Chapter Four

Huxley POV:

Sweat slid down my neck to the top of my jersey, as I baked underneath the hot stadium lights. It’d been a long hard game against South Western. We’d beaten them 47 to 20.

I’d bled football since peewee before my dad bailed on us. It’d made me feel accepted to see him standing on the sideline with my coaches. Until he slowly stopped coming, and then one day, I came home, and his stuff was gone.

Mom cried for nights afterward, never explaining exactly why he left, but that we were better off without him. The little boy inside of me didn’t understand, but now I did. Whatever secret he held was more important than his family, which meant we deserved better than a half-assed Dad.

When Mom met Steven Ray in sixth grade, I was reluctant to accept him, but he never faltered. He continued to treat me with respect and as his own child. Mr. Steven was a good man who treated us all well and loved Adler to pieces.

Now he sat in the bleachers, taking up the empty spot my dad left behind, with Mom and Adler. Mr. Steven’s face always sent a surge of energy through me. Missing my dad all those years really took a toll on my pride. Having Mr. Steven there made me feel loved again.

There was something about a male figure being at sporting events that made you feel important.

We prayed after the game and headed toward the fieldhouse.

On my way to shower, I noticed Mom, Mr. Steven and Adler standing by the fence that led toward the parking lot. Adler held a batch of nachos and a paperback book tucked into her back pocket.

“Good game,” Mr. Steven said.

“Thanks.”

Mom kissed my cheek, while I grabbed two nachos from Adler and raced toward the fieldhouse.

A few of the cheerleaders waited by the door to catch their boyfriends before they went inside to shower. Heather stood with them.

“Huxley,” she said, blocking my way inside. “Nice game.”

“Thanks,” I said.

Heather was brunette, with hazel eyes, and a pretty smile. She held the title of a debutant, against her wishes, but sat with poise and came from a good family. However, I didn’t feel a spark when we dated. It felt bland and forced. Like people expected us to be together, not because we wanted to be.

She twirled a piece of hair around her finger and lifted onto her tiptoes. “Have you thought about the homecoming dance yet?”

That was two months away. My gaze moved behind here, where her friends waited, eavesdropping the best they could.

“It’s two months away, Heather.”

“I know.” She frowned. “What about the party, you coming?”

“No, my mom is making me come home for getting into a fight.”

“I heard about that,” she said. “I heard you were dating Ledela—”

“No, someone hit Adler in the head, and I handled it.”

Heather gasped, because she actually got along with Adler, because well, everyone got along with Adler. “Poor, Ad.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll see you around, I need to shower.”

She waved bye before turning to her friends, giving them a slight shake of her head.

“Hey Hux, did I hear you weren’t coming tonight?” Liam yelled from the showers once I made it inside.

“Nah, Mom is making me come home for getting into that fight. Plus, I have to help Adler with my English story.”

Liam walked into the locker room with a towel around him and shook his wet head. “Ya know, I saw Adler the other day with some makeup on and a skirt.”

I didn’t like where this was heading. My role as brother hadn’t hit me, until several months before, when I heard a group of seniors talking about Adler. She hid behind baggy clothes, and those glasses, so it occurred to me that guys were probably curious about her. Turns out, they were, and one senior planned to deflower her.

I shut it down quickly, just like with Liam. Not happening, partner.

“So?” I asked.

He lifted one brow and tugged a t-shirt over his large frame. “I know she’s your sister—”

I grabbed my backpack and slammed my locker door. “Yeah, she is and you’re dating Jacee.”

Liam rubbed the back of his neck with his palm. “Well, about that, Jacee is driving me insane. And Adler, she’s sweet.”

I felt fire pool into my stomach. My best friend wasn’t going after Adler. No way in hell. Liam’s reputation wasn’t something I wanted associated with Adler, and I bet Mr. Steven would back me up. I didn’t need my best friend trying to get in Adler’s pants. Ewe.

“Dump Jacee, I don’t care, but leave Adler out of your twisted dating life.”

Liam lifted both brows in surprise. “Easy killer. I didn’t realize you cared that much.”

Humph. “She’s not like that.”

“Like what?” Liam asked.

“I don’t want you trying to sleep with my sister, now drop it.” I walked toward the door. “See you Monday.”

I didn’t wait around for his answer. My pickup sat on the other end of the parking lot. My tires spun over the gravel as I drove toward the small road that led off the school’s property.

The radio thumped against the speakers, while I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel. Adler’s Honda sat in front of the house, which meant Mom and Mr. Steven went somewhere, and she was leaving room to park in the garage. Her bedroom window showed shadows moving along the walls, and I could hear Ledela’s laugh from outside of the house.

