“No, Brett,” Amelia’s yell pushed through our haze. “Your sister is busy.”

“Lord, Amelia,” my brother’s voice sounded. “Anyone ever tell you you’re incredibly loud?”

Gabe rolled off me, and I scrambled for the covers.

“Did you lock the door?” I hissed.

Before Gabe could answer, the door opened and my brother stood looking at us with his mouth hanging open.

Brett’s eyes went right to Gabe. “What the fuck, man?”

“Ever hear of knocking?” I yelled.

He finally looked at me, his eyes flashing. “Maybe next time you want to screw one of your students, you should try locking the door. Put your clothes on and get out into the living room. Now.” He turned and walked back out to the living room, mumbling to himself, “There are some things you just can’t unsee.”

Amelia appeared in the doorway. “I tried to warn you.”

“Fuck!” I looked back at Gabe who hadn’t moved or said a word. “You going to react or anything?”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Brett is going to kill me.”

“You? What about when he tells my parents? I’m so dead.”

“Guys.” Amelia crossed her arms over her chest. “Honestly, what did you think was going to happen? Someone was bound to find out eventually. Relationships can’t exist in hiding.” She turned on her heel and went to join my brother.

Gabe’s eyes met mine, and I realized I didn’t even know if this was a relationship. I knew guys like him. I didn’t know what he wanted from me.

And now I could be ruined.

I pulled on my clothes in silence, but Gabe didn’t move.

“Are you coming?” I asked.

That spurred him to action. He stood and pulled on his shorts, a grim frown marring his face. As I walked to the door, his hand shot out to pull me back against his warm chest.

It rose as he breathed in deeply, and he rested his chin on my shoulder. I closed my eyes as he placed a small kiss on my neck.

His words vibrated against my skin. “Addy,” he hummed. “Whatever the fuck he says, he can’t tell us what to do. I—”

I spun around and cut off his words with a kiss. He didn’t know the damage my brother could do. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned my head against his chest, feeling the slight thumping of his heart.

Brett yelled from the living room. “Get the fuck out here!”

I released a sigh and stepped away from Gabe to open the door. He followed me out.

Brett was sitting on the couch with his arms resting on his knees. Amelia crossed from the kitchen to the living room and set a mug of coffee on the table in front of him. He glanced up at her with a weak smile that turned to a grimace when he noticed me standing there.

“There they are. The two biggest idiots on campus.”

Gabe planted his feet and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

I scowled as I sunk into the couch beside my brother and stole his coffee. It burned my lips, but tasted good going down.

Maybe that was what relationships were like. They tasted delicious in the moment, but left you aching and hurt.

I drank it anyway. At this rate, there was no sleep happening tonight and I needed the caffeine.

“I wasn’t going to drink that or anything,” Brett grumbled.

“My apartment. My coffee. You can’t just come in whenever the fuck you want. And you don’t get to be mad at me and Gabe. We’re adults. Why are you even here?”

“Some of the guys were teasing me.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I needed to see if it was true.”

Gabe straightened up. “Teasing you?”

Brett practically growled. Growled! At Gabe. Like they were fucking animals. “Yeah, teasing. Because they have eyes and you haven’t exactly been discreet. If you were going to turn someone into the joke of the team, did it have to be my fucking sister?”

“Addy isn’t a joke,” Gabe snapped.

“Her name is Madison. Addy is a family nickname. She isn’t ‘Addy’ to you. She shouldn’t be anything to you.”

“Watch it, Brett.” Gabe pushed away from the wall and moved to stand in front of my brother.

Brett narrowed his eyes, but turned away from Gabe to look at me. “And you. Do you realize how sleazy this is? He’s your fucking student.”

“Language.”

He snorted. “Yeah, because you never cuss.”

“My apartment, my rules. You don’t get to come in here and tell me what the fuck to do and you definitely don’t get to use my word to do it.”

“’Fuck’ isn’t your word, sis.” That finally got a laugh.

