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45 || Sweetheart
Calum doesn’t come for practice. Mr Prescott is a good choirmaster but I want Calum. I need him. In his absence, we do things differently today. Mr Prescott merges the three of us—me, Regina and Christie with the rest of the choir.
I’m half-singing my lungs out. By the end of practice, I’m ready to bolt out of here and find him. But I need a ride. With Rose close on my heels, we start for her car. There’s a text from him waiting on my phone. He better have a good explanation.
Rose drives out of the parking lot. I unlock my phone and put on the radio to discourage her from striking up a conversation. Calum’s text is from an hour ago. He knew he wouldn’t be here for practice, so why didn’t he say that earlier?
C: Sweetheart, you’re going home with Rose today.
A smile fights its way to my lips. Fuck him and his text. He can’t bribe me with sweet names.
Me: Why? Where are you
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To Tempt My Stepbrother 46 || Bad place
I wake up alone in my bed.The coldness of the pendant against my chest unlocks the memories from last night. Calum sang another song and my heart is convinced he did it because the lyrics are a true reflection of his feelings for me. Mine as well. I need him to warm these lonely nights and more than that, I need him to just be mine. Be the person I can always talk to.What if Calum loves me? I want him to love me, to see me as an adult. Halting in front of the mirror, I open the locket and tears shimmer in my eyes. My knees weaken and I place the necklace beside the snow globe.I couldn’t have asked for better birthday gifts. If I want to keep him happy, I should start getting ready for school instead of gawking at my gifts.A tiny wave of guilt stabs me in the chest when I spot Jackson’s bracelet sitting between my makeup kit. I slide the gift into its box with a mental note to return it to him. In the shower and alone with
To Tempt My Stepbrother 47 || Keep it
I grow the balls to talk to Jackson after my last class. His smile grows bigger as I approach him in the lot. My nerves tangle in a bigger knot and I nearly run back into the school. I can’t do this.Picturing Calum’s face gives me the courage to complete the short distance between us. Once I’m within touching reach, Jackson hugs me tight. I hug him back because it feels right and it’s the least I can do. He steps back with an arm on my shoulder, a wide grin splitting his lips.“So? Have you thought about it?” he asks.Looking around the parking lot to make sure we are alone, I nod. I asked us to meet here so Calum won’t see us. I’ll have to explain to him later why I was late to choir practice but it’s worth it. Even if my dearest stepbrother doesn’t say it or acts unbothered, he’s jealous. I like that he’s jealous. I like to think it’s because he loves me so he can&
To Tempt My Stepbrother 48 || A sin. Incest
CALUMI’m writing a song for my stepsister when the door creaks. Someone knocks and a smile curls my lips. I shove the notepad into my bag before crossing over to the door to open it. I don’t want Cathy to see it until it’s done. If I ever get done with it.The person at the door is not Cathy. It’s my mum. My smile drops. She flashes me a smile and I move back for her to enter inside. Cathy was supposed to be here for rehearsal. I haven’t told her yet but she will be taking the solo. Not only because she has my heart but because she has earned her place as the solo singer. Among all three, she’s the best.My mum walks over to my laptop opened on the desk. She picks up the notepad before I can stop her. Yes, she can be nosy. But her nosiness saved my life once so I can’t complain. I sit on the bed while she reclines on my chair. A glint creeps into her eyes as she scours my notepad.“You’re wr
To Tempt My Stepbrother 49 || Boundaries
A knock sounds on the door as I’m leaving my bathroom. I peek at the time. He’s earlier today.“Are you ready?” comes the undeniable voice of my stepbrother. I’m not ready but I sashay to the door in only my white towel and fling it open. Calum gulps. Water rolls down my hair to my chest, disappearing into the towel. His dark gaze sweeps over me and my hand drops to the knot of the towel. I want him to see me naked. I want him to touch me. “Don’t. I will wait for you downstairs.”I smile at my stepbrother’s back. He pauses at the stairs and shakes his head when he notices me ogling him. I wink but he continues down the stairs. Going through the motion of getting dressed, I hum Surf Mesa’s love song under my breath. One day, I’ll sing it to him. If I ever get to writing songs, I’ll sing for him on a big stage.Calum is not downstairs when I get there. I jog outside to meet him in
To Tempt My Stepbrother 50 || Take it slow
The second our lips meet, I know it’s a mistake.“But we will have to take it really slow,” I tell a dazed Jackson. I’m dazed myself but I’m doing a better job of hiding it. I just kissed him. I just freaking kissed another guy that’s not Calum.It’s not wrong. Calum dumped me.His fingers grasp my jaw, tilting my head back. “Did anything happen? Cathy, are you okay?” That’s not what I expect from him. Maybe that’s why tears gather in my eyes. Jackson peers down at me with so much worry, care and affection. The noises around me fade, everything is a blur but the guy worried about me. I need to get it together before it gets to my dad’s attention that I had a breakdown in the hallway before my first class.“No. Not really,” I answer sincerely.Jackson hugs me. It’s unexpected and different from all our other hugs. It&
To Tempt My Stepbrother 51 || We need to talk
The next day, I’m still hurting. More than I did yesterday. My heart misses him. Our hugs and cuddles and kisses. Kissing Jackson is not the same. It only makes me feel emptier, a hurtful reminder I’m doing the wrong thing to heal.I pick the phone from the dresser and smile at the text. It’s from Jackson. He wants to know if I’ll be at the Friday game so I can have his shirt. I send him a quick reply and he promises to bring it to school tomorrow when he comes to pick me up.Jackson dropped me at home today, same thing yesterday because I skipped practice. There’s no point going there when I can’t have Calum.Speaking of Calum, where is that heartbreaker?Rehearsals ended an hour ago. Calum should be here now. I can’t ask Dani about him. She will ask why I missed practice and it will pique Dad’s interest. I open my windows to make it easier to hear him drive in. There’s no sign of th
To Tempt My Stepbrother 52 || Number one
Miss Gates hasn’t visited yet. I’m not happy but I’m relieved. It would have been awkward, as awkward as it was on Wednesday evening when Jackson knocked and Calum opened the door. Thinking about that day makes me annoyed. He’s not jealous. He doesn’t care what I do with my life.Today is the game. I pair Jackson’s white jersey with a black jeans. Girlfriend duties but the thought leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Number one is written behind in blue colour. I smoothen the front of the jersey and smile at my reflection in the mirror. My pink hair contrasts with my outfit. I look like someone emptied a rainbow on me.Calum’s door opens. I’ve become more attuned to the sound since we broke up.People break up and get back together all the time. That knowledge and the fact he hasn’t played his guitar comforts me a little. Maybe I’m pathetic for waiting on him but I think this is a phase. Phases a
To Tempt My Stepbrother 53 || Walk of shame
The walk of shame to Calum’s car is the longest walk of my life. I get in the front seat, fasten my seatbelt and we spend the next second glaring at each other because he hasn’t buckled up.Clenching the steering so hard his knuckles are white, he mutters, “You make things so hard for everyone.” Of course I do. It’s always my fault. My breath fogs the window, I wipe the moisture and draw a broken heart on the surface. “Practice is at four. Be on time.”I tug on the hem of Jackson’s jersey but he doesn’t get the hint. “There’s a game today.” My eyes fall to his chest. No seatbelt. This is plain wickedness. My mouth opens but I can’t find the words to reprimand Calum, neither do I have the strength or will to walk to school. Lowering my gaze to my jeans, I poke the cuts on the knee area. “By four.”“The game doesn’t affect practice.”
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