Page 16 of Fracture

By the time I park my car outside my favorite cafe, I’ve calmed down and the flush in my face has diminished. Maybe Levi didn’t see me. Maybe he thinks nothing of it. We’re basically brother and sister, it’s normal to see each other naked, right? In some households that’s normal. I know Lilly and her sister Donna get spray tanned together, and they’re naked for that. It’s no big deal.

Well, it wouldn’t be if I wasn’t squirming and clenching my thighs together thinking of Levi’s dick in my mouth. With a groan, I pull out my phone and fire off a message to my therapist, asking if I can move my next appointment forward. I need to talk this shit out.

I push open my car door and head into the cafe. I need an iced coffee and I need it now.

Oh no.

“Hey girl!” Zee’s wide smile greets me from where they stand at the counter, casually draped over the glass display as they talk to Jared, the owner of the Elephant Bean Cafe. “We were just talking about you!”

Oh great, I was just thinking about sucking my step-brother’s cock.

“Hey! All good things I hope?”

Jared laughs, already setting about getting me my usual vanilla iced coffee order. “Of course good things!” His eyes move up to meet mine, and he flashes me a wide smile. “You look great, Stella.”

Zee’s eyebrows lift, their lips disappearing as though they’re trying to keep some big secret, and my stomach drops. They really were talking about me.

“Oh, thanks.” I run a hand through my hair. “I, uh, didn’t have time to do my makeup today, I was thinking of going for a swim.”

“Jared was just saying that, with all this heat, he’d like to go for a swim!” Zee’s voice is filled with delight, and I try not to shoot daggers in their direction.

“Yeah well I’m meeting my cousin for lunch now, so…” I shrug lightly, fishing my purse out of my bag to pay for the iced coffee.

Zee throws up their hands. “That’s OK, Jared doesn’t close up til 3 anyhow. Plenty of time to go see Lilly and then.” They clap their hands to punctuate their sentence, and Jared’s hopeful gaze lands on me.

I want to sink into the floor. It never occurred to me before that Jared likes me. He was friendly, sure. Good-looking in a sort of prep-school, peaked-in-college-football kind of way. He’s from a good family and opened the cafe as a sort of passion project after living in Tanzania for a year and researching the best kinds of coffee.

As all this filters through my head, as I try to pinpoint the moment when he might have started to like me, it dawns on me - I know all thisbecausehe likes me. He shared his life and his dreams with me, and now he’s looking at me with big brown puppy-dog eyes hoping I’ll go on a date with him.

And Zee is playing wingperson. Fucking goddammit.

I take my iced coffee from Jared’s hand with a light laugh and a toss of my hair. “I mean, yeah, sure. We can do that. The lake’s usually crowded in the afternoon.”

“Oh, I know a spot.” Jared’s triumph is written all over his face, in the cocky lift of his eyebrow.

Zee is practically chortling with glee, clutching their joined hands to their wide smile. “This is so cool.”

“Zee, cut it out,” I mutter through a forced smile.

“So I’ll meet you here at 3?” Jared asks, leaning against the counter.

I nod, taking a long sip of my iced coffee to avoid answering, “Jared, this is so good.”

“Thanks.” Jared’s head bobs on his shoulders, his arms crossed over his chest. “So, it’s a date?”

I gotta get out of here. “Yeah, a date. For sure. See you at 3!” I spin on my heel and hurry for the door.

“The pink string bikini! The one you wore in Tulum! Bring that!” Zee calls after me, and I resist the urge to flip them off as I storm through the door and out onto the street.

The pink string bikini. Yeah sure, the tiniest item of clothing I own, and I’m going to parade on the local beach with Jared Marshall in it, tits and ass on full display. Great. Super. I take another long sip of the iced coffee and head down the street to the bookstore.

Why do you hate me, God?

Because who else would be standing right outside the bookstore, draped over his bike in baggy jeans and a tight black t-shirt, taking a drag of a cigarette?

“Hey sis,” Levi drawls, stamping the cigarette out under his white sneaker. “Thought I might find you here.”

I want to scream, or throw the iced coffee at him and run. I can’t decide which would be more embarrassing. Especially since he just called me Sis and not 20 minutes ago my panties were soaked just thinking about him.

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