Okay, I’m starving and Jayce has been gone for ages. I was hoping to use him as a buffer when I went down there for the first time in front of them all but I can’t wait any longer.
As I get to the bottom step I’m hit by the scent of whatever Tara is cooking, it smells delicious – not that I would never tell her that obviously.
I try to duck into the pantry quick but am bowled over on the way by a little man who clearly doesn’t know his own strength.
“Ow!” My butt hits the kitchen tiled floor with a thud.
“Aleah! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realise you would fall over so easily.” Milos little face looks panicked as he places out a hand to pull me up and I see Tara and Dad join behind him. Well.. there’s my plan to get in and out before anyone sees me out the window.
“It’s okay little dude, I’ve always been vertically challenged.” I take his hand and pull myself up before turning back to the pantry.
“Did you know May is my sister now? I’m not the baby anymore, I get to be in the middle like you!”
This kid could find the silver lining of a nuclear attack. If the world could just share in his contagious optimism, I’m pretty sure we could have world peace down by the end of the week.
“Yes I heard. How do you feel about being a big brother? You’ve got someone you really need to take care of now. May isn’t always the easiest kid to be around, so you are going to need lots of patience with her.”
He shines his pearly whites up at me. “I’m going to be the best big brother ever! I’m going to look after her and teach her to swim properly and help her with her homework when she’s stuck and play with her all the time! I wish she could live here like you do though. Then I could be super happy, like Jayce is.”
I look at him slightly confused. “What do you mean ‘like Jayce is?’ Aren’t you happy little man?”
“No I don’t mean that. I mean.. Jayce was always cross all the time and Mr grumpy but then you came and now he’s happy and he plays with me. You made him happy and now I’ll have someone like that too.”
I honestly don’t know whether to laugh or cry. The purity of his innocence is one of the most beautiful things about living here. He knows me and Jayce are happy and that’s all he cares about, he doesn’t need to understand anything else. I wish everyone could see it that way.
Tara calls Milo for food and he gives me a quick cuddle before scampering out of the pantry.
I grab a bag of chips, salsa and tin of veggie chilli. Makeshift nachos anyone?
Just as I go to leave Dad opens the door. He shuffles nervously and I realise how tired he looks, he clearly hasn’t been sleeping well.
“Poppet.. I’m sure you’ve already made plans to create one of your weird concoction meals but Tara’s made sweet and sour vegetable curry if you want some? You can have it in the dining room or even your room if you prefer? No pressure to eat with us but I bet its going to taste better than whatever you plan on turning that into.” He eyes the ingredients in my hands.
Ah, the constant struggle of my life – between my head and my stomach.
As always, the growling in my stomach wins out. I put everything back on the shelves and grab a tray to take it to my room. Yes I shall eat your food Tara, but I will not force myself to sit through awkward dinner conversation for any thing.
Sitting on my bed I get lost in the gorgeous food and watching a crap hallmark movie. It’s one of those ones where you know at the end the girl with the promising career in the city will give it all up to live on a failing farm with the widowed farmer and his overly cute kid. I love this shit.
I almost jump out of my skin as I hear Jayce’s bedroom door slam shut. The whole wall wobbles and suddenly finishing my food is at the bottom of my list of priorities.
Walking into Jayce’s room he doesn’t even notice me. He’s busy walking back and forth with a face like thunder.
“You’re going to wear a hole in the carpet if you keep going like that.”
He ignores me. Okay Aleah, not the time to be making jokes clearly.. He doesn’t even slow down, he just seems to get angrier.
“Jayce? What happened? Coach didn’t clear you?” He finally stills and sits at the end of his bed shaking.
“What? Yeah he cleared me. I’m back in, still wants me to be captain too.”
“Okay, so why do you look like someone just pissed in your cereal?”
Jayce stands up to face me. “You can’t see Chad anymore.” His voice was firm and he was looking into my eyes like he was searching for my soul at the back of them.
“Excuse me?” I’m giving you a chance to re-word that sentence here Jayce, take it.
“You can’t see Chad anymore. I forbid it.”
This has to be a fucking joke, he can’t seriously think he can tell me what to do like that.
