“I hope you understand,” Ben Ramirez said. “I have work after hours. I can’t work on this project with you.”“It’s okay,” I said as my supposedly economics paper partner struggled to make excuses in front of me. “I’m sure you can find somebody else to work with.” Then he walked away.I don’t need a term paper partner. I can do this alone. My professor suggested we work in twos. I picked Ben Ramirez’s name in the hat. He flinched when I read his name out loud, and he looked like he was shitting in his pants.Wow! Do I smell bad? Look bad? He looked like he couldn’t wait to get rid of me.I had been in the university for almost two months now, and I could say I had been better. A lot better!“That’s the third one now, right?” said April Jones, a girl I had been hanging out with since the start of school. She’s a freshman too, and she had her locker beside mine, and so far, she was the only person I have spoken to regularly in school.“I guess. Is something wrong with me?” I asked her.“

Blaire.Zachary used to love me. He would do anything for me. But now, he was making me miserable. Even when he’s not around, the fact that I knew he was going out his way to avoid me was killing me. When he did speak to me, he had to be so damn insensitive and harsh! It was like he lived and breathed his hatred for me, and he was not shy about it. Or he touched me in appropriate ways, making me want him so badly I was close to forgetting who he was or where we were.I fell asleep crying, like I always did in the past two months.***Monday morning, I dressed up in a royal blue skirt that ended a few inches above my knees and a tucked-in white chiffon turtleneck with a white tube underneath. I completed the ensemble with a pair of black boots. I was wearing a pair of black boy shorts under the skirt as a backup for any wardrobe malfunction. I curled the ends of my hair and put on a blue hairband. I didn’t put on makeup, just red lip gloss. I took one last look at myself in the mirror,

April stared at me for a long moment, probably scrutinizing my features. Zach and I had no common feature. My blond hair was a different shade. My eyes were golden, his were blue, like my parents’, which actually made me look adopted. Not only that. I felt adopted too. There was a huge difference in the way my parents treated us. Even when we were kids. My mother adored him. My father was training him to be his successor. He drove a luxury sports car; my parents didn’t even ask if I knew how to drive so they could get me my own car. We both attended the concert in Charleston. Zach probably paid for Kenzo and Mike’s tickets. Jessie paid for mine. I roomed with my friends in a three-star motel. Zach had his own suite in a five-star hotel near the concert grounds. I went home on a train that took fourteen hours. Zach came home on a domestic flight.He was the adopted one. Actually, he’s not even adopted anymore because the courts nullified all that when his father protested his adoption,

“How are you holding up, girl? Your parents giving you grief?” Marie asked on the other line. She’d been settling down in college too. We’ve been getting in touch in social media, but it was the first time I got to speak to her over the phone.“Not really. How can they give me grief when they don’t mind me at all, right?” I asked sarcastically.“Awww! So, nothing changed?”I sighed. “Many things have changed, but not so much in that area. Can we not talk about my parents?”I walked lazily toward the building on the east where my next class was going to be. This was the class I dreaded most. It was my last period, and we were doing tons of boring readings.“Okay. Have you heard from Z? You guys were pretty hot and heavy when you parted. I’m sure you’re not a virgin anymore! We didn’t have to ask. You practically had stars in your eyes.” She sounded so excited, so happy, I lost the courage to tell her the truth about Zachary and me.I took a deep breath. “I didn’t sleep with him,” I sai

I swallowed hard. Staring at Zachary’s beautiful face, his dazzling eyes made me squirm on my seat. I can feel the heat radiating between my legs. I was almost afraid that he could feel how hot I was becoming… that he could smell the gush of moisture from my pussy.Unable to bear his closeness and the weight of his stare, I turned away from him, moving towards the door, as far away from him as possible.I cleared my throat. “Yeah,” I breathed. “Your my big brother. I’m sure you won’t do anything to hurt me.”He smirked and then he turned back to the road. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”We drove in silence. I was getting used to his presence as a brother. He’s one guy who liked the same things I do. Someone who would go to lengths to protect me, keep me away from harm. I knew I trusted no one else more than I trusted him. The silence between us didn’t feel awkward anymore. Instead, it felt comfortable… assuring.The road was slippery and wet. Like there was a storm all evening, and I w