Chapter 10
does she know that?
DOMINIC
August
I bite the inside of my cheek, trying hard to keep myself from laughing. I haven’t had this much fun in years. The game is ridiculous, the questions silly and absurd, but it’s also fun, light.
And I’ve been missing light in my life for a while.
I’d like to blame the second beer, but there’s no denying it has more to do with the company.
Watching Matt freak out over things Mia admits to having done is weirdly entertaining.
His big-brother instincts are kicking in as if she never left, so much so, it makes me wonder how he survived being away from her for so long.
When my phone buzzes and my dad’s name flashes across the screen, I tap Mia’s bare knee to catch her attention. Instantly, a bolt of electricity courses through me, as if I’ve been struck by lightning.
I yank my hand away, my pulse racing, while she looks at me unfazed.
“Did you tell your mom you’re here?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I didn’t want to spoil her vacation.”
“Do you mind if I tell my dad? He won’t say anything to Monica.”
With a lift of one shoulder, she brushes back a couple of flyaways. “Okay.”
Halfway to the kitchen, I accept the call and bring it to my ear. “Hey.”
“Hi. How was your flight?”
“Good,” I say as I step out onto the back porch. “We got home this morning, and I spent half the day asleep.”
He chuckles. “You’re working tomorrow, right?”
I roll my eyes, instinctively slipping my hand into my pocket and clutching the pack of cigarettes I bought just in case.
“Of course,” I say, pulling my hand back out of my pocket. “It’s a workday, isn’t it? Miles will be there too.”
“That’s good.” His voice softens. “How’s Matt?”
“He’s in the living room with Chiara and Mia.”
There’s a long pause that makes me grin. “Wait…what?”
“Apparently, Mia wanted to surprise everyone, so she came home early—except none of us were here.” I cringe at the memory of Matt freaking out at the bar in Vegas. “I got…someone to let her in, and Matt has been glued to her side.”
“How come I’m just now hearing about this? Monica has been counting the days till Mia returns.”
“She didn’t want you to cut your vacation short on her account,” I explain. “Please, Dad, don’t tell Monica. It’ll be a great surprise when she gets home and finds Mia here waiting.”
He lets out a sigh that makes the line crackle. “Damn, you kids always keep us on our toes.”
Then, he gives me a work-related rundown I don’t need. When I end the call, I plop myself down on the couch again.
“What did I miss?”
“These two”—Matt points at the girls—“aren’t sober. I think it’s time to stop.”
“You’re a buzzkill.” Chiara slaps his shoulder.
He humphs. “I’m being reasonable.”
“Nah,” I say, “you’re a buzzkill.”
His jaw drops open, and he sputters.
I shoot him a wink. “No one’s driving, and they’re safe here. If they drink too much and spend tomorrow throwing up, that’s on them. It’s probably a good lesson to learn before college starts. It’s important to know your limits.”
He sighs. “Fine.”
Chiara squeals, the pitch so high, I wince. Then, she throws her arms around Matt’s neck and kisses him on the cheek. “Grazie!”
“Goodness,” Matt chuckles as she moves away. “I like you better when you’re sober.”
“You don’t like me at all, but that’s fine. I’m over my crush on you.” Chiara beams, her eyes glassy. “Mia and I decided childhood crushes are stupid fantasies, nothing more. Right?”
Mia leans forward and clinks her bottle against her best friend’s. “Right.”
“Okay,” Matt grumbles, “each of us gets one more turn, and then I’m going to bed.” He picks up his beer. “Why don’t you start, Chiara?”
“Sure,” she purrs. “Never have I ever kissed a stranger.”
She and Matt don’t lift their bottles. Mia takes a sip, and so do I.
Instantly, I’m lost in a memory of the hottest night of my life.
It’s been almost a year, but I think about it far more than I’d like to admit.
Not only was the girl a stranger, but I don’t even know what she really looks like, because she was wearing a mask and a blonde wig.
To this day, I regret not trying to get her number. Hell, even just her name.
“What the fuck? Why didn’t I know about this?” Chiara yelps.
Mia shrugs. “Because some things are better kept secret.”
“Amen.” I lift my beer and take another sip.
The liquid is cold, but as I catch Mia looking at me, it suddenly feels as if I’m drinking lava. She studies me, her attention drifting from my face to my neck and then to my arm, to the black ink there.
What the fuck is happening to me? This is the same girl I grew up with, the girl who tagged along with Matt and me. She’s my goddamn stepsister.
But it’s virtually impossible to see her as the kid I’ve known most of my life.
“My turn,” Matt says.
I force my attention to him, praying like hell he hasn’t noticed the way Mia looks at me.
And, more importantly, the way I look at her.
“Never have I ever lied to my best friend.”
No one lifts a bottle. No one takes a sip. The truth is…we all lie.
Mia says, “‘Lie’ is a strong word in my case. It’s more like omitting information for the sake of another person.” She traces the bottle’s neck with her fingertip. “Because if you’re straight-up lying to the people you’re closest to, then why do you even need them?”
“Good point.” Matt tilts his head to the side, a small smile tipping his lips. “You’re smarter than me, little one.”
“I don’t think so,” she counters. “But thanks.”
“Your turn,” I remind her.
