SCORE (A Stepbrother Sports Romance) Read Online Free Page A

plump. Of course I wanted to kiss her again, but I dismissed the thought quickly. Despite knowing how wrong my actions were, if I were ever in the same situation again, I would kiss her and touch her just the same. Alyssa caused a deep, hungry response in me, one that overrode all rational thoughts and logic. I had to act cool, as if her presence didn’t affect me, which was the only way to control my irrational need for her. Controlling my attraction was vital. Alyssa and I were a part of a new family. We were technically siblings, and what we had done was shameful and could make life hard for us both.
    I grabbed my backpack and headed downstairs, saying a quick good morning to my mother and stepdad. Alyssa was already downstairs, sitting at the table eating a piece of toast. I looked at her, but she didn’t look at me, just stared at her toast as if it were the most fascinating thing she had ever seen.
    “Are you ready, Alyssa?” I asked her nonchalantly.
    She froze for a second before she responded. “Yeah.”
    I watched her get up and give her father a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing her backpack and walking out the door. I followed her to her car.
    The drive to school was awkward and tense. I was hesitant to address the situation we had put ourselves in, and Alyssa’s stiff, quiet disposition implied that she felt angry and resentful towards me. Unable to find the right words to say, I decided to remain silent, but I constantly flicked my gaze to her, resisting every instinct to reach out and touch her.
    Once we pulled into a parking spot, I hopped out and said, “See ya later, kid.”
    I walked away quickly, unable to be near her any longer. I was overwhelmingly unable to properly handle the mess I had made by kissing her. I headed to my class, grateful for any distraction to get Alyssa off my mind. After an hour-long lecture, I left, rubbing my temples to ease the beginnings of a headache, and practically ran over Brittney as I walked out of the classroom. Clearly, she had been waiting for me.
    “I called you last night,” she said, looking up at me with a small frown on her face.
    I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her, but I saw Alyssa at the end of the hall talking to Maggie, so I wrapped my arm around Brittney’s shoulder. “Would dinner tonight make up for it?” I asked, walking down the hallway with her practically glued to my side.
    She yelped and said, “Totally!” She blabbed on, but I tuned her out, my eyes on Alyssa’s face as we passed her. She looked up and for a brief moment seemed almost hurt. She caught my eye and turned her attention back to Maggie, her expression instantly one of total unconcern, though it didn’t quite ring true.
     
    ***
     
    I sat across the table from Brittney, annoyed at myself for suggesting this date. She seemed happy, though, and a continuous stream of words babbled out of her. I ate my food mechanically, trying my best to appear interested in what she was saying.
    She was nothing like Alyssa. She wasn’t smart or funny, though she was pretty in a more artificial and obvious way. I sighed, telling myself I would never get anywhere if I compared every girl I went on a date with to Alyssa. She was simply incomparable. My attraction to Alyssa might run deeper than I originally thought, and I feared feelings were beginning to develop. The thought of caring for Alyssa in an intimate way invoked a horrifying anxiety. She wasn’t just some girl, she was going to be in my life forever. The reality of the situation was that, as her stepbrother, I simply couldn’t have her.
    I looked at Brittney, and even though she was in the middle of a sentence, I interrupted. “Brittney, I just want to make sure you understand something.”
    “What’s that?” she asked with wide eyes filled with what might have been adoration.
    “I just want us to be friends.” I hesitated, searching for words that wouldn’t be hurtful. “I’m not really looking for a girlfriend