Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 20174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 101(@200wpm)___ 81(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 101(@200wpm)___ 81(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
When he’s at work, I miss him and can’t stop thinking about him. And when he’s at home, all I want is for him to notice me. That’s why I wear the outfits I’ve been wearing.
He probably thinks I’m just so innocent, and I am, but I’m not totally clueless either. I’ve seen the way he stares. How he checks out every inch of me when he thinks I’m not looking.
Lying in bed, I stare up at the ceiling and groan. How am I going to survive?
I’ve been lying around in my room for the last few days. My mom even came to me yesterday and told me I need to get out and do something.
“Why don’t you pick up gymnastics again?” she suggested. “You were so good at it.”
I told her I’d think about it, but I know she really just wants me to get out of the house so she can have some time with her new husband.
Jake doesn’t know this, but I heard his father telling him to stay away from me when they thought I was upstairs.
“Don’t even think about it” were Paul’s exact words.
For some reason, just thinking about it makes me bite my lip with excitement.
Could I actually…get with my step-brother? I mean, he’s not blood related. It’s not like we grew up together. But it’s still taboo, and that actually gets me buzzing when I think about it.
Come on, I can’t be the only girl in the world who thinks that.
My phone rings, and I quickly snatch it up, hoping to see Jake’s name on the screen.
No such luck. It’s Emily.
I’ve been dodging her apology texts for a few days now, but I guess it’s time to finally talk.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Oh, so you are alive.”
“Yeah, I’m alive,” I sigh. “No thanks to you and your amazing blind date.”
“I am so sorry, Piper,” she replies. “Peter told me he was a good guy. I was just trying to help. And he apologizes, by the way.”
I roll my eyes. “Who apologizes? Your boyfriend? Or Aaron?”
Emily can’t help but laugh. “Peter apologizes. Neither of us are talking to Aaron after what happened.”
“I don’t blame you, Emily. I—” The sound of the front door opening shuts me up. I listen and hear the unmistakable sound of Jake’s footsteps coming into the house. Instantly, my arms start trembling.
“I gotta go, sorry.” I quickly hang up, leap out of bed, rush to the top of the stairs, and peer down. What I see nearly causes me to scream.
It’s Jake all right, but he’s leading an absolutely stunning blonde into the living room. She looks like she’s closer to his age than I am, and she is giggling at something he said on the way in. She’s tall, obviously wealthy, and wearing expensive heels.
I’m so jealous I feel like someone just stole my candy.
I descend the stairs, trying to listen in on their conversation, but one of them squeaks, and I freeze. I’m only in underwear and a bra. Not exactly what you wear when meeting someone.
The beautiful woman giggles again, and my heart misses a beat, causing me to clutch my chest.
So you make her laugh, but you make me cry?
I shouldn’t be having such thoughts—such vicious thoughts about Jake. He’s allowed to be nice to other women. I know that…
…but it doesn’t change the way I feel.
I turn and walk back to my room, steaming, head spinning, trying to think about what to do next.
Do I just admit to him how I feel and pray that he feels the same way?
But what if he doesn’t? I could end up bringing down our entire family.
I’ll take a bath. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll take a nice, long, relaxing bath, and I’ll listen to an audiobook while Jake has his…date in the living room.
But as I grab my towel, I realize there’s no way I can go relax now. I have a new plan.
I rush into the bathroom, quickly fix my hair and apply some lip gloss, then head for the stairs.
My heart is racing as I descend. I don’t know if this is the right thing to do, but it’s what I must do.
Still wearing nothing more than underwear, I waltz right into the living room like I own the house.
The woman Jake’s with has her back to me, but he sees me the moment I walk in. And try as he might, he can’t stop from dragging his eyes up every inch of my body.
“Hey, Jake,” I squeak, acting as helpless and small as possible. “Can you come help me? I can’t open a jar.”
It’s such an obvious lie, but he has to save face in front of his date.
She looks back at me, and when she sees what I’m wearing, her jaw drops, and she quickly looks away.