LOGINLilyI laughed, my body shaking uncontrollably.Chris was telling me stories about all the women he had been with when he was in France, and damn.French women were a different breed of women.One had tried to pin a 10 month old baby on him as the father when they had met only four months ago, and the other had killed his hamster and left it as a present at his door step Of course, every single one had been kinda justified, but it was still funny “I should have known driving in New York was a bad idea.” Chris said as we both stared at the ongoing traffic.It was so slow that we had spent twenty minutes in the same block“Sorry, welcome back.” I grinned “Thanks, Lils. I missed you.”The way he said those words made me suspicious.As much as I was enjoying my the with Chris, something felt a little off about our interaction.I did not want to jump into conclusions but I was starting to think my father had planned this whole thing with Chris as a date.“Yeah, of course you did. It's m
Lily I was still half-asleep when I felt Mason’s arm tighten around my waist. His breath was warm against my neck, slow and heavy from sleep. For a brief, blissful moment, I forgot everything. Who I was, where we were, and what this meant. Then, the sharp knock at my door shattered it all. “Lily?” My father’s voice. Every trace of sleep vanished. Mason’s eyes shot open instantly, and we just stared at each other for half a second before I scrambled out of bed. “Under the bed now!” I hissed. He looked at me, wide-eyed, clearly not thrilled about the idea. “Seriously?” “Yes, seriously!” I whispered harshly, shoving his shirt at him. Another knock came, firmer this time. “Lily, are you awake?” I barely got Mason under the bed before I yanked the blanket up to hide the mess we’d made. I grabbed the nearest shirt I could find, his of course, and pulled it over my head. “One second!” I yelled, trying to sound casual even though my heart was pounding so hard I could feel
Lily I was still half-asleep when I felt Mason’s arm tighten around my waist. His breath was warm against my neck, slow and heavy from sleep. For a brief, blissful moment, I forgot everything. Who I was, where we were, and what this meant. Then, the sharp knock at my door shattered it all. “Lily?” My father’s voice. Every trace of sleep vanished. Mason’s eyes shot open instantly, and we just stared at each other for half a second before I scrambled out of bed. “Under the bed now!” I hissed. He looked at me, wide-eyed, clearly not thrilled about the idea. “Seriously?” “Yes, seriously!” I whispered harshly, shoving his shirt at him. Another knock came, firmer this time. “Lily, are you awake?” I barely got Mason under the bed before I yanked the blanket up to hide the mess we’d made. I grabbed the nearest shirt I could find, his of course, and pulled it over my head. “One second!” I yelled, trying to sound casual even though my heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my
Lily:I tried to sleep, I really did, but sleep would not come…No matter how comfortable I seemed to be I sighed, and stood up from my bed. There was no way sleep was coming now. It had been 2 hours.I would just have to make myself one of those herbal teas dad made that he swore made him sleep better.I made my way downstairs in my oversized t shirt and nothing but panties under.I got downstairs and was very thankful that Mason had gone to bed.I placed the kettle if water on the stove, and made my way to the cabinet dad always kept his tea collection.I took out one pack, and took two bags and collected a mug from another cabinet.I scrolled through my phone waiting for the water to boil. I quickly texted Taylor, asking her how her date was going.She sent a thumbs up almost immediately. That meant it was going well.I chuckled, and sent a text, saying “have fun, and make sure not to do anything I wouldn't do.”She texted me an eye roll emoji.“Couldn't sleep too, huh?” I jumped
LilySleep refused to come.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him. His stupid calm face, that infuriating smirk, and the way his shirt clung to his chest like it had a personal vendetta against me.I tossed to my side, then to the other. The clock blinked 1:47 a.m. back at me in the dark.Why couldn’t he just leave?Why couldn’t he act normal, like a regular stepbrother who didn’t make my stomach twist every time he was near?I shoved my blanket off and pressed my palms over my eyes. This was ridiculous.I could hear him moving downstairs, the faint sound of footsteps, the squeak of the old couch springs. He was probably perfectly comfortable, while I was up here losing my mind.“Probably because you can’t let it go either,” my brain whispered.“Shut up,” I muttered to myself.Taylor should’ve stayed. At least she was a distraction, loud, dramatic, and always full of chaos that wasn’t mine. But no. She had to run off to her mystery date, leaving me alone in this house with him.And D
Lily:I wasn't pissed.I wasn't.It wasn't like we were together, so why would I even be pissed?“You okay? Taylor asked as we got into my house Dad wasn't home which in my opinion was good.“Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?”“Because you're pacing, and doing that thing you do with your eyes when you're upset.”“What thing?” I asked.“The twitching.”“I don't twitch! Whatever, I'm fine.”“Right. Well, I gotta go. I have a date.”“What? You didn't tell me you were seeing someone.” I said, forgetting all about my Mason.“I know, but I didn't say anything, because I wasn't even sure I wanted to date him. We've had sex a couple of times. It wasn't meant to be serious, but it is now…so.”I grinned.“I'm happy to hear that!”“So, I'm going to need your help. I have no clue what to wear.’A smile spread across my face. Usually, Taylor helped me with things like this.It felt like an honor for her to ask me, and I wasn't about to disappoint her.“Leave it to me. I have a bunch of clothes I