I parked behind her and walked inside toward her room. I felt the need to check on her since she looked overwhelmed when I left at lunch.

Ledela’s squeaking stopped me.

“This is your chance to really go after him, Ad. Why are you so sad?”

“I can’t,” she hissed. “They signed a waiver for confidentiality and if he shows up with a new girl, his girlfriend will know it was me all along.”

“Maybe not.”

Who are they talking about? I pressed my palm against the outside of her door and listened.

“I don’t know, but I downloaded an app that disguises cell phone numbers, and I did an accidental text to his phone. Now we’re in a conversation and I can’t believe I’m doing this. It’s so easy when I’m not face-to-face with him. I mean, because look at his face.”

So, it was someone she sees often.

“You’re texting your crush!”

Crush? Adler didn’t have crushes. She sat in her room and watched TLC while eating and staying tiny. She never spoke to anyone at school other than Ledela and me.

Ledela squealed, and the bed squeaked as I imagined them bouncing on the mattress like elementary girls. “He looked good in that t-shirt the other day,” Adler said. “I felt bad watching him like a piece of meat, but damn, I couldn’t help it.”

“He’s hella sexy, Ad. Look all you want.”

“If I could just get the nerve to talk to him in person.” She sighed loudly. “One day.”

“He could be your first kiss,” Ledela said.

Adler hadn’t kissed anyone before? Sure, I knew she didn’t date, but you didn’t have to date to get a peck. Geesh.

“I’d die,” she whispered. “I can’t imagine what his lips would feel like.”

Enough of this.

I shoved opened the door. Adler dropped her phone in her lap and glanced nervously at Ledela, who sat Indian style wearing a bohemian headband, beside her.

“How’s it going?” I asked.

“You were awesome in the game tonight,” Ledela said, twirling her hair. “Of course, mother wouldn’t let me go, but I watched it on someone’s Facebook from afar.”

“Thanks,” I said, my gaze traveling to Adler’s. “Why do you look so nervous?” I asked.

Adler shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m not nervous, you just charged into my room, and I’m wondering when you’ll get to the point?”

I needed a point, didn’t I? “How is the website holding up?”

Ledela leaned forward. “Great. We’ve answered over—”

“Adler,” I said. “How is the website?”

She turned a dark shade of red. “Good we’ve answered all of our questions and I started the two play my man requests.”

I slid my tongue across my bottom lip. “Yeah? Anybody I know?”

“It’s confidential,” Adler said, daring me to disagree.

Unable to help it, I shoved my hands into my pockets and smiled. “Yeah from the public, not the web designer. Tell me.”

I felt Adler become more uncomfortable. She tucked her bottom lip into her mouth and my need to know tripled.

I had to know, now. Who is she texting? Who does she have this crush on? Out of all the years I’d known her, no boy that I knew had caught her interest, who did now?

“Seth Pickens,” she said casually.

Seth Pickens. I racked my brain for his face. “Señor Seth? The pitcher that flirts with Ms. Hernandez during Spanish II?”

She laughed. “Yeah, that’s the one.” Adler turned to Ledela. “Remember when Ms. Hernández responded No saber ni papa de algo?” Adler doubled over laughing while Led gave me a crazy look.

“We don’t know what that means,” Led said.

Adler rolled her eyes. “We totally went over that in class.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re the only one that remembers,” Led said.

Adler sighed. “It means not knowing a potato about something, which here would mean you don’t have a clue.”

Silence.

“Ugh,” she whispered. “She was insinuating he wouldn’t know how to handle her, because he was trying to tell her what he would do to her.”

“Ah!” Ledela said with a laugh. “That explains the detention he got for that.”

Adler gave us both a deadpanned look.

No way did she have a crush on him. She’d made fun of his attempt at flirting in broken Spanish for three days after that class.

“Who is the second?”

Adler leaned back on her palms and sighed. “Um, you wouldn’t know him. It’s an underclassman.”

Ledela gave her a quick look.

Lie.

Adler didn’t lie. One time she lied about going to a party instead of the movies but told Mr. Steven the next night because of guilt. She was a good girl.

“Liar,” I called her out.

Adler cleared her throat. “Whatever. We’re busy. 90 Day Fiancé is about to start. We’re watching to get ideas for her next blog series about what not to do around men.”

Ledela avoided eye contact.

I felt need. Why? I didn’t know why I felt the need to know so desperately, but I did. She never hid stuff from me like this.

“Hmm,” I whispered. “Mom said I need to start my story tonight. She’ll ask to see what I’ve written tomorrow. Do you want my help?”

