Linc And Raven: Forbidden Part 1

Linc and Raven.

Forbidden.

Danielle Jamie.

Zipping my suitcase, I pull my luggage off of my bed, grab my purse, and look around my room one more time before finally making my legs move and walk out, shutting the door behind me. My stiletto heels clink loudly as I make my way down the long hallway as the sound ricochets off of the walls. I stomp down the long, winding metal staircase of the apartment myself and two of my friends share just off campus, and head outside to the cab waiting for me.

Everyone else has already left, flying or driving back home for spring break, while I stayed here procrastinating for as long as possible before finally having no choice but to go back home. Spring break officially started today, March 30th. But because today's a Monday, my roommates, along with almost everyone else here at the California State University in Long Beach, all left on Sat.u.r.day. Half of the school is more than likely sipping drinks poolside in Cabo right now, soaking up the warm suns.h.i.+ne. Which is exactly where I should be, alongside my roommates, Dallas and Hailey. But instead, I'm like the other half of the college population, who opted to go home and take advantage of having Mommy and Daddy cook, clean, and do their laundry for them.

Normally, I'm more than thrilled to return home after being away at school, but this time-not so much.

Usually, returning home means hanging around my house with all of my friends as we catch up after being apart at college. But instead, I'll now be playing house with my mother and her newest flavor of the d.a.m.n month.

Three years ago, right after my graduation, my father and mother sat me down to tell me they were getting a divorce. I knew it was coming. They were never together. I hadn't witnessed my parents be affectionate towards one another in years. It was just a matter of time before they went their separate ways.

Of course, they did the cliche thing a lot of parents do, because they think it's the best choice. But the reality of it is we would all have been a lot happier if they turned off the life support on their sham of a marriage when they knew it didn't have a chance of recovering. Instead, they chose to wait until the child graduated high school, and then once they prepared to leave for college, Bam! Hit them with the major shocker, which in reality was completely obvious: they were getting a divorce.

Two years after the divorce, my father eloped with a girl half my mother's age, doing yet another cliche move. But oddly enough, I actually like Alison. She's sweet, funny, and a great shopping partner. It's a little weird feeling as if my stepmother is one of my best friends, but I guess it's better than him marrying someone I can't stand.

Sadly though, my mother has not had the same luck in the love department as my father. She's had her fair share of boyfriends, but nothing that's resulted in anything long-term.

She texted me this morning with a reminder to be at the airport by three p.m. so I don't miss my flight back to San Francisco. Along with her reminder was a message telling me that I'm to head straight home after my flight lands and that a car would be waiting for me. I guess she has something important to tell me, and it can't wait.

Of course, it's no shocker. My mother is one of the top divorce attorneys in all of the Golden Gate district, so she's used to getting her way or fighting you to the death until she does.

My father is a family practice doctor who has always put others first. Which with his career, was a good thing, but on a personal level, not so much. I think that's a reason my parents' marriage fell apart. My mom and dad were polar opposites. My dad is someone who loves to go on spur of the moment trips and live life freely, while my mother is a workaholic who lives by her work and social calendar.

My mom knows me well enough to know as soon as my plane touches down I would've been hightailing it to my dad's house so I could kill time there before I have to go home. When I return from college, my mother always insists I come to her house first then my father's a few days later because she always says we need mother-daughter time to catch up.

I use to love our time together. Now, not so much. All thanks to her newest boy toy, Matthew Sarris. I guess he's some up-and-coming golfer on the 2014-2015 PGA tour, which I couldn't give a flying f.u.c.k about. Golf is the most boring sport on the d.a.m.n planet. My mother used to agree with me on this and would b.i.t.c.h at my father whenever he would turn it on. But now, it's her favorite sport. Every day that she's off, she's spending it with him at the country club where he's teaching her how to golf.

Matt is nice-don't get me wrong-but he is the most arrogant person on Earth. I swear he stares at his reflection, grooming his perfectly slicked back hair, every time he pa.s.ses a d.a.m.n mirror or a window that casts his reflection. To make matters worse, he has a son two years older than me who is just as big of a self-obsessed douchebag as his father.

Luckily, until now, I've not had to spend more than a few days with Matt or his son Linc because he was with his mother in Sacramento during Christmas break. But because it's spring break, Linc and I have been demanded to spend a week in San Francisco with my mother and Matt for what they keep claiming to be 'family bonding time'.

