The Step Brother

7. I Don't Do Games.

Willow

Monday morning arrives and she is the first one to shower, triple checking she's locked both bathroom doors before she steps into the warm water. She takes her time getting ready today since the sun hasn't even come up yet. But she couldn't sleep. Her stomach is in knots and she feels anxious, her hands shake as she tries to do her makeup. It's silly for her to be nervous. Today isn't anything special, it's just new and she doesn't know what to expect. This will be their first day back to school as step siblings. Like real step siblings; parents married, moved in together, sharing a bathroom, the whole schbang. He's insisting on taking her to and from. Don't get her wrong, she appreciates it. But what's everyone going to think when they see Willow getting out of Jace Quinns passenger seat?

It doesn't make it any better knowing they've got these awkward, inappropriate feelings for one another. She thought they would go away by now. That her brain would adjust to this new version of reality and she would simply stop seeing Jace as anything else but family. Yet here she is, searching her closet for the perfect outfit, touching up her hair in the mirror, applying extra lipgloss and spraying herself with her best smelling perfume, all in an effort to please him— whether she wants to be in denial about it or not.

Finally, she settles on a white sweater that hugs what she has for tits, a black skirt, black tights, and her favorite black boots. She occupies herself with homework until it gets closer to time to leave. Eventually she hears Jace start the shower and so she heads downstairs to the kitchen, breaking some eggs into a pan and putting strips of bacon in the oven to bake. By the time he's ready and coming down the stairs, she's prepared two breakfast sandwiches for them.

"Oh, thanks," He says. His voice is deeper than it usually is, he sounds groggy. But dear god is it adorable to hear his sleepy voice.

"No problem." She takes a bite into hers for something to do, even though she's suddenly not feeling hungry at all. She does a quick look over him before he can notice. His brown hair is still damp from the shower and he's wearing a white tshirt with dark jeans. She notices the necklace around his neck, which he always seems to wear and she wonders the reason behind it, if it has anything to do with his mother. He smells like aftershave and shampoo.

"You sleep okay?"

She shakes her head. "I kept tossing and turning all night. How about you?"

"Same, actually." He bites into his sandwich and chews for a moment. "This is delicious by the way. I feel bad you're always making sandwiches for me."

"Sandwiches always taste better when it's made by someone else."

"She speaks the truth." He smiles, finishing off his sandwich in a few more bites. He eats like a teenage boy, his stomach is a limitless void in which he can eat all the food in the world and still maintain the body of an athlete. "You ready to go?"

She nods, tossing the remains of her sandwich and washing her hands off before she follows him out the front door and to his Jeep. He opens her car door for her like he has every other time. They spend the 15 minute drive talking about whatever they want. She's always surprised at how easy the conversation flows with them, since Halloween. Before that, Jace would've been the last person in the world she expected to be able to hold a conversation with. It just seemed like they came from two completely different worlds. But the more they talk, the more she learns they're not that much different after all.

When they're about to turn into the school parking lot, she stops him, her hand reaching for his and then instantly pulling away as if he shocked her. "Jace, wait. Before you pull in, can you just pull over, right here?"