Sister's Arrogant Boyfriend

Temptation

My sister's arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace. I was too shocked to hug her back. I was thrown back in time, back into the body of that shy, insecure thirteen-year-old who sobbed for hours over her sister's departure. My muscles were frozen. I didn't know how to break out of my paralysis.

"Kayleigh." Stephanie whispered my name as she held me.

I came out of my daze and grabbed onto her, clinging on for dear life. She chuckled as my grip tightened around her. The flowery perfume she wore stung my eyes, stuck in my nose.

It wasn't Stephanie's choice to leave—our parents had basically forced her out. Of course, I didn't know it back then. All I knew was that my best friend was leaving and I didn't know when I was going to see her again.

Five years our parents kept me from her. Five long, horrible years. We'd sneak phone calls and secretly message each other, but that was the only communication we were able to have. Our relationship suffered for it and the only people I could blame were my parents.

But that's why I had flown across the country to spend time with her. I wanted our relationship to be what it was, to undo the damage my parents had inflicted. As soon as they turned their backs and left me home alone, I went straight to Stephanie.

Stephanie managed to wrangle me off her body and hold me at arm's length. The sight of her blue eyes filled with tears made my heart wrench. Her plump lips drew over her teeth as she forced herself to smile. Her hand found its way into my hair, brushing the strands away from my face as she looked over every inch of me.

"You've grown up," she whispered. "My baby sister, eighteen at last."

"You've changed too," I managed to say.

Steph chuckled again. She untangled herself from me and stepped aside, revealing the inside of her apartment. It wasn't what I'd expected.

From what I remembered, her bedroom was a hippie paradise when we were growing up. Jamaican flags, tie-dye clothes, wall hangings, and posters of wild animals everywhere. She'd always had incense burning, so much of it that it made your head swim just going in there.

In complete contrast, the room ahead of me was ultra-modern. Everything was positioned for maximum aesthetic, not a single item out of place.

"Wow," I breathed. I stepped into the apartment and took off my shoes. The cold, slick tile floor pressed against my soles as I stared around at the sterile walls and furnishings. It was all so unexpected. I'd only said what I said before to fill the silence, but my sister really had changed from the girl I remembered in my childhood and this was proof of it.

Everything was gleaming. The kitchen was white and chrome, glistening under the off-white lights. The dining table separated the kitchen and living space, a huge circular table with uncomfortable-looking plastic chairs placed around it.

"I'm glad you like it! Let me show you to your bedroom," she said happily, shutting the door behind me.

She walked between the white couch and glass table, her rushed footsteps clapping hard against the floor as her light jeans rubbed together noisily. I followed her, careful not to catch my shins on the sharp edges of the coffee table, and watched her as she swung open the bedroom door.

Inside was nothing spectacular—a walk-in closet with a double door, a twin bed, and a bedside table, all of it white. I set my bag down on the end of the bed and nodded slowly, staring around at the empty walls. "It's... lovely."

"It's a bit bare," she apologized. "We only moved in a month ago so we're still looking for art for the guest bedroom."

"It's lovely," I repeated, forcing a smile onto my lips.