Sext Me (Accidental Stepbrother Book 2)

by Stephanie Brother

  “I’m fine, Mom,” I said and faked a smile. “Everything tastes really good. Don’t worry about it; I’m eating just fine.”

  I cut off a piece of blueberry pancake and chewed on it slowly and sent her a smile so she’d stop worrying. The worst part was, everything really did taste good. My stomach just felt too uneasy to appreciate it all.

  I didn’t realize that things were about to get even more complicated. Not until Noah walked in about five minutes later.

  “Sorry I’m late,” he said, coming up to our table. “Had a bit of trouble at the school…”

  His voice trailed off as I looked up and our eyes met. I stared at him, eyes wide, wondering what he was doing here and what he meant by ‘late.’

  There was no way he was the one we were waiting for… right?

  I turned to Mom, wanting to ask, but she spoke up before I could say anything.

  “Honey, this is Noah. He’s Greg’s son, the one who’s in the same school as you. He’s a senior, though.”

  Inside, I wanted to cry, but my shocked expression didn’t change. The guy I’d been fucking for weeks now, the guy I really, really liked, was supposed to be my new stepbrother?

  This had to be a joke, right? It wasn’t a funny one.

  Mom frowned, seeing my expression, and reached out a hand to touch mine.

  “Sara, are you okay?”

  There was a loud scraping sound that killed the low murmurs in the restaurant, and it took me a moment to realize that it came from me. I was standing; my chair shoved back. The table shook a little because I’d knocked the edge when I jumped up. I didn’t feel anything except the way my body trembled and my fingers clenched so tight my nails dug into my palms.

  “Are you serious right now?” I asked, my voice quiet. I looked at Noah, before quickly shifting my gaze back to Mom.

  “Please tell me you’re joking with me,” I begged. “Mom, you have to be joking.”

  My eyes stung, and I felt like I was going to cry. Noah was going to be my stepbrother. Was already my stepbrother since, technically, Mom and Greg were already married.

  We hadn't told anyone we saw each other, and I didn’t even know if we were really dating, but people at school had already seen us together. If news of us being related now got out, how would people react? Not well, I was sure.

  “What’s going on, Sara?” Mom asked as she stood up. “Do you know him already? Then that’s good, isn’t it?”

  “No, Mom, it’s not,” I said immediately. “Of all people, why did it have to be him? You should have told me about all of this before you got married, not dumped it on me like the best surprise in the world when it’s not!”

  I felt my heart race and a clench in my stomach as I started to panic. Before, I’d just felt uneasy, but right then, I felt a little sick. Like the little food I’d managed to eat would be coming up my throat soon. I’d told Mom exactly what I felt, but there were added dimensions that she didn’t know about, that meant everything to me.

  “Why are you acting like this?” She sputtered, clearly upset. “Do you hate that I’m happy, Sara? Why do you have to be so selfish? For the past ten years I have mourned your father and refused to move on with my life. Even when I dated, it never lasted, and I could never give all of me to anyone, but I’m really trying now. I’m moving on. Can't you just be happy for me without making a scene?”

  She blinked her misty eyes, and I went quiet. It felt like something was stuck in my throat.

  That’s not the problem here!

  I wanted to shout at her, but she looked like she was going to cry, and I felt bad for making my mom feel this way. It really wasn’t her fault that Noah and I had been together while she was with his dad. Neither of us had known, and while I wish she had told me she was seeing someone regardless, Mom wasn’t obligated to tell me anything about her life, just as I wasn’t obligated to tell her everything about mine.

  We used to share things between us, but we’d both found men that distracted us from each other. It was just a shame that they happened to be father and son.

  I wanted to cry, too, but I couldn’t find the tears. I wanted to explain, but the words escaped me. Things only got worse from there.

  “Hey Noah, Sara!”

  Both of us turned at the call of our names. When I saw Alicia and Caroline standing at the entrance to the restaurant, I got a little dizzy. For a second, I wondered if I was going to faint, but I wasn’t that lucky.

