Stepbrother Wow! (Bad Boy Frat #1) Read Free

something out in the
fourth quarter.” Someone off to the side made a joke about the Jets eeking out a few farts and everyone laughed— me included.
    “Five bucks on my side says Dolphins will end the
game at least one touchdown head,
probably two.” Jaxon shook my hand to seal the deal and I felt a little tingle.
The game continued and Jaxon started taunting me as the Dolphins started to
fall apart a little bit, barely holding themselves together in the face of the Jets’ offense. I couldn’t help but notice that his
comments—the little teasing barbs and the jokes he made—had a flirting ring to
them. Or that he kept looking at me, paying attention to me, goading me to try
and increase the amount of our bet. I didn’t rise to the bait, but I gave as good as I got, earning hoots and howls of respect from the
other guys in the room.
    I couldn’t shake the feeling that Jaxon was flirting
with me, actually going out of his way to do it. He could have dropped the
conversation totally, started talking to one of his brothers at any point in
time. No one said anything about it, and I’d learned long before that the
surest way to end a perfectly good friendship with a guy or a group of guys is
to overthink it when they flirt with you. Most guys didn’t even really think
about it; they see a pair of boobs and turn on the
charm, even if they had no intention of trying to get you into bed at the end
of it. It was a reflex, like jumping back when you touch something hot. A
switch flicked on in their brains and flirty little comments started coming out
of their mouth. Way easier by far to just banter with them and keep everything
light to the touch, not assume they meant anything about it and move on with
your life with maybe one or two good comebacks for future reference.
    So because I knew nothing at all would come from it,
I flirted back, rolling my eyes and pulling a few girl-tricks I’d managed to
pick up along the way when I’d been in high school. I kept my attention on the
game and didn’t get all flustered when Jaxon implied that he’d convince me to
bet against him again and again until I was broke and had to start betting my
clothes. Instead I suggested that I’d keep him betting and keep winning my bets
until I could not only get him down to his underwear—but require him to run
across campus like that. No one in the room with us seemed to have any thought
that it was at all unusual, and it was fun on top of it; at parties, if I
flirted with a guy, I had to think in the back of my mind about what to do if
he really did want to go through with it—and I didn’t want to. I could handle
myself in a fight, but I didn’t want to be in that position if I didn’t have
to.
    By the end of the game, I had managed to collect
thirty dollars on various bets from Jaxon, counting his money with exaggerated
care and telling him playfully that he could come back any time he wanted to
lose money to me. It would come in handy the next time I needed snacks for my
own dorm, or if I needed to use the washing machine on the third floor—I could
load up my ID card and have enough to not only take care of my own clothes but
also do one of my roomies a favor. Jaxon took his loss in good humor, saying
with pretend-sternness that it would be the last time he would ever bet against
a man-woman freak like me but giving me a slap on the shoulder and a grin to
take the sting out of his insult.
    “I’m all woman , Jax ,” I countered, feeling my cheeks heat up in spite of my
cocky words. “If you ever want proof, find a winning team and convince me to
bet my outfit on them.”
    “Oh trust me, I am going to check the stats and find
the perfect team to completely demolish you,” Jax told me, his bright hazel eyes flickering with something like interest. I
shrugged off the comments everyone around us made and took my leave of the
frat. Even though I’d eaten snacks there in the past, I was not about to endure
any of the guys’