เข้าสู่ระบบI woke up furious.It was not the slow-building anger that creeps up on you as you remember why you're pissed. No, this was very instant, and it was visceral, the kind of rage that had me throwing off my covers and storming to my bathroom before my eyes were fully open. My jaw was clenched so tight that it ached, and my hands balled into fists, and the whole of my body was vibrating with a fury that had nowhere to go.Fuck Jax. Fuck his noble bullshit about me deserving better. Fuck his hypocritical confrontation about Miles when he was the one who'd pushed me toward this in the first place. Fuck everything about last night.I turned the water on, and the shower was scalding, and it felt like it was painful, literally, but I stood under the spray anyway, letting the heat beat against my shoulders while I replayed the entire scene in my head. The way his face changed when I called him a hypocrite. The way his voice had cracked when he said he hated this. The fucking audacity of tellin
I stared at him, and didn't even know when the words came out of my lips."You're a fucking hypocrite," I said quietly.He flinched like I'd slapped him."You push me toward Miles, tell me to give him a real chance, insist I need to test this thing between us. And now that I'm actually doing it. Now that I'm actually trying to get something done, you've been pushing me toward for weeks, you show up in my room angry about it." I shook my head, and the anger and frustration diffusing from my head to every other part of my body made my chest tight. "You don't get to have it both ways, Jax. You don't get to push me away and then be mad when I actually go.""I'm not—" He stopped, and his hands started running through his hair again, making it stick up in a way that would've been endearing if I wasn't so fucking furious. "Fuck. You're right. You're right, okay? I know I'm being a hypocrite. I know I pushed you toward this. But hearing you on the phone with him, hearing you say you missed h
My heart beat very fast as he said the words from the other end. "I really missed you."The words hung there, heavy and significant, he's clearly wanting me to say them back. My mouth opened, closed, and opened again."I missed you too," I finally managed, and it wasn't entirely a lie. I'd missed having someone appropriate to think about, someone who made sense, someone I could actually have a future with without those faint thoughts that I'd possibly end up destroying my entire family.I just hadn't missed him specifically.We talked for a few more minutes, and he filled me in on more Chicago details most which I barely absorbed, though I was responding as needed and indulging exactly how I should—before he finally said goodnight.The second the call ended, I let my phone drop onto the bed beside me and i pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes.What the fuck was I doing?I knew the answer. I was testing. I was trying. I was doing exactly what I'd told Jax I needed to do, what
Oh no."What about him?" I asked, trying to sound as casual as possible, but I failed."You had dinner Friday. Were doing better. Now you're distant again."I scrambled for an explanation. "Just adjusting to the new dynamic."Mom looked confused. "New dynamic? You're siblings. It should be simple."We're not siblings. There's nothing simple about us. There's never gonna be."Just be kind to each other," Mom advised. "Just make sure you're kind to each other." She repeated it and laid emphasis on the "Kind" before she then left.I cried quietly. This is so fucking hard, everything about this is so very hard.I picked it up my phone and started typing.Me: "Hey! Sorry, busy week—"I deleted it.I couldn't, I'm not ready, it's not fucking today.I put the phone down.The evening was approaching. It was about 5 PM. Dinner is coming soon, and since we're both home, I'll have to face him again, unless I'm going to skip dinner which I'll probably have to lie that there's a reason why I did,
I woke up slowly, and I could feel the morning light coming through unfamiliar windows. But wait a minute. These aren't my windows.I was in his bed.Oh no.I checked the time on my phone, and it was 7:23 AM. It's Sunday morning. Mom and Dad would be awake, probably downstairs already preparing breakfast.Shit. Shit. Shit.His arm was still resting heavy and warm around me. I pulled the sheets up, and we're both naked under his sheets.I had to move. Now. I can't just stay here like this."Jax," I touched his shoulder gently, and whispered with high urgency. "Jax, wake up."He stirred slowly. His face formed little smiles even before he even opened his eyes. He probably was thinking about last night. Then his eyes opened very wide like reality hit."What's the time?" He sat up fast."Seven thirty.""Fuck." He moved up immediately, and both of us started scrambling for clothes.I found my shorts and tank top, pulled them on fast. He was throwing on pants. A shirt.He went to his door,
We were catching our breath, panting, and completely satisfied.His arms went around me, holding me, spooning even though his dick was still inside.The moment was perfect. It was quiet, except for the loud breathing of both of us.Eventually he was starting to soften, and then had to pull out. He pulled out slowly and we both gasped when he was finally out.The mess was immediate. His cum leaking out of me, onto his sheets, and the both of us didn't even care.I rolled over to face him, very closely and looked at him straight in the eyes.Hi," he said, looking at me.I laughed, very breathless, and happy. "Hi."We were both just looking at each other, and reality was starting to creep in.What we'd just done. We've broke the space I'd asked for.I should feel guilty, I should feel like I wanted to do something and I didn't.I didn't. Not at all.He was searching my face, probably looking for regret, but he found none. His relief was very obvious."Are we okay?" he asked carefully.I
The word hung in the air heavy with everything we couldn't say, and I looked away first because I couldn't handle the weight of it, couldn't handle what I saw in his eyes when he said it.My heart was pounding and my hands felt shaky and I hated that he could still do this to me, could s
I heard the sound of everything before I even entered. Stepping back into the ballroom felt like entering a completely different world than the one I'd left twenty minutes ago.The space was still glittering with chandeliers and crowded with even more elegant people holding champagne flutes, classi
The conversation was still flowing easily and all I know was that I was laughing at something Alex had said when I felt it.I felt that kind of awareness that crawled up my spine and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up in a way that had nothing to do with the temperature of whe
Lexi Hart. My actual best friend.She's standing right there with white wine all over her pink mini dress.That same wide-eyed shock on her face, and then she was breaking into the biggest grin."SCARLETT?!""LEXI?!"There were pure disbelief and joy a