“I’ll write something before we go to bed.”

“Okay,” I said, walking toward the door. Part of me wanted to force Adler to tell me who she liked. Why did I even care? It never bothered me before. Instead, I closed her door and went into my room.

My social media was booming with posts about Miss. Play Your Man. I skimmed passed them, checking my messages. Several tenth grade and junior girls littered my inbox.

No one knew that I had lost interest in them a couple semesters before. Sure, I’d go on an occasional date, but they didn’t do it for me as they used to. It was the same ole things. Instagram pictures, filters and how being with me made them look at school.

Not one asked me anything about myself. One hundred percent of the guys at my school—at least the ones I hung around—wanted to get laid. I wasn’t a virgin, but I wanted more than that.

Rubbing my palm over my face, it hit me.

I could look up who contacted the website. Was I above snooping to find her crush? No, I was not.

I pulled up the guts of the website and traced the users using the software my mother surprised me with my last birthday.

Kelsey Sharpe requested a play my man at 1:15am.

And Jacee Reynolds requested—

Jacee Reynolds was Liam’s girlfriend. Holy Batman. Adler could not have a crush on Liam.

Liam Hems? Did I read this right? I rubbed my eyes and checked again.

No way.

Liam, the guy that spilled food on his shirt daily, and talked to all the guys about everything him and Jacee did every time he took her out?

I tapped my finger against my mouse aggressively. No way in hell was Adler going to take Jacee’s place on Liam’s lap, so he could tell the team every time they did anything.

As her brother, I couldn’t let anyone take advantage of her, or ruin her reputation. It’d be over my dead body that he slept with Adler Ray.

Fire licked at my stomach. There was no way Adler could date him. He was my best friend, which meant I knew what was on his mind. I jumped off my bed but stopped myself at the door.

It wasn’t my business.

Adler never said anything about the girls I dated. She was nice to them, even baked cookies with Heather once.

I braced my head against the wood of my door and sighed. Liam wanted to dump Jacee. If he did, she may think Miss Play Your Man was the reason, or maybe not.

Rolling my neck, I sat back down on my bed and stared at the vaulted ceiling. The thought of Adler with Liam made my stomach sick. Would he treat her right?

I rolled over to my side and grabbed my phone. A reminder of Saturday morning detention race across my phone.

How could I forget? I set my alarm before turning on the History channel. There was nothing like a blast from the past to put me to sleep.

***

From eight to twelve I sat in the library with nine other kids and worked on homework. The teachers switched out detention duty every weekend. This weekend we had Coach Walters, the girls’ basketball coach, who sat at the front desk reading a book.

A Fabio wannabe held a woman tight on the front. I could only imagine the content of that book, but I’d rather not. The girl behind me kept tossing paper wads at my head, with notes about how good I was in the game. By the fourth one, I crumbled it up and tossed it in the trash.

She scoffed but got the hint.

I wasn’t in the mood for love notes or this ghetto Breakfast Club behind me.

My brain raced over the image of Adler and Liam doing the dirty. It shouldn’t bother me this much, but it did. God I wanted to hurl. I continually checked social media for any breakup news from Jacee or Liam the night before.

Maybe I could talk him into staying with Jacee. I wasn’t sure it would work after me telling him to get rid of her on so many occasions.

When Coach Walters made her way toward the bathroom, I checked my phone for any news about the website. Miss Play Your Man littered my Facebook and Instagram. Pictures of the website took over my news feed.

Miss Play Your Man just got me my dream date! #Misswomanoftheyear.

She picked out my outfit for my date and he asked me to go steady. #takingitbacktothe50s

Miss Play Your Man answer me! #I’mdesperate.

I clicked my phone off, rubbing my palm over my face in an attempt to see straight. Since when did Adler know this much about guys? Was she really doing research about guys on her laptop at night? Maybe she secretly read those romance novels Coach Walters loved. I’d look for a copy of 50 Shades in her room when I got home.

The thought of Adler in Anna’s place made me cringe, but not as badly as the fact that I knew anything about that novel to begin with.

Twelve ‘o clock hit, and once dismissed, I hauled tail to my pickup and raced home. Mom and Mr. Steven worked on the garden in the front yard, elbows deep in soil.

He tossed me an annoyed look as Mom pointed toward the rocks she wanted moved. Better him than me.

A workout DVD played on the living room TV and Adler sat in front of it, legs splayed out in a v panting like a dog.

I watched for a moment as she cursed beneath her breath. In the six years I’d known her, not to my knowledge, had she worked out once.

Was this for Liam?

“Okay,” she mumbled, standing up. “I’ve got this.”

