Morgan POV

Wednesday afternoon. I was sitting on the pale cream couch in our sunlit living room, absentmindedly flicking through a fashion magazine while nervously awaiting Keegan’s return. My brother should be getting home with the little bitch any moment now. Time seemed to slow down as I anticipated their arrival. What if he failed again? What if she said no to coming here?

Just as I considered calling his mobile to check on him, the front door opened.

"Keegan… Is that you?" I questioned from my position in the living room. I already knew it was him because both of our parents were at work.

"Yeah, it’s me. And I brought a friend."

Finally! I would get to see my rival!

I placed the magazine on the oak and glass coffee table that was in front of the couch and gazed at the living room door. My brother came in with the girl in tow and I had to restrain myself from laughing in her face.

That was her? That was Alice?

I’d expected a tall and slender exotic beauty in sassy attire, probably with big boobs too, but what I got was a short casually dressed girl with a medium-sized rack. Her blue jeans were plain, her blue and white stripped t-shirt was plain, her short light denim jacket was plain… Everything about her was plain. For God’s sake, she wasn’t even wearing make up! How the hell did she get the boys’ attention?

All those thoughts passed through my head in less than a few seconds. I put on a polite mask in order to hide the contempt I felt towards her and getting off my seat, I extended a hand for the newcomer to shake.

"Hello!" I greeted, smiling sweetly at the girl. "I’m Keegan’s older sister Morgan. Who might you be?"

We had agreed that my brother’s invitation should appear to be a spur of the moment decision so I pretended not to know the bitch’s name.

"Alice," she took a few steps towards me and shook my hand. "I’m Keegan’s friend."

A friend? Not if he had his way.

"Didn’t know we’d be having guests, baby brother!" I turned to him and pouted slightly. "And I was just on my way out to catch up with an old classmate of mine. Will you two be alright on your own?"

"Yeah," Keegan answered. "We’ll be in my room studying."

"Not if everything goes according to plan!" I thought.

"Well, I better be going." I took my purse and straightened my designer wine-colored top. "Too bad I can’t stay to get to know you better, Alice!"

"Why don’t you just come with us to Cillian’s on Friday?" She suggested with a genuine smile aimed at me.

"That’s a pretty good idea, I think I will!"

"Perfect!" I said to myself. "Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer!"

"Will you lock the door behind me?" This time I spoke to my brother.

"Uh, sure…" he looked surprised by my request. I had a key after all.

We walked in silence which I broke once we got to the front door.

"I just wanted you to follow me so she wouldn’t hear us. Here’s the thing: your girl is disgustingly nice. I have no idea what you see in her but anyways… Since she’s such a fucking Mother Teresa she’ll probably want to help you out. So be needy. Maybe tell her some soupy story about you. She’ll listen to that. I bet it will soften her up. It will be easier for you to make a move on her then."

He shook his head with a gloomy expression on his face. What was he so worried about? She was just another girl.

"I can’t believe you’re giving me advice about how to get some!" He sighed. "But my methods didn’t work. I might just as well try yours."

"You’ll see… Mine will work!"

I didn’t even try to hide the smugness in my own voice as I reached down to pick up my high-heeled shoes. And yes, those were designer too. I was not, nor have I ever been, a jeans and t-shirt girl. Unlike little Ms. Goody two-shoes, I didn’t do plain.

I looked up to see Keegan looming over my crouched figure with narrowed eyes.

"Morgan… Where did you get the money for those?" He asked with his voice full of disapproval. Probably because he had a pretty good guess about the answer to his own question.

"They are a present," I responded nonchalantly and could see the disgust in his green eyes. "Hey, it’s not my fault guys like buying me things! I never actually asked for these. All I did was to say that I’d like to have them and the boy bought them for me."

"Stop leading guys on, Morgan! It’s dangerous to make them think they have a chance with you and then simply tell them it’s not going to work out. I’m not around you anymore… I can’t protect you!"

"Relax, little brother! I know how to take care of myself. Besides… Don’t you have other things to think about? Something to do with the short brunette in our living room?"

The moment I mentioned her, the strictness in his eyes disappeared and was replaced with nervousness and hope. He turned one-eighty and headed towards the girl.

