I often forget that Eric Patro is my stepbrother. He's a reckless, bold man—one who, in the middle of his heated sex in the studio with another woman, casually asks if I want to join. Later, in the attic, he pins me against the windowsill, his hands gripping my waist, his breath warm and heavy against my ear. When I fall for him, crossing a line I know I shouldn't, I hold onto the hope that maybe—just maybe—Eric can love me back. I stifle the sobs, the desperate sounds I try to suppress, and ask, "What are we, exactly?" Eric, still behind me, moving with a detached force, laughs bitterly. "You're not delusional enough to think I'd ever want you as my girlfriend, are you? We're step-siblings." I pay the price for my reckless behavior, pushing myself away from Eric, thinking it's over between us. Until I see him again... standing at the front of my college classroom.