3. Jason
Three
Jason
“The man of the hour is here!” Nicky salutes my arrival by waving a beer bottle in the air as he sways to the side, clearly already drunk.
His blond hair is standing up like he’s been electrocuted, and I roll my eyes at the vibrant, impossible-to-ignore floral shirt he’s wearing.
The top button is undone to show off thick gold chains and sparse chest hair, which I know he’s done for the ladies.
He looks ridiculous, but I can’t help and smirk.
I walk further inside, my nose twitching and eyebrows rising at the lingering smell of weed and spilled alcohol. Nicky is messy tonight.
The space is cozy, and will always be my favorite hangout spot, even with the lame fairy lights that Nicky says are “for the vibes.” My eyes fall on the battered foosball table standing in the middle of the room before shifting to the posters of our favorite punk musicians haphazardly stuck to the walls.
“Well, that’s a fucking problem,” I mutter. An acoustic guitar sits in the corner, which Nicky loves to play terribly after a few drinks, serenading me with his screechy voice. I’m going to have to hide the instrument to spare myself a headache later.
Jerry’s house has never been home, but Nicky’s house is.
“Oh, fuck my cock.” I watch my best friend trip over his own feet, falling into the back of the couch. A hearty laugh rips itself from my chest.
“Jesus, Nicky, could have at least waited for me. Now I’m gonna have to try to catch up to you, dickhead.” I shake my head, amusement still tugging at my lips. “C’mon man. Give me a drink.” I thrust my hand out and he responds by shoving a cold bottle in my direction.
The slam of the door catches Nicky’s attention, and he whistles. I wince at the piercing sound. “Right in my ear, asshole,” I mutter.
“Jason, babe, you didn’t tell me your sister is a bunny.” My lips tighten into a thin line as I pop the cap off. “Threesome?” Nicky asks, then drops to his knees in front of Daisy, hands clasped around his bottle like he’s ready to pray to her for some pussy. My stepsister’s pussy.
My eye twitches and I shove my boot into his ass, sending him sideways.
“Shut the fuck up,” I grunt while my best friend cackles.
I take a massive swig of my beer. My gaze meets Daisy’s blue eyes, which are highlighted by the light-blue eyeshadow she’s wearing.
She bites her lip as if considering Nicky’s offer, and I sneer in disgust, shaking my head at her.
“Slut,” I hiss at Daisy, watching her face fall. Good.
Nicky and I spend some time catching up, and I try to ignore Daisy, but her quiet presence is annoying and unnerving. It’s impossible to relax with my mind constantly wandering back to her. Thinking about her glistening lips. The way her dress wraps tightly around her body. Her exposed skin.
I drink faster, determined to escape all thoughts of her.
After I finish my third…fourth drink, every nerve in my body winds tighter and tighter until even breathing is difficult. Nicky lowers the music, turning to Daisy.
“So, Daisy doll, have you sucked your brother’s cock yet?”
Nicky.
A vein pulses in my neck. Sex is almost always on his mind. Combine his confidence with the fact that he has no filter, and Nicky is a troublemaker at the best of times. I’m going to throttle him.
A pink hue quickly spreads across Daisy’s cheeks as her fingers toy with the hem of her too-short dress. Everything about her is sinful temptation, a trap I’ll never fall in to. Girls like her will always lead men to misery.
“No, thank you,” I interrupt quickly. Turning back to him, I rush to add, “I would rather have your mommy suck me off than have her,” I jab a finger toward Daisy, “anywhere near me.”
I shouldn’t speak so disrespectfully about Nicky’s mom. She’s a haven for me, a mother when I lost mine, especially since my home life has always been chaotic. But I need to make a point.
I don’t want Daisy. I don’t like Daisy. I hate Daisy. To my ears, it sounds convincing.
Nicky clicks his tongue. “You do love a woman over forty. Does that mean she can be mine and we can become stepbrothers?”
My eyes snap to his. “No,” I tell him possessively, my free fist curling, the other still strangling the neck of my bottle.
I love Nicky, but she’s not for him. No one can have her.
The thought makes me sick, adding to the confusing vortex of emotions swirling in my mind.
I might hate Daisy, but for some inexplicable reason I’m drawn to her.
That’s why I keep my distance when I can, so I don’t fall any deeper under her spell.
She complicates everything. “And you’d be my brother-in-law, idiot. ”
My breathing is heavy. We’ve only been here together for thirty minutes, and already an anchor of turmoil is dragging me under.
Nicky raises his hands in defense and mouths an aside to Daisy while pointing at me. "Sheesh, this guy.” My best friend mocks me, and she laughs. It’s a beautifully sweet sound. All thoughts in my brain halt.