With a grin on my face, I got out of the house and fished through my purse in search of my mobile. I got a hold of it and opened my contact list. Pressing the call button, I put the phone to my ear and eagerly awaited for him to pick up. Not only did he take his time doing so, but he greeted me with a grunt. A grunt! So much for him acting nicer these days.

"Hey, Caden!" I purred into the receiver.

"What do you want, Morgan?" He asked obviously annoyed that I was calling him. I scrunched my face not pleased at the way he was treating me. Why was he always trying to avoid me?

"Is that any way to talk to an old friend?" I asked playfully and giggled, successfully managing to hide my discontent.

"Just tell me what this is about!"

He sighed into the phone and I was pretty sure he was thinking on just hanging up on me. He was probably regretting picking up in the first place!

"Morgan! What do you want?" He repeated now obviously getting pissed off because I had not answered.

"You," I though but did not admit it out loud. Instead I took a deep breath and trying to sound casual, replied with:

"I’m back in town and I was thinking that you and I have some catching up to do. So how about we…"

"No."

He interrupted me, ending the call. He didn’t even wait for me to ask why not or to try to change his mind. He just hung up on me.

I was still by our door, now holding tightly to the phone. I could feel my hands shake with anger. I felt resentful and insulted. Just who did he think he was?

Nobody hangs up on me!

I heard the neighbors’ front door open and realized just how weird I must look right now simply standing there, glaring at nothing in particular.

"Get a grip, Morgan!" I chanted silently in my head. "Don’t make a spectacle of yourself!"

I turned to my right and greeted the woman who lived next door with one of my polite smiles. Then I strode away, with my head held high as if nothing had happened and I didn’t have a single care in the world.

*****

Alice POV

"So that was Morgan!" I thought as they got out of the living room.

Wow! She was one of the most beautiful girls… No, make that women… She was one of the most beautiful women I’ve seen! Her presence was way too powerful for her to be called “a girl” even though she was so young.

As for how she looked… Well, I’d imagined she’d be a brunet like her brother. But no. Morgan had long, shiny, silky blond hair that looked slightly reddish given the right light. Her eyes were like Keegan’s thought – green, and she had the same beautifully shaped full lips.

She was tall and slender, with slim waist and a little over medium-sized breasts. Her clothing and makeup were impeccable and grace emitted from even the slightest of her movements. She had that sexy walk, the one where her hips swayed rhythmically, and she made it look easy and natural.

All in all, I was pretty impressed by her.

And yet there was something about Morgan… Something in the way she smiled at me… Something fake…

Maybe I thought that because of what Keegan had said; that she was “one stuck up bitch” and that if she wasn’t his sister he would’ve slapped her across the face. Or maybe it was good old instinct that was kicking in. I guess I’ll just see if there’s any reason for my premonition when we go to the pub on Friday.

"Alice?" Keegan came back in the room. "Where did you space off to?"

"Huh? Oh, nowhere…"

"I’m going to the kitchen. Want a soda?"

"Yeah, thanks!"

I barely had time to look around their rather modernly furnished living room (I was too busy staring at Morgan to do that before), when Keegan came back with two soda cans.

"Come on, my room is upstairs!"

I followed him to the second floor. He opened the door to reveal a sunlit bedroom with pale blue walls and light wooden furniture. It was bigger than I expected; but so was the rest of his house. Having been at Ash and Caden’s, I thought that Keegan’s room will be similar: small and with a few pieces of furniture, most of which worn out. Turns out, it was anything but that. My eyes took in the wooden desk and chair located under the huge double window and traveled through his wardrobe, multiple shelves, stereo and all the way to his double bed, covered with crisp white sheets. Everything was in tip-top state and looked to be only a few years old.

"Nice place, Kee!" I commented when I was done with scanning his bedroom. "I gotta admit: you boys surprise me with how tidy your rooms are."

"Yeah…" he laughed, handing me one of the sodas before opening the other one. "Asher’s room is pretty clean and orderly as well."

I nodded, taking a sip and without thinking I said:

"And Caden’s too."

His smile disappeared as soon as he heard that.

