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Squishy mud between my toes

I packed up as s as I could, but I also hter Even the sarettes We were all each other had for a long time

“Everything is going to be okay, Cate”

“I know,” I say, though I’m not as confident as he sounds

Looking across the seat at my stepbrother, I find myself extremely curious about him He’s so intense, so laser focused, but every once in a while, I catch hi when he watches me I don’t kno to feel about those too-brief slip-ups or how to read him Does he like me or am I just a responsibility?

My father always used to tell me I asked inappropriate questions and made people uncomfortable Maybe it’s in his honor that I blurt, “Are you married?”

A vein ticks in his temple “No”

“Oh” Why am I so relieved? “Why?”

He starts to answer, stops And begins again “It has been suggested, mostly by my father, that I marry to further my career Voters like to see a family unit, but I don’t want to ood on a billboard” His tone thickens “And there have been no women I’ve wanted to make time for”

“You’re , i I could cast a line and reel the words back into my mouth “B-but I’m your stepsister, so it’s different”

“Yes” His gaze bores into mine, then slowly travels down to the bodice of my dress To the buttons that became harder to close when my breasts came in “It’s different”

The li So tall I have to lean sideways and tilt my head to see the top It seems to stretch all the way up into the clouds “No way Is this where I’ to live?”

“Yes” Voice tight, Tristan doesn’t wait for the driver to open the door, but pushes out hih he does reach a hand back into the running vehicle to help me out “Come”

We hold hands a few seconds longer than necessary after I’ve exited

Both of us look down at our joined hands and the sight oflow ina circle onto the sainst hi me into a beehive of sensation