stepbrother kiss

Chapter 3

By Wednesday, I'd figured out the rules of Westwood High.

Stay out of the senior parking lot. Don't sit at the window tables in the cafeteria. Avoid the bathroom on the second floor between classes—that's where Madison and her friends held court. And whatever you do, don't look at Kai Blackwood for longer than three seconds or every girl within a ten-foot radius will memorize your face.

I broke that last rule constantly.

Not on purpose. He was just everywhere. In the hallways between classes, at his locker three down from mine, in two of my classes. And every time I saw him, he was surrounded by people. Girls laughing at his jokes. Guys asking about practice. Teachers stopping to chat like he was their favorite student.

He never looked at me. Not once.

At home, it was different.

"Pass the salt?" he'd say at dinner.

"How was school?" Richard would ask us both.

"Fine," we'd say in unison, then avoid eye contact.

Mom noticed. I could tell by the way she watched us, the little frown between her eyebrows. But she didn't say anything. Maybe she thought we just needed time.

"Okay, focus up," Riley said, snapping her fingers in front of my face. We were in the library, supposedly studying for a history test. "You've read the same paragraph four times."

"Sorry."

"Let me guess. Thinking about your stupidly hot stepbrother?"

"No."

"Liar." She grinned. "It's okay. Half the school is thinking about him too. You just have the misfortune of sharing a bathroom."

"We don't share a bathroom."

"Even better. He has his own. Does he leave the door open when he showers? Please say yes."

"Riley."

"I'm just saying, if I lived with Kai Blackwood—"

"You'd what?"

We both froze. Kai stood at the end of our table, backpack slung over one shoulder, looking amused.

"Nothing," Riley said quickly. "We were just—"

"Talking about me?" He pulled out a chair and sat down. "Don't stop on my account."

"We're studying," I said.

"For Peterson's test. I know. I'm in that class." He pulled out his own history book. "Mind if I join?"

Yes, I minded.

"Free country," I said.

For the next hour, we studied. Or they studied. I mostly tried not to notice how close Kai was sitting, how his arm almost touched mine when he reached for his notebook.

"You're really good at this," Riley said, looking at his notes. "Like, scary good."

"I have a good memory." He glanced at me. "Your handwriting is terrible, by the way."

I looked down at my notes. "It's not that bad."

"I can't read half of it."

"Then don't read it."

"Here." He pulled my notebook toward him and started rewriting a paragraph in clean, perfect script. "This is what it says, right?"

I watched his hand move across the page. He had nice hands. Long fingers, short nails, a thin scar across his knuckles.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked, pointing at the scar.

He stopped writing. "Soccer accident. Freshman year."

"Looks like it hurt."

"It did." He finished the paragraph and pushed the notebook back. "Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Our eyes met. For a second, it felt like we were in our world.

Then Riley's phone buzzed and the moment broke.

"Crap, I have to go," she said, checking the message. "Mom needs me home. Matea, you good?"

"Yeah, I—"

"Great. Kai, make sure she doesn't leave without understanding the Reconstruction amendments. They're definitely on the test." She grabbed her stuff and bolted.

And then it was just us.

Kai leaned back in his chair.

"Does she know? About us?"

"That we're stepsiblings? Yeah. Pretty sure everyone knows."

"I meant does she know it's weird."

I closed my book. "Is it weird?"

"Isn't it?" He wasn't smiling anymore. "You live in my house. Sleep down the hall from me. Eat breakfast across from me. And at school I have to pretend you're nobody."

"You don't have to do anything."

"Yeah, I do." He ran a hand through his hair. "You don't get it. Madison's already asking questions. My friends think it's hilarious that my dad married someone with a hot daughter. If they knew I—" He stopped.

"If they knew you what?"

He looked at me. Really looked at me. "Nothing. Forget it."

"Kai—"

"I should go." He stood up, grabbing his stuff. "See you at home."

He left before I could respond.

Thursday morning, I woke up to someone pounding on my door.

"Matea! You're going to be late!"

I checked my phone. Seven forty-five. School started at eight.

"Shit." I jumped out of bed and threw on jeans and a sweater. No time for makeup. Barely time to brush my teeth.

I ran downstairs. Mom and Richard had already left for work. Kai stood by the door, keys in hand.

"Come on," he said. "I'll drive you."

"I can take the bus—"

"The bus left ten minutes ago. Let's go."

I grabbed my backpack and followed him to the Audi.

He pulled out of the driveway fast, one hand on the wheel, the other shifting gears.

"You always drive like a maniac?" I asked.

"Only when I'm late." He glanced at me. "You look like you just woke up."

"That's because I just woke up."

"Should've set an alarm."

"I did. I slept through it."

We got to school with two minutes to spare. Kai parked in his usual spot, right by the entrance. The second we got out, people started staring.

"Is that Kai's stepsister?"

"Did they come together?"

"Oh my god, they live together. That's so weird."

I ignored them and headed for the building. Kai caught up to me at the door.

"Matea."

I turned. He was standing too close, close enough that I could see the gold flecks in his brown eyes.

"Thanks for the ride," I said.

"Yeah." He hesitated. "Listen, about yesterday—"

"Kai!"

Madison appeared out of nowhere, sliding her arm through his. She wore a tight dress and heels.

"There you are. I've been texting you all morning." She finally noticed me. "Oh. Matea. Did you need something from Kai?"

"No," I said. "We're good."

I walked away before either of them could say anything else.

First period dragged. Second period was worse. By third period chemistry, I was ready to fake sick and go home.

Then Mr. Chen announced the semester project.

"You'll be working in pairs," he said. "The pairings are posted on the board."

Everyone rushed forward. I stayed in my seat, not caring who I got paired with as long as it wasn't—

"Rodriguez and Blackwood."

I looked back. Kai was already looking at me. He didn't look happy.

Mr. Chen continued explaining the project. Something about molecular structures and presentations. I wasn't listening. I was too busy trying to figure out how I was going to survive six weeks working with Kai without everyone at school—and our parents—figuring out that being around him made me feel things I absolutely should not feel.

"Looks like we're partners," Kai said, sliding into the seat next to me.

"Looks like."

"My place or yours?" He smirked. "Oh wait."

His expression shifted. "Look, I know this is weird—"

"Weird?" I kept my voice low. "Kai, you won't even look at me at school. Now we have to spend hours together working on this project. How is that going to work?"

"We'll figure it out."

"Will we?"

The bell rang before he could answer. I grabbed my stuff and headed for the door.

In the hallway, Madison was waiting. She looked at me, then at Kai coming out behind me.

Her smile was frozen.

"How nice," she said. "You two get to spend even more time together."

She walked away.

And I knew, right then, that things were about to get a lot worse.