Now, come on. They've been together five months. I am counting down the days until my mother grows bored and kicks him to the curb. He's been jet-setting all over the world since they started seeing each other. My mother gets jealous easily, so their relations.h.i.+p is a ticking time bomb. He's extremely attractive for his age, and it's rare that men like him want a woman pus.h.i.+ng fifty, especially when they're only forty-three.

Most men are shallow pigs and need pretty, young, eye-candy trophy wives on their arms. Especially if they're famous. Which from the looks of things, he's really grown in popularity over the last year in the PGA.

I wouldn't put it past him at all to be banging the c.r.a.p out of golf groupies, which sadly, they do have-it's pretty pathetic.

Go be a football or Major League Baseball groupie. At least then you have a chance to see some actual hotties. Not a bunch of old geezers popping Bayer tablets, so they don't have a heart attack while walking eighteen holes!

I climb into the back of the cab and try to push thoughts of going home to the back of my mind. For now, I'll pop my earbuds in, crank up some T-Swift, and get lost in my steamy romance novel to pa.s.s the time until my flight boards.

I can only pray for thick fog and a long flight delay. But with the forecast for once predicting nothing but blue skies and suns.h.i.+ne back home, I doubt that'll happen.

San Francisco, here I come. Please let me find my mom's house stocked with enough booze to put me in a coma for the next week, or so help me G.o.d, I may not survive this spring break.

Thankfully, when I arrived at my mother's humble abode, no one was anywhere to be found. She still lives in the Queen Anne home she fully restored throughout the years as I was growing up. All of my friends at college constantly gush over my Full House style house back home. It's fascinating to them but to me it's normal. There're a million homes in San Francisco that look like mine.

I quickly bee lined it to my room dropping my suitcase beside the door and pulled out my cell to text my childhood best friend, Tessa. We've been best friends since the first grade, and even after three years of attending different colleges, we've managed to stay close.

I'm in Long Beach studying Marine Biology, while she's at Brown being groomed to be an attorney like our mothers, who both work for the same law firm.

She wants to be the next Erin Brockovich. Though, thank G.o.d, not some brown-nosing b.i.t.c.h like most of our mothers' attorney friends.

It wasn't twenty minutes later, and Tessa was cras.h.i.+ng through my front door like the tornado that she is. She's a ball of energy, even when she's crammed for finals and hasn't slept for days. I used to loathe her in high school, because I'd come to cla.s.s looking like a character off of The Walking Dead, and she'd blow in with not a hair out of place and not a bag under her eyes.

"Reunited and it feels sooo good!" Tessa sings as she runs towards me, pulling me in for a hug.

Laughing, I hug her tightly before releasing her and resting my hands on my hips. I take in her new look. Her once long, curly brown hair is now cut into a shoulder-length style, and flat ironed, giving it a sleek, smooth look. "It does! I missed you like crazy, chick!" Eyeing her hair, I purse my lips for a moment, making her squirm before spreading a big, bright smile across my lips. "I love the new hair. It screams bada.s.s attorney."

She does look amazing with her new hair. She used to always keep her naturally curly hair long and full of bounce. Never changing it. Ever. I tried to flat iron it once, and it went right back to curly in a matter of minutes. Me, on the other hand, I can't get my hair to curl for the life of me.

So I'm still rocking my long, straight hair I've had since high school. I've only now added some layers to it. I know, what a rebel!

I look at it as, If it isn't broke, don't fix it. I love my hair the way it is.

I get compliments all the time from people on campus, who tell me I look like Emma Stone's long lost twin. We both have the same strawberry blonde hair, and green eyes that are practically clear against my pale complexion. The only difference is bangs terrify me. No bangs for this chick!

When I was younger, I use to envy Tessa for her Latin heritage. She always looked tan, no matter what time of the year it was. Which is a huge thing in San Francisco, because the weather here blows monkey b.a.l.l.s. It rains a lot. I couldn't run away to Long Beach fast enough. But since moving there, SPF 100 has become my best friend. My freckled face and fair skin don't do well in the hot Southern California sun. But since going away to college, I've embraced my unique appearance. Every boyfriend I've had has said they first noticed me because I stood out on campus, catching their eye.

My last boyfriend, Heath, and I were together for the last eleven months. We originally planned on spending spring break together in Cabo with a bunch of our friends. But then we got into a huge fight because I had to go back to San Francisco, and he wouldn't come with me. He said 'Spring break is for partying with friends while hanging out on the beaches of Mexico. Not coming to rainy and boring-as-all-h.e.l.l San Francisco.'