  “Fuck!” I heard Noah curse under his breath. “I can't believe they followed me here.”

  My eyes turned to his face, and his expression didn’t make sense. He looked angry, and also a bit concerned. I’d only pointed them out to him once, so Noah shouldn’t really know either of them. What happened, and why would they have followed him here?

  I didn’t know what was going on, but their smirking faces made my stomach churn even more wildly. They weren’t here to say or do anything nice, and before they could shout it to the whole room, I walked over there. Before I got the chance to say anything, they spoke.

  “I can't believe you, Sara,” Alicia said, looking absolutely delighted. “Like, what the hell is this? You and Noah are to the point of meeting the parents already? Isn’t that a little ridiculous?”

  My face burned in humiliation, but at least they hadn't figured out the situation we were in. They might have been behind Noah, but they hadn't been in time to overhear any of the drama going on between the four of us.

  “Look, guys,” I muttered, voice low. “This really isn’t a good time, so can you please leave?”

  Caroline snickered. “What, sending us off, so we don’t see the train wreck? Whatever. We came here for something else, anyway.”

  Their smug looks gave me a bad feeling.

  “What?”

  “We know your dirty little secret,” Alicia said in a sing-song voice. “Between you and Noah. That’s your mom, right? I wonder if she knows.”

  “Knows what?” I asked, impatient.

  “That you had to pay Noah to fuck you,” she said, voice quiet, smirk widening. “And, on top of that, to go out with you, too. I thought it was so funny when I found out, you know? You didn’t want to tell us it was him because of that, right?”

  I stared at them in horror. I wanted to turn around and look at Noah, but I really thought I would go crazy if I did. It was just one thing after another today. My emotions felt like they’d been put on a rollercoaster, and every time I thought it was coming to an end, a new twist or turn appeared.

  “You don’t want this information getting out to anybody, right?” Caroline continued with a sharp edge to her voice that only increased my worry.

  Feeling like the floor had just been pulled from under me, and I was plunging into a big, dark hole, I swallowed.

  “If you want us to keep your dirty little secret,” Alicia continued. “You’re going to have to pay us. And make it a lot, or you know we’ll just come back.”

  That would have been the best time to suddenly faint, but still, nothing happened. I blinked my eyes, but the sting of tears had gone away. Right then, all I felt was numb. My throat was tight, and I swayed a little in place.

  “Sara!”

  Someone from behind me had called my name. I didn’t know if it was Noah or Mom, or hell it could have been Greg. But it was what I needed to wake up, and I knew what I needed right then.

  I ignored everyone.

  With my head ducked down, I walked back to the table and picked up my purse and my phone. My breakfast was still mostly there, and distantly, I felt that it was such a waste, but I couldn’t stay there anymore. It would probably be thrown out, but I didn’t care enough to sit back down to finish. Then, I walked out of there, and away from all of them, without a look back or a final glance at any of them.

  It felt like the whole world had gone mad, and if I stayed there any longer, I would go mad, too.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Noah

  I saw Sara w
alk away, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure what to do. I hadn't done what I came here to do. Sara being there made things so much worse, because I realized that the woman Dad planned on conning was Sara’s mother.

  The fact that she and I were now stepsiblings dawned on me after that.

  Of all people, did it have to be her mom?

  When she walked out of the room with all of us watching, I felt something go tight in my chest. I had a feeling that, if I didn’t go after her, she might never let me talk to her again. Right on the tail of that thought, I finally moved, going around Alicia and Caroline who were left stunned by Sara walking out on them without a word.

  I ignored them, but I might find them later and talk to them about minding their own fucking business.

  “Sara! Please, wait!”

  She didn’t stop when I called out to her, as if she couldn’t hear me. I picked up my speed and moved around until I stood in front of her, so she wouldn’t ignore me, but she kept her head down. When she tried to go past me, I moved in her way, hands raised up.

  “Would you please wait,” I pleaded quietly. “I really need to talk to you, Sara. Don’t just walk out like this.”

