Beautifully Broken

smart, sweet, and ridiculously hot.”

“Yeah, but you could have any girl. Why would you want a freshman with a totally messed up background?”

He smiles warmly. “Babe, those girls have nothing on you. You’re more on point than they could ever hope to be.”

I return a smile. “I love you too, Stephen.”

“You do?”

“I do,” I nod.

Seriously, how did I get so lucky? After all the totally jacked-up things in my life, I finally feel like I’m part of a real family. On top of that, one of the most popular boys in school just told me he loves me. I feel like this night couldn’t get any better as we kiss to celebrate our declaration of feelings.

“I’d love to hang out with your friends. Invite them over.”

Stephen wraps me in a giant hug. “Really? Thanks, babe! This night is going to be so awesome!”

Stephen sends a group text to his friends inviting them over in an hour, giving us a little more time to make out beforehand. He tells me how much he adores me in between kisses, lighting my body on fire with his touch. I know without a doubt that tonight is the night and I can’t wait to give myself to him. He makes me feel so special. Most boys in school make lewd comments about my boobs or crack sexual jokes about my pouty lips or round butt. Stephen has never made me feel like he wants me just for my body. He compliments me in a way that makes me feel beautiful, not like I need to take a shower to wash the slime away. He truly is the perfect boyfriend and in this moment, I’d do anything for him.

The doorbell rings a while later and Stephen jumps up from the couch.

“That must be them. I’ll answer it.” He gives me a quick peck on the lips. “I love you, babe.”

I beam. “I love you too.”

I watch his cute butt as he runs up the stairs to meet his friends. I nervously smooth down my hair and adjust my clothing so his friends won’t know that we were fooling around. As they descend into the basement, I see Cam, Jaden, and Will trailing behind Stephen. They’re all varsity soccer players like he is and most girls would say equally gorgeous. My eyes are really only on one guy though—the one who somehow manages to make me feel like a normal teenager instead of someone who’s had to bear far too much weight on her shoulders.

“Babe, you know the guys, right?” Stephen asks.

“I do. Hi, guys.”

Three muttered versions of hello come my way in reply.

Will raises up a case of beer. “You ready to have some fun, Katherine?”

I glance nervously toward Stephen. When he mentioned beer earlier, I thought he meant maybe one bottle each—not the four or five that could be allotted to each person present.

Stephen reads my mind. “Don’t worry, babe. This will barely get us buzzed.” He gestures to each boy at his side. “Do you see how big and manly we are?”

I join them in laughter. I suppose I didn’t consider that. I’m what you’d call “fun-sized” so it doesn’t take much to get me drunk. Not like I’d know really—I’ve only drank the few times that Stephen has offered since we’ve been together. But still, each one of these guys are well over six feet and easily have fifty pounds or more over me. Logically, a few beers wouldn’t have the same effect on them.

Stephen grabs a pool cue. “Babe, why don’t you rack the balls for us?”

“Sure,” I shrug.

I can feel several sets of eyes on me as I perform the simple task. I look up to find my boyfriend with all three of his friends looking at me like I’m a big juicy steak. I grimace when I notice that my shirt is gaping at the neckline, exposing my pale blue bra. Cam smirks when I straighten my back and adjust the collar.

“Can’t blame a guy for looking when they’re staring you in the face like that,” Cam says and winks.

Appalled, I glance toward Stephen, waiting for him to defend my honor. I frown when he fist bumps Cam instead. What the heck?

I point toward my face. “Let’s keep the eyes up here, boys.”

All four of them laugh, especially Stephen.

“Relax, babe,” he says. “Your rack is amazing; you should be flattered. As far as I’m concerned, you should just walk around topless. None of us would complain.”

Okay, who is this guy and what did he do with my sweet, thoughtful boyfriend from earlier? Did he really just say that? The rowdy laughter and high fives going around confirms it.