Mistakes? I’ve made plenty. The biggest one? Falling head over heels for Brian Lockwood—my brother’s best friend and the captain of the school’s basketball team. For years, I lived in the shadow of my one wish: for him to see me as more than just Simon’s little sister. But how could he, with Lyla, his perfect girlfriend, glued to his side? Then everything changed. Lyla cheated, Brian’s heart shattered, and he was desperate for a distraction. That’s when he came to me with a deal—a no-strings-attached arrangement where we could give each other exactly what we wanted. I saw my chance. I thought I could make him fall in love with me. But I didn’t account for how messy things could get—how keeping it all a secret from Simon would twist everything. And when Brian crossed a line I couldn’t forgive, I knew it was time to let go of my high school crush. Fast forward three years. I’m over him. Or so I tell myself. Except now Brian’s back, no longer the heartbroken boy I knew but a leading basketball star with one goal: to win me over. I swore I wouldn’t fall for him again.
View MoreSteph’s POV: “Ugh, why is it so hot?” Stella complained, combing her fingers through her hair, then getting back to the plate of tacos, Beck had just ordered for her. “Tell me about it.” I said. It wasn't just the heat. They had woken me up early in the morning to get dressed for this darn match, and my nerves were on edge today. The thought of seeing him after three years brought a pang of anxiety. My mind used to not be in my control when it came to him. I didn't want him to have that power over me again. I just needed to stop overthinking. I turned over to look at Lucy and Sarah. They were busy giggling away at a joke Zach, Beck's friend, had cracked. Zach, Stephen and Jeremy were Beck’s closest friends and they had hit it off with Lucy and Sarah immediately. “There's a party at the Moose's club. What do you say? You wanna join me after this? Zach asked Lucy. “I'd love to.” Lucy replied excitedly. I smiled at her enthusiasm. With how busy and mon
Steph's POV We were sitting at the cafeteria during the hour-long break between the lectures. I was busy making flash cards of pharmacology while Stella was eating her fries and popping one into my mouth from time to time. Whereas Sarah and Lucy were audibly swooning over some guy. “His chest looks rock hard. Imagine laying your head on it.” Lucy said, showing it to Stella too. “He has strong, veiny arms too. Veiny arms really do something to me.” Sarah chimed. “Well hello, sweetie, missed me?” I heard a velvety voice whisper into my ears as a muscular arm slipped onto my shoulder, and Beck's charming face materialized in front of me. He gave me a mischievous grin, winking at me, and shook my head, gently removing his hand off my shoulder. “Hello girls! It's good to see you again.” He turned towards them cheerfully. Ever since the lunch, even Stella's heart had warmed towards him. “Yes, oh my god, I missed you. We weren't even able to thank
Steph's Pov“The WLOB stars are about to participate in a new league. Brian Lockwood, the captain of team Omega has just announced their new three-on-three Unrivalled league that will start on January twenty-fifth in Texas……….” A loud clunk echoed in the kitchen when I dropped my butter knife. “What's wrong with you?” Sarah said, picking up the knife and putting it in the sink, annoyed that I had ruined a perfectly clean knife. “I don't blame her, I'd lose my shit too after laying my eyes on the Lockwood guy.” Stella said in my support, except it irritated me even more. I could not believe what that annoying man on television had just said. He was coming back. Brian Lockwood was coming back. I mean, it shouldn't have been that big of a shock. His parents lived here, he had to come back to his hometown eventually. I couldn't avoid him forever. “God, even his name is sexy, Lockwood, it just slips right off your tongue.” Sarah said in approval. “Y
Steph's Pov “Man, does Mitchell never get bored of listening to his own voice? He drones on and on, giving me a fucking migraine every time. Lucy complained, slouching in her seat. We had just taken Mitchell's solid three-hour lecture. With Mitchell's, three hours meant three hours, not a minute less or more. “Who's up for some crispy fried chicken?” Stella proposed, nudging my shoulder. I was busy completing and compiling my notes. “Yes, me. I'm starving; my stomach has been rumbling throughout the class.” I chimed in. “Oh my God, guys, Meghan and Jack broke up.” Sarah began with her daily dose of gossip. “What? No way!” “Yeah, I used to think they looked sweet together. What happened?” We all leaned in, eager to hear the juicy news. “Apparently, Jack got drunk and hooked up with someone at the club.” Sarah continued, her voice barely above a whisper as if she were sharing a big secret. “I always thought Meghan deserved better; good riddance.” I
Steph's Pov “Bro, it's midday. Do you think we should wake her up?” “No, she's never slept in; maybe she needs it.” “How drunk do you think she—oh, oh, I think she's waking up!” I could hear the whispers next to me when I tried to flutter my eyes open, but the bright light sent a shot of pain through, forcing me to shut them up just as quickly. I groaned, “Man, my head hurts,” I said, holding my head with both my palms. When my eyes adjusted, I slowly opened them to find Stella, Lucy and Sarah standing around my bed staring into my soul. They looked like they'd start performing a ritual on me. “Well, who asked you to take off with a random guy you had just met?” Stella scolded me and I looked at Lucy and Sarah squinting my eyes, and they stood there with two hands joined together, mouthing me to not throw them under the bus. “Girl, you were busy flirting and dancing with some other guy, so I decided to have a little bit of fun on my own. W