I swear I was two seconds away from kneeing him in his b.a.l.l.s. What boyfriend of almost a year ditches his girlfriend to go party in Mexico? Men are a.s.sholes. Plain and simple. Before he left Sat.u.r.day, he sent me a text saying we were done. I know exactly why he did it. It's because he wants to wh.o.r.e it up across the d.a.m.n border with drunk college girls. Like I said: a.s.shole.

So I've made it my life's mission to enjoy every minute I'm here and not think about Heath at all. First thing on my agenda is to find out where all the spring breakers are and see if we can stir up a little trouble.

"So what's on the schedule for tonight?" Tessa asks as she follows me through the French doors, out onto the patio.

I plop down on a lounger beside the in-ground pool and s.h.i.+ft onto my side, curling my legs up tightly beneath my b.u.t.t, and face Tessa, who mirrors my position. "My mom said she wanted to announce something to Linc and me tonight."

I roll my eyes at the mere mention of his name before continuing, "All I know is she better not be announcing she's knocked up because seriously, she's almost fifty. The only babies in her future should be grandbabies. Or announcing they're getting married. As soon as we have our nice little family pow-wow, I'm down for anything. It's spring break; there have to be some parties going on somewhere."

"I agree on both of those. They're not even living together yet, are they? So I doubt it's either of those things."

I suddenly feel myself calm down as I let Tessa's words sink in. She's right. Sure, Matt stays here with my mom, and she stays at his place, but no one has ever moved in officially anywhere. But now my mind is slowly churning as my thoughts begin to swirl around in my head. What if this sit-down is to announce Matt is moving in here-or, even worse, my mother is moving in with him. I grew up in this house. I don't want to even think about having to move and live under Matt and Linc's roof.

My eyes grow large as I voice my thoughts out loud. "What if they're getting us all together to announce they're moving in together? What if my mother has lost her mind and decided to move into Matt's place?"

Tessa shrugs her shoulders. "Well, the only thing you can do is pray it's none of those things. Maybe it's a surprise vacation for spring break or something. I wouldn't stress about it."

Pulling my phone out of my hipster, I pull up my mom in my contacts and shoot her a quick text. "I'm going to ask my mom now and see when we're having this family time. The sooner we get it over with, the faster we can get out of here."

Me: I'm at the house. When r u guys going to be here for the big meeting? Tessa wants to go grab dinner and then hang out with some friends.

The sound of the French doors slamming causes Tessa and me to jump in our seats just as I'm hitting send on my text. I snap my head towards the doors leading out to the patio.

"Mmm, Forbidden is here," Tessa purrs as she practically rapes Linc with her eyes. I can't help but laugh at her. She has no shame.

She nicknamed Linc 'Forbidden' when our parents first started dating, because she said he's like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. He's gorgeous and tempting, but untouchable.

He barely acknowledges us sitting by the pool as he and a few of his friends head toward my mother's outdoor grill and bar. They all grab beers from the mini fridge and sit down at the outdoor patio set.

"Hey, a.s.shole," I shout at him from across the pool. "Nice to see you and your friends just making yourselves at home." Climbing off of the lounger, I kick my heels off and pad across the tiles barefoot.

Tessa quickly jumps up and follows me as I make my way over to the group of guys. They're all hot, of course. Linc only hangs out with preppy, pompous jerkoffs who get mani-pedis and wax their d.a.m.n eyebrows. I went to high school with all of them, including Linc. But they all graduated two years before me, so I was barely a blip on their radar until our parents started doing the nasty.

Lacing his fingers together behind his head, Linc leans back in the chair, giving me a c.o.c.ky grin as I approach the table. "Hey, sis. Seeing as I live here now, yes, I am making myself at home. Oops, did I spill the big announcement before dear ol' dad and Vivian got the chance to?" he asks, with sarcasm dripping from his words.

My mouth falls open, but I quickly recover, slamming my jaw closed. "I'm not your sister, so don't ever call me that again. It's gross. And I already a.s.sumed that was the big announcement, douchebag. Really, I couldn't care less. I'm just glad they're not announcing they eloped. Because we both know this isn't going to last."

Glaring at him, I roll my eyes as he continues smirking up at me, and turn my back to him so I can mix myself a drink. I need something good and strong. Especially knowing I am going to be living under the same roof as him until the fifth of April. I'm now mentally counting down the days until I return to school.