"Caden’s? When have you been at Caden’s?"

"The night between Sunday and Monday. The one that started the festivities," I clarified not really sure what caused his sudden mood swing.

"The night?" He stressed the word. "Why did you spend the night there? What did you do?"

"Slept."

"Together?"

"In the same bed."

"No sex involved?"

"Of course not!" I resented. "This is Caden we’re talking about."

"Exactly because it’s Caden we’re talking about!" He raised his voice, startling me. The boy took a deep breath and continued in a calmer voice. "I’m sorry, Alice. I don’t know why I reacted this way. Perhaps it’s just because Caden sleeps around and I don’t want him to hurt you."

"He won’t hurt me." I smiled warmly and took a step towards him. "But I appreciate that you’re worrying about me, Keegan, I really do."

I opened my arms and embraced him. I could feel him tensing. Come to think of it, this must be the first time I hugged him.

"Alice… What are you doing?" He queried slowly and I giggled at his reaction.

"Giving you a hug, silly."

"But why?"

"To show my affection." I let go of him and took a step back. "Don’t you hug your friends? Oh, wait! I forgot. You only have guys for friends and you’d probably think hugging them is gay."

He snorted and muttered:

"You got that right!"

"So how are we going to do it?"

He choked on his soda, unintentionally spitting some of it to the floor.

"Huh?"

"Homework? You said you needed help with it, right?"

"Oh, yeah… that…"

*****

Keegan POV

"So how are we going to do it?"

I choked on my soda. How are we going to do this? Was she suggesting sex?

"Huh?" Was the only sound I managed to produce in between coughs.

"Homework?" Alice clarified. "You said you needed help with it, right?"

"Oh, yeah… that…" I muttered, wiping my mouth with the back of my palm.

Homework! Of course that’s what she meant! How could I even think Alice meant sex? God, that dream really messed with my head!

I turned to the desk where I kept my homework assignments and picked up the top one. Science. Well, I guess it will have to do.

*****

"So… Now that that’s done, Kee, do you need help with anything else?" Alice asked once we had finished the assignment. It was pretty easy and I knew I could’ve done it on my own. But then what would’ve I used as an excuse to get her here?

"Not really." I placed the sheet of paper back on the desk.

"Then I guess I better get going…"

"Oh, no, you don’t! That’s not something I’ll allow!"

"Why don’t you hang around for a while?" I suggested trying to sound casual. "If you’re not busy that is."

"Sure!" She smiled. "I’d love to. When will Morgan be back?"

"When I call to tell her you’d left."

"Oh, I’d give her at least a couple of more hours before she’s done catching up with her friend."

I saw the girl getting up from her chair and going to stand next to my bed. I smirked. I liked where she was heading!

She stood in front of the nightstand next to the bed and tilted her head slightly to the side with a thoughtful expression. I got up as well and went to her.

"What are you thinking about, Alice?" I asked from behind her lowering my lips to her ear. I was dying to wrap my arms around her waits and kiss her neck but it probably wasn’t a good idea to do so right now.

"I was looking at the photograph…" she started, pointing to the framed picture with me, Morgan and our parents which stood on the nightstand. "… And was trying to decide who you look like but I can’t make my mind."

"That’s because both Morgan and I look like our mother."

She turned and looked at me with confusion.

"I thought the woman in the photo is your mother?"

"In a way she is: she pretty much raised me and Morgan up. But she’s dad’s second wife. My biological mother left us when I was about seven."

"Oh, Keegan…" She wrapped her arms around me once more.

Funny! Only a moment ago I was wondering how to make her do that and now I felt annoyed.

"I don’t need pity, Alice!" I pulled away from her embrace.

"It wasn’t pity, it was compassion," she answered calmly. "Have you seen her since she left?"

So Morgan was right: Alice was a sucker for sappy stories. Too bad for her this wasn’t one. Yes, at first I was upset when my mother left, but now I just didn’t give a damn.

"A few times," I shrugged. "She calls every now and then for our birthdays or Christmas if she remembers to."

"Oh!"

She waited to see if I’d say anything else. Well, that didn’t happen!