She presses her fingers to her mouth, zoning out for what feels like an eternity. Then, she exhales and smiles broadly. “Never have I ever hooked up with someone I had no intention of seeing again.”
Chiara is the only one who doesn’t drink. She eyes Matt warily, and I instantly know why.
Eyebrows drawn together, he leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees, the bottle dangling from his fingers.
“Why are you drinking?” he asks Mia. “Aren’t you supposed to pick something you’ve never done?”
“I broke the rules, so what? Sue me.”
He throws himself back against the couch cushion. “Shit. I don’t wanna know anything about your sex life, especially if you’re having one-night stands, acting like—”
“Don’t talk to her like that,” I grit through my teeth. The audacity of this guy. The fucking asshole was a second away from calling his sister a whore. “It’s just a stupid game.”
My mood plummets, just like the atmosphere in the room. And here I was hoping for a quiet, fun night.
Mia stands, her bare leg brushing mine. At her full height, she looms over her brother. “Never expected you to be such a hypocrite.”
“I’m not a hypocrite!” he shouts, jumping to his feet too. “I’m worried about you. I studied pre-law, in case you’ve forgotten. Do you know the statistics? Do you know how many women—”
“Oh my God!” She throws an arm out. “It was one time, okay? And I don’t regret it.”
For a fleeting second, I catch her eyes on me. I frown. What am I missing here?
“What I did was reckless, yeah, but I’m fine, and I don’t have plans to do it again.” She clenches her jaw. “I appreciate your concern, but if you ever call me a slut, it will be the last time I speak to you.”
“I wasn’t going to—”
“If not for Dom, I think you would have.” Chiara stands and holds out her hand to Mia. “I want to go to bed.”
With a nod, Mia slips her hand into Chiara’s and lets her lead her out of the living room.
I stand and start collecting the empty bottles. Matt has dropped back onto the couch, his head in his hands, stewing. I don’t interrupt or try to cheer him up. I learned long ago that the best thing to do when he’s like this is to give him a moment.
As I’m about to go upstairs, he calls out to me. “Thanks, man. Thank you for stopping me.”
I shuffle closer, hands in the pockets of my sweats. “You’re welcome. I knew you’d regret saying it. But really, I did it for her. She didn’t deserve it.”
“I know.” He drags his hand down his face. “I hooked up with random girls all the time in college… What the hell gives me the right to lecture her?”
I give him a sympathetic smile. “You care about her.”
He drops his head, mumbling something I don’t hear.
“She’s eighteen, man. And she’s about to start college. Better get a handle on yourself now. Freaking out over the mistakes she’s bound to make will cost you your goddamn mind and your relationship with her.”
“Yeah,” he sighs. “Little one isn’t so little anymore.”
“I never thought the nickname suited her,” I comment.
He stands, straightening his shirt. “No?”
“No. She’s chaos. ‘Little Mayhem’ suits her better.”
He stops, as if weighing my words. Then, he grins. “Yeah, that’s accurate.”
After tossing and turning for a solid couple of hours, I make my way out to the sunbed in the backyard. I stare at the pool, a cigarette between my lips.
The nap was a terrible idea. I have to be up for work in three hours.
Fuck.
When the back door creaks, I look over my shoulder, expecting Matt, but it’s Mia. She’s in a black hoodie and the cotton shorts she had on this morning, her hair in a messy bun on top of her head.
She hesitates when she sees me but eventually approaches. As she sits on the other side of the sunbed, her leg brushes mine again. I don’t try to move away. Maybe I’m an idiot, but I actually like her closeness.
“Couldn’t sleep?” I ask.
She shakes her head.
“Me neither.”
She clears her throat. “I thought you didn’t smoke anymore.”
“I quit before football season my freshman year of college, but I started again senior year. I don’t smoke weed anymore, though.”
She grunts. “How reassuring.”
Chuckling, I take a drag of my cigarette. “We all have bad habits. This one is mine.”
For a long moment, we’re silent, sitting side by side.
I won’t lie, her presence is nice. It keeps me from going down the rabbit hole I always fall into on nights like this, from losing myself in the details of the accident.
It stops my mind from obsessing over all the ways I could’ve avoided it and wondering what I could’ve done differently to ensure I was the only one to suffer consequences.
“The girl who let me in, Remi… Um, she wasn’t happy when I wouldn’t give this back.”
I blink, lowering my gaze to her outstretched hand and the set of keys resting in her palm.
She extends her arm farther. “I’m sure she wants them back.”
With a sigh, I grasp her hand and curl her fingers in. “Keep them. She doesn’t need keys to this house. I’d forgotten to get them back, so you did me a favor.”
“Isn’t she your girlfriend?”
I take in her features in the light of the moon. The maddening heat that forms in my lower abdomen makes me feel as if my fucking skin is on fire, but I don’t retract my hand. I don’t look away. It’s pure torture, drinking her in. She’s so damn beautiful. Just the sight of her makes my head spin.
“Remi is my ex-girlfriend.”
Mia tightens her hold on the keys, her fingers gingerly brushing my open palm.
“Does she know that?” One brow arched, she stands.
I exhale.
Wow.
If I’m not careful, I’ll find myself in hot water for real.