Chapter 52: Chapter 52

/Amber's pov/

Sure, he was attractive, but he couldn't compete with my Mike. "He's adorable," I said, nodding my head in accord.

In response to Mrs. Stewart's question, "Josh, tell us a bit about yourself."

He moved uneasily on his feet as he anxiously glanced around the room at the students. "Er.... well, my mother and stepfather and I have just relocated to Timberfield. I have a younger sibling who is one year old. "And I like skating?" he said, attempting to make the statement seem more like a question.

"All right, then, I'm certain you'll be extremely pleased here. Could I match you with someone for my lesson, and then they could accompany you to your next class?" Mrs. Stewart made the proposition. I let out a moan. There was no way she was going to choose me; it's the type of thing that only occurs in corny romance novels and movies. I slumped into my chair, my eyes fixed on my book, and prayed for a reprieve. "Jessica, are you interested in volunteering?" Mrs. Stewart was the one who inquired. My head jerked back up, and I exhaled a sigh of satisfaction. Kate muttered something under her breath and slid her fingers back down; she was clearly offering as well.

To seat next to Jessica, Josh had to go across the classroom and remove another more button on her already slutty blouse. As he passed by my desk, he gave me a kind grin. "Hi, Amber," he whispered in hushed tones.

"Hi, Josh," I said, a bit taken aback by the situation. How in the world did he know who I was? He seemed to be uncomfortable as he sat next to Jessica, who immediately began flirting with him and kissing him on the lips. He simply looked to be nodding nicely and looking uncomfortable.

Kate's eyes were wide as she glanced at me. "I was under the impression you didn't know him," she said, gazing at me and seeming a bit confused.

I made a shaky motion with my head. "I don't believe it. How in the world did he figure out who I was? My response was, "I've never seen him before."

The instructor swallowed and cleared her throat. "Right then, if we're all through chatting, how about we get started on the lesson?" she said, a sly grin on her face. With my book in hand, I sank even lower into my seat, trying not to glance in his way.

As soon as the bell sounded, I sprang out of my seat and virtually raced out of the room, not wanting to risk missing another important meeting. I quietly hoped in my brain, over and over, that he wouldn't be in any more of my courses. He wasn't. My new stepbrother and I were fortunate enough not to have any more run-ins for the remainder of the morning.

It seemed like everyone wanted to know whether Mike and I were together today; they all wanted to know how long we'd been together and whether or not we were dating. Blah, blah, blah, it was the same old stuff over and over again, and I was already getting tired of it at this point!

"Hey, Angel," Mike said, grasping my arm from behind as I stood in the lunch line with Kate and Sean. "Hey, Angel," Mike said again.

“Hi.” I grinned, immediately feeling better now that he was in close proximity to me.

"Can you tell me about your day?" he inquired, kissing the back of my neck and making me squirm.

I let out a sigh. "As you can see, I've been answering the same questions over and time again. Because it was so horrible, I'm genuinely thinking of getting: 'Yes, I am now dating Mike. Yes, I was the one who came out on top in the wager. Yes, he is an excellent boyfriend in my opinion. I joked that I had a tattoo of the words 'No, my brother didn't go insane,' across my forehead so that I wouldn't have to keep repeating myself," I said with a shrug. He chuckled and squeezed my shoulders even closer. "Apart from the fact that I was repeating myself, I had a class with my stepson." He was well aware of my identity. In addition, that skank Jessica is about to stroll in with him, who, by the way, seems to be plotting to murder me as she enters the building. So, my day hasn't been going very well, lover," I said, a subtle wink directed towards Josh.

"Did he realize who you were?" Mike inquired, shifting me slightly to the side so that I was no longer visible to Josh.

“Yeah. "He said hi to me as he went by," I continued, my face contorted in confusion as I tried to figure out how he recognized me.

After I said something silly, Mike chuckled and looked at me as if I had said something stupid as well. 'He definitely didn't know who you were, Angel, but he probably thought you were really attractive.'" As his palm crept down to cup my ass, I couldn't help but smile. "Can't blame him there," he said, a grin on his face.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. As I joked with Mike, "He went by me and said 'hello Amber,' so I'm quite sure he knew who I was," I remarked jokingly.

