Pregnant by my stepdad

ifornia, the August air warm and briny, tugging at her auburn curls like an old friend. The Pacific stretched before her, molten gold under the setting sun, eac

felt too big for her chest. This summer was meant to be her refuge, a pause before her final semester, but standing h

e honey poured over gravel, cut

own age to feel like a parent. When he'd married her mother, Claire, two years ago, Lila had braced for distance, maybe resentment. Instead, she'd found a quiet ally, someone who'd listen to her ramble about ocean currents over morning coffe

His smile was soft, but his eyes held a flicker of something deeper-curiosit

nature, a real estate queen who could sell sand to a be

warm, like a fire on a chilly night. "You hungry? I wa

Only if you don't char them to a crisp," she teased, falling into step beside him

se. "One time, Lila Harper. One time,

. Claire had bought it after her divorce, a bold declaration of her new life, and Evan had made it his own with small touches: a hand-carved bookshelf, sket

ows open to the evening's hum. Evan tossed her a bag of shrimp w

sy, this rhythm, but there was a current beneath it, a warmth that hadn't been there last summer. She stole glances at him: the way his hands worked with care, the faint scar on his thumb from a long-ago drafting mishap, the way his la

he tossed shrimp into the pan. The air filled with t

e shell. "Just... everything. School's almost over, and

e right through her. "You don't have to have it all figured out,

his words. "You make it sound so ea

not a failure. You've got this spark, Lila-like the

ky now a velvet indigo, stars winking above the waves. The shrimp tacos were perfect-spicy, tender, with a squeeze of lime-and they traded stories, her about a lab partner who'd spilled algae sa

f her cheek, and her heart skipped, a pebble skimming the

waver. "Just... you look like you belong

r, suddenly aware of the space between them-too close,

nt, the world was just them-the sea, the stars, the unspoken. A breez

voice low, like he was a

hill was only part of it. Her heart

fleeting touch that sent a spark through her, warm and electric. Their eyes met, and the air felt heavy, like the moment

e buzzed, sharp and jarring. He glanced at it, hi

plates to hide the flush in her cheeks. "I should

, like he was memorizing her silhouett

r, pressing a hand to her chest. He was her stepfather, her mother's husband. But the way he looked at her, the way he