Page 43 of Puck My Stepbrother

“No, I’m just telling you how I got to the present.”

“Come talk to me when you’re willing to humble yourself.”

And then he turned and marched down the hall to his room. That’s right: he’d avoided the inevitable yet again, but I didn’t feel deterred. He’d made me realize something. In school, I’d developed an undeniable attraction to him that grew and grew, but I couldn’t do anything about it.

Now that we lived in the same house, that attraction had taken on a different form. And then Quinn had used a word I hadn’t dared consider before…but now that he had, the feeling nagged at me and wouldn’t let go.

Maybe it really was love after all.

17

QUINN

“You look nervous,” Jeff asked as I sat opposite him on the couch.

“What makes you say that?”

“You keep looking over your shoulder.”

Only then did I realize Jeff was right. I’d glanced over my shoulder several times since entering his living room. Crazy as it sounds, I honestly expected my stepbrother-to-be to barge right in and interrupt at any moment. He’d sit between us on the couch and ask us for the good news. My life really had come to that.

“This is going to sound weird,” I said, “but I guess I have this feeling that Levi is going to walk in and interrupt us again.”

“Seriously?”

“Uh-huh.”

“But we’re at my house. Why would you think that?”

“Don’t know. Guess he’s just been unavoidable lately.”

Jeff lifted an eyebrow like he understood, but still found my worry strange.

Here’s the thing: you need to have dealt with an eternity of Levi Dunn to understand my concerns. But I had other reasonsfor feeling on edge. When Jeff had invited me over to his house, mentioning that it would be empty, a lightbulb had turned on in my head. I considered the possibilities. Like, why had he invited me overnow?

He must’ve had a reason, and I wanted to prepare myself for whatever it was. No, I hadn’t packed condoms or lube. Levi had gone in bare, but I preferred to stay as safe as possible. Jeff would probably have both on hand, right? I doubted he would’ve invited me over without them.

Sex hadn’t occupied the forefront of my thoughts, though. Seriously. I had so much else in mind with Jeff, namely taking our relationship to the next level. That didn’t have to include getting physical at all. I just didn’t know how to suggest becoming an official couple. Sure, I could take the direct route, but I felt like the question needed a preface.

“Are things still not going well at home between you guys?” he asked.

“You don’t know how complicated the answer to that is,” I said. “I was his whipping boy for the longest time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean he was my childhood bully. Oh yeah, he acts like he’s a changed man and the past is the past, but I don’t buy the act.”

“I don’t blame you. Some tigers never change their stripes.”

“Bullseye.”

I drew a deep breath, struggling to erase Levi from my mind. When Jeff smiled and curled a finger at me, I answered his call to inch up closer. He smiled, radiating a vibe that said he knew how to solve all my problems. Our lips met. Not in the deep, passionate kiss that you’d expect us to share by now, but at least our lips stayed attached to one another.

Could I take the next step? Honestly, I had no clue how to do that. I’d only had sex once in my whole life, and Levi had takenthe reins, walking me through every step. Without him present, I felt lost.

Shit!

Maybe I was worried I’d misread Jeff’s signals. Like, I would go for it, assuming interest in sex that didn’t exist, and I’d fall flat on my face.