Page 66 of Puck My Stepbrother

“I don’t.”

“And it also seems like he has this weird way of showing up in the places we go to.”

“Trust me, I know.”

I didn’t groan when I said it, and I wondered if I should’ve played it up.

“You don’t like him,” Jeff said, “but he sure loves being around you.”

“I know, and it’s driving me bugfuck crazy.”

“Then what’s the deal?”

“Look, I really don’t know what the deal is. He’s been a pain in the ass for a long time, and he’s never gotten any better. I just want to get away from him.”

“I can understand that. You don’t want to talk about him, huh?”

“Fuck no.”

You know it’s more than that,my inner voice said.Deep down, you know you want the guy. Badly. And he knows you want him. That’s a pretty dangerous game you’re playing, don’t you think? And the longer you two live in the same house, the closer you’ll come to giving in to him again. His wish will be your command. Then what are you going to do?

I sighed, realizing how true that really was. I couldn’t turn my feelings for Levi on and off like a switch. Those feelings and urges would keep coming up. That meant I needed to squash this conversation right away.

“I don’t want to talk about Levi,” I said.

“Why not?”

“I just don’t.”

“Living with him is that bad, huh?”

“It’s a nightmare.”

Jeff paused, like maybe he thought I was embellishing. I couldn’t tell him the real reason living with Levi was so horrible, so I changed the subject.

“I’d rather talk about us, actually.”

He smiled, showing his dimples again, which made me feel like a million bucks. It reminded me of why he was a far better choice than Levi. I needed to get on the Jeff train as quickly as possible to turn things around.

Are you sure you can manage that, Quinn? Because the moment Levi gets you in his arms, it’s going to be game over, Jeff or no Jeff.

“You know my dad’s getting married, right?” I asked.

“Of course. It’s kept you pretty busy lately, hasn’t it?”

“Uh, yeah, it has. I’ll be glad when it’s all over.”

“I’ll bet.”

“Anyway, I need a date for this thing. If you’re not busy…”

“You want me to be your date, is that it?”

“I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather go with.”

“Really, you mean that?”

“Of course I do.”