NINE MONTH WITH MY STEPBROTHER

SETTING: DRAVILSBERG

SEASON: SUMMER

Chapter 1

LEXI CORNELL

I take a glance at my wristwatch. 7:05 A. M. It had been an hour and thirty minutes since Paul promised he would soon be here.

Standing outside the popular Eat 'a' Fill restaurant, I pull the hoodie of my sweatshirt closer, covering my face so I won’t be recognized and start to count down from sixty. 

To normal people, if their boyfriend stands them up for more than thirty minutes, they would either leave and wait for the man to come to them begging and vying for their attention again or they would wait for the man to arrive and cause a scene right in front of the onlookers.

He would then have no choice but to apologize if he doesn't want to lose the love of his life, right?

But in my case, I can't afford to get angry or cause a scene. The only thing I can do is to keep waiting until he shows up.

'Lexi,' I was brought down back to earth when I heard Paul's voice.

My eyes flew to his, I watch him move toward me in that sexy way I'd always love to watch him walk. Everything about him fascinate me the first time I saw him.

Paul Carlson. 

He wasn't as huge as those fantasy men people use to see on TV or read in books, but the way his grey shirt, and faded blue jeans hugged his lean frame stirred up something deep in me. It wasn't love at first sight but the more time we spent together, the more I fell in love with him.

'I am here. Let's go in and get something for breakfast, I am starving,' Paul mumbled, heading for the door of the restaurant.

This is the Paul I know; he had and would never apologize to me anytime he is in the wrong. Not so much as sorry for delaying me.

'Aren't you coming in?' he narrowed his eyes at me, and I shook my head to let him know I have no intention of going inside.

'Well, I'm starving, so you either come in with me or forget about talking,' he sneered, knowing I would have no choice but to do what he wants if talking to him today is so important to me.

But this time, I am determined to stand my ground. I strapped my bag closer to my waist, grabbed my umbrella from where I placed it against the wall and turned to leave.

'Seriously?' I could sense he is irritated by my action.

I had become so attuned to him that I know the meaning behind every line of his body—every expression on his face. And to think we've just been dating for a year, which also happens to be my longest relationship with the opposite gender.

A firm hand gripped my right elbow and roughly spin me around. I swallowed hard when I come face to face with Paul's tight expression. His face is cold and hard.

'What the fuck do you want to tell me?' he says through gritted teeth.

'Let’s break up,' the words spill out of my mouth so easily than I had imagined.

Paul seems taken aback, his grip on my elbow loosen and his hand fell away. Different emotions flash across his face but the most evident one. Shock.

He must have been preparing himself for all kinds of conversation with me except this one, it is clear he wasn't prepared for the bombshell I just threw at him. 

It took him a while, but he was able to process what I had just said. 

'What? Why?' he mumbled, his voice no longer taking on that hard edge, it softens to that of a wounded animal.

Did I know he is going to question my reason for breaking up with him? Yes. Am I prepared to answer all his questions? Yes.

I had been prepared to break up with him six months ago, I was just scared to tell him, fearing I would not like the outcome but now...

Now, I don't care what he would say or think. I am done with this fucking relationship. 

'Isn't it obvious? We are not compatible with each other Paul,' I explained. 'I'm so focused on getting my father's company back on its feet, and I need my boyfriend to understand and support me, but you...'

'What about me?' Paul glared at me as if he didn't like where the conversation is going. 

'All you care about and ever want from this relationship is sex. You don't care about me as a person, you don't care about what I want, what makes me tick, what makes me happy—you don't care about my goals or if we both have a future together. You only care about my body.'

Jesus. I have been dying to tell him all that for the past six months, but I couldn't. Knowing our anniversary is just around the corner, I decided it would be cruel of me to break up with him on such a special day.

Paul and I met on March 30 but we didn’t start dating until five months later, and as I said earlier, he fascinated me the moment I laid my eyes on him. Now imagine the joy I felt within me when we started seeing each other as a couple.

'What are you talking about?' Paul finally finds his voice. He didn't stop glaring though.

'Exactly what you heard, Paul,' I scowled at him. 'And you know it is true.'

'That's not true! You know I care about you!'

'Oh, come on. We both know you only care about yourself and no one else. If you so much as care about my feelings at all, you would try to make things work between us, but no. You only care about who and where you stick your dick into.

'I can't count how many times you've wanted to get under my skirt even after I told you I'm saving myself for our wedding night.'

'You're just being ridiculous,' Paul snapped. 'You made your point clear, and I loved you for that, I respect your decision.'

'As if,' I scoffed. 'Just yesterday, you pretend as if you are drunk and tried to force yourself on me—again, is that what you call respecting my decision?

'You don't even know anything about me, my dreams, my fears, or anything else that makes me who I am.'

'I know you way better than anyone else's, I know everything about you.'

'Is that so? Tell me what my favourite colour is.'

Paul stared at me like I have grown two heads, his mouth moved like he was about to say something, but he closed it again.

'You see—I don't want to be with someone who knows nothing about me, but only wants me for my body.'

His expression changes so fast, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanks my head back so I can stare into his eyes.

'How dare you break up with me? Have you forgotten who wanted this relationship in the first place?' He smirked down at me, his eyes taunting me.

In everything I have done since I became old enough to make my own decision, asking Paul to be my boyfriend is my only regret.

Though it wasn't love at first sight for me, the more I get to spend time with him, the more I wanted to be with him. At first, I thought he felt the same, but when he kept spending more time with other girls than me, I decided to take matters into my hand.

It was the most terrible decision I made, and I regret it. I should have never sent him that message where I confessed my feelings and asked him to be my boyfriend.

I stared into his eyes with as much sincerity as I could muster and whispered. 'What I did was so foolish, and I regret it. Since I am the one who started this— I am going to put an end to it now.'

Paul growled, his face impassive. 'Fine! If that's how you want it' he spat at me. 'I also don't want to be a prude who doesn't know how to have fun.'

'And I also don't want to be with a selfish jerk who only cares about his pleasure,' I yelled at his face.

How dare he call me a prude?

He let's go of my hair and move away from me as if my presence burns him. 

'Now I understand why your previous relationships failed,' Paul sneered. 'You must have made them bored with your no-sex rules.'

I turned around and walked away before he could say anything else.

He was right! Even though it wasn’t the main reason, my no-sex rules were one of the reasons my previous relationships had failed. Though I had harboured feelings for Paul and the other three guys I dated in the past, they didn't evoke in me that primal desire to get hot and sweaty with them. 

I knew something was amiss when I find it hard to enjoy a simple kiss from my first boyfriend, imagine my disappointment when I realized I have the same issue when I started dating boyfriend number two. 

It was the same with boyfriend number three and now Paul. Though I learned to make it look like I enjoyed kissing all of them, I couldn't bring myself to have sex with any of them just to keep them by my side.

If I had let them sleep with me, it would have made me feel like I was sacrificing an unwilling part of myself just to make the relationship work.

A car honk pulled me out of my thoughts, and I jumped aside before the oncoming car could get to me. The driver yelled curse words at me as he speeds past where I stood—waiting for him to get away so I could cross to the other side where I had parked my car.

Quickly crossing over, I pull open the door of my alpine white BMW M240i Coupe and got in just in time to hear my phone ring. 

'Hey mom,' I forced myself to smile as soon as I press the answer button. 'Of course. I would be with you in thirty minutes. Okay.'

I dropped my phone on the passenger seat and start the car— driving through the busy street of Dravilsberg.