The StepBrother

CHAPTER THREE

My eyes flicker open as the bright sunlight flows through my curtain. I place my arm over my eyes and yawn. After stretching my arms out, I get out of bed.

I quickly shower and change into jeans and a white blouse with a little sequins. I brush through my hair,leaving it in its natural waves. After a little eyeliner and lipgloss,I go downstairs.

I can hear laughing,my Mothers laugh in particular. I walk into the kitchen,seeing both my Mother and Daniel leaning against the counter.

"Good Morning Daniel,Mom",I hug my Mother and walk over to the sink. I fill a glass with water before turning to look at them.

"Morning Lissa,how did you sleep?",Daniel asks as my Mother helps him into his suit jacket.

"Very well,thank you",I gulp down the water,clearing my throat afterwards.

"I'm off to work ladies,I'll see you again at around 6. Delanté is probably still asleep,he usually wakes up at 9AM,you can meet him then. The driver will take you anywhere you want to go. Have a good day",he says before quickly pecking my Mothers lips and leaving.

"Isn't he great?",she smiles as she pulls out a plate of food from the microwave.

"He is,you're really lucky",I say as I take the plate from her. I am so lost in my thoughts,mainly thinking about last night. Delanté was so rude,Mom was right to be worried about us.

"For you",she hands me a cup of orange juice and I mumble a 'thank you'.

"I'm going out honey,I want to see the malls around here. Are you coming with?",she asks with another grin.

Let's see,I can go shopping with her,let her drive me crazy with her choice in clothes,or I could chill out here by the pool.

Definitely pool.

"No,I really want to finish my letter for my college application. I also wanted to check out the pool on the top floor. You go on",I smile assuringly and she claps her hands before grabbing her bag.

"I'm gone,be careful",she says before heading out the door.

I finish up with my breakfast and wash my plate. My hands feel clammy as I rinse them. I wipe up the marble counter before walking towards the corridor.

As I turn the corner,I bump into this hard body. I fall backwards,shutting my eyes,but don't reach the ground,mainly because an arm is wrapped around my waist.

I open my eyes,slowly trailing up the body. Shirtless,hard muscle and warm skin. I finally reach the persons face.

"Delanté?",I ask as he glares at me.

"Be careful,you could've hurt yourself,or me",he shoves away from me and walks into the kitchen.

"Good Morning to you to",I mumble and he ignores me as he fills a plate with food for himself.

I lean against the doorway of the kitchen, I study his tense shoulders and frowning lips. He really is always angry. His white khaki pants hang low on his hips as he tugs on the thin chain around his neck.

"Stop staring",he growls at me and I move to sit on a stool at the counter.

"I wanted to ask you something",I say as I fold my arms on the counter, letting my chin rest on them.

"What?",he snaps as he starts eating his breakfast.

"Are you okay with this whole wedding?",I softly say and he pauses with the spoon in his hand.

"I don't care,my opinion doesn't matter",he scratches the back of his neck as he shovels more food into his mouth.

"Is it going to be a problem if I want us to get along?",I ask whilst looking at him.

"We won't need to do that,you'll hardly see me",he chews before speaking. He doesn't look me in the eye,not once.

"Are you even going to be at the wedding?",I ask angrily as I sit upright.

"Why do you care?,it isn't your wedding",he scoffs before sipping on his lemonade.

"I can't believe you. Don't you care about your father?",I snap at him and he looks at me finally,a dangerous glare in his eyes.

"Little girl,you don't need to meddle in my business. I don't f*cking need your angelic advice",he raises his voice at me and I frown.

"Little girl?,I'm 18 for your information-",I start to say but he cuts me off.

"I'm 26,you are little to me. So don't try to be smart",he drops his plate in the sink,a loud noise filling the kitchen.

"As long as my Mother and I are here,you can't be this way. It isn't right",I say and he walks around the counter,grasping the counter as he stands in front of me.

"Do I look like I care?. I didn't ask you two to come here,my father did. So it isn't my duty to keep you happy",he clenches his jaw,speaking in a low tone.

"You know what,I thought this would happen. You are such an a*s,How can you be so conceited and selfish?",I turn to face him and he glares at me,his grasp on the counter tightening.

"Its my life,I can be as selfish as I want to be. You,my father and anyone else can deal with it. I'm not changing for anyone",he grins menacingly and I shrink away from him.

I stand up and pull my blouse down,walking away quickly. I make my way into my room,grabbing my iPhone. I scroll down quickly,clicking on the f*******: app.

I type in Delanté's full name and press search. If I'm going to try to convince this boy,I'm going to need some info about him.

Pictures turn up,loads of pictures. I scroll onto his profile.