“YOU FORBID IT?! I’m sorry, when exactly did you become my fucking father Jayce? I know how you like to think of me as yours but it’s just a figure of speech, a representation of how we feel, you don’t actually fucking own me! You do realise that right?!”
Never have I spoken to Jayce like that before but this kind of shit won’t fly with me. I’m his girlfriend not his fucking property. Clearly the tone of my voice hit a nerve because he steps back and loses the alpha bullshit persona.
“Shit. Sorry, I’m so sorry Lee. It’s just..”
Yeah you better be fucking sorry boy. “Jayce, what happened?” I didn’t mean for my tone to come out like that but he’d really pissed me off with that demanding crap.
“I had to go to coach’s place to get the physical. All good so I was buzzing. Went up with Chad for five before I came back and.... he said some stuff... about you.”
Oh no. Not good. “What kind of stuff? Actually, considering it’s Chad Wilson, do I want to know what kind of stuff?”
Jayce laughed. “Actually, I probably could have handled that stuff better.” He walked back and sat on his bed.
“He wants you Lee. He was talking about how Brie told him you have a boyfriend and how the guy is probably a fucking loser who doesn’t deserve you. Then came the stuff about how if he could get you alone for ten minutes then he could make you forget all about the guy. He wanted to talk to me first so I didn’t get all ‘protective big brother’ on him when he tried to get with you. I just had to sit there and listen to him, it fucking destroyed me.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. I can’t tell him about what Brie said about Chad’s feelings now. He’ll probably go kill the guy.
I pull him to me and look into his beautiful face. “Jayce, you know I love you. Chad can’t take me from you, no-one could. You have to know that.”
Jayce wraps his arms around my head and buries me into his chest. “I know, I just hate this, I want to tell them all now. I know you’re not ready and I don’t mean to pressure you. I just mean, things will be easier when I can walk into every room with my hand wrapped around yours.”
I know how hard this is for him. It’s no picnic for me either, but I still need time to get to a place where I can cope with all the crap that will come with it too. He only sees the good stuff, I don’t think he truly understands how difficult it’s going to be after the genies out of the bottle.
“I’m sorry, do you think he’d keep it a secret like Brie if you just told him? Maybe he’d just forget about me in that way if he knew how you felt?”
Jayce seemed to find the idea hilarious. “We are talking about the same guy right? He hasn’t been able to keep a secret since elementary school and to be honest, knowing about us would probably just drive him to try harder.”
He was right. Chad had been good to me, really good, but he was still Chad. Him and Jayce couldn’t help but rival over everything and I don’t think I would be the exception.
“Okay, well it’s not like we spend all our time together anyway. He isn’t exactly my best friend and when this bio project is over I-"
“Shit, the bio project. Can’t you swap with Kallie or something? I’d be a better partner anyway.” He fluttered his ridiculously long eyelashes at me.
“You know I can’t, Mr Lewis would never let me, not this far in. Besides, I like Kallie, I’d never inflict Chad on her.”
Jayce pulled me back down so we were sitting on his bed with me in his lap. He buried his head into the crook of my neck and slowly left tiny kisses on the skin.
“I know. Just compromise with me a bit? Never be alone with the guy. I get you have to do this project but just don’t go to his, keep it public? Then I know he’ll have to control himself whether he likes it or not.”
I smile. “If it will keep you from going insane then fine but this is a one time deal, I am not in the habit of listening to men telling me what to do and I don’t plan to ever be.”
His lips planted themselves on mine.
“I know you’re not, why do you think I love you so damn much?”
I laughed as his kisses continued through my giggles.
“Okay I need to shower, coach made me run the block until I almost passed out just to make sure I’m still in game shape.”
I run my hands under his top and across his abs. “He seriously couldn’t get that just by looking at you?”
Jayce pulls me up into his arms and starts to walk off towards the bathroom with me.
“Jayce where are you going?”
He smirks. “I told you.. the Shower.”
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My Future Stepbrother
Romance**BOOK ONE OF THE FORBIDDEN LUST SERIES** "How am I supposed to become your brother when all I want to do is f**k you senseless?!" Aleah just wanted everything back the way it was. The way it was when her mum was still alive. She didn't want this...