"Well, ain't you just a little Debbie downer? I think a marriage is in the horizon. From the look of things, we'll be in each other's lives for many years to come. Don't worry, if your granny panties get mixed up in my laundry, I promise to return them to you."

I mumble under my breath as I mix my drink, "Why couldn't it have been a f.u.c.king trip somewhere warm and tropical?"

I look back at him over my shoulder as my cheeks flush red. G.o.d, he is the biggest a.s.shole. All the guys are cracking up at Linc's comment about my underwear. "I don't wear granny panties, a.s.shole." Feeling brazen, I take a long gulp of my drink, ignoring the burn from the liquor as it slides down my throat and warms my belly. Grabbing the skirt of my dress, I whip it up in the air, flas.h.i.+ng my pink lace cheeky panties from Victoria's Secret.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sit inside and wait for our parents to finally get here and announce their s.h.i.+t, so I can get out of here and be around some real men."

Linc and the guys sit around the table with their mouths hanging open for a few beats before all of his friends break out in a fit of laughter. I even get a few catcalls from them as I swish my a.s.s, making the skirt of my dress sway side to side, rubbing against the backs of my thighs.

With my drink in my hand, I walk over to the lounger I was sitting on, slip my heels back on, and make my way back inside. Tessa's face is beet-red as she speed walks ahead of me into the house. The second the door closes behind me, she burst out laughing, leaning over and clutching her waist.

I can't help it, and find myself laughing too. We're laughing so hard we have tears in our eyes.

"Oh, my G.o.d! I cannot believe you did that! Did you see their faces?! Linc's was priceless!"

"That was pretty freaking hilarious!" I say between giggles as I glance through the gla.s.s doors back out onto the patio, and watch Linc and his friends as they all continue to laugh and talk about the little stunt I pulled out there. Linc will learn quickly I'm no pushover. Whatever stunts he tries to pull, I can roll with them and come right back at him ten times harder.

The front door opens, and the sound of my mom and Matt's voices carrying through the foyer into the family room forces us to stop our fit of laughter. I quickly wipe at the tears in my eyes and do breathing exercises to try and calm down.

The sound of my mother's heels clicking on the hardwood floor grows louder, as does their chatter as they enter the room. "Hi, honey! What's so funny? Your faces are redder than an apple right now. Whatever it is, it must've been a doozy to get you girls laughing that hard."

Turning, I give my mother a mega-watt smile as I open my arms, welcoming her warm hug. When I look at her, it's as if I'm gazing at my future self, because I'm the spitting image of my mother.

"Hey, Mom. Oh, it was nothing. Linc and his friends told us a funny joke. It really got us." Pulling away from her hug, I give her a questionable look. "I just sent you a text. Did you get it? I a.s.sumed you were going to be home when I got in from my flight."

"I just got your text as we were pulling onto our street, so I didn't bother texting you back. I'm so glad you made it safely. How was your flight, sweetie?"

"It was fine. I read the entire flight and listened to music. Before I knew it, we were touching down."

"That's good. I'm sorry I wasn't here. I got tied up at the office. I am taking the next two weeks off, so as you can imagine, I had a lot to do before I left."

My mother never takes time off from work. Like, never. She can be knocking on death's door and will pop a few DayQuil's and be on her way. So to hear her say she's taking two weeks off is beyond surprising.

"You're taking two weeks off from work?" I can't mask the shock in my voice, and my mother doesn't miss the stunned look on my face. She shakes her head, amused as I reach out and press the back of my hand to her forehead. "Are you ill? Did aliens kidnap you and run some weird kind of experiment on you or something?"

Matt lets out a deep chuckle as he watches me attempt to wrap my head around what I'm hearing. "You were right, Vivian. She does think you've lost your mind." Walking over to my mother, he drapes his arm over her shoulder and beams down at me with an all-teeth smile. "Your mother is flying down to Texas with me to watch my tournament. I had one down there over the weekend. I just flew back in this morning, and now I have another one this coming weekend, and then another in Georgia the following weekend. So we thought we'd make a little trip out of it since we've barely seen one another over the last few weeks with all the traveling I've had to do. I think it'll be the perfect romantic getaway with the woman of my dreams."

Okay. I just puked a little in my mouth.

He pulls her tightly into his side and kisses her temple before turning his attention back to me.

I lean onto my left foot and fold my arms across my chest as I slide my eyes from my mother to Matt. "Umm...so does this romantic getaway include me? Because I know I would've much rather spent my spring break laying on the beach in Cabo with all of my friends, instead of going to Texas to watch golf. Not to mention, I don't want to watch you two make out like teenagers the entire time."

