Page 25 of The Trophy

I follow the smell of Bay’s chili, or should I say fumes, since the amount of chilies my sister puts in her stew could very easily cause a fire.

If I’m prepared for the chaos of Bay’s cooking routine—she uses every single utensil in the kitchen even if she’s just making instant ramen, I swear to God—what I’m not prepared for is the scene of domestic bliss that greets me when I step into the spacious kitchen of the Zeta house.

“Can you pass me some more cumin, babe?” Bay says to none other than Topher.

I watch in disbelief as Bay’s boyfriend steps behind her by the stove and passes her a spice jar.

“Hmm this smells divine,” he murmurs, surrounding my sister’s waist with his arms and burying his face in the crook of her neck.

She giggles. “Stop, Toph. You almost made me lose my grip on the jar and dump the whole thing in the pot.”

The asshole chuckles, pulling her closer, until her back is flush with his front. “I’m sorry, sexy. But I can’t help it. You look so hot when you’re cooking.”

Bay stirs the pot and turns around in her boyfriend’s arms. “My sous chef doesn’t look too bad himself,” she says, closing the distance between them for a kiss.

Yuck.

Topher isn’t ugly by any means, but he’s such a two-faced bastard that I think kissing him must be like kissing an actual snake.

“Hey Bay,” I clear my throat to interrupt what’s about to escalate into a full on make out session.

“Lake!” My sister beams. “You’re earlier than I expected. Didn’t you have to work till five?”

“It wasn’t busy and Bobbie sent me home,” I offer, scowling when Topher smiles in my direction. “So I thought I’d come early and spend some quality time with my favorite sister before it’s time to get ready.”

Bay leaves Topher’s side to hug me. “That’s an awesome idea. Let me just finish to put the chili together and then we can hang while this simmers away.”

Her perfectly manicured nails keep pulling at a gold chain around her neck and my eyes are drawn to it. “Is that new?” I ask, noticing the pendant made entirely of diamonds at the end of the chain.

She nods. “Yeah, isn’t it pretty? Topher came over to give me this. It was such a nice surprise.”

I eye the shiny “B” she’s showing me. It’s understated but it looks expensive at the same time. Each diamond that forms the “B” must be at least one quarter of a carat. “Is it your anniversary or something?”

Topher pulls Bay back into his side, his trademark arrogant smile directed at me. “Not really. Does a guy need a special occasion to get his girlfriend something nice? I just wanted to tell Bay how much I love her.”

Bay offers him her lips to kiss and thank fuck I didn’t have lunch, or I’d lose it on the terracotta tiles of the Zetas’ kitchen.

“Aww, you’re so sweet,” she smiles. “It was a bit of a special occasion. Topher asked me to go to Connecticut with him for winter break.”

He chuckles. “We’ve been together for almost two years, I think it’s just about time to meet my family. My mother told me that I better not even think about showing without Bay. She’s been hearing so much about her that she’s dying to meet her.”

“Right. So I guess I’m going home by myself this year?” Are the first words that leave my mouth at the happy news.

Just the thought of ruining Bay’s happiness causes anxiety to swirl in the pit of my stomach.

My sister looks so happy that it breaks my heart. I almost feel guilty telling her about the other awesome idea her boyfriend had. I consider keeping my mouth shut, but then again if her relationship is getting more serious, shouldn’t she know who she’s really dating?

“Bay, I think there’s something you should know?—”

Bay’s ringtone, Diamonds in the sky, interrupts me. “Hold that thought, Lake,” she says, lifting her index finger. “It’s one of my main sponsors, I got to take this. Babe, do you mind browning the meat while I talk to them? We’re discussing a new deal and I need to go get the contract draft they sent me, I have a few questions.”

“Go right ahead, sexy.”

And just like that, I’m left alone with one of my least favorite people on campus.

Topher turns his back to me as he dumps a pack of ground meat into the pot and stirs it around.

“It’s rude to stare at people like that,” he says, turning to look at me. “You could make yourself useful and open that other pack of meat.”

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