Still in Love with My Stepsister

Chapter 1

One

JADE

Fifteen years earlier

“Are you ready yet?” Mom calls from downstairs. “Jeremy just pulled up.”

“Yeah,” I call back down.

I think I am, at least. I give my body one last glance in the mirror propped against the wall. The long, beaded, pale yellow gown skims over my curves and falls to the top of my toes.

Mom presses her hands to her cheeks as I come down the curved staircase of my stepdad’s Bel Air mansion. Her green eyes, an identical match to my own, water as she pulls me into a hug. The scent of Chanel No. 5 wafts around us; I swear she’s worn it every single day of my life.

I extricate myself from her arms so as to avoid it mixing with my own perfume. Before I can go to the door, she whips a wand of lip gloss out and expertly coats my lips. She scans my makeup for a final time while my stepbrother, Xander, walks past us to answer the door.

While Mom smooths my eyebrows, I hear Xander say a tepid hello to my prom date. I bat her hands away and turn my attention to the two guys standing in the grand foyer looking at me. They couldn’t be more different.

Jeremy is broad shouldered and muscular from years of playing lacrosse.

His dark hair is perfectly styled. The Tom Ford tuxedo he wears looks like it’s custom and honestly it probably is considering who his parents are.

His bowtie is a perfect match to my dress.

I feel the perusal of his striking blue eyes as they sweep down my body.

Goosebumps rise on my skin at the attention. He’s arguably one of the most popular guys at our school, and I was shocked when he asked me out a few months ago. I cross the marble floor to him and close my eyes as he envelops me in a tight hug.

“You look hot,” he says into my ear.

My cheeks flush. “Thank you.”

A rude scoff has me turning to meet the hard gaze of my stepbrother. “What’s your problem?”

He rolls his brown eyes and puts his hands up. “Nothing. You two look like a bumblebee though. Off to pollinate a field tonight?”

“That’s the plan,” Jeremy mumbles under his breath with a smirk.

“I wouldn’t be doling out fashion advice if I were you.

” I give his baggy black jeans and ripped concert tee a pointed look.

The conversation needs to quickly move on from Jeremy’s thinly veiled innuendo about our plans for the after-party.

The last thing I need is Xander figuring out my plan to have sex for the first time tonight.

Unfortunately for me, I think that one statement from Jeremy was enough to tip him off because now he’s studying me with a keen eye. “You going to Amanda’s after-party?”

“Yeah.”

“No,” I say at the same time as Jeremy confirms the plan.

“I thought you told Suzette and Dad you were going to the school after prom party.” Xander looks to Mom for backup.

“Just have fun and don’t drink and drive.” Mom shrugs her shoulders, obviously not too worried about what we get up to tonight.

“You’re just going to let her go to a house party with no adult supervision and the biggest druggies at the Academy?” Xander’s eyes widen as he looks at Mom.

“Jade’s an adult. She knows how to make good choices.” Mom smiles at me.

It’s not that my mom doesn’t care or love me. It’s been her and I with a sprinkling of four different stepdads my entire life. She knows I’ve been more responsible than her half the time. It also doesn’t hurt that she’s worked on sets with both of Jeremy’s parents and knows them personally.

After letting her snap a few photos of us, we leave.

I open the door to his Porsche and drop my purse onto the floorboard, so I can lift my skirt enough to slide inside.

As I pull the door closed, I look back at the house and see a shadow receding from one of the windows.

I don’t need to see him to know it was Xander.

His resentment a meteor burning through the atmosphere between us.

Jeremy taps his thumb on the leather-covered steering wheel while I buckle the seat belt.

He shoots me a grin as he pulls out onto the street and guns the engine.

I smile back at him as he slips his hand inside the slit of my skirt.

Butterflies dance low in my belly as he runs his fingertips up and down the smooth skin of my inner thigh.

“I can’t wait to take this dress off you tonight, baby.”

The butterflies die an instant death at his use of the pet name. I smile back at him, though, not wanting to ruin the night by reminding him how much that makes me cringe. Literally anything is better than a generic baby.

Prom is being held on the quad at our school. It’s my first year as a student at this academy, but apparently the planning committee always goes all out and has a tent erected along with walls of floral and balloon installations. I’m looking forward to experiencing it.

It’s my third high school in four years due to my mom bouncing us all over and then eloping with Xander’s dad, Stephen, over the summer. I’m not sure how long this marriage will last, but at least my tuition is paid through graduation. That’s all that matters to me.

As soon as we pull up to the front doors of the administration building, a white-gloved valet opens my door and helps me from the car.

There’s a large step and repeat at the top of the stairs along with photographers I’m sure are being paid a ridiculously high fee to pretend to care about a bunch of rich teenagers.

We stop to have our photo taken, posing on the red carpet like we’re at a movie premiere or something.

Jeremy is a pro, obviously not surprising considering his background. In fact, he’s really hamming it up. I, on the other hand, am ready to ditch him and get away from the flashing lights.

“That was fun,” he says, taking the lead and threading us through the chandelier-lit lobby full of staff and parents who are pretending to chaperone us.

I see Ms. Heron, my marketing teacher, and wave at her. She’s my favorite of all the staff and was pivotal in getting me early admittance to UCLA. I actually love her class so much I’m thinking of marketing as a possible major.

Before I can stop to talk with her, Jeremy is yanking me out the back door and into the most magical scene I’ve ever laid my eyes upon.

It’s so much more beautiful than I was expecting.

When I heard it was going to be under a tent, I expected one you would see at a country club wedding— a white tent, open sides—that type of thing.

