Is it?

{ Aiden }

Lily Jensen is back in my life, ten years later.

I have to sit down in my bed and take a second to gather my thoughts before continuing to get dressed for the party tonight. Her welcome party. Because, apparently, she'll be staying here for good.

I will admit it, I'm definitely nervous.

I hated to lose her when I was eighteen but it was also a relief because Lily no longer living in my house meant I could ignore the truth: the fact that she's my step-sister.

The fact that her legal name is Lilian Carrington, not Jensen.

Having her back around me is going to test my morality all over again. I already failed once... will I fail again?

I sigh and get up, looking at myself in the mirror while I put on my suit and then fix my hair, putting a little more thought into how I look than normally.

Lily was really into me at some point in time. She would grab my face and call me handsome. She would touch all over my body as if she couldn't stop herself.

What does she think about me now?

"Fuck. Stop," I tell myself and I shake my head, putting in my shoes to leave before it gets too late.

Before heading to the party, I make a stop to pick up my date for tonight. Allison Perth, my favorite casual hookup.

She's always down for a quick fuck or a formal date and she's never annoying about either one or the fact that I don't talk to her unless I need one of those two options.

"I don't know if I already told you this, but I have a step-sister. Lily. This is her welcome party,” I tell her as I’m driving.

"Oh," she nods, "You never mentioned her, but I knew about her. She's Berenice’s daughter, right?"

"Yep," I smile tightly.

"Do you get along with her?" She asks, casually.

"I haven't seen her in years. She's... I don't even know how she is anymore," I admit. All we know about Lily is how much of a party girl she became. Berenice complains about her all the time, about how Lily is pathless. She’s only into alcohol and drugs. And men.

"We're here," I say, but I don't move. I need another minute. Allison is looking at me with a frown but I take a deep breath to compose myself, "Let's go."

"You're late," Dean complains as soon as he sees me walking in, then his eyes move to my right, "Hi, Ally."

"Hi," Allison says and greets him with a hug, "Where's your sister? I’m super curious to meet her.”

"Well, she's over there, having fun," Dean mumbles and looks to the right. I follow his eyes and find Lily, sitting on the bar talking to Manuel Fraser and Jeremy O'Hara, "Berenice is shitting bricks already."

"Oh, wow. THAT is your sister?" Allison asks, looking at her with wide eyes, "Holy shit. Is she a model, too?"

I roll my eyes. Lily certainly looks like one. She's scary thin and has long blonde hair, a gorgeous face and the lightest blue eyes I've ever seen.

Right now, her face is so skinny, her cheekbones look sharp instead of round. And she's wearing a short black dress that rides over her thighs. Manuel and Jeremy are eating her up.

"No, she never passed the first audition, she was too shy," Dean says with a chuckle and looks at her again, "We used to be best friends, me and her. Remember, Aiden?"

"Yep," I mutter, unable to look away. Lily is sipping on a glass of champagne and holding a cigarette with her other hand as she flirts her skinny ass off. I hate how is pissing me off, "Anyway, where's dad?"

"He left with Berenice to calm her down. They're probably fucking in the bathroom," he laughs, "You should tell Lily to chill out before she fucks our investors. Even I don't do that shit."

"Why would I? You do it," I say, frowning as Damon walks up to us. He just got here, too, "Hey, man."

"Hey," he says, ignoring Allison and putting his eyes on Dean, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Dean says, rolling his eyes, "I'll go talk to Lily, but if she punches me in the face, I'll call the cops."

"Pussy," Damon laughs, but Dean just flips him off and walks straight to Lily, "She's a hot topic tonight, huh?”

I can sense Allison getting tense as she always is when Damon is around, so I let go of her hand and offer her an out.

"Can you go grab me a drink, Ally? Just a whiskey on the rocks," I say, she gives me a relieved look.

"Bring me one too," Damon orders without even looking at her, making her even more tense.

"She's not your maid," I bark and look back at her, "Take your time, I'll go find you soon."

"Okay," she says and walks away like a scared little mouse. Damon has that effect on people… especially women.

"She's not your best work, brother," he says, looking at her ass as she walks away, "Seven out of ten."

He has called Ally a ‘seven out of ten’ four times already, but he never remembers is the same girl. I'm almost surprised by his ability to rate girls, but I know that's his job.

"Did I ask?" I say, sarcastically, "What are people saying about Lily?"

"That she's a dumb slut, what else is new?" He scoffs and his lip lifts in a snarl as he looks back at Lily, sitting on the bar. This time Dean is there and it seems he scared off the men around her. Lily looks upset, "She looks horrible, doesn't she? Lost all of her ass and her tits. It's a shame, if you ask me."

I frown and look at his face.

"Since when do you care about her body?" I ask. Damon looks briefly uncomfortable, then he shrugs.

"I'm just making an observation, it's not like we never talked about her like that," he reminds me, but his eyes on me feel way too knowing, "You liked..."

"I have to go back to my date," I interrupt him, clearing my throat, "I'd tell you to do the same, but no woman would touch your psycho ass."

"You'd be surprised," he says with his signature smile. I roll my eyes and push him before walking away.