Free Step Scandal - Part 1 by Rossi St. James Page A

stepbrother of yours? How’s he taking the split?”
    “Xavier?”
    “Yeah, the big, muscle-y one with the tattoos on his chest and the brooding personality. The one who never says much when he’s around because he’s too busy being the world’s biggest asshole.”
    I shrugged. Xavier was like one of those complicated 3-D puzzles with a million pieces that only incredibly smart people knew how to put together. He was a couple years older than me, but growing up, he’d lived full-time with his mother so I only saw him on special occasions. I’d booked the mouse show when I was twelve, and after that I saw him maybe a handful of times during the year as I was always busy working.
    “He hates Conrad,” I chuckled. “That’s the one thing I know about him. Like hates him with a passion. He doesn’t come around much because of that. I’m sure he’s thrilled about the divorce. He didn’t much care for Mom either. Or me. Hell, he’s probably out having a cold one right now.”
    “At least someone’s having some fun,” Elijah said as he leaned over and pinched me on the shoulder. He stood up and walked his water bottle to the trash. “I’m bored. Let’s go do something. You’re such a homebody, and you’re depressing me. I’m about to have to double up on my Zoloft. Let’s live a little.”
    “I don’t feel like going anywhere. You know the other day someone asked me if I was Christina Aguilera?”
    “Whaaa?”
    “She’s ten years older than me,” I said. “We might look alike if you squint really hard. But my point is, people are starting to forget who I am, Elijah. Five years ago, I couldn’t go anywhere without a team of bodyguards and a crazy fan mob chasing after me. Now I’m just one of those people who used to be famous and who people constantly mistake for other, more famous people.”
    “Okay, Harps, but don’t you kind of think back then it might have also been ‘cause you were dating Hayden McDaniel? I mean, he was – and still is – one of the biggest actors in Hollywood. And you were this budding little pop star who happened to be on his arm at every event. I think you ended up in the tabloids more because of your relationship with Hayden than because of your music.” His shoulders shrunk in, as if he were afraid to have hurt my feelings. “I’m just being honest.”
    “I know.” I rested my chin against my hand and glanced out the window toward the sparkling infinity pool in my backyard. For 24, I’d certainly accomplished a lot. But I’d barely scratched the surface of what I wanted to achieve. Hollywood was a bunch of people climbing and crawling to reach the top of this ridiculously tall mountain, and if you gave up, even more people trying to get to the top buried you. It didn’t take long for people to forget all about you, and if enough years passed, you became a nostalgic relic. An icon. And then no one took you seriously. “You’re probably right.”
    “What if you and Hayden pretended to get back together?” Elijah wrinkled his nose. “That would generate a little buzz. Maybe get you back on the radar a little bit?”
    “Hayden and I had a horrible break up. You know that.” Just the mere mention of Hayden McDaniel made me feel sick to my stomach, dizzy with wistful excitement, and punched in the gut all at the same time. He was my first love. We dated for two years, and our demise really did a number on me. “I can’t talk to him again. It’s not an option. Absolutely not. Next…”
    Elijah snorted as his lips curled into a devious smirk. “Do you trust me?”
    “Trust you? Yes, of course. Why?”
    “I have an idea.” He rubbed his manicured hands together like a young, hot, and unapologetically gay Dr. Evil and did a tiny hop before skipping back to the sofa. “We have to create a scandal .”
    “What kind of scandal?”
    “We need to create some kind of rumor about you that will have people talking about you. I’m talking, your face plastered