Chapter 10: Eyes on Me: Part 1 – Chapter 9

Mia “You two should meet us down at Mike’s Tavern later,” my stepmom says, ruffling my wet hair. I wince as her hand drifts over my sunburnt scalp. “Mia, you need to put on more sunblock and wear a hat.”

How can I explain to Laura that I was too distracted by her son being both dick-headed and charming at the same time, making me want to fuck him and murder him? In that order.

There was really no time for proper skin care.

“Um…sure,” I reply, grabbing a piece of watermelon from the chopping block. I glance over at Garrett, who’s scrolling through his phone. When he looks up at me, there’s a sense of hesitation on his face. Maybe getting Garrett a little buzzed at the bar will help loosen him up and make him forget about my and give in to this growing sexual tension between us.

“Okay, your dad and I are going out to eat and then to Mike’s,” Laura says as she kisses my cheek. “Have Garrett bring you up later. They have karaoke tonight!”

On the other side of the kitchen, he groans. Meanwhile, my eyes light up.

“Oh, I’m so there.”

“Count me out,” he mutters.

“Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it, Garrett,” I tease with a laugh.

After our parents leave, Garrett and I are alone, and it’s awkwardly tense again. There’s a strange sense of flirtatious anticipation between us now, as if we’ve accidentally discovered something we were never meant to find, and now there’s no going back. And I sort of want to see this through.

Of course, I can’t let know that.

The good news is that we’ve recovered from the fight last night, but things are still so strange between us. After I pushed him into the lake, he tipped my paddleboard, and soon, we were swimming and dunking each other like little kids, howling with laughter the entire time.

When we’re like this, I can’t quite tell if Garrett and I are friends, siblings, less or more. It’s all so confusing. I just wish I could figure out for one minute what is going on inside his head. I wish I had the slightest clue as to how he feels about me. Am I still just the annoying little sister or does he truly see me as a woman? If last night is any indication, it’s definitely more the latter.

Even though it’s never felt this way before.

“I’m going to go shower,” I announce as I waltz out of the kitchen. I can feel his eyes on me as I head for the stairs. Just before disappearing around the corner, I glance back and our eyes meet. I don’t hold his stare for long, but it’s amazing how much is conveyed in one single gaze. The question is…what exactly did I just convey by looking back at him? Did I basically just invite him to come watch me? Shower with me? Screw me?

I can’t stop thinking about it as I get ready for my shower, a slight tremble in my bones. Once I reach the upstairs bathroom, I start to pull the door shut behind me, but for some reason, I decide at the last minute to leave it cracked. Why? Logistically speaking, because our parents aren’t home and Garrett has no reason to be up here.

Why did I leave it open? Because I want to believe he’ll find himself on the other side of it.

Which is insane because there’s no way Garrett would ever watch me in the shower. So why would I even think that? Maybe because I want him to?

When I strip off my clothes, I think about Drake and what he told me over our chat, about him being a voyeur, about . The thought alone sends butterflies to my belly. How could something so seemingly impersonal feel so intimate? The idea of those mysterious eyes on me…as if existing just for his gaze alone, makes me feel sexier and more desired than anything else.

So maybe that’s why I leave the door open, inserting Garrett for Drake in my fantasy. I imagine he’s peering through the crack, watching me get naked. And when I climb in the shower, with its glass doors and clear view, I can almost feel his gaze on me. As the glass fogs up from the hot water, I don’t know if he’s there, but honestly, it wouldn’t bother me if he was; in fact, I wish he was.

Which might be the only reason, I pull the detachable showerhead from the wall, turning down the heat of the water as I press the intense spray between my legs. I recline against the wall, shutting my eyes, and I picture Garrett—or is it Drake—standing on the other side of the cracked door, watching me as I make myself come with such force my spine arches, and I let out a muffled cry.

After my shower, I turn off the water and reach for my towel hanging on the hook. Wrapping it around my body, I step out onto the mat.

The rapping noise against the door makes me jump, and my heart somersaults in my chest. It slowly pushes open as Garrett says, “Knock knock.”

I’m standing there dripping on the bath mat with my mouth hanging open as Garrett enters the room, my mind a foggy mess. He prowls toward me until he’s only standing an inch away. I barely reach his shoulders, so I have to stare up into his eyes.

“Wha…” I mumble idiotically.

He leans so close I stop breathing, and I can’t believe this is happening. I mean, I did leave the door open, subconsciously inviting him in, didn’t I? I basically sent him a stare as I left the kitchen and, combined with the open door, it was all the signs he needed. I wasn’t subtle about it, not really. So I shouldn’t be surprised that my stepbrother is pressing his body against me while I’m in nothing but a towel, leaning closer and closer until our mouths are about to touch.

My trembling fingers lose their grip of the towel, and it falls to my feet, leaving me naked in front of Garrett. The arousal and cool breeze have my nipples tight and brushing delicately against his shirt. A crooked smile lifts one side of his mouth, but his eyes stay focused on mine.