I pulled out my red dress with sequins embedded into it. Seeing him waving at his fans and smiling so bright that it had his eyes all crinkled had me all riled up. I wanted to look and feel the best. “I'll make you regret it, Brian Lockwood; I'll make you regret leaving me.” I said to myself in the mirror. Gosh, why was it still about him? Man, I really needed to get some drinks into my system to wash him out of it. My phone began to ring and it took me a while to find it under the pile of clothes heaped onto my bed. By the time I found it, it had stopped ringing. It was Simon. Brian and Simon had both qualified for the nationals together but played for different teams. Simon was part of the Inferno. I didn't really follow the game but I knew that both Omega and Inferno had been at the top of the board this year. Simon and I spoke from time to time. He had called me drunk, crying when the coach had threatened to kick him off the team. “I'm su
3 years laterSteph’s Pov “Steph, are you done with Mitchell's worksheet?” Stella, one of my housemates, popped her head through my bedroom door frame. “I'm working on it; let's tally whatever we have done.” I said and fifteen minutes later we were huddled together at my desk even more frustrated than before. “I swear to God, he does all of this deliberately. That sadistic man gets pleasure out of torturing and failing us.” I said with irritation. “Please don't say that. I can't afford to fail even one test this semester. It's our last semester. This is the time the GPA needs to be maintained the most.” Stella said, looking horrified. I rubbed my hands over her shoulder. I remembered last semester, we sat on the university steps trying to calm Stella down as she bawled her eyes out after Mitchell's had just shattered her dreams into pieces. “You might as well just throw away your dreams of setting foot in the hospital ever, if you're plan
Brian’s PovI despised myself in that moment. Every muffled sob that came from the other side of her bedroom door pierced my chest like a blade. Steph’s tears always broke me in ways I couldn’t describe, and the fact that I had caused them made me loathe myself even more.Leaning against her door, I clenched my fists, willing myself to stay put, to not burst in and hold her. But I was a coward. A coward who had ruined the one person who trusted me without question. I pressed my forehead against the cool wood, each wail behind it twisting my insides tighter. I couldn’t stay. I needed to be away—away from everyone, especially from her. But most of all, away from myself.By the time I reached my room, I was barely holding it together, the rawness of my emotions clawing at me. I slammed the door shut behind me, but it didn't stop the chaos swirling inside my mind. My knees gave out, and I sank to the floor, my back pressed against the cold wood, my breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps.
Steph's PovI called Brian's number and both times, it took me to the voicemail. I didn't like this sickening feeling in my chest. Yes, I had agreed on not giving official tags to our relationship, but I did think, we were close enough that I deserved to know if he was going away for six months. Or had that been his plan all along, to just completely ghost me? To use me, when he needed. I could not believe I had been this blind and stupid. He really did not give a single fuck about me. Kylie had been right all along; I should've just listened to her. But I had been in denial. In that moment, it was fun lying to myself, but now when I could feel my heart sinking, I didn't think it was worth it. No one should get to treat me like this. Yes, he was hurt then, but I had sacrificed enough of my own happiness to take his pain away. I was not going to make a fool of myself anymore.***Brian's voice called out as the door creaked open. “Do you want to join us for a game of Mo
"Stephanie!" My brother, Simon's voice pierced through my ears. I begrudgingly looked away from my book. I have to give it to Simon for always interrupting my reading when something really interesting is about to happen. The main leads were just about to have their first kiss, but no, he has to ruin that. "What?" I yelled back, the annoyance in my voice was visible. "Where the hell are my blue sneakers? Brian and the girls are waiting for me. I am already quite late." The mention of Brian piqued my interest. "Where are you guys off to?" "The shoes, Steph, and the fair. We're going to the fair. Do you want to join us too? Rita and Lyla are coming as well." Hearing Lyla's name dampened all my excitement, "No thanks, I'm good, besides, I have work in an hour." Lyla was Brian's girlfriend, and Rita was the girl my brother had been seeing lately. Simon and Brian had been best friends since middle school, and their friendship started with the passion and aggression t...
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