To Seduce My Stepbrother

Boys code

I’m preparing for school on Monday morning when someone knocks. My first thought is to check whoever is at the door till my eyes catch the new post on Girls Code open on my screen.

I tilt the screen of my laptop so it won’t be visible to whoever is at the door when I open up. “Who’s that?”

“Calum,” my stepbrother answers, followed by another knock. “Are you ready for school?”

That’s weird. Amelia or Dad is usually my ride to school. I shuffle to the door and wrench it open. Calum’s lips part in a silent curse and I lower my gaze to my chest to see what he’s seeing. Oh. Blush rushes to my cheeks. My breasts are almost spilling out of my black lacy bra. The top is on the bed.

Again, it’s not deliberate but I make no effort to cover up. Instead, I fold my arms under my boobs, pushing them up to catch more of his attention. Calum slides his hands into his pockets and my cheeks redden at the indecent thought that sneaks into my mind. I lean on the door, using that opportunity to size him up.

He’s dressed as casually as he always has since he moved here. Jeans matched with a shirt that hides his tattoo. I’m still yet to know what the date tattoo means. He doesn’t fully understand what mine means so I guess it’s fair to both of us.

“You should cover up,” he says when his eyes finally find their way back to my face. I tip my chin in a silent dare for him to back off. This is my territory, not his. “Catherine, cover up. Now.”

That tone of finality does the opposite of what my stepbrother intended. Curious to see what Calum can do, to test his limits, I cover one step and he takes one back to maintain the balance.

Shaking my head with a small smile forming on my lips, I say, “Nope. My room, my rules.”

“Fair enough.”

Just that? No smart comments. No retort that will provoke a snarky comeback from me.

Calum retreats down the corridor and I hear myself saying, “Wait.” He c***s a stupid brow, wearing a smug smile to show he has me where he wants. But I don’t give him that satisfaction of doing what he wants. Pushing my chest out, I step into the corridor. “Why did you come?”

“Your dad wanted me to drop you off. He won’t be in school until later today. But…” he trails off deliberately and I grow slightly conscious of my outfit. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to do that.”

“Why not?” The answer is on his face. He can’t wait up if I don’t put on my shirt. Whatever. “If I cover up, will you come inside and wait for me?”

“If you cover up? Yes.”

I walk ahead of him to the room and pull on the plaid shirt over my head. Calum joins me after he confirms I’m dressed. He takes a seat on my bed, looking a bit out of place with the pillows and huge teddy bear. I catch him staring at the pink walls of my room and some of the frames hanging from it. There are pictures from all my birthdays until I turned twelve. Then, everything changed.

Turning away before Calum asks the questions most people are prone to ask when they notice the frames, I apply my eye makeup and lipstick. A shadow falls over me as I’m about to straighten up. Calum. He lifts my laptop and I release the breath I was holding.

“What’s this?” he asks.

The front page of Girls Code is still open. The last post is so stupid I don’t want to think about it. Sometimes, we offer ‘advice’ to some of the posters but this poster is dumb. Simply put.

“It’s a site,” I reply.

“Okay…” Calum drags on, unwilling to drop the subject. Taking a seat I didn’t offer him, he swipes to another post. “What does the site do?”

“Stuff.” One glare later and I grudgingly drag another seat close to him to explain how Girls Code work. His arm brushes mine and a familiar current zips through me. I pretend not to feel it as I hoist the laptop off his lap to place it on my study table. “For girls to rant. Talk about boys without judgments. Do anything and nothing. Stuff.”

“Cool.” Calum kicks his legs out and splays his hands on his knees. My fingers curl around the armrest of my plastic chair. I think my hand will fit in his but today is not the day I will find out. He c***s his head. “So, who runs this site?”

“All of us.” I explain to him how it works. How it came to be and our future plans. His genuine show of interest encourages me to say more, to win him over. Tapping on the upward arrow on the screen, I say, “This one is for voting. When someone replies to a post, most users vote. The comment with the highest vote stays up here.”

Calum leans in to get a better view of what I’m pointing at and his warm, minty breath tickles my cheek. I lose my train of thought for a few seconds and it’s his fingers snapping in front of my face that draws me out of my haze. I blink away the confusion. He stares back, unimpressed.

“As I was saying,” I murmur, trying too hard to hide how flustered I am by his presence. “The comment with the least vote goes down. Users can also down vote a comment.” One peek at the time and I shoot to my feet. Time to get to school. “Can we go now?”

“Sure. Been waiting for you.” He hands over my school bag to me and our damn fingers brush again. I swear it’s deliberate but when I look up to confirm, his eyes are elsewhere. “You girls can make a site for men too. Call it Boys Code or something. No one pays as much attention to men and they also have a lot of stuff to talk about.” Not sure what to say to that, I nod and smile. We step into the corridor together and Calum continues, “Men keep a lot in their head. It will be good to let it out knowing there won’t be any judgments.”

I lock the door to my room before saying, “Like you?” My statement earns me his famous brow lift. “You look like you bottle up a lot of things.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

We start for the stairs. Calum is walking faster and I have to speed-walk to keep up. I glare at his back. One second, he’s cool, the next, he’s hot.

“Why are you so defensive? Will you please slow down?” That makes him walk faster. “I’m only trying to get to know my stepbrother! Cal!”

Calum spins to face me. An angry storm gathers in his eyes. “Don’t call me that.” I’m a step above him but he manages to radiate this intimidating aura. My hands clamp around the straps of my bag. I’m putting up a brave front but freaking out on the inside. “I’m not sure what you think this is but get it into your head, sis. I’m your stepbrother. Stop playing games.”

The thoughts in my head vanish, then they rush back in a furious wave. Games? Is he for real? We had a good time singing and talking. Way for him to ruin it. Our honest moments from yesterday and Saturday now feel like untouchable memories from the past. I clench my fists and count to fourteen in my head before talking. The only silly mistake I made today was open the door without a shirt on.

He needs to stop acting so self righteous and super defensive. Maybe I just want to help him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I reply, staring him down with equal intensity.

“Of course you don’t.”

“Maybe if you stopped speaking in parables, I’ll be able to understand you better, Mr Game Dissick. Don’t kid yourself,” I quickly add. He’s making me ramble. “I don’t want anything from you, Calum.”

His eyes twitch. If he was angry before, now he is furious. Calum takes another step away from me and the stupidity of my words dawns on me. Who am I kidding? I want everything, something from my stepbrother. Something I’m not sure of yet.

“Calum, please wait up.” He slows long enough for me to catch up and we walk down the rest of the stairs in awkward silence. “Fine. I’m sorry.”

“It’s cool.” At the foot of the stairs, he stops and I do the same. Facing each other, he starts, “I came here for a fresh start, Catherine. I won’t let anything get in the way of that. Not even you.”