15. Zeke
Zeke
My heart’s thumping wildly in my chest. Sweat beads on my forehead and I begin to feel lightheaded as my body sways slightly.
I can’t believe it.
It’s her.
She’s fucking here.
But how?
What is she doing here?
Then all the pieces start to fit together and I feel like I’m going to puke right here in front of the few friends and family that were invited to the wedding.
Please, for the love of all that’s righteous in this world, please don’t tell me this is Selena, my new stepsister. If she’s a step-cousin, I can handle that; it’s not unheard of for cousins to date. But Dad’s never going to approve of me lusting after my new sister.
Shit! No, she’s not my sister. I’m not even going to think like that. We’re not related. Not by blood, anyway. And she’s not even a step-anything until they say I do. Which if Dad gets his head on straight, he won’t be saying those two little words.
Fuck! The text.
She probably hates me. Thinks I’m a dick.
The way we’ve been thinking about her.
How Eli talked to her in the message he sent her last night.
She’s probably pissed. I need to talk to her, tell her it was a mistake.
A misunderstanding. Then I need to let my brothers know she’s not the person we thought she was.
I have to tell them she’s the woman I plan to marry.
The girl who gave me the best night of my life then disappeared.
She’s all I’ve been able to think about since waking up to an empty bed that morning.
The woman of my dreams, and no name. I can’t even remember if she told me one or not.
Both my brothers gasp beside me.
Oh hell naw. Nuh uh, not going to happen. They need to back off. She’s all mine. I saw her first. I just need to talk to her to figure out what we’re doing—how to break it to our parents that we’ve been together.
My eyes trail back over to her and I can see the fear in her face.
She’s flushed, her eyes lowered as she makes her way down the aisle toward us.
She can’t even look at me. Is she scared that this will change things between us, because fuck that.
I don’t care what Dad or the step-bitch thinks when I announce my new stepsister is the love of my life.
But first things first. I need to repair the damage caused last night.
“Fuck me, it’s her!” I hear Jay mumble under his breath, and I jerk my head in his direction. He’s not paying attention to me; his eyes are locked on her. When I look at Eli, I see the same thing.
What the fuck?
No. No. No. They can’t be lusting after my woman. Why are they having this response to her?
Selena steps up to the front of the room, taking her spot on the bride's side. She keeps her eyes focused on the pastor and grips her bouquet tightly. My eyes zone in on her face and the cute way she’s biting her lower lip.
Is she freaking out about this as badly as I am?
Upset that this new realization may derail our chances of being together?
She’s wrong, because no way in hell am I letting it.
As soon as this is over, I need to corner her at the reception. We need to talk and decide what we’re going to do. All I know is I want her, stepsister or not. Dad’ll just have to understand. I met her before I knew who she was.
As Selena takes her spot across from us, the music changes to the wedding march. The small number of family and friends they wanted to be present for their nuptials stand and turn to watch the bride come down the aisle.
I haven’t had the joy of meeting Julia. Jay was the only one to actually speak with her. And he didn’t have one nice thing to say about her.
I take a moment to look at Dad. His face is lit up with happiness as he watches Julia make her way toward him. I haven’t seen him this happy since Mom was alive.
Why do I feel that if I tell him how I feel about Selena, it’ll crush him? It was just one night. Do I really have as intense feelings as I think I do, or is it just the chase that has me feeling all these emotions?
Julia makes it to us, handing her bouquet to Selena, and Dad takes her hands in his.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re gathered here today to join these two people in holy matrimony,” the pastor begins and everyone sits.
I keep my eyes on the back of Dad’s head, focusing on the thinning patch of hair at his crown. If I look past him to Selena, I know I’ll come undone. I can’t rush toward her like I want and wrap her in my arms, kissing her deeply. I don’t want to ruin Dad’s wedding.
I tune out the pastor's words as I run through all the possibilities of how this is going to end. Only one of them is the ending I want. The one with me and Selena together, and Dad not upset about it.
“Zeke,” my brother whispers as he shakes my shoulder.
“What?” I mumble back.
“The ring!” His words zap me back to reality.
Aww, shit! I totally spaced out.
“Sorry, Dad. Here you go.” I pull the ring from my pocket and hand it to him.
I feel like an idiot. It’s Dad’s wedding and I space out in front of everyone, thinking about the woman standing across from me.
Dad and Julia exchange their vows, rings, and then kiss.
It’s official.
Selena is now my stepsister, and I fucked her. Worse, I want to do it again. It’s all I can think about—me and her together. Not for just a fleeting moment or to get my dick wet, but forever.
How in the world could I be so drawn to someone I only met over the course of one night? A woman whose name I didn’t know until she walked down the aisle.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Abel Carter,” the pastor announces as my father and his new wife turn to face the guests of their wedding.
He glances over at my brothers and me, and his face is full of happiness. There’s no way I can dampen it with news of being with his new stepdaughter. After everything he endured with my mother’s failing health and untimely death, I can’t bring shame upon this marriage.
Dad and Julia walk down the aisle, arms interlocked. Movement catches my attention and Selena’s moving, falling in step behind them.
I step along with her, taking her arm in mine, just as the wedding planner said we should. I can feel her body stiffen under my touch as her breath hitches.
My brothers fall in step behind me, as I catch tiny glimpses of her out of the corner of my eye.
As soon as we get to the end of the aisle, she pulls free from my hold and rushes away to her mother, where the photographer is waiting to take pictures of the happy family and bridal party.
My brothers each take hold of one of my arms and pull me to the side, keeping us slightly out of sight of Dad.