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“Do you want to come inside?”

Another flash of his pearly whites.

“What do you think?”

Chapter Fifteen

River

“We should probably think about getting dressed. Your sister is expecting us,” Char says, her fingers drawing slow circles across my bare chest as we lie tangled in her tiny twin-sized bunk.

“Five more minutes.” I groan, nuzzling my face into her sweet-smelling hair.

This is exactly what I told myself Iwasn’tgoing to do this weekend. I had a plan. Visit my sister. Spend the weekend drinking in Charlotte’s beauty from a distance. Taking extra precautions not to draw attention to our current situation.

That shit went out the window the instant I saw her yesterday. The first chance I got, I had her pinned to the wall of my hotel room, fucking her good and proper so that when I saw her later with her parents, I could relish knowing that she was still feeling the aftermath of my presence inside her.

“If we both show up late, she’s going to notice,” she says, making no attempt to get up.

“Nah, she’ll be too preoccupied. Between my parents and lover boy, she probably wouldn’t notice if I skipped out altogether.”

“She’d notice.” Char is quick to disagree, her head coming up to look at me as she props her chin on my chest. “You know, we could just tell her.”

I suck in a deep breath, holding it so long that my lungs begin to burn before slowly blowing it out. I don’t knowwhyI’m sohell-bent on keeping this from my sister. It’s not like she’s my parent and she’s going to ground me when she finds out. And sure, maybe she’d be a little upset that we kept it from her for so long, but if I know my sister, her anger would be short-lived.

So that brings me back to the question at hand. Why does the thought of telling her make me feel like my insides are knotting in on themselves? Is it because I’m truly worried what she’ll think? Or is it that I’m scared what this becomes once we’re no longer hidden by half-truths and lies? And do I want to find out?

A part of me does. The other part of me is stuck where I was at the beginning of summer—on the fact that if we were to actually give this a real shot, it would fail epically.

“Or not.” Char grimaces like she’s just tasted something sour. Something in my expression must give away the internal thoughts currently waging war in my brain.

It’s not that I don’t like Char... I do. Hell, I think I like her a little too much. And therein lies the real issue. Because as adamantly as I deny my sister’s claims that I’m scared, I also can’t deny that deep down, she might actually be right.

I’m torn between wanting to hold on to Char with all my strength and never let her go and running in the opposite direction as fast and far as my feet will take me.

“It’s just...” I start to explain but can’t seem to find the right words.

Charlotte pushes herself upright, her auburn hair spilling over her shoulder in a way that has me desperate to reach up and run my fingers through it. I don’t.

“No, I get it.” She swings her long legs over the side of the bunk, jumping to the floor with ease. “I just thought... After what you were saying at lunch...” She trails off.

“Charlotte.” I sit up, watching her slip into her panties and bra with her back to me.

“What are we doing, River?” She spins around, her bright green eyes pinning me in place.

“I think it’s pretty obviouswhatwe’re doing.” I smirk, trying to break through the sudden tension in the air.

“Don’t be a smug prick. I’m being serious.”

“We’re having fun,” I say, jumping down from the bed before dipping to slip on my boxers.

“Then why tell your sister you’re seeing someone?”

“Well, we’ve agreed to be exclusive for the time being. So technically, I am.”

“But we’re just having fun...”

“The two aren’t mutually exclusive. We can both be seeing each other and having fun.”