My Professor Lectured My Heart
A year ago, my life was simple. I was just Ariel Anthony…a regular college student, cheerleader with decent grades, daughter of a struggling baker, and recently appointed step-sister to a guy I barely knew. Nothing special.
Then came the storm.
Not just the thunderstorm that trapped me in Professor Grayson's apartment that night, but the storm that followed. The one that's still raging around me, that I created.
They don't warn you about men like Luther Grayson in freshman orientation. They don't tell you how a single glance from the right person can make you question everything you thought you knew about yourself. About what you want. About what you'd risk to get it.
They also don't warn you about guys like Ethan Cross, with his perfect smile hiding something dark. The kind of guy who's used to getting what he wants and doesn't understand the meaning of the word "no."
And no one, absolutely no one…prepares you for what it feels like when the person who's supposed to be your brother looks at you with something else in his eyes.
Mom once said I had a gift for making complicated situations worse. If she only knew.
My phone buzzed beside me, and I glanced down to see Luther's name on the screen. My heart still jumps every time, even when I'm aware of what could happen if people learned about the two of us.
I should ignore it. I should block his number, focus on my classes, help Mom with the bakery, and pretend none of this ever happened.
But I'm already reaching for the phone.
That's the thing about crossing lines… once you step over them, it's almost impossible to step back.
And I've crossed so many lines now, I can't even see where I started.