Page 73 of Butterfly

She gave me a small, pained smile in thanks. “Anyway, I was fifteen when he became my guardian, and I barely see him. The times we do, he treats me like a little girl. But now I’m finally nineteen years old, and I decided to make my move.”

My jaw dropped. Literally. “You mean…”

“Uh huh.” She blushed but lifted her head. “It’s gonna happen. And I may end up needing your help.”

As I digested this information, she took another swig of the tequila, then looked at the bottle. There were only a few fingers left.

“Shit, we’ve had a lot of this.” She looked at me doubtfully. “Tomorrow’s going to suck, isn’t it?”

“It is.” I stared back at her, and then we collapsed in a pile of giggles.

“Okay, your turn,” she told me, when we came up for air. “It’s only fair.”

“Fine. It’s like this. Mason—the hottie—is my…”

“Is your what?”

“My stepbrother.” It came out on a croak.

She reared back. “Holy shit.”

I nodded, feeling a little like a bobble head doll. “Exactly. Holy shit.”

“And you two…”

“Yeah.”

“For how long?”

“Just this past month.”

“Did you grow up together?”

“No, our parents got married this summer. He hated me, or at least I thought he did. Made my life a living hell.”

“But he doesn’t hate you.”

I shook my head. “He told me loves me. But how do I trust him, when he’s done so many untrustworthy things? This could ruin my reputation—my life. And then what, he fucks around on me with someone else? Or worse, I become his dirty little secret?”

Just like my mom was.

Lucy giggled, shaking her head like I was a fool. “Girl.”

“I mean it!”

Clearing her throat, she widened her eyes at me. “Leslie, that man does not look at you like you’re a dirty little secret. I saw him staring at you in the cafeteria while he tried to make you jealous with that girl, and it was obvious to everyone that he wanted to eat you alive, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And then have you again for dessert.” She shivered. “So fucking hot. And the way he slammed out of here, twice? If he wasn’t serious, he wouldn’t care that much. That man wants to lock you down and make you swallow the key.”

She had no idea how right she was about that. I slumped, slightly relieved but still torn in two. “But he’s my stepbrother. That’s?—”

“A little Flowers in the Attic?” I glanced at her. “What? I found it on my mom’s bookshelf. And you’ve seen the movie, right? I mean, I don’t think it’s as bad as you think it is. First,” she started counting reasons off on her fingers. “You two aren’t actually related. Second, you didn’t meet until you were practically adults, and you didn’t start fucking until you were adults-adults. Third, they did it in Clueless, and it seemed fine.”

Hope started to stir in me. I’d expected her to recoil from me, to march out of my room in disgust and tell everyone.

“You really think so?”

“Yes. That said, I’m in love with my guardian, so maybe I’m not the best judge here of what’s kosher and what’s not. Do your parents know?”

I shook my head, stress picking up in my chest at the thought. “No. No way. They’d never forgive either of us for that. And it might ruin their marriage—I couldn’t do that to my mom. She’s finally happy.”

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