My mother narrows her eyes at me, giving me that stern look all children get from their parents when they are silently telling you to stop talking. I don't care. I got dumped, and then find out that I have to now share my home with the world biggest jacka.s.s.

I cringe inside, thinking about the s.k.a.n.ks that'll be parading through my home, now that he's a permanent resident here. He's twenty-three years old. He should be getting his own place by now. Instead, he's now living in my mother's house. I can only pray he picked the guest room farthest from mine. I do not want to hear him having s.e.x. Ever.

"It was a spur of the moment thing, sweetie. I had planned on using this time to spend together, but it made more sense to fly to Texas with Matt and stay there, rather than fly back and forth two weekends in a row. Plus, now you get to catch up with Tessa and your other friends who are home for break."

Unbelievable.

"You can save your breath telling me the big announcement because Linc already blurted it out a few minutes ago. So now he and Matt are living here? Isn't that kind of quick? You guys have only been dating a few months. Moving in together is a really big step."

Matt clears his throat. "I'm going to go outside and see what Linc wants to order for dinner tonight. I'll let you girls talk." I have to bite back a laugh as I spot Matt looking at his reflection in the gla.s.s doors and running his fingers quickly through his hair before exiting the house.

As soon as Matt shuts the door, my mother grabs my arm and drags me into the kitchen. "Raven Sophia Brooks! How could you be so rude? Matt is the most amazing and big-hearted man I've ever met." I internally roll my eyes, since she seems to forget all that my father did for her over the years. "He's offering to bring me on a romantic getaway with him. Who knows? Maybe he's planning to, you know, pop the question. I can really see myself settling down with him."

What...the what?! Popping the question?

"Mom. Whoa. Slow down. You guys have been together five months. Don't you think proposals, marriages, and all that crazy permanent stuff is a little too early to be thinking about?" My voice just jumped about five octaves as I try to make her see rationally here. She's a divorce attorney, for crying out loud! She knows the rate of divorce in this country. To even be excited about the possibility of marrying this guy lets me know she has completely lost her freaking mind.

She waves her hand in the air, brus.h.i.+ng away my concerns. "Honey, when you know, you know. I know Matt is the one. Your father married Alison after only a year together. You've said many times they are happy together, and you really like her. I want that same support from you for Matt and me."

I let out a soft sigh as I decide to drop the subject. There's no way I'll talk sense into her. Her mind is completely made up on the subject. I can only pray that while away, she'll come to her senses because marrying Matt after only five months is insane. That would mean Linc and I would legally be step-siblings. I can barely stand the a.s.shole now. That's with the idea of possibly only having to put up with him for a short period of time. The thought of having to deal with him for the rest of our lives...it's terrifying.

"So I'm going to spend my only week home alone?" I ask.

Giving me a warm smile, my mother says cheerfully, "No, silly. You'll have Linc here to keep you company, and I know Tessa and your other friends will all want to come here and hang out."

I run my hands over my face as I try to simmer my boiling blood right now. I lift my eyes back up to my mother, who stands three inches taller than me at five foot seven. "I called off my trip to Cabo because you demanded I come home for family bonding c.r.a.p. Heath and I broke up because I was coming back home and blew off our spring break trip. Why couldn't you text me or something so that I could've canceled my flight home and gone to Mexico?"

My stomach is full of knots as thoughts of Heath and me flash through my mind. Right now, I could be lying on the white sandy beach, sipping drinks out of pineapples while tanning beside him and all of our friends. Instead, I'm here, trapped in a house with a guy I can't stand for an entire week while my mother runs off with her boyfriend for a romantic getaway. I swear, life could not get any worse.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea you and Heath broke up. He's a fool, and you're better off without him if he broke things off over something so juvenile as you coming home for break. I would've messaged you, but I didn't decide any of this until this afternoon, when Matt showed up at my office, asking me to go with him. If you want, you can fly down. I'll book you a new plane ticket."

My mother runs her hands softly up and down my arms as she waits for me to answer her. I picture myself exiting the plane in Mexico and heading to the hotel we all booked and finding Heath with another girl in his arms, and I know that I can't go. Not now. It's too late. The only option is to stay here, hang out with my friends for the next couple of days, and then head back to Long Beach.

"Thanks for offering, Mom, but I think I'll just stay here. It'd be too weird seeing Heath down there, with us breaking up and everything."