasons.
“Crushing is so high school,” I say, to change the subject.
“Human beings don’t ever grow out of crushing.” There’s a smile in his voice that piques my interest.
“Oh yeah. And who are you crushing on?”
“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” he says in a playful tone.
“Forget it.” I shake my head even though he can’t see it. There’s no way I’m going to get dragged into a game like that.
“I d…”
I hang up before he can say the word dare and text him with a laughing emoji and the words, NO MORE DARES! Then I slump back against my chair.
My stepbrothers defended me, and I don’t know how to process that.
7
ELLIE
“No more dares,” I shout over the music pounding so loudly from the speakers that I can feel it in my throat.
I wobble and shift my feet as the last Red Devil cocktail goes straight to my head. Gabriella grins devilishly, tucking her straight blonde hair behind her ears.
“I’m not going to promise anything,” she says, linking arms with me and turning us so that we’re surveying the dance floor. The Red Devil bar is heaving tonight, and as the lights flash in time to the pulsating beat, I struggle to make out a single face.
“It’s time to go home,” I say, already worried about whether I can still carry myself to the door.
“It’s time to dance,” she says, tugging me straight into the throng of moving bodies, throwing her free hand in the air with abandon. I swear my friend has zero inhibitions. The only way I keep up with her is because of her overuse of my kryptonite.
Well, maybe kryptonite is the wrong way of putting it. She knows that if she wants me to push my boundaries, she needs to throw out a dare. Most of the time, she gets away with it because I enjoy the chance to do things outside my usual comfort zone. Tonight, I drank at least three more drinks than I would have.
“We need to hook up with some sexy guys,” she says when she’s finally stopped walking and starts dancing. Under the flashing lights, her silver sequined dress comes alive like a sparkling rainbow.
I grimace, not liking where Gabriella’s train of thought is heading. “I don’t want to hook up with anyone,” I remind her. “I’m already the talk of the boy’s locker room.”