My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 61

Ciro.

I answered right away, “Hello?”

“I’m outside,” he said.

My heart jumped, “Like… outside outside?”

“Yeah,” he said, “Front driveway. Come down before someone decides to ask questions.”

“Okay. I’m coming.”

I hung up and grabbed my small bag from the dresser then I slipped out of the room. My sneakers barely made a sound on the floor as I moved toward the front doors.

One of the guards glanced at me when I stepped outside but he didn’t stop me, he just nodded once.

Ciro was waiting beside a car parked near the driveway, a dark gray Toyota. He leaned against the hood with his arms crossed, and then he saw me and his posture changed immediately.

His eyes moved slowly from my sneakers… up my legs… to the shorts… the top… my face.

“Well damn,” he said under his breath.

I walked closer, “What?”

He straightened up, shaking his head like he was trying to recover, “You look…” he paused, searching for the word, opening the passenger door for me, “You look good. Like really good.”

I wanted to tell him that I can open my own doors but I bit my tongue tonight and slid into the seat, “Thank you.”

He leaned against the door for a second before closing it, still looking at me through the open window, “I mean it,” he added, “That top? Those shorts? Someone’s going to start a fight tonight.”

“That’s reassuring.”

He grinned and finally walked around to the driver’s side. The gates slowly opened in front of us without a question.

My chest filled with excitement. Ciro pulled out onto the road, the mansion disappearing behind us.

“You look happy,” he said.

“I am.”

Streetlights passed over the windshield one after another as we drove through the quiet roads. The city lights slowly faded, buildings disappeared, soon it was just long dark roads and trees on both sides.

I leaned back in the seat, watching the darkness outside, “Where exactly is this party?” I asked.

“Not far.”

He turned off the main road. The car rolled onto a narrow road that cut straight through the woods. Tall trees closed in around us. Their branches hung over the road, blocking most of the moonlight.

The farther we drove, the darker it got and my excitement slowly started to fade.

I sat up a little, “Ciro?”

“Yeah?”

I stared out the window, wide-eyed, “What… is this place?”

He smiled slightly, “Welcome to the party.”

The car stopped in front of the wide stone steps. Music thumped somewhere inside the massive house. The bass moved through the ground and up my legs like a heartbeat.

Ciro reached for his door but I was already pushing mine open. Cool night air rushed over my skin as I stepped out.

“Hey—” Ciro said with a laugh as he came around the car. “I was going to get that.”

“I can open a door,” I said, shrugging.

He grinned, “Yeah. I can see that.”

I looked up at the building again. It was even bigger up close. Ciro touched the small of my back, a light, guiding touch and led me toward the giant wooden doors.

"Stay close," he whispered, "It gets a little wild in here."

We walked inside, and the air smelled like expensive perfume, heavy cigar smoke, and something sharp and chemical that made my nose sting.

I stopped dead. My heart felt like it skipped a beat.

I had never seen anything like this. This wasn't a party; it was something else entirely.

The room was huge, with gold gold leaf on the ceilings and giant crystal lights hanging down. But it was the people underneath them that caught me off guard.

Men in suits that probably cost more than my university tuition were slumped on velvet couches. Their ties were ripped open. One man was leaning back with his eyes rolled into his head while a woman in a tiny lace mask rubbed a white powder onto his gums.