Page 2 of Puck My Stepbrother

“Uh, um, yes, that’s me.”

“How the hell are ya?”

I didn’t answer. In my defense, I didn’t have the chance to say anything, because he marched across the room with his hand out, taking mine and shaking it heartily. Honest to God, the guy sounded like he’d never been so happy to see another human being in his entire life.

That told me I needed to keep my guard up.

“I’m…good, thanks,” I said.

“So, what are you doing here? You a next-door neighbor or something?”

“I live here.”

“You do?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m just moving in today.”

“No shit? So am I.”

Again, he put on this excited tone that was the phoniest thing I’d ever heard. I wasn’t the president, the pope, or Taylor Swift, but he sounded like he could hardly contain himself.

Like he’d totally forgotten about the past.

“Uh…yeah, Levi, and this is my bedroom.”

He glanced around, pointed toward the room, and then to me, pretending to piece it together just then. Of course, that reeked of the same bullshit as his excited tone.

“It is?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah. My dad let me pick out my room. This was supposed to be mine. We already agreed on it.”

“Hmm.”

He stroked his chin with his thumb as if deep in thought.

That told me he knew damn well that the back bedroom was spoken for and he’d just swooped in and snatched it up anyway. And he’d done it just because he could.

That wassoLevi Dunn.

“So my mom’s marrying your dad?” Levi seemed to think he could change the subject just by asking that question.

“Right.”

“That’s pretty cool, huh?”

I shrugged. I didn’t find it cool or uncool. Actually, I still hadn’t digested the idea of my dad being married to anyone at all. I needed time. And space.

“I guess so,” I said.

“What, aren’t you excited?”

I shrugged. “I am, but there’s a lot to adjust to, that’s all.”

“Isn’t it crazy that we knew each other for years, and now we’re living in the same house?”

Something told me Levi had a far different recollection of those years than I did. And why shouldn’t he? He was the one shoving my face in the dirt, not the other way around.

“Uh, yeah,” I said. “It’s definitely something. So what are we going to do about the bedroom situation?”