No.
Her laughter is not beautiful or sweet. I grunt, almost feral, making her stop immediately. That’s better, I tell myself.
“Is anyone else coming tonight?” I ask, turning back to Nicky. I need to change the topic, to regain control. He shakes his head.
Daisy’s laughter echoes in my mind like a siren’s call. I clench my teeth. She will not get under my skin. I shoot her a sharp glare and watch with satisfaction as she flinches.
“John is scaring at the haunted house tonight, and Timmy is too whipped by his old lady and had to skip tonight to do shit with her.”
Damn, but that’s okay. I usually enjoy small hangouts because they’re easier to relax in. However, tonight is different because my stepsister is here, and I’m anything but calm. My foot taps to the music playing.
I sigh loudly, making it known whose fault this is. “Because of Daisy, we have to go to the house of horrors tonight.” Nicky’s eyes light up.
“Hell yeah, brother. Daisy, if you get scared, don’t worry. I’ll protect you, babygirl. Daddy’s got you.”
My head whips violently to the side. “Nicky,” I warn. There were too many words in that sentence that I didn’t like. He giggles because he knows exactly what he’s done.
We move from standing near the stereo to sitting on couches, and I choose the one furthest away from Daisy.
I don’t want her anywhere near me because the closer she is, the easier it is for her to spread her poison, to make me feel out of control.
My body hits the velvet fabric and I sigh, remembering all the time I’ve spent on it drunk and high.
Tension unravels in my chest. My head lolls against the backrest, and I watch as Nicky chugs the rest of his beer before he waves the bottle around.
His next words abruptly break the calm, and I snap upright.
“Let’s play truth or dare.”
I immediately groan, covering up the way my heart races at the idea of secrets being exposed. If I leave it to Nicky, he’ll uncover everything. He’s like a bloodhound on the trail of something juicy.
My hackles rise. My leg bounces faster. “Are we a bunch of girls at a sleepover? What’s next? We’ll be braiding our hair with flowers?”
“Daisy, at this rate, I’m going to beg you to suck his cock, because he needs to lighten up.”
She giggles again, her thighs pressing together.
I don’t miss the way her tongue wets her bottom lip, as if she’s preparing her mouth.
Darkness swarms my vision, my eyes growing hooded.
I tell myself it’s disgusting, trying to banish the image of my stepsister on her knees for me with her mouth open, tongue out while she waits for my cock like a good girl.
My chest tightens, each breath being dragged from my burning lungs.
Disgusting, I repeat, my eyes trailing down to focus on her thighs as I wonder how soft they are, imagining what it would be like to bite into her flesh and hear her scream.
My shoulders stiffen, jaw locking while anger twists in my chest. “Fuck off, Nicky,” I growl. My gaze hardens, fixed on Daisy with venomous intensity. “Daisy is nothing but a washed-up whore like her mother.”
“Aww man, you’re so mean. Don’t listen to that cocksucker, Daisy. He’s just angry because he has a lot of issues. Like a lot. His mommy disappeared and his daddy—”
“Do us all a favor and stop talking.” Red flashes in my vision.
“He definitely needs therapy, but I’m not sure that would fix him. A lobotomy might.”
“I said shut up Nicholas Christopher Eugene Valentine.”
“Oh my God, not the full government name. Well, everyone needs to play my game, and everyone needs to play properly,” Nicky declares.
His gaze burns into the side of my face because he knows I won’t if given the chance.
I flip Nicky off with my free hand, rolling my eyes.
“Otherwise, nobody is getting any treats.” He pulls a bag of drugs from his pocket.
Fuck. He’s really going to bribe me. Nicky makes eye contact with me and smirks, knowing what I’m thinking.
“Little shit,” I grumble.
Nicky’s grin gets wider because he knows I’ll be eating out of the palm of his hand. He loves it when he gets his own way and there’s nothing I can do.
Nicky takes a seat and sets the bottle down in front of us before spinning it. The bottle lands on Daisy.
“Truth or Dare, Daisy doll?”
“Um…truth.”
Nicky leans forward on the armchair, elbows on his knees. “So, how do you really feel about your big brother?” he asks in a quiet, scandalized tone. “You can tell me he’s a certified asshole.”
She finishes the rest of her drink for courage, beer trickling down the corners of her mouth.
I want to cross over to her and lick it off.
She wipes the beads of alcohol with the back of her hand, and the trance shatters.
I grunt, shaking my head. By the end of the night, Daisy will make me insane.
Jerry can go fuck himself for forcing me to do this.