Free Crush by Caitlin Daire Page B

shower is broken or something, so I thought I’d come in here. I had no idea you were in here.”
    She glared at me and sighed heavily. “Ugh, you’re about as useful as a knitted condom. It’s not broken. There’s a switch right on the wall in that bathroom. If you turn it on, it activates the hot water booster.”
    Useful as a knitted condom, huh? I had to admit, she was witty. I was definitely going to be adding that insult to my own repartee.
    “Oh. Right. I forgot this place has solar hot water.”
    She stood there with her eyebrows raised, and I realized I was still staring. “Er…sorry. I’ll go back to the other bathroom.”
    She gave me a ghost of a smile. Even the tiniest of smiles from her was enough to make my pulse double. “No, it’s fine. I’m done anyway,” she said. “Sorry about yelling at you. I’m just not used to being walked in on when I’m naked. It’s kinda embarrassing. Dad’s always used the bathroom downstairs, so I’ve never gotten into the habit of locking the door.”
    “Don’t be embarrassed. I’m sure no one would ever complain about seeing you naked.”
    She rolled her eyes, and I could tell she was annoyed all over again. She’d tried to be nice for one second, and I was making lewd comments in response. Oops, my bad.
    “Are you always a sleazy idiot, or just when I’m around so you can annoy me?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.
    There was a twinge in my guts as she spoke. I wasn’t stupid, but around her…well, I was an idiot, just like she said. I couldn’t help it. Every time she lit a room with that smile of hers, I was a goner. Every brain cell ceased to function, and that damn fine body of hers didn’t help matters one bit. Fuck, did I want to kiss her…but that ship had sailed.
    Not that I hadn’t thought about it every day since I met her.
    “Just when you’re around,” I finally replied in a joking tone, trying to defuse the awkward tension in the room. She didn’t need to know it was true. “Anyway, I forgot to ask you earlier, are you going to that party in Hattiesburg for Halloween? I thought I heard you talking about it on the phone this afternoon.”
    “You mean the one at the Alpha Sigma Zeta frat house?” she asked, pulling her towel up even further around her body.
    “Uh-huh.”
    “Yeah, I’m going. Why?”
    “That’s my frat house. Got a date for it?”
    She averted her eyes for a second. “Um…not sure yet. Maybe.”
    “Cool. I have three,” I said jokingly.
    “Three dates for the party? Please, the only date you could ever get is on a calendar.”
    I laughed and then feigned a downtrodden expression. “Yeah, I know. I was kidding about the three dates. I’m actually wide open for that night…in case you know anyone who’s interested.”
    I winked at her as I said that last part, and her eyes widened. “Um…I have to go find my pajamas,” she mumbled, hurrying out of the bathroom.
    I watched her scurry down the hall like an irate crab, and I couldn’t help a little smirk from turning up the corners of my lips. That teasing comment of mine had totally gotten to her. Maybe there was something between us after all.
    Not that it could ever happen.
    She was my stepsister, and I didn’t want to do anything to create problems for my Mom in her new marriage. Michael made her really happy, and she deserved happiness after all the shitty luck she’d had with men until now. I guess I just had to push any feelings I had for Mia aside and pretend she wasn’t the sexiest girl I’d ever laid eyes on.
    Fuck, that was going to be next to impossible.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    MIA
    “And this is why racial relations in Mississippi have been so different from those in other places in the States, such as California and New York. If we consider the context of…”
    The professor droned on at the front, and I covered my mouth as I yawned. It was an interesting class, but I was dead tired. I’d ended up staying an extra two days in McComb to get