Claimed by My Stepbrother

Chapter 12

'I needyou to steal Jack's invitation to a sex club. ' She has just written to me.

I read it one more time and repeat those words in my head to make sure I'm not dreaming.

Jack, my newbie step-father, used to go to that place before he met mom. I didn't know about that, Savannah told me. She said everybody knows that place and each influencing rich man goes there. At first, I didn't believe her, but then I heard Zac talk to his friend about it, so now I know it's true.

'He doesn 't go there anymore; he 's married, remember? ' I type in response to her, irritated. How could she even think about it?

'I know! But he saved his former invitations on his computer. Even if he deleted them, you could still find them. I needyou to steal them so I could copy and make a fake one for myself. '

She's crazy. And not only because she thinks she'll pass the security of that club with a fake ID, but also because she assumed that I'm brave enough to steal something because I'm not. Of all the people in the world, I'm the most cowardly.

' What happened? ' I ask her finally. There must be a reason she wants to get to that club. 'Liam cheated on me. ' She types back in a second.

What a jerk... I think trying to figure out how to help her. No way I'm going to steal something from

my step-father. There must be another way.

"Who's the jerk?" Zac asks me right away, and I realize that I said it aloud. I turn to face him, and unexpectedly, a new idea comes into my mind.

I don't have to steal anything! Zac will.

* * *

Half an hour later, we finally manage to get out of bed somehow, after Zac gave me more pleasure with his skillful mouth. Then he went straight to the shower, without even asking me to come with him, so I went to mine alone.

He's patiently waiting for me to be ready for our first real connection.

And I'm ready, oh, gosh, I'm so ready. I'm getting wet just from thinking about it.

But my mind, for some reason, continues to find more and more reasons why I shouldn't do this.

While he drives us to school, his hand stays on my knee the entire way, gently stroking my skin with his soft fingers.

I can't believe it's the same man who mocked me whenever he saw me, ever since the day we first met; the man who ignored me at school, pretending we didn't know each other.

He's so different now, so gentle, so calm.

And my mind keeps asking: which one of these two is real?

At the first break, Zac finds me at school and kisses me deeply in the corner. I shouldn't let him do this—someone could see us—but Ijust can't resist.

He has two tests in a row now, and I wish him luck with another kiss to his forehead. My mom used to do this each day before school tests when I was little. It was a gesture of love...

Wait a second. Am I in love with Zac Harden?

No, no, no, that can't happen. Not now, when I'm finally two weeks away from my graduation, and then I'm going to college in a couple of months, where I won't see him anymore.

This can only be a fling. I've dreamt about his body for so long, and that's why I'm so excited now. I'm leaving for college.

But do I hate him?

I walk into the restroom to wash my face and clear my mind a little. My head is spinning with all of the thoughts running through it.

I lock myself in one of the stalls and take a seat on the toilet lid to think.

I cannot be in love with Zac Harden. It's not possible to fall in love with a person that fast. I hated him only a day ago; how can I feel for him what I think I do now?

Except that I didn't hate him. I never hated him. I was attracted to him so much that I hated myself. I hated that he ignored me, and when he wasn't, he was making fun of me to make me look stupid. But what if...

What if that was his way to stay away from me for as long as possible? What if he’s wanted me as much as I wanted him all this time?

He always leaves the last candy in the box for me. He says it's because he's an athlete and can't eat so much sugar, but he also knows that I have a sweet tooth.

He always drives me to school and back home, even if he has swim practice in the morning and I overslept, even if he wants to go watch a game with his friends. He drives me home first and then goes out to party.