Page 14 of Once Upon A Player
Clare, the beautiful, straight-A student, who’d never given me a second glance all through high school, and who’d dated my brother for a year. Intellectually, they were the perfect match. Everyone said so.
Until I hit the big time, and then she thought nothing of doing the dirty on my own brother just to get to me.
Who would’ve guessed she craved her moment in the limelight?
Stop thinking about it.
I haven’t asked Violet out again since she confided about her ex, but I’m hoping she’ll change her mind about the dating thing. The only problem is I don’t know if her breakup was recent and she’s still in love with the nameless jerk.
For some reason, the longer I know Violet, the more it pisses me off that some guy hurt her so badly. And much as I want to go out with her, I don’t want to be her rebound fuck. How screwed up is that?
“How long were you friends with Alice before you asked her out?” I know she used to work for him before she left to go to university, but I can’t remember the details.
“We’re still friends.”
I groan. “Yeah, all right. You know what I mean.”
“Eight months.”
Fuck. “That’s a long time.”
“And we’ve been together for ten months.”
“All right. Don’t rub it in.” It’s a throwaway comment, but I should’ve known my brother wouldn’t let that one go.
“What?” He sounds genuinely amazed. “Since when do you want a committed relationship?”
“Harry.” I give an exaggerated sigh. “Stop taking everything so literally.”
He ignores me. “Is this about Yolanda?”
While he often dives off on a tangent, this is random, even for him. “Huh?”
“You and Yolanda. You’ve been friends for a while. She’s all right. Dad likes her, too.”
“We’ve been mates for four years.” He knows damn well there’s nothing between Yolanda and me.
And sure, Dad likes her. Why wouldn’t he? He might not understand her modeling career, but she’s academically brilliant, just like the rest of my family.
“You’re still playing the field?” He grimaces, and to be honest I’m surprised he even noticed his gaffe. More brownie points for Alice.
“Yep.” Which isn’t true, as I haven’t even flirted with another girl since meeting Violet, but I’m not about to tell Harry that. He’s so loved up, he’d probably jump to the conclusion she’s my soul mate or something equally cheesy.
“Rather you than me.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault I got the irresistibility gene.”
He shudders. “I don’t know how you do it. All those different girls. Nightmare.”
“Harry, you’re so fucking weird.” At school, he was the monosyllabic Carter, while I never shut up. Teachers forgave him because he was so clever, whereas I spent half my time outside the principal’s office or in detention.
People couldn’t understand why we were such good mates. Sure, we weretwins, but it’s like we came from different planets. He’s a freaking genius and has never cared if people thought he was an antisocial dickwad. If he knew how many of the fights I got into when we were kids were in his defense, he’d be gobsmacked.
I didn’t have a fraction of his smarts, and sometimes I had no idea what he was talking about, but I had fists and agility, and no one dissed my brother.
Nothing much has changed, except no one laughs at him anymore.
Chapter Six
