Blended Hearts #2 (An Interracial Stepbrother Romance Book) Read online

  BLENDED HEARTS #2

  By Alycia Taylor

  Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.

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  CHAPTER 1

  When I opened my eyes to reality – the reality of what Daniel and I had been doing, I couldn’t believe what happened. It totally freaked me out. How could I let this happen? What an idiot you are, Madison!

  I sat up, turned to Daniel and shook his shoulder.

  “Hey? How could you? You’re just like every other guy – got to get into every girl’s pants. Is that what we were doing?”

  Bewildered, Daniel looked up at me. He was still on his back catching his breath.

  “What are you on about, Madison?” he blurted. “What did I do that you didn’t want me to do? Why didn’t you stop me if you didn’t want to? You enjoyed it as much as I did…”

  “Get out of here, you bastard! You know this is all wrong. We’re brother and sister, for heaven’s sake.”

  “Exactly – but the law does not dictate how we feel, does it? Besides, as you said, we aren’t really related.” He got up and slipped into his shorts.

  “It’s still wrong, Daniel.” I got up to put my night shirt on again. “You can’t tell anyone about this. Do you understand me?”

  “Oh I understand you alright: You’re a real piece of work, you know that? But don’t worry about it – mum’s the word. Why would I brag about it? We’ve just had the best time, but I’m no kiss-and-tell. So you don’t have to get your old knickers in a knot, dearie.” He wrapped his arms around my waist. I pushed him away. He grabbed my wrists and pulled me back to him.

  “Why are you acting all crazy like that?” he asked me softly. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with what we did. There’s not a reason in the whole wide world why two strangers shouldn’t have sex together, is there?”

  “That’s just it, Daniel, we are not “strangers”, we’re related…”

  “No, we’re not, Madison! That’s the point. You are not my father’s daughter. And I’m not your mother’s son.” He released me.

  I stared.

  “Get out of my room! And don’t you come back. Understand?”

  I was unable to get a hold of my feelings. I could not make sense of what just occurred. Not only did I let him make out with me, but we had sex. SEX! On my bed! My next thought was even more frightful. What if someone heard us? What if someone saw us? I knew Richard and Mom were out for the evening, but I couldn’t be sure…I was literally going crazy with worry.

  I was totally convinced that someone was going to find out what we’d done. We were going to get caught. In the midst of these tergiversations, my nose told me that I needed to get rid of the smell that permeated my room now. It smelled like sex. I got a clean night shirt out of the chest of drawers and practically ran to the bathroom.

  Still thinking that my mother – or worse Richard – would find out what we did just by smelling me, I scrubbed myself so hard that if I hadn’t watched it I would have been as red as a lobster when I came out of the shower. I sprayed myself with deodorant everywhere I could think of and donned the clean night shirt.

  Next, I went back to my room to check if there was anything new or “revealing” on my social media pages. I checked my phone and wondered if Daniel would keep his word and shut his mouth about what we had done. Of course, I found nothing remotely relevant.

  Lying on my bed, I relived those intensely lovely moments with Daniel. It was as if I had made love in a dream – in another place, at another time – I couldn’t come to terms with the reality of it all. Daniel took my virginity away, and I let him do it. Correction: I wanted him to do it. I wouldn’t have been satisfied with anything less than having sex with him. I had to face the truth. Avoiding him was a must now. I had to make a decision: I would never do this again with Daniel. He was totally off limits, as far as I was concerned.

  I was trying to make plans to best avoid Daniel when I heard the garage door open. I practically jumped out of my bed. At first, I thought of staying where I was – as usual – but if I didn’t find out if they knew anything about Daniel and me, I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I ran down the stairs and caught them as Richard was pouring a night cap for Mom.

  “Hey there,” I said, whisking my way into the living room. “How was the show? Did you have a good time?”

  Mom was staring at me – mute. Then she said, “Madison. Are you okay?” She looked genuinely surprised to see me. “What are you doing up at this hour?”

  I went to sit on the edge of one of the living room chairs across from her.

  “Just heard you come in and I thought I’d come down to see if you enjoyed the evening.”

  “Yes, it was fun actually. I had never been to a cultural show before, and I tell you, it was very interesting. They had these dancers…” She frowned. “But why are you asking? Did something happen while we were out?”

  I shook my head, a little too vigorously maybe. “No-no, it’s not that. I mean nothing happened. I was just curious, that’s all. You two”—I looked up at Richard—“talked about this for so long, I thought I would ask how it went.”

  “It was very interesting,” Richard said, handing a glass to Mom, “as your mother said. And perhaps we should book some seats for all of us when the Indian drummers are in town; I hear they’re excellent.”

  I had no intention of sitting and listening to drums for two hours, but I had to smile – just to pretend and go along with my own cover-up. Boy this is awkward, and silly! I thought.

  “Okay then,” I said, getting up from the chair where I had been sitting since I came downstairs, “I guess I’ll go to bed now.” I smiled insanely. “Good night then,” I added, trotting up the stairs but stopping on the landing. I was still paranoid. Let’s hear what they have to say….

  “Well, wasn’t that a little bit of a surprise?” Richard said to Mom.

