Falling for his Step-Sister by Alie Garnett

Chapter Sixteen

From the sex pantry,she pulled her phone from her jacket and dialed her sister. Turning, she faced away from the spot it had happened, hoping she could forget it for one moment. Harper would help her out. Sure, she was the oldest of her sisters, but get some tequila in her, and she wouldn’t let Louisa not have a good time. It was exactly what their littlest sister needed in her life—some big sisters to get wild with.

“Harper.” Her sister sounded like answering the phone was the biggest annoyance of her day. Tact was not her strong suit.

“Harps, I need you to go out with me tonight,” Buzz whispered, hoping that Jonas and Louisa wouldn’t hear her. Not that it mattered, but somehow, it would seem odd that she had invited Louisa out with friends and no friends actually showed up. Harper was a friend of sorts.

“I’m married, Buzz. I can’t date you. That ship has sailed. On top of that, I really am not interested in redheads. They have always been a disappointment, in my opinion. Then there are the laws that are against it. Not to mention that I have plans with my husband tonight, and he’s already pretty excited about it,” Harper rambled.

“You’re a moron. Just have some afternoon delight right now and meet me at The Grog at eight. You owe me. I could have told mom what you were really doing with your boss months ago. I could have blown the whistle on that one weeks before it all blew up,” she said to her sister in a harsh whisper. Her sister’s job of being a personal assistant had changed to being more personal and less assistant. Buzz had been sure what was going on but hadn’t said a thing at the time. It had all turned out okay, but things had been rocky for a while.

“All over, Buzzy. We’re married now. Nobody cares what we do,” Harper dismissed her threat.

“I think people care, and I have a platform to let everyone know everything about you. That wedding piece was a fluff piece.” Since she hadn’t told anyone that she had been officially fired, she could still use her reporting job as leverage when needed.

“Are you blackmailing me?” Harper sounded more excited about it than threatened.

“Yes. Drinks and a few hours. I have a friend who needs to get away from home and loosen up,” Buzz stated, hoping that Louisa was able to loosen up.

“Is it for a story about someone other than me?” Harper demanded.

“Yes. Why else would I do this?” she lied. She had completely forgotten about a story on Jonas since focusing all her concentration on cooking and not fucking him. Both of which she was actually failing at, but it took a lot of concentration to fail.

“For that, I will help.” Harper gave in too easily.

“Good, because I already lied for you, and you have given me a recommendation as a chef for a job.”

“I. Did. Not!” Harper yelled into the phone, her breathing suddenly erratic.

“Already done. Thank you. And I have used your resume extensively,” Buzz admitted with a smile. She might as well take all of Harper’s wrath now.

“You are going to destroy my creditability! You can’t cook. I have never seen you successfully make boxed mac and cheese!” Harper was nearly yelling at her.

“Don’t worry; I’m using all your food anyway. You’ll have to inventory when this gets done, so you’ll have to tell me what I owe you.”

“I want your first-born for everything you’ve already done. PS, stop sleeping in my room. After this, you are no longer welcome; it’s mine. It will always be mine,” Harper’s words were rushed.

“I’ll be out of your room once Mom is out of hers. I’m moving into the master, and I’m going to love my own bathroom. Just remember—tonight I am Bea Bradford and a chef,” she said, unsure if her sister would actually help her out now. She was now on her sister’s bad side, a side you didn’t want to be on.

“Oh, like I can forget you’re trying to steal my life. I have to go find Kaine to make sure you aren’t moving in on him.”

“Gross! He’s my uncle.” Buzz couldn’t not say it since Kaine and her stepmom were actually twins.

“Do not say that. We are not talking about that. Ever!”

“Uncle sex,” Buzz said, but her sister had already hung up on her.

Looking at her phone, she realized she shouldn’t have anything to say since she was currently most likely having stepbrother sex. She suddenly knew exactly why Harper stayed.

* * *

Dishes were done,and everything in the kitchen was clean as she waited for Louisa to go out. Jonas had been at the meal, but Louisa hadn’t, which meant that she would have to feed the kid also. No way was she going drinking with an nineteen-year-old on an empty stomach.

“Where are you taking Louisa?” Jonas asked from behind her. How had he snuck up on her?

“Just the usual place. It will be okay. My sister is coming with.” She told the overprotective brother, not the guy she was having sex with.

“Which one?” he asked, as if he knew any of them.

“Harper. She’s now an old married lady who can’t have fun even if she tried.” Not informing him that she was only recently married and that she hadn’t lost her ability to have fun and probably never would.

“Then why bring her?”

“Because she’s Harper. Come on, Jonas, she’s Harper,” Buzz stated the obvious. Or at least the obvious to anyone in her family. Harper was the perfect person for going out with.

