Chapter 1 Chapter 1
I knew I did not belong the moment the room went quiet.
Not the polite kind of quiet.
The kind that crawls under your skin and makes your chest tighten.
Laughter had been bouncing off the walls seconds ago. Music loud. Drinks sloshing. Bodies pressed together in careless happiness. Then I stepped forward with a tray of red plastic cups balanced in my hands and every sound thinned out like someone had sucked the air away.
I felt it before I understood it.
Eyes on me.
Judging. Measuring. Amused.
I was the only one not dressed like this was a party meant for people like me. Too plain. Too covered. My dress clung wrong. My hair refused to cooperate no matter how many times I ran my fingers through it. I had borrowed the heels from my stepsister without asking and now they pinched like punishment.
I should not have come.
But my stepsister insisted.
Everyone would be there.
It would be rude if I did not show.
So here I was. Standing in the living room of an off campus house packed with hockey players and their friends. A girl no one wanted. A girl no one knew what to do with.
I swallowed and tried to keep my hands steady.
Then someone laughed.
Not loud. Not kind.
Sharp. Male.
I followed the sound without meaning to. My eyes landed on the couch near the center of the room where the hockey team had claimed territory like kings. Big bodies sprawled out. Jerseys half unbuttoned. Muscles relaxed in the way that came from knowing you ruled the room.
And there he was.
My stepsister’s boyfriend.
Sitting back like he owned the place. One arm stretched along the back of the couch. Fingers curled around a beer bottle. Dark hair slightly damp like he had just come from the rink. Jaw hard. Mouth lazy. Eyes bright with interest that had nothing to do with affection.
His eyes locked on me.
I froze.
Something passed over his face. Amusement first. Then curiosity. Then something slower and heavier that made my stomach twist.
He leaned forward.
“Well,” he said loudly enough for the people around him to hear. “Looks like Cinderella finally found the party.”
Laughter erupted around him.
My face burned instantly. Heat rushed up my neck. My fingers tightened around the tray until the cups rattled.
I forced a smile. “Just bringing drinks.”
“Cute,” another guy said. “You catering now?”
More laughter.
I should have walked away. I should have pretended I did not hear them. I should have remembered I was here because my dad married her mom and that made me invisible baggage. Something to tolerate. Something to tease.
Instead I stood there like an idiot.
My stepsister finally noticed the attention. She turned from where she had been flirting with someone near the kitchen and frowned.
“What are you doing?” she asked me, her voice sharp with embarrassment. “I told you to just set those down.”
“I was trying to help,” I said quietly.
Her eyes flicked over me. From my hair to my dress to the shoes she loved more than she would ever love me.
“You look ridiculous,” she muttered. “Why did you even come if you were going to stand there like that?”
The room seemed to tilt.
Her boyfriend did not say anything. He just watched. Elbows on his knees now. Eyes never leaving my face. Like he was enjoying every second of this.
I took a step forward. My heel slipped.
The tray tipped.
Cold liquid splashed down my front. Red cups scattered. Beer soaked my dress. A cup bounced off the couch and landed upside down on the floor.
The room exploded.
Laughter louder than before. Whistles. Someone clapped.
“Oh damn,” someone said. “That is rough.”
I stared down at myself. Wet fabric clinging in all the wrong places. My chest exposed more than I wanted. My hands shaking.
I wanted to disappear.
My stepsister groaned. “Are you serious right now?”
“I did not mean to,” I whispered.
Her boyfriend stood.
The movement caught everyone’s attention. He was tall. Taller than anyone else in the room. His presence shifted the air like a storm rolling in.
He stepped closer. Slowly. Deliberately.
“Careful,” he said, his voice low and smooth. “You are dripping.”
His eyes dropped. Followed the path of beer down my dress. Lingered.
I hugged my arms around myself.
“I am sorry,” I said. To her. To him. To everyone.
He tilted his head. “You always this clumsy?”
The guys laughed again.
Something snapped inside my chest.
“I said I was sorry,” I said louder.
His mouth twitched. Not a smile. Not quite.
“Relax,” he replied. “It is just a party.”
Just a party.
Just humiliation.
Just me being reminded where I stood.
My stepsister grabbed his arm. “Babe, ignore her. She always does stuff like this.”
Always.
I looked at her. Really looked. Perfect hair. Perfect makeup. Effortless confidence. She did not see me as family. She saw me as an inconvenience she was forced to tolerate because our parents shared a house now.
Her boyfriend’s eyes flicked to her hand on his arm. Then back to me.
For a split second something unreadable crossed his face.
Then it was gone.
“You should probably go clean up,” he said. “Bathroom is down the hall.”
Dismissive. Polite. Cruel in its simplicity.
I nodded. Turned. Walked away as fast as my shaking legs allowed.
I locked the bathroom door behind me and leaned against it. My reflection stared back from the mirror. Mascara smudged. Hair falling loose. Dress ruined.
I pressed my palms to the counter and tried to breathe.
Tears threatened. I refused to let them fall. I would not cry over them. Over him.
A knock sounded at the door.
I stiffened.
“Occupied,” I called.
Silence. Then the door handle rattled.
“I just need to grab something,” a familiar voice said.
My heart stuttered.
“No,” I said. “I am in here.”
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
He stepped inside and closed it behind him.
The room felt too small instantly. His presence filled it. His eyes dark. His expression unreadable.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
He leaned back against the door. Arms crossed. Blocking my exit.
“Relax,” he said again. “I am not going to bite.”
“I want you to leave.”
He studied me for a long moment. The silence stretched. Thick. Heavy.
“You looked like you were about to cry,” he said finally.
“That is none of your business.”
“Everything in that room is my business.”
I laughed bitterly. “Including humiliating me in front of everyone?”
His jaw tightened. “You humiliated yourself.”
The words cut deep.
“I did not ask to be here,” I shot back. “I did not ask to move into that house. I did not ask to be your girlfriend’s charity case.”
Something flashed in his eyes.
“Is that what you think you are?” he asked quietly.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “That is exactly what I am.”
He pushed off the door and stepped closer. One step. Then another.
I backed up until my hips hit the counter.
“You should not talk about yourself like that,” he said.
“You should not pretend you care,” I replied.
His hand came down beside me on the counter. Close enough that I could feel the heat of his skin. The scent of soap and sweat and something dangerously masculine filled my lungs.
“I do not pretend,” he said.
My heart pounded.
“This is inappropriate,” I whispered.
He leaned in just enough that his breath brushed my cheek.
“So is staring at me like that,” he murmured.
“I am not.”
“You are.”
Silence again. Charged. Electric.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Babe?” my stepsister’s voice called. “What are you doing in there?”
He straightened immediately.
“Coming,” he called back.
His eyes met mine one last time. Dark. Warning. Promise.
“Clean yourself up,” he said softly. “Try not to spill anything else.”
Then he opened the door and left.
I stood there shaking long after he was gone.
Humiliated. Exposed. Furious.
And painfully aware that something dangerous had just begun.