  “I wonder what’s gotten into her. The three of us haven’t had a real conversation for weeks – since the wedding actually – and all of a sudden, here she comes all interested in what we’re doing.”

  “Exactly my thoughts, sweetie,” Richard answered. “She reminds me of a frightened animal – I don’t mean she’s an animal, but you know what I mean.”

  “Yes, I know precisely what you mean. She jumps out of her skin at a mere touch or if you look at her the wrong way, she goes and hides. I’ve never seen her act that way.”

  “Do you think you should have a chat with her?” Richard asked.

  “I could try, but I don’t want to pry. If something is really bothering her, I’m still hoping she’ll come to me.”

  Fat chance, Mom, I told myself. There’s no way I would pronounce even a syllable about Daniel and me.

  Yet one thing was clear, the only reason they would begin suspecting that something might be wrong would be because of my strange behavior. As my mom said, all of a sudden I wanted to have a conversation when the three of us hadn’t exchanged five words between us in weeks now. Granted we had been out for that one bowling afternoon, and we had a bit of a chat at the dinner table on occasion. I had to admit, my frayed nerves were starting to show and I was the one planting a seed of doubt in my mother’s mind. As for Richard, I had to wonder if he was going to question Daniel about me. I just had to hope Daniel would keep his word and say nothing. But this was differen
t. It would be father and son talking. Maybe Daniel would let the cat out of the bag, thinking that talking to his dad wouldn’t be the same as talking to Gill or any of his friends.

  I had to get to bed. This wasn’t helping anyone, least of whom me.

  I got up from my hiding place and tiptoed my way back to my room. I closed the door silently and went back to have a look at who was on line. Maybe Gaby wasn’t asleep yet. I looked at the clock on the screen – 2:00 a.m.

  Come on, girl, get yourself to bed, otherwise tomorrow you’ll be totally wasted.

  CHAPTER 2

  Monday mornings were always a drag. There were three successive periods of subjects that really rattled my chain. First, math with the fat jerk, Mr. Collins; I truly couldn’t stand the guy. He was the most freaky when it came to having all these sorts of phobias. I heard that he would never eat at a restaurant table unless the servers would change table cloths, napkins, glasses and cutlery in front of him. As for knowing his subject, I must admit he was extreme! The guy knew his stuff. Perhaps that was the only reason why my grades in math weren’t as bad as one would have expected. I mean I wasn’t all A’s – far from it – or anything close to them, but I wasn’t bad.

  The next period I would have to sit tight – political history was the subject. Not one of my favorites either. Why should I have to sit tight, you ask? The woman was a bitch. She loved women. Nothing wrong with that, but let’s leave our sexual preferences outside of the school walls, shall we? Thank you. But again, the woman knew what she was teaching. And frankly, I didn’t mind her that much. It was an interesting subject.

  As for the third period; God, I wish I could have hidden under my desk and stay there for the entire period. Physics! Me and physics, we were definitely not getting along. The class was truly not my cup of tea; which is a remark most apropos when it came to Mr. Albertson. An English gentleman himself, he would bring his bone-china cup and saucer to the class, and sip on his tea while expounding on the parabolic effect of gravity’s pull on objects projected at a speed of 125 miles per hour, such as a tennis ball across the net at Wimbledon! Really? Who bloody cares? I sure don’t.

  You probably heard it in my voice by now, but I was totally unnerved that morning. I took an early bus to avoid Daniel and was in the cafeteria, sipping on my orange juice when Gaby came to sit across from me.

  “So, how was the weekend?” she asked, dropping her books on the table with a thud.

  I looked up at her. “What weekend?” I shrugged. “If studying and getting my room in some sort of order or washing my clothes represents anything close to a fun weekend, than I had loads of fun. It was hilarious!”

  “Aren’t we snippy this morning?” Gaby said. “What happened to put you in such a fantastic mood?” She took a muffin out of its plastic wrapper and opened a little tub of yogurt. I had to admire her. She was sticking to her diet. And I had to say, she started slimming down a bit.

  I shook my head. “Nothing really. I’m just allergic to Mondays, that’s all.”

  “You mean you’re allergic to math, physics and political history, right?”

  “Right. I am in no mood of even trying to understand the “parabolic effect of gravity pull… yackity-yack” or “the value of x when y is 10 and z is 2.” And as far as Ms. Ludson – that’s another matter altogether.”

  “Wow! Can I ask you what you had for dinner last night? You sound like a dog whose bone has been stolen. Seriously. What happened?”

  “And I told you nothing happened, okay?” I shouldn’t have said that, certainly not in that tone of voice. I was turning into a real obnoxious idiot.

  Gaby closed her tub of yogurt, wrapped her muffin, put both back in her bag, grabbed her books and tablet and left me alone with my miserable mood. I wanted to cry and feel sorry for myself, but what would that accomplish? Nothing. I was the one who let Daniel go “for the works”, didn’t I? If someone was to blame, it was me. I was an adult. I only had to say: “get out of my room” before it all happened, didn’t I? And now I was behaving like the proverbial bear with a sore head.