In between wicked laughing fits, he grimaced and peered over his shoulder again. It seems that he isn't entirely at ease with Jessica.

"Well, who the heck would seem to be at ease in Jessica's presence? "Oh, you didn't seem to be that anxious when you were all over her," I said, a grin on my face as I looked at him.

He snorted and shook his head as if he were shuddering. "Please don't bring up the subject of my previous existence without you, Angel. "I'm going to have nightmares," he remarked, making me giggle with his feigned fear.

I went to the convenience store and bought a couple of sandwiches and beverages. Mike insisted on paying and carrying the tray in the same manner as before. I walked up to his table and took up a position next to him. I walked in to see Jake and others of his teammates already seated, and my companions followed suit, snatching the remaining available seats. I had just finished ripping open my sandwich and was ready to take a bite when a shadow descended over me.

"Hi," Josh murmured with a smile, a hint of pink on his cheeks.

I took a deep breath, felt my stomach drop a little bit. "Howdy, how are you?"

"Do you mind if I join you at your table?" he inquired, a hopeful expression on his face.

I caught a glimpse of Jake's stiff muscles out of the corner of my eye. I took a few steps back and gazed around at the whole table. “Um….” I trailed off, chewing the inside of my cheek.

"Never mind, don't be concerned. "I simply felt it would be appropriate to introduce myself." He shrugged, flushing more intensely, and moving awkwardly on his feet.

Kate pushed me beneath the table and yelled at me. “Ouch! "For what in the world was that?" I inquired, touching the inside of my leg. She locked her gaze on me. My suspicions were confirmed, and I had no choice but to ask him to sit with us for her sake, otherwise, this afternoon, I would not have heard the last of it. Oh my God, put a bullet in my head right now! "It's all right, Josh. "Grab a chair, you can sit on the far end here," I advised, sliding my tray across so he could place his plate and drink down on the other side.

He smiled and seemed to be at ease. "Thank you, Amber," he replied, a thankful smile on his face as he went away to retrieve a chair from a table a few tables away.

I turned to face Kate, a grimace on my face. "Kate, you were in so much pain! "Really, he's not that attractive!" I shouted at her in hushed tones.

"Yeah, he is," She nodded excitedly and burst out laughing, and I couldn't stop myself from laughing with her. Damn slutty young lady.

Josh took a seat at the far end of the table. "This is strange, isn't it?" he said, a sheepish look on his face.

Uncomfortably, I burst out laughing. "Wow, that's an understatement and a half". Try uncomfortable and awkward," I said, making him chuckle as I made a joke about how bizarre that was.

"I'm not that awful," he complained, seeming to be in pain.

The decision was made for me to simply ask what had been troubling me all morning and get it out in the open. "Can you tell me how you know who I am?" I inquired in hushed tones.

He cracked a grin. "Stephen gave me a picture of you. I recognized you." "I haven't seen any of your brothers, so I'm not sure who he is," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Is it possible that my father possessed a photograph of me? I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it at the time. And why in the world would he have a photograph of me but not of Jake? Because I was afraid I might come up with an answer I didn't like, I didn't even want to think about it too much myself.

Jake was the one I was pointing towards. "He's right there with you. Jake and Josh, please. "Josh, Jake," I said, introducing them by extending a hand between them in greeting.

"Hey, how are things going?" Jake grumbled, his features were harsh and unfriendly in the least. Josh shifted a bit in his seat, realizing that Jake could be fairly scary if he set his mind to it.

"Yeah, thank you very much. His hesitant response was, "It's nice to finally meet you."

Kate booted me beneath the table in the exact same location she had kicked me earlier, causing me to suffer once again. I gave her a wary look; she was clearly interested in being introduced as well. "Josh, these are my buddies Sean, Lucy, and Kate," says the narrator. "This is my boyfriend, Mike," I said, introducing everyone who was seated at our end of the dining room table.

Josh greeted me with a pleasant grin. "Hey, I'm sorry, I'm not very good with names. "I'm sure I'll forget in like half an hour," he said, a sliver of a smile on his face.