Silence fell between us and she looked around the room nervously. When she couldn’t find anything to speak about, Alice sat on the bed and sighed. Her gaze fell on her hands that were lying in her lap. The girl started nervously tapping her legs with her fingers.

This was getting uncomfortable which was most definitely not a part of the plan. I had to think of something to talk about and do it soon.

Morgan’s words flashed through my mind:

"Ask how her kitten is doing. Pretend you’re interested in that crap!"

I wasn’t sure I wanted to speak about that; after all it was Caden who gave it to her. But I didn’t seem to have anything else to say.

"So… How’s Chess?"

The tapping stopped and Alice turned to me with a smile on her face. I hoped it was due to the animal and not the person who bought it.

"He’s fine, the little rascal."

"Little rascal?" I sat next to her. "What did he do?"

"The usual kitten mischief. Knocks over things, hides under sofas and attacks whoever passes by… Once he shredded one of my blouses with his nails… Things like that. I guess I should buy him some toys to keep him busy while I’m out of the house. He already has a cat teaser but that’s all."

What she just said gave me an idea. If I showed Alice I cared for her pet, I would no doubt score a few points with her.

"Mind if I get him something?"

"If you want to…" She seemed surprised by my proposal but smiled again nevertheless.

"Why wouldn’t I? If it will help save your clothes."

Alice laughed carelessly at my words.

"Glad to know you’re so concerned about my attire," she remarked with humor in her voice.

"We can’t have you walking around naked, can we now?" I hesitated before I went on; I wasn’t sure how she’ll react. "Although I bet it will be a pretty sight!"

I winked at her and tried to make it sound as if it was just another friendly joke. She took it better than I expected and laughed again. Huh! Guess I could keep on complimenting her and flirting if I pretended I wasn’t serious with my remarks.

"So I’ve been told," she winked as well.

Wow! I wasn’t expecting that kind of answer from her. I gulped before asking:

"By anyone I know?"

"No, no one you know. In case you didn’t noticed I haven’t dated since I came here."

"That doesn’t mean you haven’t…" I hesitated to continue.

Would Alice consider that too personal?

"You mean hook-ups?" She asked not fazed at all. "I rarely do that."

"So you have done those?" I asked surprised she spoke so openly on such a delicate subject.

She answered me with a “duh” look.

"I’m seventeen, Keegan. Very few people haven’t at our age. Why are you of all people acting as if it’s a big deal?"

"Because you never talk about that…"

"I used to with Beth and Sky. I guess with Caden always calling me “kid” and him acting as if I was one, I just never got round to speaking about this."

"He does treat you as a child, doesn’t he…" I muttered more to myself than to Alice.

It was true; he always treated her that way. Could it be that Caden viewed her as sort of a little sister or something? If that was the case then I didn’t have to worry about him being my rival. I wouldn’t drop my guard just yet though.

"That he does," she furrowed her eyebrows. "Gotta admit that at first it was terribly irritating. But now I’m pretty much used to him viewing me that way."

"I can’t imagine why… You’re way too hot to be called “kid”." I remarked, giving her the once-over.

Damn it! That was too straight forward!

"Thanks! You’re definitely not bad either." She surprised me again. "But I already told you that at the café."

"You never told me why you aren’t interested in me though. You said that at first it was “an attitude problem”. But what about now, Alice?"

"Honestly?" She seemed thoughtful for a moment. "I have no idea."

Alice pouted slightly, not satisfied with her own answer and my eyes immediately locked on her lips. Her full, juicy-looking, pink lips.

That was it! I couldn’t wait any longer. I was going to kiss her. I didn’t have a clue how she’d react to that. But there was only one way to find out!

I leaned forward but before I could reach my target her phone rang.

Curses in several different languages ran through my head, directed to whoever had decided that calling Alice at this precise moment would be a good idea.

"Yes, Aunt Azalea? Well, I don’t… Of course... Yes, as soon as possible. Goodbye, Aunt Azalea!"

She sighed ending the call and putting her phone back in her pocket.

"I have to go now, Kee," she announced, getting off my bed.

"Okay…" I trailed off still silently cussing her aunt.

I got up as well and reluctantly walked Alice to the door, thinking of the chance I’d just missed.