5 Ways to Ruin Casey Brandt

f i f t e e n

♡ CASEY ♡

The Gala, if I had to guess, is in full swing. I couldn't really tell you either way. Not with Briar tucked into my side. Not after what just happened.

Girlfriend.

"You must be Casey's girlfriend."

"Yes."

Briar Elliot just introduced herself as my girlfriend—and wow—did it do something to me.

My heart is ramming against my rib cage, threatening to jump into her hands. I don't let her clear embarrassment at her misspoken words get me down. I'm on cloud nine.

I look down at her. Her cheeks are as red as I've ever seen them. Tinged with embarrassment by her misspoken words, but, I try not to let her clear regret dwindle my happy mood. 

I wrap my arm around her and flick my gaze to a wide-eyed Jake. "Yes. This is Briar, my girlfriend."

"Wow," he says with a dry laugh. "Never thought I'd see the day you had a girlfriend, Case."

Now, usually, that would sting. It's not that I actually care what my brother thinks. It's more that he thinks I should, and something about that crawls under my skin and settles there uncomfortably. Jake has a way of saying things that stick to me like super glue, but only in places I don't notice, until later when it hits me again. Jake is skilled in stinging you twice.

That was number one.

Briar shifts under my arm slightly. I run two fingers up and down her arm in an attempt to soothe her. I think it only really calms me, though. The crowd behind Jake parts to reveal my father crossing the ballroom and making his way toward us with purposeful steps. My chest suddenly feels heavy.

When he's almost to us, our father's face splits into a grin he only wears for his favorite son. "Ah, there's my brilliant boy."

Jake turns to me with a devilish smirk. "Which of us do you think he's talking to, Case?"

There it is.

Second sting.

Briar looks up from beneath my arm. Loud enough for only us to hear she says, "Wow, he's kind of awful."

A laugh slips out before I can stop it. The idea of someone seeing Jake as anything less than spectacular is kind of jarring but also refreshing. She raises her eyebrows and rolls her eyes at my outburst. It's then I realize that the stinging sensation my brother left behind has subsided, and I have Briar to thank for that.

My father doesn't get a chance to pretend to care about me or my reluctant girlfriend. He's pulled away by an orthopedic surgeon to discuss some new study in New Zealand before he can get in a hello, how are you, or even a goodbye. He did manage, however, to ask Jake plenty of questions about his successful life and didn't forget to mention how impressed he was with him.

Briar dragged me out into the hall before Jake could turn back to us. I'm not sure if I should be glad about this. On the one hand, I'm avoiding more remarks from my brother. A third or fourth sting. On the other, I'm facing Briar's wrath. I'm pretty sure the girl wearing an extravagant ballgown is far more terrifying than my brother has ever been, and that includes the time he broke my nose while wrestling.