PRINCE CHARMING: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance(82)

“Stop!” I yelled. I pushed him off me.

He stopped and came to rest beside me. A few tears leaked from the corner of his eyes, but he immediately wiped them away. His face hardened, and he got up, staring out the window at the party below.

“I’m going tonight. We’ll pretend this never happened. You’ll see other people, and I will too. Next summer, we’re going to just be stepbrother and sister. This will never be spoken of again,” I said, my voice shaking with sadness.

He looked at me, nodded, and walked away, leaving me alone in the room.

I couldn’t stop crying. I grabbed one of the soft pillows, the softness of it muffling my gasps and miserable cries. I remembered my dad telling me that you knew you were growing up when you made hard decisions despite wanting otherwise. He was right.

Hearing the laughter and music downstairs brought me back to my senses. This was my mother’s day, and I would not ruin it for her. I went to the bathroom and grabbed some toilet paper. I washed away some of my mascara stains so no one would know I had been crying. I noticed that the pillow I’d been using was slightly stained.

“Shit,” I muttered. I took the pillow case off the pillow, threw it under the bed, and tucked the pillow underneath a bunch of fancier ones so no one would notice. I stood there, disturbed by how I had become far too used to hiding things. Not having a secret anymore would be great. I just wasn’t the type of person to lie like this.

I went back downstairs, desperate to find Sarah. I wanted her comfort. She was the only person who knew anything about this, and I wanted to be around someone who knew the truth.

“Hey.” She looked concerned. “What happened?”

“I broke it off with him. It’s over.”

“Oh…that must have been why he left,” she said.

“He left?” I asked.

“Yeah. I overheard him telling his dad he felt sick.”

I exhaled sharply, feeling terrible. “Is it okay if I leave with you tonight and spend the last few weeks of summer at your place? My dad is on vacation, but he’s coming back in a couple of weeks, so I could leave a bit earlier. It’s an emergency.”

Sarah rubbed my arm comfortingly. “Of course. My parents love you. Are your parents going to be okay with you leaving here so early?”

“They’re going on their honeymoon tonight, so it’s not like I would see her much for the rest of the summer, anyway,” I explained. “I just need to get out of here. I can’t spend another minute around him.”

I looked at my mother and Gary posing for a picture. They looked so happy, and I knew in my gut that I was doing the right thing. I wished that my heart would figure it out.





ASHTON


Jen cuddled into my shoulder. We were both naked, huddling under the blankets. I opened my eyes, feeling the chill of the fall fill me with cold. I sat up in my bed, looking around my room. The sun was beginning to leak in, which meant I had work soon. I grumbled to myself, still not quite used to getting up this early. I shook Jen gently, trying to wake her up.

“Babe, I have to get ready for work,” I said.

Jen opened her clear blue eyes and made a face. “Ugh. Why do you have to get up for work so early?”

“It’s a full-time job. You can’t be too picky.”

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Okay. Let’s shower together.”

“Sounds good,” I replied with a sigh.

I shivered my ass off as I walked to the shower. I turned it on, and steam quickly filled the room. I wasted no time getting into the shower and rubbing body wash all over myself. Jen followed soon after.

“Shit, it’s cold this year,” she said.

“That means winter is coming early,” I teased.

“Please. We all know winter is already here.”

I rubbed soap all over her back, and she smiled, letting out a soft and relaxed sigh. She arched her shoulders into me, responding to my touch.

“There’s nothing like smelling like a man first thing in the morning,” she teased.

“It’s better than smelling like my jizz.”

“Come to think of it, I still feel it all over my face.” She winked.

She helped wash my body, and I enjoyed her warmth. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to ignore my thoughts, the comparisons I made between her and Amy. When we had sex, I had to keep my eyes open so I wouldn’t pretend it was Amy beneath me. I wondered if she ever noticed my weird behavior, but she was so into having sex with me that I wasn’t sure.

We got out of the shower and dried off, an awkward silence between us. Silences were always awkward because questions about the status of our relationship would always follow.

“So when are we making things official?” she asked.

I took a deep breath and threw my shirt over my head. I searched for my pants, trying not to look at her. I couldn’t deal with the pained expression on her face. “I told you I’m not ready for anything like that. I just want to have fun. I thought you were okay with that,” I said, trying to be honest without being a total douche.

She looked down, disappointed as usual. “I’m not exactly looking to get married, but I would like to know that I’m the only girl you’re seeing. And I know I’m not.”

“I’m not the only guy you’re seeing either, so what’s the big deal?” I asked, exasperated.