Another Stupid Boy

Chapter Three

"You don't have a brother," I told before I thought. Mentally, I face palmed. Now the whole room would think I'm a creeper.

Seth raised one dark eyebrow at me while Dean burst into laughter. I guessed he wasn't used to girls correcting him.

"Do you think I'm too stupid to know whether or not I have a brother?"

Something in his tone got under my skin. Sure, he was probably the hottest thing our town had seen in decades, but that didn't mean every girl had to swoon at his feet.

If I had to be the only girl that stood up to him, then I would.

"I guess we'll find out."

Dean fell beneath the surface of the water and came up choking. I hit him on the back a couple of times. Not that I thought it would do any good, I just took advantage of the opportunity to slug the guy. Teach him not to disturb a content mermaid.

Dean also took advantage of the situation and grabbed my waist. He leaned over like he needed my support to catch his breath and whispered in my ear, "Thanks for saving me, Paige."

I pulled away from him and looked for Kaitlyn, "How many brothers do you have?"

Kaitlyn swirled her still-dry hair and bit her lip.

"I guess it depends on how you define brother."

Now I felt stupid. How many ways could you define brother? Either he was or wasn't, right? I shook my head. "I don't care about the definition. Is Dean your brother?"

She shrugged. "I call him my brother, but I don't think he is legally."

Seth smirked. "So, Paige Bevis, you're wrong."

"Woah, wait," I wasn't ready to give up just yet. "I could call Nikki my sister, and I love her more than I love my real sister, but that doesn't actually make her my sister."

Although I had swam away a couple of feet, Dean somehow was close enough to touch me again. This time his fingers grazed my back. I twisted away, this boy really needed to learn to keep his hands to himself.

"My mother married their father about ten years ago. They got divorced eight years ago." Dean said.

"So I'm right, he's not your brother." I've been told gloating isn't pretty on me. As long as I was right, I didn't care.

"I think you're wrong,"

I knew that voice, and I knew my mouth hung wide open when I turned to face Nikki.

"They were legally brothers and sister for two years. Why do they have to break up with their brother just because their parents split?"

No words popped into my head. All my brain cells focused on Nikki's flirty smile aimed at Seth Rollins. And his grateful one-armed hug that pulled her next to his naked chest.

And her sneaky little fingertip that traced a line across his abs. Sold out by my best friend for a cheap thrill, awesome.

"That's settled, let's swim."

The girls nearly killed themselves racing to the pool. There were a few girly squeals as they entered the water, but since Seth had already dove in, no one took their time adjusting to the temperature. Destination Seth. Now! And my best friend won the race to his side.

I felt like grinding my teeth.

Embarrassed and angry, I needed a target, and Dean volunteered himself when his wandering fingers reached for me again. This time I avoided them as I said, "So, you don't live here anymore. Why are you here?"