I lay down on the bed, playing on my phone. I had my ear out listening in the shower. I didn’t really have to worry that Angela would need my help, and she’d had all day today to recover from last night, but still. It was Sunday afternoon, almost time for us to leave, and she’d insisted on us taking separate showers.Some of my friends had sent me messages since I’d disappeared the whole weekend. We didn’t hang out together often, but I was usually around, and there was some big party yesterday, so they were surprised when I hadn't been there. No doubt, there would be a rumor spreading around about it. Sandra had texted me, too, but I just dismissed her messages. I made things clear to her already the last time we met.When the door to the bathroom opened, I put my phone away and looked up.“I thought you’d be naked,” I said with mock disappointment, eyeing her bathrobe. I tilted my head and considered. “Although, that still looks good on you.”I smirked, remembering that first night

A few days passed, and I did my best to avoid Ben. Now that I knew our parents were going to get married, it changed things. Majorly. I didn’t know if he knew already since Dad had said Ben met with Dad and his mom before. Did Ben know? Did Dad mention he had a daughter who happened to be a professor at his school?I wasn’t sure he did, and that just made it worse, because I didn’t want to be the one to tell him that we were going to be stepbrother and sister soon.Avoiding him wasn’t all that easy. Especially on the days, I had a class with him. I arrived early for class and left as soon as I was done with the lecture, then went and hid in the faculty lounge. I was too afraid to even spend time in my office, in case he went looking for me there. I was lost, and I didn’t know what to say to him. How do you tell your lover that you’re about to be step-siblings? It made my eyes roll and made me shiver just to think about it.Somehow, I managed to avoid him completely. I managed to avoid

I stared at my phone, feeling both annoyed and frustrated. Angela wasn’t answering my calls, and when I texted, all she said was that she was away and didn’t know when she would be coming back.Fuck!My restless mind thought back to that last time I saw her in her apartment. Maybe I’d gone too far, making a spare key without her permission and letting myself into her home when she wasn’t there. She had been acting strange, though. I didn’t think it was all in my head that she was ignoring me, and it was unlike her to blow up at me the way she did just because I was reading her book without permission.I didn’t think it was enough to warrant her being so mad at me, though. Something must have happened before she came home to make her suddenly want to back away from me. She’d been so happy when she left the hotel that weekend, everything was still okay, so something else must have happened.The most frustrating thing was there was no way for me to find out what the problem was when she

“Have you had breakfast?” Ben asked as we settled in the suite.I shook my head. “I’m fine, though, for now,” I said quietly.“Okay,” he said, sitting beside me on the sofa. “I’ll make this quick then.”He shifted his body, so he was facing me, and took my hands in his. He held my gaze with his serious eyes, and I suddenly felt like squirming.“I know about Sandra,” he said “I also know about our parents. Neither of those factors bother me, and Angela, you have nothing to be ashamed about. So there’s no reason for you to run off and hide. Your dad wants you there for the wedding. So, would you please go back with me?”My cheeks warmed. “I told you already that I was going back.”He nodded. “I heard you. But I mean, go back with me. I don’t want to hide what’s going on between us, I don’t know what we’re going to do about school, but let’s at least be honest with our parents, all right?”I fidgeted. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. I was very worried about what our parents would thin

Since I’d just lost my job, I had a lot of free time, and because Ben decided to take some time off before the wedding, we spent the time together. He should have been going to classes, but I figured since I was no longer his professor, and I would be too bored by myself, I wouldn’t nag him so much to go back to class.Two days later, and it was the day of the wedding. It was a small affair, and I’d somehow been roped into being a bridesmaid, even though it was last minute. Ben would be suffering with me, anyway, since he was sent to join Dad’s side. Both our parents put together didn’t know that many people, and we happened to be among the youngest of the group, so we got stuck together. I was just glad I’d be walking down that aisle with him by my side since I’d imagined I would only have to sit down in the audience and wait for the whole thing to be over.“Angela, are you done with your makeup yet? Would you like any help?”Hayley, Ben’s mom, made her way over to me. She looked st