"I’ve been waiting to claim you for a long time..."
"Go take the bus, freshman."
With one cruel phrase, James had shown me exactly what kind of person he was. Refusing to give me a ride home had shown the catty girls at my high school that I was fair game. It didn't stop there. For Christmas, he gave me nothing more than an IOU. I had to listen to him making girls from our high school moan through our shared wall. Even though our parents were now married, I knew I'd never think of him as a brother.
I was right, but in the worst way. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop fantasizing about acts that society would consider forbidden.
Four years later, when I came home for Christmas, James was there as well. Only he wasn't just a popular high school kid anymore. He was the billionaire CEO of his own company. And whatever feelings I had for him resurfaced immediately when I accidentally walked in on him in the shower. He relished the opportunity to tease me just as he had when we lived together, and I fell for it every time.
Only, when I left the house to do something I might regret, he saved me. It was only then that I found out that he had not only been protecting me, but he had wanted me just as fiercely all along. And, even though that IOU from all those Christmases before said that he owed me a gift, I wanted to use it to give him a gift that would last a lifetime.