The Queen B* Strikes Back (14 page)

Big Sister mode kicked in, and I crossed the yard in a flash. “Taylor!”

She stiffened, and I used her shock to rip her away from the pervert who was taking advantage of her.

My vision turned red when I realized it was Sanchez. I curled my hand up into a fist and drew it back, wanting to smash his face until it was black and blue.

“Lexi!” Taylor moved between us, her eyes glazed and her steps unsteady. “What are you doing?”

“Saving you from this walking STD.” I lunged at Sanchez, but a strong pair of arms around my waist held me back.

“No, you’re ruining my life!” she screeched.

“Not to mention ruining my chances of getting any action,” Sanchez added.

“You fucking bastard!”

Brett had all but thrown me over his shoulder to keep me from beating the crap out of that prick. “Calm down,” he whispered.

“Don’t tell me to calm down. That’s my little sister.”

When I looked back, the two of them were trying to sneak off into the house. I shoved Brett aside and grabbed Taylor. “Come on. We’re going home now.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Taylor dug her heels in like a three-year-old in the middle of a temper tantrum, but whatever she’d consumed earlier this evening slowed her reflexes, and I had no trouble dragging her back through the house. She screamed and cussed and called me all sorts of names, but I didn’t care. She could hate me all she wanted. I refused to let some asshole like Sanchez take advantage of her.

Maybe one day, she’d thank me, but the look she gave me as I forced her into my car was one of pure hatred. “What the fuck are you doing here, anyway?”

“Taking care of you.” I fastened the seatbelt and slammed the doors before she tried to escape.

“Lexi,” Brett called out after me, but I couldn’t afford to stop. If I did, Taylor might run back to the party, and Brett had already proven he was more interested in keeping me away from Sanchez than helping me with my little sister.

“Later,” I said over my shoulder before jumping into the driver’s seat and starting the car. I floored it and didn’t bother to look back.

Taylor’s fury refused to wane. “Are you stalking me or something? Trying to make sure I’m a pathetic loser like you?”

I took a deep breath and reminded myself that she was drunk and extra mean because of the alcohol. Her words stung less that way. I kept my voice level and calm as I spoke, hoping it would soothe her. “No, I was invited to that party.”

“Who would invite
you
?”

“Brett.”

That shut her up. She blinked in a dazed sort of way before retreating to a crossed-arm sulk. “That still doesn’t give you the right to publicly humiliate me like that.”

“It’s Sanchez.”

“He’s hot, and he’s popular, and he was about to ask me to Homecoming until you interrupted us.”

“No, he’s bad news. He was trying to get laid, and he was making fun of your bra inserts just last week.”

“He knows about them?” she asked in a small voice.

“He was even passing along the video of you in the locker room to all his friends.” I risked casting a sideways glance at her, and my heart ached from the deflated slump of her shoulders. She’d convinced herself that Sanchez was the be-all and end-all, and now she was finally seeing him for the jerk he really was. “Aw, Taylor—”

“Just shut up and leave me alone.”

“Fine.”

I drove the rest of the way home in silence. When we pulled into the garage, Taylor refused to budge. I let her have her space. If I’d been in her shoes, I’d want to have a good cry in private.

Then afterward, I’d get my revenge, but that was just me.

A yelp filled the house as I came inside.

I jumped and turned on all the lights, only to wish I hadn’t.

My mom was lying on the couch under some guy I’d never seen before, both of them naked and locked in a very intimate pose.

Mom reached for a throw pillow to cover up and stumbled over her words. “Alexis, you’re home early.”

Before I could answer, Taylor entered the house with a banging door and stomped all the way upstairs, oblivious to what was happening in the living room. “I hate you, Lexi!” she shouted before slamming the door to her bedroom.

Mom tossed a pillow to her date and retrieved her date’s discarded button-down shirt before she came toward me. “Is there something we need to talk about?”

I focused on the edge of the coffee table. It seemed safer than staring at my mom and acknowledging that I’d walked in on her having sex. “Taylor’s just drunk and pissed off because I ruined her chances of having some dipshit take advantage of her.”

Mom looked upstairs and then back at me, her face pinched with a mother’s worry. “Alexis…”

“It’s fine, Mom. I handled it. Go back to whatever you were doing, and I’ll pretend I didn’t catch you naked with some stranger.”

I shielded my eyes and didn’t stop until I was safely in my room. Once there, I fell onto my bed and hugged my pillow. Today was all kinds of messed up, and I couldn’t wait for it to end.

A few minutes later, I heard a car drive away, followed by a knock at my door.

“Come in,” I muttered.

“How are you doing?” my mom asked as she came in.

She’d thankfully managed to find a bathrobe, removing some of the awkwardness. I mean, I knew adults had sex. I knew my parents had to have done it at least twice to produce me and my sister, and I knew my dad liked to hook up with his grad students. But actually seeing it was an entirely different thing. “I’m scarred for life.”

“Alexis,” she said with a roll of her eyes before sitting down on the edge of my bed.

“Okay, seriously, I don’t care what you do, Mom, but can you please keep it behind closed doors. And oh yeah, use a condom.”

Her cheeks flooded with color. “I will, and I apologize for…that. One thing sort of led to another, and I wasn’t expecting either of you to come home so early…”

“It’s fine.” God, this conversation couldn’t end soon enough.

“Pete and I are so embarrassed, and I know I’m not setting a very good example for you and your sister.”

“Please. We both know what Dad’s doing in Vermont.” I paused and picked up on something I’d missed. “So that was the guy who’s been giving you lessons on the laser?”