“Haven’t we already gone over this? My apartment…”

“Your rules,” he finished.

“Now you’re getting it.” I bumped my shoulder against his. “So, stop being mad and don’t call me sleazy.”

He groaned. “You’re my sister, Addy, and I love you, but what you’re doing is wrong. You could lose everything. I’m sorry, but I can’t support that.”

Brett stood to face the man for the last four years he’d called his best friend, his brother. They stood face to face, almost like strangers. “Gabe isn’t the one you throw everything away for. Even if you weren’t teacher and student, I’d want better for you. I know how this story ends. You won’t be able to help falling in love and, this guy, he’ll rip you to pieces.”

Brett didn’t see it coming. Gabe’s fist caught him just below the eye, knocking him off balance. As if in slow motion, he fell backwards onto the couch, stunned.

Anger simmered through me, ready to explode, but I held back. I didn’t blame Gabe. I’d have punched Brett too, but his words struck a nerve, and that pissed me off more than anything.

I got to my feet and looked down at my brother. “Ever thought you don’t get to decide what’s best for me?”

Brett refused to look at me again as he collected himself. I didn’t offer him ice for his face, I wanted him gone. He turned on Gabe one final time. “My fucking sister, dude? I can’t deal with this.” He pushed himself to his feet and walked towards the front door with heavy steps.

Before leaving, he paused and hung his head, forcing out the words as though they hurt to say. “You two will stop this. There is too much on the line for both of you. If you don’t, I’m telling Mom and Dad.”

“Way to play the maturity card!” He didn’t even look back when I yelled after him. When he was finally gone, he took all the air in the room with him. I hunched over, feeling like I’d been punched as well.

Who did he think he was? Brett had always been overprotective of me, even with the age difference. He used to threaten to beat up my boyfriends when he was just a little squirt.

It had always seemed sweet. Until now.

“I’m … ah …” Amelia shifted nervously. “Just gonna go.” She escaped to her bedroom.

Gabe and I were left with no words between us. Just a few minutes ago, I’d been so content in his arms, and now I could barely stand to look at him. All I could picture was my mother’s face, my father’s disgust. They’d tell the dean, thinking they were teaching me a lesson.

Or they’d hold it over my head as a form of control.

I’d broken free of their control years ago. They’d regained a foothold when I came back, but I would not let them close further around me.

Do not fucking cry, Madison, I told myself as I wrapped my arms around my torso.

A long breath released with a hiss from Gabe, and I looked up at him. His face was a mask of confusion and worry.

I knew what needed to be done. I was a big girl. It was time to act like it and stop letting my libido dictate my actions.

“We can’t do this,” I whispered.

“Brett will cool off.” It was the first thing he’d said since my brother left. “I shouldn’t have punched him.”

I smiled slightly, despite the utter brokenness of the moment. “That was actually the only part of that conversation I enjoyed. But I know my brother. His threat is very real.” I squeezed my eyes shut so I wouldn’t see his face as I said the words that would cut this invisible cord between us. “We knew this wouldn’t last. You aren’t the relationship kind, and I’m in a much different place in my life. We’ve had our fun.”

“Fun.” He grunted. “Fucking fun. That’s all? Fine.” He ran a hand through his tousled hair as he stalked towards me. Grabbing my arm, he pulled me to my feet, and I instinctively molded against his chest. His mouth claimed mine roughly. His tongue swept past my lips and his teeth bit down on my lower lip.

When he pulled away, my legs felt weak. He released me and grabbed his phone off the table.

“Goodbye, professor.” His formality slapped me in the face. His feet took him quickly to the door, and he didn’t look back.

The door slammed shut behind him, and my legs gave out. I collapsed back on the couch and ran a fingertip across my lips. Maybe he was right. That kiss wasn’t fun. It was … something else.

A sob erupted from my chest, and I pressed my face into the cushion, a grown woman crying over a man she never should have wanted.