Instead, there is a wrought iron and glass structure in the center of the quad with gorgeous crystal chandeliers hanging from the center beam.

Plush couches and settees line the outer walls as people have already gathered in the center dancing to music being pumped through speakers both inside and outside.

“Wow,” I whisper. “This is stunning.”

Jeremy squeezes my hand. “It doesn’t look quite as good as last year, but it’s alright.”

I ignore the dismissiveness in his tone. He can be a bit of a snob, but this is leaps and bounds above the junior prom I experienced at a public school in the valley. I’m going to enjoy every second of this incredible night.

“I’m going to go get us drinks,” Jeremy yells into my ear as we walk into Amanda’s massive mansion. The music here is even louder than it was at prom.

I squeeze his hand in response, knowing my voice won’t be heard over the cacophony of the party.

Teenagers from all over LA cram together in the center of the house. Svelte bodies writhe together while neon lights flash. A few guys sit at a poker table with stacks of cash in the center. A few girls lay draped over the laps of other guys in the corner, lines of cocaine out in front of them.

I scan the crowd looking for Shannon and Stephanie, the two girls I’ve become closest to over the past year.

They both got accepted into UCLA as well, so we’re planning on living together in the dorms. As often as I’ve changed schools, it’s been hard to find lasting friendships, but this time is different. I’m in control of my life from now on.

I find them outside on the patio. The twinkling lights of the city fill the horizon behind them as they step away from the stone wall and attack me with hugs.

Both of them have changed out of their dresses into normal clothes.

Their style couldn’t be any more different, with Stephanie wearing a Ramones tee and skinny jeans with the same Converse sneakers she wore to prom.

Shan wears a babydoll dress the same violet color as her gown from earlier, except she’s changed into Havianas.

“Hey girl,” Shan wraps me in a hug. “We brought your clothes to change into.” She motions to the duffel bag on the ground between them.

“Thanks.” I hug Stephanie. “I’ll probably wait to change. Jeremy said he wants to take this off me.”

Stephanie makes a purring sound, and we all dissolve into a fit of laughter.

We start debriefing on the earlier portion of the night; all three of our dates are in different friend groups, so we didn’t really get to hang out much together before.

Before I know it, an hour has gone by, and Jeremy hasn’t found me yet.

Awareness of being watched creeps up my spine, and I turn my head. I already knew it wasn’t Jeremy looking for me. If I’m being completely honest, I knew Xander was here before I even felt the weight of his stare. There’s something about his presence that never fails to demand my attention.

Maybe it’s his height. I’m not a small person at five foot nine, but he towers over me at six foot five. His eyes do another slow sweep of my body. The barbell on his tongue flashes in the light as it sweeps across his bottom lip before he cuts toward me.

“Why are you still in that dress?” he asks sharply.

“Because Jeremy hasn’t taken it off her yet,” Stephanie says with a laugh.

His lips press into a line when he looks at her. She doesn’t wither under his glare, of the three of us girls she knows him the best. Her older brother surfs with him all the time, and her ex-boyfriend was the singer of the garage band he played bass guitar in for a while.

His attention turns back to me. “You should change now. You look ridiculous.”

“Fuck off.” Shan puts herself between us, her back to him. Not that he notices since she’s over a foot shorter than he is. “You look gorgeous, but you should go find Jeremy.” She lifts the duffel and hands it to me. “We’ll come by your house tomorrow to get our dresses.”

I take the bag and shoulder check Xander as I walk past him without a word.

I check the kitchen first, thinking maybe Jeremy got sidetracked in there or something.

Aside from a few people mixing drinks, there’s no one.

Next I check the living room where most of the party is, and after weaving through the crowd several times, I don’t see him there either.

I do run into Jeremy’s best friend, though. He’s sitting at the poker table snorting a line of coke. I wait for him to finish and then nudge his shoulder. “Have you seen Jeremy?”

“He went downstairs looking for you a while back,” he answers.

I finally find the stairs leading down to the basement, and as soon as I hit the last stair, the scent of marijuana hits me.

The lights are dim, and the music is much softer down here.

Several girls sit on top of the laps of guys, all in various states of undress.

I cut through the room, sure that none of them are Jeremy until I near a couch in the back corner.

An unfamiliar girl with long, curly, dark hair straddles a guy with her top pulled down around her waist. One of his hands moves up her back, and my stomach drops when the low light catches the signet ring he wears on his middle finger.

His face is curtained by her hair as she rocks on his lap, but there’s no mistaking who he is.

Blood roars in my ears as I stand frozen to the spot watching my first boyfriend cheat on me out in the open. The force of the betrayal hits my chest, cleaving it in two like an axe through wood.

“Jade,” Xander calls my name, and I turn my head, seeing him through blurry eyes.

His brow furrows when he sees me, then he turns his head slowly. The fury in his gaze is instant. He crosses the room even as I stand frozen.

“Jeremy!” he yells.

The girl making out with my boyfriend screams as Jeremy’s eyes flare in recognition and he pushes her off his lap just in time for Xander’s fist to snap his head to the side.

Blood splatters the couch, and I watch as the girl runs off, pulling her top up with one hand and buttoning her jeans with the other.

Jeremy’s shirt is unbuttoned and lipstick is smeared all over his face, neck, and chest. They’d clearly been making out for a while. He’s so high from whatever he took that he can’t even fight back. It takes two guys to pull Xander off him.

“Get the fuck off me,” Xander snarls as he walks away. Despite the violence radiating from him, he gently takes the duffel bag from my shoulder and tucks me under his other arm. “Come on, let’s go home.”