She started repeating Shaun T’s encouraging motivation and started back with her Cardio disc.

Color me impressed. I didn’t know little Adler had it in her. Two minutes in, she tried to do an up and over move but tripped over her feet, landing on her butt.

“Crappity crap," she mumbled.

I held in my laugh and shut the door so she’d hear me.

“Hey,” she said, red faced, climbing to her feet.

“Nice moves,” I said, taking off my shoes. “You trying to wither away into nothing?”

“I’m trying to gain muscle.”

“Why?” I asked, slinging my bag onto the couch.

“You’re in shape, why can’t I want to be?”

I shrugged. Mom had a basket of pig in the blankets on the counter and fries. I grabbed some, watching Adler eye my plate. “Come over here and eat,” I said.

She tucked her lip. “I need to finish this.”

“Are you hungry?” I asked, taking a bite.

She sighed and walked over to grab a plate. Adler grabbed two pig in the blankets and a couple fries.

“I started on your paper,” she said.

“Yeah?” I asked. “How’s it coming? I want to see.”

She gestured me toward her room. TLC played on her TV, but her bed sat made perfectly with notes and pens on top.

Adler handed me a few sheets of paper. “I’m only a chapter in. I think she normally wants a short story around twenty-five thousand, so that’s what I will shoot for.”

I read over the pages while she finished her food. It was the basis of how the website happened and how things were going. “My news feed has been blowing up about this.”

“Tell me about it,” she said, taking a bite. “I had to turn off my phone last night because of all of the notifications. It’s insane.”

“This is good,” I gestured toward the paper. “Thank you.”

“You know,” she said kicking off her tennis shoes. “You could write about something more personal.”

I jammed the last of my food into my mouth. “Oh yeah, like what?”

“Your dad.”

I glanced up at her blue eyes. She looked sincere. Adler wasn’t one to be mean or make you feel bad. She meant it. I wouldn’t know where to start with him. “I don’t have much to say Poops, he left us.”

“She wanted something personal.”

“This is personal.”

“Hmm,” she said twirling her ponytail. “You could write about our dad.”

I liked the way she said our dad. We never really talked about Mr. Steven being both of our dads. “Write the code story,” I said.

She shrugged. “How was detention? Did you make any lifelong friends?”

“Funny,” I said.

Adler reached for her phone when it chimed and smiled at something. Is it from Liam? I eased forward, watching my shoes leave a trail against her carpet.

“I’m pretty sure Seth is a goner,” she said, tossing her phone. “He is already asking for nudes. I sent screenshots to his girlfriend a while ago.”

I laughed. “Señor Seth can’t keep it in his pants.”

She tossed her head back and laughed. “Right. The app I’ve been using is great, my number looks local but isn’t my own. I guess that is what the telemarketers, which Dad is always cussing out, uses.”

Mr. Steven got in his feelings about those calls. He even pretended to be a funeral home a few times.

“What about the other guy?” I asked.

Adler tugged at a string on her bed. “I think she needs to break up with him. He hasn’t stopped texting me.”

I curled my palm into a fist. “Is it … sexual?”

“No!” Adler said, shaking her head. “I mean he flirts but nothing too bad. But if I were in a relationship I wouldn’t want my boyfriend texting with any other girl.”

“So then he’ll be single, right?”

She shrugged. “That’s the purpose of this website, to see if you’re man is faithful, right?”

“Do you feel bad? What if you catch feelings or the guy asks to see you in person?”

“No,” she said with a laugh. “Then the jig is up.”

“Who is it?” I blurted out again.

“No one you know.”

I stepped forward not really knowing why. She leaned back on her palms and glanced up at me. Her blue eyes large with nerves. “Why don’t you want to tell me? It must be someone I’m close to, right. That’s why?”

She stood up, trying to step away from me, but I caught her hip in my hand. The curve there fit into my palm like a glove to fingers. Why did I do that?

Adler stepped away. “I’m going to take a shower.”

Something buzzed up my arm and tingled inside of my stomach at our touch. I was certain that never happened before. Not when I held her down to tickle her or soaked her with the water hose behind the house.

Stupid pig in the blankets. I knew I ate them too fast.

I watched in horror as she grabbed her clothes and walked toward the bathroom. Why did I touch her like that? I never had before. And it never made me feel tingly. I'm turning into a girl.

What the—

Am I jealous?

No way in hell was I jealous of Adler’s crush. She was my stepsister, Mr. Steven’s kid, the girl that slept across the hallway.

I laughed at myself for being crazy and walked back to my room. The thought still knocked against my brain, trying to slip inside to screw our relationship up the fullest.

Not today, Satan.