Free Crash: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance by Sophie Sawyer

out at the thought of us being together, but what was the alternative? Some chick like Ashley who would cheat on me or make me absolutely fucking miserable with her incessant chatter about fingernails or whatever the hell girls like her yapped about?
     
    Katherine was different. I was certain of it. Yes, she’d been a little standoffish. But she wasn’t like the other girls I’d gone out with. And I was starting to feel possessive of her. Not in the way a brother feels toward his little sister, but in the way of a boyfriend who would rip some other guy apart for even looking at his girl.
     
    The proof of this came not long after I brought Katherine the panda. Our parents had insisted on taking us all to the movies, and when we arrived at the theater, a group of Katherine’s friends happened to spot us. They all swarmed her to tell her they missed her and to ask her how she was doing since the crash.
     
    And then it happened. Some punk stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up off the ground.
     
    “You look gorgeous, baby girl,” he told her.
     
    She giggled and said, “Long time, no see.”
     
    “Too long!” he said. “Way too long.”
     
    I felt like slinging his head through the popcorn machine or wrapping his slimy little throat in one of the ropes that marked the concession line. I cleared my throat loudly.
     
    “Oh, right,” Katherine said. “Everybody, this is my soon-to-be stepbrother, Luke. Luke, this is…everybody!”
     
    They all said hello. All of them except the slimy punk, who just tilted his head back in a reverse nod.
     
    “What are you here to see, baby girl?” the punk asked her, draping his arm over her shoulders. “Maybe we can sit together.”
     
    “Um… sorry, Chad, it’s kind of a family day,” Katherine said. “Maybe some other time.”
     
    The bitter disappointment on his face was almost reward enough for not punching his nose down his throat.
     
    “Alright, I get it,” Chad shrugged. “I’ll call you.”
     
    The group headed to the concession stand, and Katherine’s mother said, “You can go sit with your friends if you want.”
     
    “No, that’s alright,” Katherine said. “I’d rather sit with you all.”
     
    I had to choke down a grin. It was probably too much to hope she wanted to sit with me, specifically, but at least she didn’t want to sit with the punk that had hair hanging over one eye like some kind of sk8r boi . What a dipshit.
     
    We got in line behind her friends and ordered popcorn and drinks. I was almost wishing we didn’t have a lot of money so we’d be forced to share a tub of popcorn. How pathetic was that?
     
    We got to our seats, and wouldn’t you know it? The punk was sitting right in front of the only four empty seats in the theater. He grinned obnoxiously and turned around in his seat to ogle my girl. What the fuck? Why was I suddenly calling her ‘my girl’ in my head?
     
    I resisted the urge to claim her with an arm around her shoulders. I didn’t think that would go over too well—with her, or with our parents. But I shot him a glance that could have cut through glass.
     
    Dad had picked a horror movie, and apparently Katherine’s mother loved them. I guess it was too much to hope that she’d be scared and leap into my arms. Nope. She must have been used to those types of movies. Damn.
     
    After the movie, we dropped Katherine and her mother off at their house. Katherine and I stood around staring awkwardly into space while our parents made out like teenagers at the front door.
     
    “Oh, god, get a room,” Katherine groaned.
     
    Her mother pulled away from the kiss and snickered.
     
    “If you don’t like it, don’t watch,” her mother shrugged with a grin.
     
    “They’re just jealous that we’re in love and they’re single,” Dad said.
     
    I groaned, and Katherine said, “Okay, that’s my cue. I’m going inside, now. Thanks for a fun afternoon,