Hollywood Hearts (A Bad Boy Love Triangle Romance): (Hollywood Hearts Book 1) by Lola Hunter Read Free Book Online Page A

short story for your entertainment…

Elevated

T WO YEARS AGO , I became the proud owner of an older sibling that I had otherwise never had. To save any confusion, obviously he wasn’t my real brother. My mother met and married a lovely man who came with a bonus — A son, Ethan. Ethan was now my stepbrother , a distinction that’s important for so many reasons, all of which I’ll get to eventually.

    The most important thing right now is to tell you how I felt all those years ago at my young age of sixteen, suddenly acquiring a new sibling two years my senior. At the time, and as sheltered as I was, I thought eighteen was basically ancient. Some girls at my school were dating college-age guys like that but I always found that a little too weird. So, naturally, I was surprised that the minute I saw Ethan was the minute I fell for him. He had just the right amount of twang to his accent, a melodic tone that spilled out in a thick, honeyed baritone past his full, soft lips. His hair was a shade of vibrant gold that glittered whenever the sun hit it, and his eyes were the clearest shade of blue I’d ever seen. Then he had this squint when he’d look over at people where his brow would furrow and his features would become even more harder and masculine. Aside from that, he was charming, cheeky, and protective of me in a way that had me swooning. I was head-over-heels for one person I really shouldn’t be head-over-heels for.

    It wasn’t until later in the summer that I realized not only had life gifted him with the face of a roughened Abercrombie model, but he had the perfect body, too. Every inch of him was toned, fit and firm, his muscles bulging and threatening to rip out from his skin. He had a swimmer’s build, which made him tall, strong and lean, with a killer set of Adonis lines etched between his hips. He was a damn good swimmer, too, and he never failed to give me a run for my money at the pool. Hell, he even helped to improve my dive form that I’d been perfecting since middle school.

    I kidded myself for two years by thinking maybe I was only attracted to Ethan’s skill and knowledge, not his looks. I’d never gone for the jock type anyway. Heck, I’d only ever fallen for guys who couldn’t even hold a sentence without their voice cracking. I tried so hard to tell myself that I was only suffering from a crush born of admiration for my knowledgeable big brother who just so happened to be as much into swimming as I was.  

    When my feelings didn’t fade after I’d turned eighteen myself and graduated high school, I knew whatever feelings I had were far more special than I’d hoped. I had to admit to myself that I didn’t just look up to my older stepbrother—I was mind-blowingly in love with him.

It was so surreal visiting him at his apartment after he moved out of my mom and stepdad’s basement. Sometimes he came over to our parents’ house, but usually I went to his place so we could play video games uninterrupted or I could sneak some of his beer after the long days at my community college classes. He had a nice little bachelor pad near the college we were both attending, and it offered us both freedom and privacy from the rest of the world. It was our sanctuary of sorts where I could relax a little about my affections towards him.

    I used those opportunities to flirt with him. Those last two years of maturing allowed me to develop the confidence to be a little more overt with my feelings. I made sure to keep it light-hearted and innocent enough, of course, so that he wouldn’t feel weird or creeped out. What I never expected, however, was for him to return my seemingly innocuous advances. But the more I pushed and teased, the more Ethan pushed back, flashing me seductive grins while his eyes glinted oh-so-mischievously beneath his tawny tresses. Sometimes when I wore little shorts and we were sitting on the couch together, he’d rest his hand on my bare thigh and leave it there as though