No Expectations

Chapter Nineteen

Emilia

My breath caught as the door opened to reveal Stephen's beautiful face. He looked sexy as hell in underwear and t-shirt. I was about ready to throw myself at him until I noticed his expression. His soft eyes more intense than usual. His lips a thin line. Was he upset? Did I do something wrong?

My sight drifted past him and into the room where my questions were answered. His sister stood with her arms crossed. I couldn't read her. My cheeks reddened as I tried quickly to think of an explanation for why I stopped by. "Oh, uh, sorry to bother you. I wanted to say thanks for stopping by our party."

Stephen's beautiful lips turned up in a smirk as Karen scoffed. "It's okay, sweetie, I already know. You can come in."

"Oh," was my brilliant response as I stepped into the apartment. My fingers pulled at the hem of my shirt. Stephen closed the door behind me then rubbed my back affectionately. Karen's arms were still crossed, but she was careful with her assessment of me. My voice was hoarse and strained. "What do you already know, exactly?"

She forced a tight smile. "Just that my brother's crazy about you."

I blinked. Crazy about me? I didn't know about that. He liked having sex with me, sure. We also had nice conversations. What we had was nice, but was he actually that serious? "Oh," was all I could say again.

Stephen stared at me with an endearing expression. I felt breathless. He was serious? The pounding in my heart was strange. Turning back to Karen, I tried masking my surprise. First thing was first. "Could you not tell Amy, please? I'm not ready for my parents to know."

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you ashamed of Stephen or something?"

I froze. My neck felt hot under both of their stares. "What? No! My parents just aren't understanding when it comes to the people I date. I don't want trouble."

"And you think my brother is trouble?"

"What? No!"

Stephen sighed. "Mia, she's messing around." I blinked at him as he turned his attention to Karen. He was annoyed. Their sibling dynamic radiated more now than I'd seen all night. "You can go now. I'll call you tomorrow."

She was slow as she moved her intense gaze away from me and over to her big brother. "Alright, see ya." A whisper of her shoulder against mine as she passed. "Have fun, I guess."

Once the front door closed, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "Oh, my god, that was so scary." My cheeks had to be bright red as I turned to Stephen, but he smirked. "Was she really messing with me?"

He nodded, his eyes still intense as stepped closer. "Yeah, she was testing you. I think you did alright."

I stepped back, but he continued closing in on me until I was up against the door. He placed his forearm above my head, hovering over me in a way I liked. I loved looking up into those soft blue eyes. I loved the newfound freckles on his nose. I loved his thick eyebrows and those full lips. "Why'd you decide to tell her?" I managed to croak.

He shook his head as his eyes moved to my lips. They went dry as I licked them. "I didn't." His hand cupped my cheek. Thumb brushing against my skin. "She guessed," he almost whispered.

My lips turned into a smirk, my body felt hot. He was giving me those signals that he wanted what I had originally come down here for. What he promised me on this phone earlier this afternoon. "I get the feeling you don't want to talk."

He shook his head again, chuckling as he looked down at me in a way that made me warmer between my legs. "Not really. I would like an apology, though."