For the past four months, my mom had been staying late after work learning how to use a laser for skin procedures in her dermatology practice. Only now, I was beginning to wonder how many of those study sessions were really study sessions.

Jesus, my mom was nothing more than an overgrown teenager.

But then, I was no better, based on the content of my study sessions with Brett.

“Um, yeah.” She smoothed her robe. “But since we got along so well, we’ve been seeing each other after hours. I’ve been trying to figure out the right time to introduce him to you and Taylor.”

“Well, now that I’ve seen his dick, we can all be one big happy family.”

“Alexis!”

“What do you expect me to say?” I sat up and tossed the pillow across the room. “ ‘Hi, nice to meet you. Great bod, but please don’t knock my mom up’?”

Mom pressed her fingers against her forehead and massaged her temples. “In case you haven’t noticed, it was equally awkward for us, too.”

“No kidding. I think I’m the only person in this family who managed to keep her panties on tonight. Maybe you should be swapping safe-sex tips with Taylor instead of trying to make nice with me.”

Mom paled. “That bad, huh?”

“Yeah.” I pulled my knees up to my chest. “The worst part is, I don’t know how many times she’s found herself in that position.”

My mom swore under her breath and started pacing. “I guess—I mean, I’d never had a problem with you getting caught in those predicaments, so I never imagined Taylor would either.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, Taylor and I are about as opposite as can be. In fact, the only reason I happened to be at the party was because Brett invited me.”

“Brett?” She stopped and stared at my neck, a hard edge rising into her voice. “Is that the guy who gave you the hickey last week?”

“Mom! Remember—I’m the responsible one here.”

“But we’re getting you on the pill tomorrow, even if I have to be the one to call it in.”

“You should be focusing on the drunk fifteen-year-old across the hall.”

“Taylor’s already on the pill. I made sure of that the moment she started high school.” Mom resumed her pacing. “But before I go in there, I need to know how far along things were before you intervened.”

“Pretty far along. Not as far you and Pete, but…” My words died off as soon as I realized I was blushing as hard as my mom. “Just so you know, Brett and I are not like that. I’ve managed to avoid a repeat of last week, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

As soon as I said that, I realized I’d run out on him again. First the carwash, now the party. I’d just stomped out any hope for a friendship with him. Or, at least ruined my chances for future invites for good at this point.

“Okay, I’ll go talk to her. And then, maybe tomorrow we can have dinner with Pete, and I can introduce you to him in a more, um, normal manner.”

Once she left my room, I pulled out my phone and dialed Brett’s number. Thankfully, he answered on the second ring. “I’m so sorry for leaving like that.”

“Don’t apologize. If it was one of my little sisters, I’d do the same thing.”

The knots in my shoulders relaxed, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Brett was a lot of things, but he was also a big brother. “Thanks for understanding.”

“No problem. By the way, I offered Richard a ride home when he’s ready.”

I smacked my palm against my forehead. “I’m like the shittiest friend ever. I forgot all about him.”

“Like I said, I’ve got it taken care of. Besides, he’s kind of become the hit of the party.”

“Well, of course. He’s Richard.”

Brett laughed. “Maybe you should hang around a bit longer next time. Maybe you’ll be the hit of the party.”

“Hello? I’m the hardest, cruelest bitch in Eastline.”

“No, you’re not.” His words wrapped around me like a warm blanket and melted the ice in my heart a little more. “If you were, you wouldn’t have rescued your sister.”

“How do you always know how to make me feel a little better after a craptastic day?”

“Just returning the favor.”

I couldn’t stop the smile that formed from his reply. It was hard to believe that I could brighten up someone’s day, especially someone like him. “So, about tomorrow?”

“I’ll have to get back to you on that. I have a meeting with some coaches in the morning.”

“I can understand why. Congrats on shattering another record, by the way.”

“Thanks,” he said with equal parts pride and humility. “But maybe after that?”

“Sure, but I know my mom wants to officially introduce me and Taylor to her new boyfriend over dinner tomorrow, so I won’t be able to stay too long.”

“Officially?”

“Don’t ask.” A shudder coursed down my spine when I remembered walking in on them.

“Fair enough. We’ll work something out. In the meantime, don’t worry about Richard.”

“I won’t.”

“Night, Lexi.”

“Night.”

By the time I hung up, I realized that just a simple conversation with him had shifted what had been an otherwise terrible night into something not so bad.

One more reason I was falling hard for Brett Pederson.

Chapter Twelve

I woke up the next morning to a text message from Brett.

In the U-District until noon. Meet up after that?

I checked my clock. It was a little after ten, so I had plenty of time to get ready and take the bus down there. I knew better than to try and find parking in the U-District on a Saturday during football season.

Meet me at the Purple Dog when you’re done
, I texted back.

The Purple Dog was a small coffee shop in the U-District that Morgan loved to hang out at. Or she did until last week. Personally, I was praying that Gavin the Douche Bag wouldn’t be working there today because I might have to rip him a new one if I saw him. That aside, it was a great place to study, and even better, it was public enough so I didn’t have to worry about our study session turning into something more.

I was just about to hop in the shower when he texted back,
Why not your place?

One word: Taylor
, I replied.

Gotcha
.

I didn’t have to explain that we’d get no work done as long as my sister was here. She’d hang all over Brett and probably invite her friends (including Summer) over, and it would turn into a little mini-party instead of the intense study session he needed to finish his admission essay and prep for the SATs next week.

The morning passed without a snag, and by the time I got to the Purple Dog, Brett was waiting for me.