“You make no sense,” Jonas replied in confusion.

“You’ll understand if you ever meet her.” Buzz didn’t have to explain it anymore since Louisa came down the back steps at that moment. Her jeans were ripped, and she was in a tight sweater. The outfit surprised Buzz because she didn’t think the kid even knew how to dress. Most days, she was in clothes her mom would approve of, and this, Judith would not approve of.

“I’m ready,” Louisa stated and looked at her brother with a frown. “He isn’t going, is he?”

“Nope, just a girls’ night.” Buzz ignored Jonas’s annoyance and walked to the back door, hoping the girl would follow. Because if he actually insisted, she would probably let him go with them.

Deciding to drive herself was the smart move—she didn’t need the underage girl driving home drunk. It would take her more time, but it was worth it to know she was safe.

In the Jeep, Louisa looked around like she had never been in a vehicle older than she was, which was probably true. The quick drive a few streets over to Maple street was done in silence. Both seemed to have a lot on their minds.

Parking in front of the house, Buzz knew Harper was either at the bar or here since her new Land Rover was parked out front of the house. The bar was only three blocks away, so she sometimes parked by the house and walked. The car had been a nice little engagement gift from her new husband. It had even had the giant bow on it when he gave it to her like in a commercial.

Once parked, Louisa silently followed her into the house. “I have to change before we go. You can stay down here.”

More than once, she had thought she should just wear what she had on for the day; nobody at The Grog would care. But she had spilled more than once on her jeans today. Way more than once.

“I thought you said eight?” Harper demanded from the couch. Her feet were on the coffee table, and she was watching a horror movie as she waited.

“I said we would meet at The Grog,” she reminded her.

“I had to grab some stuff from the house, so I stopped.” Harper turned from the TV and looked at Louisa. “I am Harper Hawthorne. The double H is still making me stumble.”

Leave it to Harper to introduce herself and suddenly admit she was newly married, all in the hopes that the other person would ask about it so she could go on and on about how much she enjoyed married life.

“Louisa Raiden,” Louisa stated but didn’t move or catch on that she needed to ask about the wedding, the man, or how much they were in love, which didn’t get her instantly on Harper’s good side.

“I have to change.” Buzz needed to get alcohol in both of these two before they wanted to go home.

She saw that Agatha’s door was still open upstairs, but she didn’t have time to see if she was home now. Usually, she called out to people when she wanted company as they moved about the second floor. Nothing today.

At her door, she found it locked. Buzz gave it one more try before she stomped back down the stairs. “My room is locked.”

Harper turned from the TV. “My room is locked. I told you not to use my room.”

“You said that nine hours ago, and I have been working since I talked to you. I need my stuff from in there,” Buzz argued.

“That is my stuff; it’s in my room. Take Maby’s room.” She waved a hand at her and turned back to the TV.

Through gritted teeth, Buzz stated slowly, “I need my stuff out of that room.”

“My room,” was all Harper said, not turning away from the TV, but she did smirk.

Without caring that a guest was in the house, she attacked her sister and tried to get into her pockets for the key. “Give me that damn key!”

Harper pushed back at her and pulled her hips from Buzz’s hands, which meant the key was in her pocket. “Get off me, Buzz!” Harper yelled.

“Key, now.” She pushed her further into the couch and sat on her legs, keeping her immobile. After a while, she finally got both hands in hers and held them above her sister’s head. As she focused on holding both of Harper’s hands in one of hers, her sister reared up and slammed her head into Buzz’s.

Buzz flew from the couch to the floor, where she cradled her head. Her sister hadn’t held back. “What the fuck?!”

“I put a bunch of your shit on Maby’s bed. I’m going to take your friend, who also hates you now, to the bar and start drinking. Come or don’t come, I don’t care anymore.” Harper kicked her as she headed for the door.

“Come on, Lou, let’s get our drinks on. Tell me about yourself and your hopes and dreams, and I’ll tell you how shitty Bea is.” She said her name sarcastically, but at least she said ‘Bea.’

“I’ll be right there.”

“Grab a shirt for Lou. She’ll get hot in that sweater and will want something thinner later.” Harper slammed the door behind them.

Half an hour later, Buzz walked into The Grog and was greeted by half the people in the room. Hopefully, nobody actually talked to her about her job. She didn’t even know how she would deflect that.

After grabbing a drink at the bar, she spotted Harper and Louisa sitting in the back booth, which was her favorite spot in the place. They seemed to be getting along, which wasn’t usual. Harper could befriend anyone; keeping that friend was her problem. She was too outspoken for most people.

Harper was a known pincher, so Buzz slid in next to Louisa. Setting the light blue shirt and her drink on the table, she ignored Harper.

