3
Claudia Bliss
Istareat my test paper in disbelief. A sixty-nine. A fucking D. What the hell am I going to do? I can’t lose my 4.0 GPA the final semester of high school.
Don’t panic, Claud. It’s March. You still have time to turn this around.
I listen to every word Mr. Garrison says. I make note of every mark and number he writes but very few things click for me; math has never been my strong suit.I shouldn’t have taken this AP calculus class. Dumb, dumb, dumb move. It’s going to ruin my GPA.
I hang back until my classmates are gone and dawdle toward my teacher’s desk. “Do you have a minute, Mr. Garrison?”
“I have a little time. I assume you’d like to discuss your score on yesterday’s test?”
I hold out the paper and look at the huge red number. “This is going to bring my average down a lot.”
“But not impossible to bring up.”
“Not impossible if you understand calculus, which I don’t.” I need help. I’m falling further and further behind every day.
“I don’t privately tutor my own students, but I can recommend an individual for hire if you think you’d like to pursue that.”
School has always come easy to me. I’ve never had to study but I’ve boxed myself into a corner in this class. I can’t afford not to make high A’s on the rest of my tests. One-on-one attention is likely the only way to make that happen. “I think private tutoring is what it’s going to take for me to catch up.”
“A former student of mine tutors in his spare time. Brilliant young man. Jacob Rial. I believe he’s around the same age as your brother.”
Jacob Rial.“Sounds a little familiar.”
“He tutors on Mondays, Wednesdays, and some weekends.”
Today is Friday. Maybe I can get in a few sessions with him before next week’s test. “That would be great if he’s available.”
Mr. Garrison jots down a phone number. “I recommend calling as soon as possible to see what spots he has available. He books up quickly.”
I could almost kiss this man. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
My mood is slightly improved on the drive home until “We Don’t Talk Anymore” comes on the radio. I used to love that song but now I can’t hear it without thinking of Bram.
Two months since that night and not a single word from him. He hasn’t come around the house, not even the two weekends Owen was home from school.
Noel Abraham Windsor. Bram.My Duke.I have loved him my entire life.
The first memory I have of him is from when I was three, maybe four. I was crying because I didn’t know how to swing. He stopped whatever he was doing with Owen and River and pushed me until I was content. And that’s how the following years went. He always made sure I was happy. And I loved him for it.
For years, I was nothing more than one of the boys to him. Owen’s baby sister. Hislittle dove. The pest who tagged along everywhere they went. Or at least tried.
The age gap eventually ruined everything. Owen, River, and Bram discovered girls, and I wasn’t the kind they wanted around. Of course, I didn’t understand their fascination; I was too young. I’m glad it took years for my immature brain to figure out what Bram was doing with those girls.It broke my heart when I finally did.
He’s twenty-three. I’m seventeen. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to be his girl—his only girl. It’s what I’ve wanted since… always.
I was sixteen when the boys came home for summer break last year. I spent every day hanging out with them. Despite all my efforts, Bram never once looked at me like I was anything more than their little Claud. Still just one of the boys.
It. Pissed. Me. Off.
I was growing up, dammit. I was getting boobs and hips and a curvy ass. But he just wouldn’t fuckingseeme. That’s when I decided it was time to act if he were ever going to be mine.
Bram left for fall semester. Being away from him during that time was the hardest five months of my life. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t see him.
His dark hair, hazel eyes, and tanned, muscular body made an appearance every night in my dreams. And that V, too. That damn V at his waist, pointing at what I now know is a cock that gets hard when it presses against my body.