  For a long moment, she didn’t speak or look up at me. I held my breath and waited, until I couldn’t hold it anymore. I breathed in to speak again, but she spoke at last.

  “Can you please leave me alone?” She murmured, her voice quiet. “I just really want to be alone right now, Noah.”

  My chest ached in pain for her. This must have all been a shock for her, even worse than it was for me. Dad never mentioned Tina having a daughter, and I wondered if she’d known. Then, to have Alicia and Caroline show up, it must have all been too much for her. She sounded defeated and really upset to the point it really worried me.

  “Sara, I’m sorry,” I murmured. “About those girls. Something happened at the school, and they found out, I swear I didn’t tell them. But that’s not the problem right now.”

  The most important thing was to tell her about my dad’s plan with her mom. I didn’t feel good about it, but if I told Sara, she could go right then and warn her mother. Then, Tina would probably divorce him, and the whole stepsibling issue would be dealt with.

  I didn’t know what she would think about me since it would be my dad that had screwed with her mom like that, but it was better than doing nothing.

  Just as I was about to tell her, she looked up and met my gaze, and the words froze in my throat. That look on her face pierced me right in the chest because while she had been shocked before, she now looked so sad. Her eyes were wet, and I wondered if she would cry.

  “Sara, I’m sorry,” I murmured. “I am so sorry. But this really is something important. Can't you just listen to me?”

  She huffed, mouth tilting up on one side, but I couldn’t call it a smile as her expression crumpled. She covered her eyes for a second, rubbed them subtly before her hand fell away and she frowned at me.

  “I’m sorry, too, Noah,” she said, her voice getting stronger. “Really sorry, but I don’t want to hear it right now, whatever you have to say I don’t want to know. I’m afraid that if I hear any more news today, I’m going to break down and humiliate myself in public, so please just stop and let me pass?”

  I hesitated. The devastation on her expression told me she wasn’t kidding. One more thing would break her at that moment, and the news I had for her wasn’t exactly great on top of everything else.

  “Do you know, I had no idea?” She continued, when I didn’t speak or move out of the way. Sara gave a laugh, but it was such a shattered sound that it felt painful to hear it. “That she was even seeing anyone. She called me up yesterday, yay, a surprise visit! But then I get here, and she’s introducing me to her husband. And of all people, did he have to be your dad, Noah?”

  “Wait, that was his Dad? I thought he was someone your mom was seeing since you said it was just the two of you in your family, but this is even more hilarious.”

  My body stiffened, and Sara just sighed as she closed her eyes, expression pained, shoulders hunched. She shook her head as a warning, but the two girls refused to be ignored. Alicia and Caroline had caught up with us, and by the expression on their faces, they were clearly not done causing trouble.

  “Would the two of you please leave us alone?” I said through gritted teeth. “Don’t you know anything about privacy?”

  Alicia pretended to look around, and Caroline joined in.

  “Uh, you’re in a public place, you know? If you want to have private conversations, then do it in private, okay? I know that, so doesn’t that mean that I know more than you?”

  “Anyone could be walking through this lobby,” Caroline added. “And you guys are standing right in the middle of it. You don’t even realize that there are other people around, do you? Or you would have known we were right behind you. We weren’t exactly trying to hide it.”

  I glanced around, cursing silently. There were more than a few people around. Neither of our parents were there, but curious eyes were staring right at us. Because Sara was right in front of me, I wasn’t paying much attention to my surroundings.

  “Whatever,” I muttered, frowning at them. “Thanks for the tip, but can you two please go, now?”

  “And why should we?” Alicia retorted. “You can’t chase us out of here, try and call security, we’ll leave then. We’re just standing around here; there’s nothing wrong with that. Right, Caroline?”

  Caroline nodded pensively. “You’re right, Alicia.”

  My eyes turned to Sara. She still had her eyes closed. I knew I couldn’t make a scene in the middle of the lobby. Our parents hadn't shown up yet, but it would probably be a good idea to keep the relationship between us a secret from them for now. Seeing the way Sara had reacted, she probably didn’t want to cause her mother any trouble.

