Page 7

Sparking the car to life, he smiles. “You know… you made a little bit of an impression on the boys last night.”
“What?” I ask, shocked. “That was one of the most awkward moments of my life, and that’s saying something, because my life is made up of awkward moments.”
He laughs as I reach for the stereo. When it switches on, Dr. Dre’s “Forgot about Dre” shakes the inside of the car, and I quickly turn it down. “Jesus!”
He chuckles from his seat, watching me closely. “What? Don’t like old school hip-hop, sis?”
“Nothing wrong with hip-hop, but having it that loud will blow your eardrums. You should look at getting them checked, just in case you’ve already done damage.”
“If I had a hearing problem…” he smirks, dropping down gears and jolting us forward so fast my head slams back into the headrest, “…it wouldn’t be from loud music. It’d be from Little Nate penetrating women so good that it has them screaming bloody murder.”
I jerk away from him in disbelief. “Little Nate?”
His face drops. “What’s wrong with naming it Little Nate?” He almost looks offended that I laughed. I feel a little bad about that. Nate has a twisted bad boy feel about him, with added cockiness. But now he’s not playing fair, because when he pouts, it looks cute on him.
“Uhhh… the fact that you actually named it. And anyway, why would you want to name…” I point down to his crotch, and when my eyes travel back up to his face, I’m greeted by his cocky all-boy grin. His hand travels down the front of his ripped jeans as he clutches his junk. Oh, Lord. “Y-your…” I stutter. “For the love of God,” I whisper, shaking my head.
He teases, “Cock? Dick? Magic stick? The power shaft? The womb raider? The yogurt—”
I shake my head, cutting him off, “Elena is a sweet woman. How the fuck did you come from her?”
We pull into the private underground parking lot under the school, and I climb out of the car, shutting the door behind me.
“What’s your last class?” he asks, rounding the car and hooking his arm around my waist. I wiggle out of it. I’ve become aware over the last twenty-four hours how smooth things are around Nate, but I still can’t have his arm around me. I’ve never had many friends at other schools. He and Tatum are the first people, since before my mom snapped, to not have my past bother them as much.
“Um, I think I have PE.”
He nods as we begin walking toward the elevator that takes you to the school’s first floor. “I’ll pick you up from there. What do you have now?”
“Calculus.” I cringe, knowing Ally Parker and Lauren Bentley are in that same class.
“I’ll take you there now.” He nods toward the corridor.
I smile. Maybe I threw him off the boat a little too early. He’s only being nice to me. Nicer than most people are, anyway. “You don’t need to do that, Nate. I’m fine.”
He wraps his arm around my neck and pulls me into his embrace. “Well, since we’re siblings and all, it’s my duty to look after you.”
“Nate,” I groan, as we continue walking down the corridor that leads to my first class. The walls are painted in classic whites and neutral colors, with all the rooms leading off it in similar hues. The gym sits at the end of the corridor toward the fire exit, and although I haven’t seen the boy’s hall yet, I have a feeling it is similar to ours. “You really don’t. I’ll be fine.”
“I just wanna get to know my new sister. That’s all.” He winks down at me just as we reach the doorway to my class.
“Fine,” I say, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “But I’m not good with people, just giving you a warning. I’m more the loner type.” He watches me carefully, his head tilting while he studies me closely.
“I can dig the lonely girl thing.” He winks at me again before turning around and heading toward the boys’ hall.
Why? Why did I have to get someone annoying like Nate as a stepbrother?
THE BELL RINGING BREAKS THE concentrated silence in the classroom as we all gather up our books. Tatum bumps my hip with hers, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “Lunchtime! That class almost killed me.”
I smile, collecting my pens and placing them on top of my books. “You say that in every class.” I roll my eyes as we begin retreating from the room.
She snorts. “That’s true. So, what’s your plan for after school? Nate Riverside is throwing a party this weekend, and I’m not usually one for going to any of these parties, and we might get kicked out, because we don’t hold the same status, but I feel like crashing. You in?” she asks, as we make our way to the cafeteria.