My Hockey Stepbrother’s Obesession

Chapter 4

Lily.

Six weeks went by way too fast.

The wedding was small and beautiful—Mom cried, Matthew cried, even Dane looked suspiciously misty-eyed during the vows. I stood beside Mom in a pale blue dress, holding her bouquet, trying not to make eye contact with Dane across the aisle in his perfectly tailored suit.

That was three days ago.

Now I'm standing in the driveway of the Lucas house—my house now, apparently, watching the movers unload boxes from the truck.

"House" is an understatement. This place is massive. Three stories, six bedrooms, a pool in the backyard.

"Your suite is on the third floor," Mom says, squeezing my shoulder. "Matthew had it completely redecorated."

Matthew gives me the full tour, and when we reach the third floor, he opens the door to my new room.

It's perfect. Huge windows, a king-sized bed with a plush white comforter, a walk-in closet, and a sitting area. The bathroom is all marble and glass.

"Mom mentioned you like purple," Matthew says, pointing to the lavender accent pillows. "If you want to change anything, just say the word."

"It's perfect," I manage. "Thank you."

Once he's gone, I sink onto the bed. This is really happening.

There's a knock on the doorframe.

Dane leans against it, arms crossed, wearing gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt that clings to his chest in ways that should be illegal.

"So," he says. "What do you think?"

"About what?"

"About all this." He gestures vaguely. "The house. The situation. Your new big brother."

I throw a pillow at him. "Don't call yourself that."

He catches it easily, smirking. "Why not? It's technically true now."

"It's weird."

"Everything about this is weird, Princess." He tosses the pillow back, then walks into my room uninvited. "Nice digs. Dad really went all out."

"You can leave now."

He picks up a framed photo from my dresser—me at Nationals last year, mid-spin. "You know, we're going to have to get along eventually. We live together now."

"We don't have to do anything."

He sets the photo down carefully. "True. You're quite good at feigning obedience. Keeping up the rivalry, I see."

"I'm not pretending."

"No?" He takes a step closer. "Really?"

My mouth goes dry. "Yes."

"Liar."

"Get out of my room, Dane."

He raises his hands in surrender, backing toward the door. "Fine. But Lily? There's a shared balcony between our rooms. Might want to keep your curtains closed unless you want me to see everything and please keep out of my space. I hate intruders."

“What does that mean?”

“Your mum married dad because they're in love but don't get too comfortable. It doesn't make you part of the family.”

He winks and disappears.

I march to the window and sure enough, there's a balcony running the length of the third floor, connecting our two suites.

Perfect. Just perfect.

~~~

Dinner was surprisingly pleasant. Mom's enchiladas were incredible, and Matthew told embarrassing stories about Dane as a kid that actually made me laugh.

I was doing the dishes when Dane appeared at my elbow.

"Need a hand?" he offered.

“No. I'm not part of the family, I'm basically a maid to you.” He scoffs.

“I'm offering to help if it isn't obvious, princess. I could never have guessed you knew how to do dishes.”

I stared at him suspiciously. "Why are you being nice?"

"Maybe I am turning over a new leaf."

"Or maybe you are plotting something."

"Can't it be both?" He handed me a clean plate.

We worked in silence, falling into an easy rhythm. It was not terrible, actually.

"So," he said eventually, "what time is your practice tomorrow?"

"Five AM. Why?"

"I have a morning skate at six. I thought maybe we could carpool."

I nearly dropped the plate. "You want to carpool? With me?"

"We are going to the same place. Seems stupid to take two cars, besides those belongs to my father, you—."

“I'm not part of the family so I have no right to take one. Got it.” I snap and he bites his lower lip.

“I wasn't going to say that.”

“Yeah? Jackass!! We would probably murder each other before–”

"Probably." He grinned. "But at least it will not be boring."

Against my better judgment, I found myself smiling back. "Fine. But I am driving."

"Deal."

We finished the dishes, and I was heading back upstairs when Dane called out.

"Hey, Lily?"

I turned. He was standing at the bottom of the stairs, hands shoved in his pockets, looking almost uncertain.

"What?"

"For what it is worth, I'll try to tolerate you because of dad. " He said it quickly, like the words were fighting their way out. "I know this whole thing is weird and complicated, but I wouldn't want to spoil his happiness"

Before I could respond, he disappeared down the hallway toward his room.

I stood there for a moment, my heart doing something strange in my chest.

This was going to be so much harder than I thought. He definitely didn't want me here.