“How’s it going?” she asked Louisa.

“Good,” the girl answered.

“You sent me drinking with a minor, Buzz. You know I hate that,” Harper stated, though the kid had a drink—a tall, girly drink with a lot of alcohol.

That was why they choose The Grog—everyone got served. Well, probably not everyone, but a fair share of minors got drunk here often. Happily, the college crowd and the dead-beat high schoolers didn’t go there. Just the regulars and their friends, and sometimes when needed, their little sisters.

“Did you two order pizza or something? Louisa didn’t eat supper.” She had forgotten in the wake of the fight to tell Harper.

“Popcorn, but I’ll get something,” Harper stated but only turned to the bar and yelled that she wanted a pizza. The bartender waved at her. “Ordered.”

“So, what are we talking about?”

“Lou’s big brother is trying to get into your pants. Now, I don’t see it; the hair always makes you not as pretty as me, but to each his own.” Harper actually reached out and touched a lock of Buzz’s hair and looked at it in wonder, as if it wasn’t actually the color Buzz had been born with.

“Did she tell you about the guy who was into her and then not?” Buzz asked, because that was why they were there tonight, for Louisa.

“Guys are shit; you always have to remember that. It’s never you, no matter what they say. How old is this guy?”

Louisa sighed. “Twenty.”

“Well then, he’s not in charge; his dick is. Forget him. Never date anyone under twenty-five, and the closer to thirty, the better,” Harper said matter-of-factly.

“She’s only nineteen,” Buzz reminded her sister.

“Which is why she shouldn’t be worried about a guy. She has to spend these years thinking with her dick and screw anyone she can. When I was your age, I moved in with a guy and spent three, maybe four, years with him. Big mistake. I wasted my entire time in France on that man. I missed a lot of French cock.” She took a long drink of her beer.

Louisa was just staring at her as if she was speaking French. Which to a sheltered kid, she was. Nobody at Louisa’s house usually talked about sowing their wild oats. Louisa had a blush more scarlet than Buzz had ever seen.

Buzz nodded at Louisa. “Maybe tone it down a little.”

Harper laughed and said, “Marry young, sex only on your anniversary, valentine’s day, and both your birthdays. And never stray, Lou. That is the secret to a happy life. And you maybe want to put on the T-shirt. You look hot and flushed.”

“I’m okay,” Louisa argued, her face red from chin to hairline.

“Which one did you get her?” Harper asked Buzz, pointing at the shirt.

There were boxes and boxes of T-shirts at the house from when their sister Lucy had a screen-printing business one summer. She’d made so many mistakes that just went into boxes in the basement. So, if extra clothes were needed, you just grabbed a shirt. Not to mention that every one of the sisters wore the shirts with pride, mistakes and all.

Holding it up, she grinned. It said “WOL” in florescent green. The colors in no way matched. Finding out that Lucy had dyslexia had explained why everything was spelled wrong, but the mismatched colors were still a mystery.

Harper gasped and slammed a hand to her chest. “I. Love. It. I want it.”

“It’s Louisa’s,” she reminded her sister, who was already pulling off her pink T-shirt that said “D” on it.

Once topless, Harper pouted, then turned to Louisa and said, “Can we change shirts? I want that one so damn bad. You can either have mine, or I’ll make Buzz give you hers.”

Buzz looked down at her plain gray “Grand Cannon” one. Everyone at the house had the same one, and there were close to a hundred of them in the house still. Even all the husbands had a copy, but Louisa didn’t know that.

“I’ll take Buzz’s.” She pointed at her, surprising her that she chose to use her nickname.

As Buzz pulled off the shirt, she was surprised when Louisa did the same thing. Harper was happily pulling her new shirt on, and Buzz handed hers to Louisa, who pulled it on. She was pretty sure everyone in the bar was watching them, because they were two sober women sitting in their bras in the bar. And one that had just flashed everyone her boobs, as Harper had not been wearing a bra.

Odd as it may seem, it wasn’t the first time or the last. It happened often with their shirts; everyone had a better one. That Louisa joined in meant that there was more Lovely in her than Buzz had ever thought.

“Nice shirt, Lou.” Harper ran her hand over her new one.

“Thank you, Harper. What’s with the shirts anyway? They’re odd.” Louisa took a drink.

“Our sister Lucy made them. She has dyslexia,” Harper explained, though she was suddenly on edge. Lately, she and Lucy were not getting along like they always had. The catering business had been theirs together, but Lucy had recently stepped back almost completely to start a new job downtown that Sera had found for her. Since then, the tension between the two was palpable.

“Let’s get another round here,” Harper stated and tapped the table, then ran her hand over her shirt again.