LOGINAuthor's povThe last thing Amaya wanted was to think about Jaxon.Unfortunately, he seemed to follow her everywhere, even when he wasn't around.She sat in the lecture hall with her notebook open, but the words on the board refused to make sense. The professor had been talking for almost twenty minutes, yet she hadn't written a single line.Her mind kept drifting.The strange conversations.The little moments they shared.The confusing way he could make her angry and calm her down in the same breath.She hated it.More than that, she hated that she couldn't understand herself anymore.When the lecture finally ended, students rushed out of the classroom in groups. Amaya took her time packing her books, hoping the slow walk back to the hostel would clear her head.She had barely stepped outside when someone called her name."Amaya!"She turned and saw Kian jogging toward her.He was smiling, but there was something nervous about him that she hadn't noticed before."Hey," she said."Hi.
Jaxon's PovI paused outside her door, hearing it before I even saw it, the faint, uneven breaths, the quiet little moans that made my blood pound. My hand rested against the frame, and I swore I could feel the tension vibrating through the wood.Amaya. My Amaya. She had that phone in her hand, flushed and trembling, completely absorbed in whatever she was doing. I should have walked away. Should have respected her space. But I couldn’t. Not when she looked like that. Not when she was… like this.I stepped into the room slowly, not wanting to startle her. My eyes caught the subtle glow of her phone against the dark of her room. Her hair had fallen loosely over her shoulders, slightly messy, framing a face I knew would be gorgeous even if she tried to hide it. The flush across her cheeks, the quick inhale she didn’t realize she was taking, the way her lips were slightly parted…I had to fight the urge to step closer, to reach out, to touch her. But I settled for leaning against the doo
I lay sprawled on my bed, the soft glow of my bedside lamp casting long shadows across the room. It was late, the kind of quiet night where the city's hum faded into a distant murmur. I'd stripped down to just my tank top and panties after a long shower, my skin still damp and warm. My phone sat on the pillow beside me, screen dark, but I couldn't shake the restlessness buzzing under my skin. Work had been a grind, and Jaxon, God, Jaxon, had been on my mind all day. That intense stare of his in the school hallway, the way his shirt hugged his shoulders. I pushed the thought away, not ready to dwell on the impossible crush I'd developed on my stepbrother. i couldn't believe i was actually saying that A soft vibration jolted me from my haze. I snatched up the phone, heart skipping as I saw the notification from Unknown Number, the mystery texter who'd been lighting up my nights for weeks. No name, no face, just these electric words that made my pulse race. Unknown Number: Hey, strang
I told myself this morning that I could handle it. That I could go to campus, keep my head down, and act like last night hadn’t happened. Like Jaxon hadn’t slipped his hand around my waist, like I hadn’t spent the night tangled in his arms, heart hammering, body on fire.It didn’t take long for that plan to fail.I was walking across the parking lot, earbuds in, trying to focus on the music, when I froze. My chest tightened, my stomach dropped, and I almost stumbled over my own feet.There he was. Jaxon. Leaning casually against his car, and of course… Tiana. Her hand curled around his neck, lips pressed to his, kissing him like the world didn’t exist. My pulse thundered in my ears. I could feel heat rise to my cheeks, and my hands balled into fists at my sides.I wanted to look away. I wanted to run. But my body refused. My eyes were glued to them. The scene felt like a dagger twisting in my chest. The way he let her cling to him, the way his lips moved… I should have been angry, dis
I woke to the weight of him pressed against me, his arm draped over my waist, his chest warm beneath my cheek. For a second, I couldn’t move. The memory of last night, the movie, the closeness, the way he held me, hit me all at once, like a tidal wave I wasn’t ready to face.Panic clawed at me. My heart hammered. I didn’t belong here. I didn’t belong in his arms. I had no right. Slowly, carefully, I tried to extricate myself, holding my breath as I eased out of the sheets.His arm tightened slightly. I froze. Did he feel me moving? Did he know I was slipping away? I risked a glance, he was still asleep, the faint rise and fall of his chest calm and steady. I let out a shaky breath and tiptoed toward the door, praying the floorboards didn’t creak.Once I was in my own room, heart still racing, I wrapped myself in my pajamas like a shield. The panic hadn’t left; it had only amplified. I didn’t know how to face him, or myself.Breakfast felt like walking onto a stage. The smell of toast
Amaya's povThe movie played on, but it was just background noise. I barely noticed the opening credits, my mind too tangled in the heat of the moment. Jaxon was leaning back on his bed, his dark eyes flicking toward me every few seconds. I tried to focus on the screen, pretending I was paying attention, but his presence was overwhelming, magnetic and impossible to ignore.I hesitated at the edge of the bed. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could feel it through the mattress. Every instinct screamed at me to step back, to retreat, to remind myself of all the reasons this was wrong. But every muscle in my body seemed to be glued to him, drawn forward by some invisible force.“Sit closer,” his voice murmured, low and deliberate, cutting through the tension like a knife. My stomach flipped. It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a command, and somehow, I obeyed. My legs slid onto the bed, my body careful to stay distant, but my hands trembled as I gripped the edg
Amaya pushed her door open and stepped inside, relief washing over her at finally being in her space. School had drained her, classes, whispers, and the constant pretending that everything was normal. She let her bag slide off her shoulder, sighing as she set it down by the chair. Just as she was
The canteen buzzed with voices, trays clattering against tables, and the faint smell of fried rice lingering in the air. Amaya slid into a chair across from Zara, her shoulders tense, lips pressed into a thin line. She hadn’t touched her food since she got it, just picking at it absently, her eyes
Jaxon’s lips pressed harder against Tiana’s, the kiss no longer playful but hungry. Tiana leaned into him with ease, her hands sliding across his chest, tracing the lines of his body as though she had been waiting for this moment forever. Jaxon’s fingers tightened at the back of her neck, pulling
“Amaya!” Her mother’s voice rang out from the room.Amaya sighed, dragging her tired legs off the bed. She had just settled in after a long day. Couldn’t she get a moment of peace?She pushed open the door to her mom’s room. “Yes, Mum?”Her mother was standing by the wardrobe with a small pile of n