  I got up and literally ran after Gaby down the hallway. I grabbed her by the arm and stopped her. “I’m sorry, Gaby. I don’t know what’s going on with me. I am just not…”

  “Stop it right there, missy,” Gaby said, peering into my eyes. “You need to think before you speak, especially when you talk to your only friend for miles around. Okay?”

  I bowed my head in shame. Gaby was right. She was the only one in this ugly world whom I could trust or who would say more than two words to me any time of the day or night.

  “I’m sorry, Gaby. I am on edge. I am always looking over my shoulder to see if Daniel is anywhere in sight. It’s not even being paranoid anymore; it’s a matter of not wanting to know him at all. Period.”

  “But what brought that on all of a sudden? Last week you tolerated each other, if I remember correctly. Now you’re acting as if he’s just returned from Africa and is spreading Ebola round the school. What’s the matter with you?”

  “Okay, I’ll tell you, but not here.” I looked around us. Most of the students couldn’t care less about the two of us, but I truly didn’t want to see Elise and her gang this morning – not here, not now. We walked out to the school yard and sat on a bench.

  Gaby returned to eating the other half of her breakfast while I took a deep breath.

  “Okay, Daniel is too interested in me. And I mean that literally. He’s been hovering and trying to make conversation when there’s none to make. He’s come to my room asking if I was okay – like he cares…”

  “Hold on to your horses there Madison. What if the man really does care? What if he’s truly wondering why you’re moping all the time. He’s probably feeling guilty and doesn’t know how to handle you.”

  “Maybe, but it’s no way to get to me by following me around like a sick puppy. He’s too much. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told him to leave me alone. But he keeps on coming back.”

  “Are you in heat?”

  The question threw me for a loop. “What do you mean? I’m not a cat – not that I know anyway.”

  “Then stop acting like one. I told you last week; ignore him. When he asks a question; don’t answer. When he goes one way, go in the opposite direction. Rather than yelling at him, just demonstrate how you feel. Indifference and ignorance of him are your best weapons.”

  “But I can’t do that in front of the folks, can I?”

  “Well, short and terse answers should suffice. No need to elaborate.”

  I nodded and got up from the bench. Gaby had finished eating by now. “Let’s get on with it then,” I suggested.

  “Right.” Gaby threw her leftovers in the trash and fell in step with me. “I meant to ask; how did you do with your essay?”

  “You mean the one on Friendship?”

  “Yeah. Did you get your seven-hundred words in?”

  “I hope so. I didn’t do a word-count, but I’ve got two pages, single-spaced. That should do the trick.” I paused to open the door. “I don’t know if it’s going to get the marks I need, though. It’s definitely not my favorite subject.”

  Gaby threw me a strange glance.

  I had committed another faux-pas, hadn’t I? “Sorry, I know I shouldn’t have put it that way. But you were my example. You’re my only friend, as you said, so I’m grateful and that’s what I talked about in the essay.”

  “Alright,” Gaby said, “but I think you should really sit down with yourself tonight and examine your reactions toward Daniel and the other people in your life.” She stopped and looked up at me. “I mean it, Madison, you’re going to put your foot in it all the way to your knee and before you know it, you’ll be in deep shit with everybody.”

  I nodded and pushed the classroom door open for her. I followed her in. Mr. Collins was already sipping on a large milkshake. The guy will need his stomach stapled before the end of the year.

  CHAPTER 3

 
Going home that night, I chose to walk part of the way until I saw the regular bus drive past me. I caught the next one and was glad to have made it after Daniel got home.

  Mom was in the kitchen preparing dinner when I opened the back door.

  “Hi, sweetie,” she said loudly to make sure I heard her. “How was your day?”

  Much against my desire to run up to my room, I made a ninety degree turn into the kitchen and plopped down at the table.

  “I have to say it wasn’t too bad. Really. I’d wish they didn’t cram all of the classes I hate most on Monday morning, though. Can you imagine three hours of math, physics and political history?”

  Mother turned around from the sink, wiped her hands on the nearest dishcloth and came to sit across from me. “I can’t imagine, no. Those are a little out of my league, truth be told dear, but I suppose if you want to get to college or anywhere in life – that’s to say if you want to have a choice – you need to be exposed to these courses. So you’d know which you hate and which you might enjoy when it comes to a career choice.”

  My mother was a wise woman. I always had to admire her for that sagacity of hers. I don’t really know where she got it from, because she just went to high school (and nothing as sophisticated as it is today) and then went to work for a department store. Her paycheck wasn’t bad and she really had no more education afterward. Yet, she was the one with the owl on her shoulder – the Wizard of my OZ. And today, although I still had no intention of revealing what happened over the weekend, I was glad she was there for me.

  I got up, smiled at her and went to plant a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll remember that next Monday. Thanks for the pep-talk, Mom,” I added, taking my bag off the table and making my way up the stairs.

  I felt better.

  It was only when I got to the upper landing that I realized I was no longer alone with my mother in this big house – Daniel lived next door to me.

  He must have been studying with his earphones on because I didn’t hear a sound coming out of the lion’s den, for which I was glad.