Name: Delanté Stefano

Status: Single

Current Work: Student

Age: 26

Highschool: Unknown

I click on the pictures gallery. He has pictures of him and many other guys,I'm guessing they are his friends. He also has multiple pictures of him drinking and smoking. Girls are draped over him in every picture.

Some girls are half n***d,kissing him,hugging him. And he looks more than willing in every picture. The only decent picture is one of him in a tux with his father,the image was uploaded 2 years ago.

"Single,my a*s",I mumble as I close the app.

I groan and cover my eyes,this is a lot of sacrifice for Mom. I am going to have to find some way to deal with him and his antics. Maybe I can just ignore him for the rest of my stay here.

The wedding,I'll have to make that rude animal come. I roll over,ignoring the rising of my blouse over my stomach. What can I do to make him come?,to convince him.

If coming to his own fathers wedding isn't important for him,I'll just have to make him. I could start by being friends with him,that always works.

~~~

I fell asleep while thinking of different ways to get to know him. Social media didn't give me much. A few hours later my sleep breaks. I jump off the bed,grabbing my phone.

6:30 PM

Wow,that might've been the longest time I've fallen asleep for...during the day. What did I want to do before?

Um... The pool.

I rub my eyes as I ruffle through my suitcase.I pull out a white silk bikini,I bought this for myself. My Mother didn't pick this out for me,that is why it looks so good,sexy even. I wanted something flattering and I had to get it without her knowing.

I finally decide to unpack my suitcase before leaving to the pool. That takes me about an hour or so to do. After closing my wardrobe and changing into my bikini,I throw on a long white dress.

I really hope I don't run into my Mother,she'll force me to watch her model all her clothes. I peep out my door,the hallway is clear. I tip toe until I get downstairs.

I hear giggles and laughs coming from the pool. I hide behind the wall as I look out the glass door. My Mother is in the pool... with Daniel.

I can't go there now,they start kissing and I cover my eyes as I turn away. I rush up the stairs,going straight to the heated pool on the roof. Daniel said that no one uses it,so I can go there to swim without disturbances.

I reach the roof,gazing at the pool. It looks like someone is there. Damn it,I move to turn around but a voice stops me.

"You don't have to leave you know",Delanté shouts out to me as he places both of his hands against the edge of the pool.

"I thought no one would be here,I'll go",I stand at the pools edge with my fingers folded together.

"It'll be the same,we don't have to talk to each other", he places a cigarette in between his parted lips before lighting it. He stands so the water just reaches his abs.

"Okay",I say,knowing that this will be a good chance to speak to him. I can't let my nervousness ruin it for me. I'm sure he's seen millions of girls half n***d,it won't make much of a difference to him.

I pull the dress by the straps,letting it slide down my body. I glance at him,seeing him stare at me. Maybe I'm just imagining things.

"Stop staring",I whisper whilst trying to cover my chest by folding my hands.

He takes another drag from the cigarette flicking his gaze to the water.

I shiver slightly as the breeze hits against my n***d back. My toes dip into the pool first before I go in halfway. I let my hands flutter over the water as I enjoy the warm sensation. It glides over my back in tiny waves as I move further in.

"So you're 26?",I ask nervously and he raises an eyebrow. Of course he's annoyed,it's a stupid question. What the hell is wrong with you Lissa?.

"Yeah,my birthday was last month. You're 18,didn't we go over this before?",he asks and I run a hand through my hair as I move to stand a little closer to him.

"I'm sorry,I just...",I clutch the strings of my bikini as I turn my head.

"It's okay,why are you so nervous?. You sound like a five year old that just stole something",he laughs and I smile,his laugh sounds so adorable and manly at the same time.

How can you think like this Lissa?,he's your stepbrother,well soon to be. I scold myself while I look at him.

A metre only separates us now,my shyness is getting the better of me. I step back but he smiles at me genuinely and I suddenly can't move.

"You have nice eyes",he compliments and a bright red blush spreads over my skin. It feels like the pool just got a million times warmer.

This time it's him that walks closer,a few inches separate us now.

He leans closer to me,his arm slipping around my waist. My heartbeat picks up a thousand beats. I can't move my gaze away from his. What is he trying to do?,it's wrong.

So so wrong,but why can't I move if I feel that way.

"Calm down,I don't bite",he whispers in my ear and I gasp as his warm skin presses into mine.

"Don't try to get to know me,It'll be you who suffers",he pulls away from me completely.

I widen my eyes in shock as he pulls himself out of the pool. I cover myself as he turns away,too embarrassed to face him.

"No one knows me,so don't try it",he mutters as he pulls his boxers on and walks away.

"And Lissa",he calls to me and I turn to look at him.

"Goodnight",he winks at me and grit my teeth together as he walks away.

He's a conceited,sexist,cheating jerk...just as I thought.