North Star

deux.

"Hey Ave," Spence whispered in my ear.

"Mm?" I moaned, snuggling closer to him.

"I love you more than anything," he said. I opened my eyes and turned to face him. I kissed his lips softly.

"Mm, I love you too Spence," I said.

"It's time to get up baby girl," he told me.

"I don't wanna," I moaned. I rolled over away from him and pulled the blankets over my head.

"Baby," he said, snaking his arm around my waist and pulling me back closer. I didn't respond until he began to lightly tickle my stomach. I shrieked and squirmed away as he laughed. I rolled out of bed and landed lightly on my feet. He reached up and ran his hand across my butt. "You're so sexy."

"Oh stop it, I'm up," I brushed him off but I was grinning. We'd been together since the beginning of our freshman year of college, almost two years and still every single day he made me grateful that we were together.

I grabbed a robe and headed towards the bathroom to shower. Ben was coming down the hall and shook his head when he saw me.

"Girl, it took a lot of convincing to get Eric to let Spencer stay here all summer with you. At least try to put some clothes on," he said. I put my hand on my hip and stared him down.

"I'm going to take a shower," I told him. "Rude." He laughed and I kissed his cheek. "Thank you for getting him to agree to it."

"Hey, you're my sister too now. Spencer is welcome here as long as he makes you happy," Ben told me. I smiled as I walked away from him.

Eric had been taking care of me since our parents died when I was twelve. He had been twenty two and had rescued me from the perils of foster care. I had watched him struggle to maintain taking care of me for three years before Ben came into our lives. After that things got better. Their love had made us a family, even if our parents were no longer with us.