Then, just when I think he’s about to kiss me, he starts to pull away. Confusion wracks my brain as my brow furrows. He doesn’t stop moving until he’s stepping backward, and I look down and notice the bottle of body wash in his hands.

“Sorry,” he says with a wicked grin. “We’re out of soap in the downstairs bathroom.”

My mouth falls open again, but before he turns and leaves the bathroom, he lets his eyes rake over my still naked body. Then, a victorious expression colors his features as he turns to leave. Meanwhile, I’m standing here dumbfounded that I let him get to me.

Again.

Mike’s Tavern is just down the hill from the house. It’s dark by the time Garrett and I start to make our way there. Every time a car passes us, he puts himself between me and the road, holding me to the side like I’m a toddler at risk of darting in front of a moving car. I laugh a little each time it happens, but inside, I love it.

Our parents are at a table in the back, and they spot us immediately. They wave us over, and as usual, they are not alone. When my gaze catches on a new face at the table, I pause. Not because I don’t know who he is, but because he’s young, good-looking, and my stepmother has her arm on the back of the chair. I can tell before I even approach the group that she is trying to set me up with a handsome boy my own age.

My stepmom is a social butterfly, which is great for my dad, who tends to be a bit of a loner. It’s nice seeing them with friends and enjoying a full life. Even if he’s always looking more tired than he used to—a sign that the cancer is still taking its toll.

“Mia, come sit over here!” Laura calls. “I have someone I want you to meet.”

The guy smiles and awkwardly waves at me. Garrett’s scrutinizing attention is on me and this new stranger I’m being ushered toward.

“Hi,” I stammer. Laura scoots over a seat, leaving the one between them for me.

There’s only one other empty seat at the table down near my dad, putting Garrett and me as far away from each other as possible. Probably a good thing, but I’m still left feeling strangely disappointed.

Once I sit down, I glance up at him, and his eyes are laser-focused on me, his jaw clenched and his shoulders tight. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he looks a little jealous.

“Mia, this is Reese. He’s Marcia and Todd’s son. He just graduated from Yale!”

“Wow…congratulations,” I say, forcing a smile in his direction. Reese is handsome, with lush black hair and bright golden-brown eyes.

“Reese, this is my beautiful daughter, Mia,” Laura says as she touches a lock of my silvery blonde hair.

But then a voice booms across the table. “She’s not your daughter.”

Everyone goes silent and all eyes drift over to Garrett. And like everyone else at the table, I’m staring at him wide-eyed as he cowers in shame as if he just realized what came out of his mouth.

“Of course she is,” Laura responds, putting an arm around me.

The table resumes its casual conversation, and while Reese and Laura chatter back and forth about school and his parents’ lake resort business down the road, I keep glancing over at the man sulking at the other end of the table. What the hell was that all about? All of a sudden, he has mommy issues, and he’s jealous that his mother sees me as one of her own. It’s never been a problem before.

In fact, I like it when Laura calls me her daughter. I don’t remember my own mother, but from what I’ve heard, she was lovely. It doesn’t change the fact that she doesn’t exist in my memory, though. Instead, it was Laura chaperoning my field trips, and buying my first maxi-pads, and taking me prom dress shopping. She never had a daughter and I never had a mother…so who cares if she calls me her own.

The only other reason I can think of that he would freak out like that is if his mother calling me her daughter makes it too weird for him, considering what has transpired between us in the last twenty-four hours. There’s a sexual energy there, where there wasn’t one before, and it’d be a lot easier for both of us to process if our parents didn’t treat us like blood-related siblings.

The waitress brings over our drinks, and Garrett’s attention rarely leaves me as Reese and I chat. For some unknown reason, guilt gnaws away at me, especially when he makes me laugh or touches my arm. Reese is a software engineer with dreams of working at Google. He tells surprisingly good jokes, but other than that, there’s no chemistry between us. Regardless of how good looking he is, I’m not dying to see him naked.

After our second round of drinks, the waitress brings over the karaoke menu of songs and some slips of paper to fill out. I snatch it up excitedly.

“Oh no. Here she goes,” my dad announces when he sees me browsing the song list.

“You like karaoke?” Reese asks, sounding a little uneasy.

“I fucking love karaoke,” I reply, without looking up.

“That’s cool. So you can sing?”

I laugh. “I can’t carry a tune in a bucket.”

When I glance up at him, he looks uncomfortable. “What?” I ask. “It’s karaoke. You’re supposed to sound bad!”

“You’re not…embarrassed?”

I laugh again. If only he knew about my real job.

When I look toward Garrett, this time, he’s not radiating jealousy. He’s sort of smirking at me. Then he shakes his head and takes a deep breath. He’s probably gearing up to give me shit about my singing, but I don’t care. I karaoke, and even he can’t ruin this for me.

Meanwhile, I jot down four songs on the tiny piece of paper and hand it to the waitress.

“And two shots of Fireball, please,” I call out to her before she gets too far away.

“Oh, no thank you,” Reese says, and I turn to him with an arched brow. “I don’t drink Fireball.”

Another laugh slips through. “Those are both for me.”