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Blake stands up for me. “Again, it’s not that big of a deal, Dad. She doesn’t even have to do anything. Just stand beside him in a few boring pictures and smile. It’s all PR.”
My dad ignores him. He fixes his eyes on me.
“Really,” he says. “I’m disappointed, Britney.”
Admittedly, those words and that look would have sent me into a teary storm only a few years ago. I would beconfessing and apologizing, promising never to do whatever it was he was disappointed about ever again.
And my dad knew it. Which is why he always focused on me whenever Blake and I jointly messed up.
Unfortunately for him, it has been years since those kind of words had any effect on me.
But my dad hasn’t gotten the memo yet. And for my plan to work, I cannot let him know how detached I am from his manipulation.
I merely stare down at my skirt, the very image of repentance.
“I think you should reconsider this,” my father urges, interpreting my silence as agreement. “Cancel it right away before Furman gets wind of it. We have known Alex for a long time. He is not the kind of man you should associate with publicly. His reputation as a womanizer is notorious.”
Blake interjects, “Come on, Dad. You act like Andy Furman rules the world. He’ll be just as pleased as the rest of us once he sees that Alex has resolved his Janice issue.”
“I don’t want him to discover it,” my dad emphasizes. “He must not find out.”
I look up, careful to maintain my contrite expression. “Why?” I ask innocently, my gaze fixed on him.
My dad does what he does best. Ignores my question. “All right.” He sinks into his chair and stares at Blake. “You’re going to have to stop this. Get another girl for Alex, or . . .”
I send a tiny kick my brother’s way. It’s my age-old way of getting him to ask our father questions when he’s deliberately ignored mine. Blake gets it right away.
“Why can’t Britney fake date Alex?” Blake cuts him short. “I see no reason. If you’re worried about him taking advantage of her, you know he’s not going to. He respects you too much.”
There’s a rush of discomfort in my stomach. I think backto only two nights ago, the feel of Alex’s strong, hard palms as he caressed the soft skin on my breasts, the feel of his fingers as they barely scraped my clit, him reaching for my thong, the feel of him as he pressed himself into my ass.
Alex did not take advantage of me. But Blake’s words aren’t quite accurate either.
Nothing about my relationship with him is innocent. Not after . . .
The heat grows in my cheeks, and I stare down at the floor, not wanting my father or brother to notice. I’d had a clear game plan when I’d stepped up to him.
Seduce him.
Or rather, to lay the groundwork for seducing him. Letting Alex have his fun with me isn’t going to do me much good if we’re tucked away in a dark corner. No, I needed to make sure that during one of our stormy make out episodes, we are found out, preferably by someone with a camera.
I have all of this planned out. That’s why I was a little surprised that I momentarily forgot my plan as soon as Alex touched me. I rubbed myself on him, let him run his fingers up and down my body as he wished, and even felt his hard-on.
My cheeks turn molten. I did not intend to do any of those things with him. Sure, I might have been fine with him touching me here and there, anything to get him turned on enough.
But I’m not fine with how much control I lost. How much I wanted to keep going, and how hard it was to pull away from him.
This plan is not as foolproof as I once thought. Not when, even now, I’m thinking of what it would have felt like if I let Alex slip my panties aside and bury himself in me.
“You might see no reason, Blake,” my dad says in a loudvoice, snapping me back to reality. “But I don’t think it’s smart for your sister to involve herself in Alex’s drama.”
Blake rolls his eyes and starts to slump in his chair in defeat, but a shove from me forces his next words out of his mouth.
“But then, whatisyour reason?” Blake says. “I want to know why.”
Our father glares angrily at him before he looks back to me. I rearrange my features to give off the most doe-like look I can muster.
“Because . . .” His voice softens as he keeps his gaze steady. “I’m just thinking of your future, sweetie. I don’t want the right man to come along when you’re still playing a game with Alex.”
