“Um, I don’t think so.”
“Oh, come on,” Parker cajoled, shoving his shoulder against mine. “Don’t think I don’t know you have at least some lyrics for this song. I saw your lips moving when I was playing earlier.”
My jaw dropped. Holy shit. How had he seen that? I hadn’t even known he’d been watching. I’d been sure he was too engrossed in his music to notice I was even there. Had he noticed me watching him? Heat bloomed in my cheeks, and I considered the chances of making it to my bedroom before they stopped me.
Probably not good.
“I don’t sing in front of people.”
“But we’re not people,” Ash cajoled, giving me the most devious puppy dog eyes, his full bottom lip sticking out. I bet he got a lot of girls with that look, especially with that dark hair that matched his dark eyes. I knew for sure in school they tripped over themselves for a taste of him. He looked like sin, and I wasn’t even sure I could fathom what sin tasted like at sixteen, but he made all the girls want to find out.
“Yeah, we’re like family,” Oren added.
“Well, Parker actually is family,” Ash said, laughing. He laughed even harder when Parker screwed up his face in disgust.
“Come on, Nova. It’s just us,” Oren begged. “Pleeeease. Pretty, pretty please.”
The guys started chanting my name, and I buried my head in my hands, groaning and laughing. I tried to picture singing and what it would feel like to do it in front of them, and just the thought had my hands trembling.
But the cheers …
“Ugh. Fine,” I finally caved. I knew it’d been inevitable as soon as I’d opened my mouth about the song. I snatched the paper from the table and jotted down the lyrics that had floated through my head earlier.
With a shit-eating grin on his face, Parker opened the song, and the guys joined.
And like I was supposed to be there all along, I hopped in with the lyrics, joining the band.
Six
Parker
P a s t
SIX MONTHS LATER
“Come on, Nova,” I pleaded.
“Why?” she asked from where she lounged on her bed, messy bun in place. “It’s not like you’re playing or anything? It’s just a party.”
“Because it’s a Saturday night, and I want you to come hang out.”
She looked up over the edge of her book and cocked a brow. “What? To be your wingman?” She rolled her eyes and went back to the pages I knew damn well she wasn’t reading. “I really don’t feel like being left behind while you screw off with Kelly.”
Kelly. Yeah, I guessed she’d be there too and probably join in, but she wasn’t one of us. She was more of a…distraction.
A distraction from this growing attraction to Nova. And not the normal one that most teenage guys had. I had that too since I first saw her. No, this attraction crept into my very being, planting itself in my bones until it became part of me—until I feared I wouldn’t be able to live without it. Which was why I had to try and stop it before I couldn’t.
Nova was my stepsister, and I struggled to sit across from her at dinner like some kind of happy little family when all I could think about was what her lips would taste like. If her skin was as soft as it looked. What her moans would feel like against my tongue. I knew what her annoyance, happiness, frustration all sounded like, but I constantly wondered what her pleasure sounded like. Would it be just as unique as her?
How would she fit in my arms if I snuck into her room at night and pulled her close? Probably better than Kelly did, who wrapped around me like an anaconda. But it was fine because I didn’t plan to be with Kelly forever. Like I said—a distraction.
A distraction that worked as a double-edged sword and sparked Nova’s jealousy.
That was the thing—my attraction was only half of it. The way Nova looked at me more than filled in the other half. One of us had to try and put up walls. Nova had her shy, passive personality that would prevent her from making a move, so I used Kelly because I didn’t have a shy or passive bone in my body. I needed physical objects that would at least try to slow down my get, get, get attitude.
“I wouldn’t leave you behind. Come on, the guys will be there, and I want you there.” That got her attention. “Please, please, please, please, please.”
Her eyes met mine over the edge of the book, and I held my breath, unsure of how I wanted her to answer. Despite needing to keep her from becoming too much a part of me, she’d already planted roots, and I also hated having her away—like I left my arm at home or something.