Stepbrother Dearest

Chapter 9

It upset me that he hadn't even acknowledged my letter after several days.

Victoria had also given me no choice but to finally tell her the truth about my feelings for Elec. She wouldn't stop talking about how she couldn't understand the fact that he never asked her out again after their kiss at the diner. I had no patience for it anymore and told her everything that had happened between us. She was shocked, but at least it got her to stop talking about him once and for all.

Elec continued to basically ignore me over the next week. He took on more hours at the bike shop and during the other times, stayed in his room with the door closed. He obviously knew that I'd overheard the girl in his room that day since I had left the book on the ground outside. He clearly didn't care to apologize or address what impact that might have had on my feelings.

So, when Corey Jameson asked me out on a date that week, I said yes. Corey was probably one of the sweetest guys at school. Truly, I was not physically attracted to him but needed a distraction and knew at least, we would have a good time together. He was one of the few males I'd considered a friend, although it was obvious he wanted to be more.

Friday night rolled around. I had styled my hair into waves and put on a royal blue dress I'd bought on sale at the mall, but my enthusiasm level was the same as if I were going over to Victoria's to watch a movie.

When Corey came to the door, my mother opened it and yelled upstairs, "Greta, your date is here!"

There was low music coming from Elec's room, and the door was closed. A part of me wanted him to see me leaving with Corey, but another part didn't want to deal with him.

Corey was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with flowers, and that made me feel oddly embarrassed for him. I could never picture Elec picking up a girl and handing her Gerbera daisies. Let's face it; he didn't need to.

"Hey, Corey."

"Hey, Greta. You look awesome."

"Thanks."

"Do you mind if I use your bathroom real quick before we leave?"

I hesitated to send him upstairs in the event Elec were to come out of his room. "Sure. It's upstairs. Just take a left, and it's at the end of the hall."

I waited on a stool at the counter.

"He seems totally nice," my mother said.

"He is," I said, placing the flowers into a vase.

That was the problem. I'd grown to love a little mean mixed in with my nice.

After a five-minute wait, Corey had an odd look on his face when he returned.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"Sure," he said without making eye contact. He walked in front of me and led me to his Focus parked out front.

He was still acting strange after we got in the car and before he started the engine, he turned to me.

"I ran into your stepbrother upstairs."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Oh?"

"He said to give you these, that you'd left them in his room." He handed me a pair of pink lace panties, the second to last piece of underwear that Elec had been harboring.

I took them and stared out into the street in disbelief, confused as to whether I was angry or slightly amused.

When I composed myself, I turned to him. "He's just trying to mess with you...and me. It's sort of what he does. I know this sounds silly, but he took all of my underwear as a joke and hasn't given them all back. Nothing else is going on."