~~~

I was unpacking boxes in my room when my phone buzzed.

Dane: "So about tomorrow. Pick you up at 4:45?"

Me: "I said I was driving."

Dane: "You also said we would kill each other. Figured I would take the wheel so at least one of us survives."

Me: "Fine. But I get to pick the music."

Dane: "Absolutely not."

Me: "Then I am driving."

Dane: "You are such a pain in the ass."

Me: "Right back at you."

I was smiling as I set my phone down. Then I caught myself and forced the smile away.

This was Dane Lucas. My enemy. My rival. The guy who had made my life miserable for two years.

The guy who was now my stepbrother.

The guy I was going to be living with for the foreseeable future.

I looked out the window at the balcony. His room was dark, but I could see his silhouette moving around inside.

My phone buzzed again.

Dane: "Close your curtains, Princess. Unless you want me watching you unpack."

I grabbed the curtains and yanked them shut, my face burning.

I heard his laughter through the glass.

I could not sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I thought about Dane. That jackass. The way he looked at me sometimes, like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. The way my stupid heart raced whenever he got too close.

This was bad.

This was really, really bad.

At 2 AM, I gave up and went to the kitchen for water. The house was dark and quiet, and everyone else was asleep.

I was heading back upstairs when I heard a sound from the living room. I peeked around the corner.

Dane was on the couch, controller in hand, playing some video game with the volume low.

"Cannot sleep either?" he said without looking up.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Who else would it be? Definitely not the newly Weds." He paused the game and looked at me. "You want to play?"

"I don't play video games."

"Seriously? What kind of childhood did you have?"

"The kind where I spent every waking hour at the ice rink."

"Tragic." He turned to look at me and sighed, rubbing his forehead as though it was out of frustration, “if you want to learn just say so. Stop gazing. That's extremely uncomfortable."

I should have said no. I should have gone back upstairs.

Instead, I found myself sitting on the couch while Dane handed me a controller and explained the basics.

"Okay, so this button jumps, this one shoots, and these control movement."

"This seems unnecessarily complicated."

"It is not that hard. You're just really dumb. Here, try."

His hand covered mine, guiding my thumb over the buttons. The contact sent electricity up my arm and I had to force myself to focus on the screen.

"See? Youre finally doing something right. " he said, and his voice was right next to my ear, low and warm.

"I died."

"Because you are not paying attention."

"I am paying attention."

"No, you are not. You’re definitely distracted." His eyes locked on mine. "What are you thinking about, Princess?"

Everything. Nothing. The way his hand felt on mine. The way he smelled like soap and something woodsy. The way I wanted to lean into him and push him away at the same time.

"this game is stupid, thats what's on my mind." I said.

"Liar."

"Stop calling me that."

“You’re quite a terrible liar." But he was smiling, that infuriating smile that made my stomach flip.

We played for another hour, trash-talking and laughing, and it felt almost normal. Almost like we were just two people getting to know each other, not stepsiblings trapped in the most complicated situation ever.

"I should go to bed," I said finally. "We have to be up in three hours."

"Yeah." He took the controller from me, his fingers brushing mine. "Hey, Lily?"

"What?"

“Don't ever touch a console again. You did terribly."

Fucking dead brain. H ruined everything with that mouth of his.

"It was just a video game, Dane."

"Whatever. Goodnight."

I made it halfway up the stairs before I realized I was smiling again.

And this time, I did not try to stop it.