  I didn’t want to embarrass her, and while I didn’t want to say anything with those two there listening in, I had to at least get her to agree to talk to me. As much as I didn’t want to hurt her, I didn’t want her to hate me after my dad ran off with her mom’s money.

  “Sara?” I said, lowering my voice. Alicia and Caroline, as if determined to be a nuisance, shifted a little closer to hear better. I glared at them, because they were being too obvious, but decided to ignore them. “Can we please talk? It doesn’t have to be now; we can go back to school, we can do it privately. But at least let me talk to you, all right? I promise, it really is something important. You’re not going to like it, but you still have to know. If time is what you need… I can give you some.”

  I hesitated at that last part because I wasn’t sure how long we had. Shit, they were already married, legally. There hadn't been a wedding, but the certificate was the most important part. I didn’t know what my dad’s exact plans were, and it would depend on how long her mom would take to make the funds transfer, too.

  There were just too many variables. He might even be worried because I knew now, and I could still choose to tell Tina. No matter what, I had to let her know today.

  Sara’s eyes opened, but her expression was blank.

  “Are you guys going to meet for a secret rendezvous?” Alicia asked, giggling. “I should tell you guys; it won't be that big a secret. Who hasn’t seen you two together around school?”

  “Even quite a few seniors are talking about the two of you,” Caroline added, as if it actually mattered that people had seen us together.

  Alicia continued. “There’s a lot of weird rumors, too, like you guys fuck everywhere, including the library? We didn’t think it was possible, but I’m wondering if it was true. Sara’s holding the wallet, so was it her idea? How about it, Noah?”

  I held back a wince so I wouldn’t give anything away. We really had fucked in the library. I was sure no one had noticed, or I would have heard of it not long after it happened. That was nearly two weeks ago.

  Sara’s expression was blank, but it started breaking a little when they said that.
Looking at her closely, I saw that she was trembling. Her eyes stared straight at my chest, but the look in them was far away as if her mind was trying to distance her from what was happening at that moment.

  I glanced at Alicia and Caroline, who were both giggling in excitement after humiliating Sara. I clenched my fists beside me and reminded myself that it would be bad to hit a woman. They were determined to be a nuisance, so getting away from them might not be easy, not with Sara looking the way she was.

  In the end, I thought it would be better not to try and push her. Maybe I could give her the space she obviously needed and try to talk to her later. I’d give her a day, two tops, then try again. Hopefully, Dad wouldn’t have done anything by then.

  “It’s fine,” I murmured. “You can go back to school, Sara. I won't bother you for today, okay? Just go to your room and sleep. You don’t look too well.”

  Sara blinked, then looked up at me. I moved to the side, making sure I’d be in Alicia and Caroline’s way in case they tried to follow. Sara didn’t decline the offer.

  It was hard, keeping an eye on her and the two snide girls at one time, but she managed to get into a cab before they moved past me. I figured the best thing I could do for her right then was stall them, so they wouldn’t give her more trouble. Hopefully, she’d go back, do what I suggested, and wake up feeling better and more open to talking.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sara

  When I got back to the dorms, I did exactly as Noah suggested I should do. I completely ignored everything, including the fact that I still had classes that day. I didn’t even change my clothes, just got underneath my covers and closed my eyes. I don’t know when I fell asleep.

  I woke up hours later. The room was already dark, but not the pitch black that would mean it was night time. It was around six in the evening when I checked the time on my phone. My stomach rumbled when I realized I felt a little hungry.

  Luckily, tomorrow was Saturday and I could be as lazy as I wanted to be. I didn’t want to go out, just in case I walked into someone I didn’t want to see right then, two people in particular, but I really was hungry. So, I used the bathroom and then went out to buy something I could take with me back to the dorms. When I got back, I ate quickly before getting right back into bed. It took longer to fall asleep this time, but I didn’t have anywhere to go.