“Hey, this is my room, in case you forgot,” I say, picking up my underwear so I can quickly put it on. “What are you doing here anyway?” I say, slipping on my pants, too.

“Just when I think of visiting my little brother after one of his races, this happens.” He spins on his heels. “I’ll just go now. Leave you to … whatever it is that you were doing.”

“Wait, I can explain,” I say, but he’s already walked out of the door.

“Fuck!” I throw the shirt I just picked up back onto the floor with full force. “Goddammit. Why did he have to come in now?”

“Oh, my god …” Emily murmurs. “Adrian …” She looks up at me. “He saw us, Chris. He saw us. Together. Naked. He’s our brother!”

I growl, “Yeah, I know, but what do you want me to do about it?”

“Go after him!” She gets up from the couch and grabs her panties.

“And tell him what?” I frown. “That we just had sex and it’s no big deal? Or did you forget the part where you told me that you didn’t want anyone to know? Where you were ashamed to even be near me because they might find out about us.” I shrug as she puts on her panties. “Now he knows.”

“Well, we have to do something.” She bites her lip. “And Jesus, you just flung that condom at his face!”

“I didn’t know he was going to be there! I was aiming for the trash,” I say.

“We have to fix this. Fast,” she says.

“I’ll talk with him later.” I sigh and rub the back of my head. Jesus, how the fuck am I supposed to talk my way out of this one? I might say it, but I have no clue what the fuck to do at this point. Adrian knows. He saw her naked, he saw me naked, and he felt the condom smack against his chest. We practically shoved the facts in his face, and then did a little victory dance.

Anger boils up inside me, and I kick the lockers. “Goddammit! Why did he have to come here, now, out of all the times he could’ve been here?”

“I wonder what he’s thinking … what he thinks of us,” she says. “I can’t believe this. This is so damn embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing?” With a look of fury, I gaze up at her. “You think it’s embarrassing to be naked with me?”

“In front of my brother, yeah. Actually, yeah, I am embarrassed about all of this.” She shakes her head. “I can’t believe we did this.”

“What do you mean?”

Her cheeks redden again, and she puts her arms around her chest as if she’s suddenly trying to cover herself up.

“Hey, now, don’t do that.”

Her eyelids flutter as she turns her head down, sucking on her lip. Something tells me the little voice in her head just kicked in.

“Em …”

“Don’t.”

“Stop.” I reach for her chin and gently tip it up so she’ll look at me, but all I find are tears of regret. “Why are you still so mad?”

“You know exactly why,” she says.

I sigh, my shoulders hunching. “We just fucked. Can’t we just play nice, for one second?”

“Fucked? Play nice? See, this is my problem with you.”

“What? That I just gave you what you need?” I frown.

“What I need?” she scoffs. “Jesus Christ, you really are something.”

She pushes me aside and starts to pick up her clothes, putting them on quicker than I’ve ever seen a girl dress before, and that says a lot, because they’re usually out the door in no time.

“I wasn’t the only one who wanted that,” I say. “You and I both know it.”

“Sure,” she says.

I get up from the couch, my fingers already tightening into a fist. God, she pisses me off sometimes with her denial. “Don’t lie to me, Em.”

She turns around with that feisty look of hers, the one that I love to hate. “You don’t get it, do you? I don’t want to fuck. I don’t want to fuck around, I don’t want to do anything except be your PR lady, but you’re making it impossible for me.”

“No, you’re making it impossible for you. You’re too blinded by hatred to see what’s right in front of you.”

“And you’re drunk as fuck.”

That comment is like a stab to the heart. I know she’s right, but still, it hurts, because she’s the reason I’m drinking in the first place.

“And you know exactly why.”

“Sounds familiar,” she scoffs.

“Listen, I don’t know why you can’t just accept what we have, but—”

“No, you listen!” She pushes her finger into my chest. “I’m tired of being your toy. I won’t be your puppet so you can play with my strings until you’re bored and then hook up with the next best thing. I’m not going to make the same mistake.”

“Mistake … is that what you think this is?” My heart is pounding, and I swear to god, if she doesn’t stop, I’m going to do something I’ll definitely regret. I’ll turn this whole place upside down if she walks out on me like this. After what we just did. “Is that what you’ve always thought of us?”

“I don’t know what to think of this, Chris. That’s the point. I’m not me anymore. Not since I came here to be your PR lady. Not whenever I’m close to you.” She makes a face, but I can’t decipher what it means … it’s as if she doesn’t even know what she wants to say or do anymore.

“You’re toxic, Chris. And I don’t know why I can’t get that through my mind.”

“Because your heart wants my poison. You’re an addict, just as I am. You can deny it as long as you want, but you’ll never stop wanting me. I’ll make sure of that,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Chris … I can’t. I just can’t do this right now. This is one giant mess. Look at us. And Adrian … oh god, what if he tells Tricia? I don’t even want to know what happens now. I can’t have this on top of all the work I still have waiting for me at the office. It’s too much.” She takes a deep breath, gathers her things, and makes her way toward the door. “I have to go.”

“Wait! Don’t go like this,” I say, but she’s already gone.

For a moment, I contemplate following her, but then I realize she probably needs some time to cool off and process what just happened. I understand it’s hard to deal with. I am her stepbrother now, after all.

But still, I won’t let this rest. She might think this is the end of it, but this conversation, and our fling, is far from over. I intend to turn it into something much more than just a fling. Something worthwhile, something that lasts, and … something she won’t regret.

What we were meant to be before I ruined everything.

Chapter 25

Chris

Age 17

It’s over.

The moment I read her text, my already broken heart feels daggered by the only girl I thought was the one for me.

Anger zaps through my body as I walk through the corridors of the school. I have only one thing on my mind, and it’s making me blind with seething hatred. I’m not even sure who I’m mad at; her, or her family, or mine. In their pursuit of happiness, they’ve ignored my needs and wishes and placed their own above mine. But I won’t take it any longer. I won’t let them walk all over us, our relationship, what we have. Or had. If it’s not too late.

I know exactly why she quit. One way or another, our parents were going to find out the truth about us. We couldn’t keep it hidden forever. And that’s the thing she’s most afraid of; what other people will think of us when they realize we’ve been together …

Our parents getting together was never part of the plan.

However, it was also never Emily’s plan to tell either of them about our love. She made me vow that I wouldn’t tell a soul. She’s too embarrassed, and she cares too much about her father’s happiness now that he’s with my mother. More than she cares about her own.

I’m about to break the promise I made her.

Fury bubbles to the surface, causing me to make fists as I stomp through the hallways to the principal’s office. Students gape at me and start to whisper, probably wondering whether I’m going to start a fight. Fuck yes, I am. I’m so fucking pissed off. I don’t give a shit about anyone else, and I can’t even think straight. I only have one thing on my mind, and that’s getting this shit out in the open.