Page 30 of His Stubborn Girl

She shuffles out of the room, and I turn to Travis. “What was that about?”

He shakes his head, sighing as if there’s a heavy burden weighing down his every thought. He looked so happy last night. He and Sophie were both grinning from ear to ear when they got back from their date. And I could hear the fun they were having in his room, so I don’t understand how he could go from cloud nine to doomsday in a few hours.

“Sophie was calling for some Maddock guy in her sleep, and when I asked her about him, she got all squirrelly and didn’t want to talk about it. So, I figured Torre would know, but your sister won’t tell me anything. She doesn’t want to betray Sophie’s trust, which I totally respect. But I’m still sweating bullets.”

My sister is a good friend. It’s not her secret to tell. If Sophie wants him to know, she’ll tell him herself. My guess is he’s worried for nothing. I saw the way she was looking at him last night. She’s all in. But they’ve only been together for three days. Trust takes time. So, I think my sister is right. Sophie just needs to feel like she’s on solid ground before she opens up.

“Look. Thanks, man, for the key and for babysitting your sister tonight. I’m gonna head out so I can get some things done for tonight before I have to head to office hours. I’ll catch you later.”

He walks out the door, the lock turns, and I walk straight back to my room, ready to strip and join my sexy little girl in the shower. My blood turns to ice when I open the door. My entire body freezing up when I see her laying on my bed, reading my private journal. Her eyes grow huge when she sees me. She’s been caught red-handed. I storm over, ripping the thing from her hands.

“Why the fuck are you snooping through my shit?” The words come out violent. The rage and disgust over what I wrote in that book is tearing through me. I never should’ve written that shit down. It should’ve stayed locked inside my head where it’s safe. Where my sister would be safe from my perverted thoughts.

“I didn’t mean to.” She struggles to stand, looking panicked. She wants to run from me. Now that she knows what I want to do to her, she wants to get the hell away from her sick brother. “I wanted to make your bed for you and found it tucked under your mattress. And…”

“And so you read it? How the fuck would you feel if I read your personal shit?” I’m so fucking livid. Why can’t she ever behave? And why the hell did I leave that book where anyone could find it?

“I’m sorry, Luke. I shouldn’t have read it. I just…” Her head shakes, her eyes filling with tears. “I’m really sorry. Please don’t hate me.”

I don’t hate her. I’m upset that she wouldn’t respect my privacy. Angrier with myself for putting my sins down on paper, but I could never hate her. To tell you the truth, I’m shockedshedoesn’t hateme. She should be calling me a sick freak and bolting from the room.

“What I wrote…” God, I can’t even say it. “They were dreams. It’s not how I truly feel.” I would never force her up against the locker room wall and fuck her in front of my team. Letting them shout for her to be a good little slut for her big brother. The idea of them seeing her naked would make me rage. It was just a dream. All of them were.

But she doesn’t look relieved by what I just said, she looks confused. “So, you didn’t mean the part about being in love with me?”

What? Is that the only thing she read? Yesterday’s entry. Ramblings of a boy falling head over heels for a girl I can’t have. Afraid that she’ll one day snap out of her infatuation with me and rip my heart out. I’ve never felt this way about anyone and I’m afraid. I’m terrified of how this is going to play out. I’ve finally found my person, the one I want to be with, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep her.

“You weren’t supposed to read that, Torre. I…”

“I love you, Lukas. Not in the sisterly way. In the big kind of way. And everything you wrote in there is exactly how I’ve been feeling. I’m afraid you’ll get bored or disinterested, or you’ll realize I’m not worth the risk. I’m not sure I’ll ever recover if you decide I’m not the one you want.”

The left side of my chest takes the force of her words, pounding hard. She just said she’s in love with me. The sweetest words I’ve ever heard. I move in, reaching for my girl.

“That part was truth, Torre. I’m in love with you. But I’m terrified of what that means. I don’t want to ruin your life. I don’t want to hurt our parents. I just want to be able to love you and build a life together.”

“So, do that.” She reaches up, cupping my cheek, her soft touch tingling over my morning scruff. “I don’t know what this looks like, and I know we’re facing a lot of challenges, but I also know that I could never imagine myself with anyone else. The thought makes me sick. So, if it’s not you, it’s no one.”

The thought of her with anyone else makes me want to commit murder. “How, babe? How do we make this work? Out there?” Out where the odds are stacked against us.

“I think if we want it badly enough, we’ll figure it out. I know I want it more than anything else. I’m willing to do whatever it takes, Lukas. If I have to pretend to move in with my older brother and be a roommate when our parents are in town, I can do that. If I have to lie about being knocked up by some jerk and my amazing big brother has stepped in as a father in my kid’s life, I’m okay with that too. I’m just not okay with the life that doesn’t have you in it.”

And I’m not okay with her not having everything she deserves. She deserves a world of happiness and then some. She doesn’t deserve to have to sneak around and be painted as some spinster. But the thought of not being with her kills me. It makes me feel like I’m being suffocated.

“I promise I’m going to give you what you deserve, babe. I don’t know how yet, but I will.” One day, when the time is right, I’ll talk to our parents. I’ll beg them for forgiveness and try to make them understand that we never meant for this to happen. With her love and strength, I’ll figure it out. What I do know is that she’s worth it. Whatever trials come, she’s worth fighting for.

“I love you, Luke.”

“God, I love you, too, Torre.” So much, it’s bordering the line of obsession.

“I’m sorry I read your journal.”

I’m just so fucking thankful that’s the only part she read.

“You definitely deserve a spanking for that.”

Her eyes perk up, already burning hot and heavy. “I’ll take my spanking like a good girl and then get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness.”

I’d bend her over my knee and have her make good on her promise, but right now, I want to make soft, sweet love to her. Show her what she means to me. Feel our bodies connected in the most intimate way. I wrap my arms around her, slowly laying her down onto the bed, coming over her and staring into her heart-stopping eyes.

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