"What kind of good girl are you?" I ask. "That's not even something good girls do, Princess.""I'm a very bad good girl," Ashley says, pouting. "I think maybe I need to be punished, Ethan..." Rule #8 – We both want this, so let's take full advantage of it. No holding back, no reservations, no restrictions, maximum pleasure... Why am I dating this girl? I'm supposed to be the one teasing her and getting what I want. It's not supposed to be the other way around. I'll give her what she wants when I'm good and ready to do it. That's how this used to work. She's changed the rules completely. I guess that's how this started in the first place. This is just one of those invisible rules that no one ever talks about. Ashley's Rule. "You two really need to learn how to get along," my dad says, completely oblivious. "It's a work in progress, I guess." "Oh, I'm sure they'll figure it out soon enough," Ashley's mom says, winking at me. Yeah, so... we've still got to tell my dad what's going on, except the way things are going I'm pretty sure he's going to kill me when he finds out.**

"It's you, Princess," Ethan says. "You're perfect, and I need you in my life."Rule #15 – We have to cuddle as much as possible. All the time. Every night."I love you," I say, mumbling, not sure how to tell him exactly how I feel about him right now."I love you, too," he says. "I love you so much.""Can you tell me what you meant before?" I ask. "About the girl stuff?""Yeah," he says, genuine. "What I meant to say is that this is hard for me. It's hard being away from you. I think if you were here with me, it'd be different. Everyone could see we're together, right? They'd know, and then I could focus solely on you and you alone. Right now, though, the way things are, and the way I left things last year, everyone thinks it's a joke or something. Or that I'm making it up, or that me saying I have a girlfriend now is some kind of game. It's not a game to me, Princess. It's more real than anything I've ever experienced before, and I guess I just want everyone to know it, but I don't know how to get the point across."I know why they do it. I don't know if I can tell Ethan, but...It's because they've all only ever had a week. A week isn't enough with you, Ethan. I've had over two months with you and that's not even enough. I don't know how much is enough. I don't even know if it's possible to get enough...I wish I'd known how much I had before.

I just had to try and be a bad girl, didn't I? I blame Ethan. This is all his fault.Rule #9 – We were never supposed to get this far. It was only supposed to be for a week. I don't even know what we're supposed to do now. I've never done this before."You ready for the ride of your life, Princess?" I ask her."You think you're that good, do you, Ethan?" Ashley counters.Thankfully my dad's in the car with the window up, so he can't hear any of this."Better," I tell her, smirking. "You don't even know what you're getting into here.""I think I have a pretty good idea..." she says, grinning uncontrollably and winking at me.My dad rolls down the window. "What's the hold up?" he asks."Nothing," I say.Yeah, well, that's it. Time for a road trip. We're going camping.I still don't know how to tell my dad that I'm dating my stepsister. I don't know if I can ever tell him. He's already voiced his disapproval, whether he realizes it or not. With more and more people trying to interfere, it's getting harder to keep this a secret, though...

This is bad. Very bad. He's rubbing off on me. Resident bad boy Ethan Colton is turning me into an irresponsible bad girl. ----- Rule #2 – When I tell you to come here, you come here. It's still an order, still practically growling at me, commanding me to obey him, but it's more, too. It's fun and flirty, a little playful. I can see why girls fall for him, can see why his devious smirk melts their resistance, because it's doing the same to me. 

I thought I was a good girl, but then why do I love hearing all of the naughty things he says he wants to do to me? ----- Rule #3 – You can change your mind, Ashley. Not just now. Whenever. I could tell Ethan that the only thing I'll regret about this is that we only have a week together. Except I can never tell him that. I need to stop. I need to understand that this is a temporary situation and that I'll never have it ever again, because no matter what, it won't work out, whether I want it to or not. 

Her rules are the only ones I've never been tempted to break.Rule #13 – All the rules apply to both of us evenly. We're in this together, no matter what.She's just so...Ugh, I can't even explain it. Perfect? I feel like that word isn't good enough. What's better than perfect? I have no idea.It's funny. I always used to think it'd be hard to tell a girl I loved her. I wasn't ever really planning on doing it, but I guess I figured it'd happen some day. It's not like I lost sleep over it, but I always wondered how it worked. When do you say it? How do you know when to say it, or how to say it, or what to say along with it, and everything else like that.It's not that hard, though. It's not that confusing. I can't explain it, but with Ashley it's like I know everything I never knew before. I don't have to worry about it.I love you, Princess. It's the easiest thing I've ever done.We've spent every day this summer together. That's the easy part. Going back to school after our summer break is over? It seems impossible. This is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done.

I don't know when it happened. I didn't think it'd ever happen. I can't lose her. I can't even imagine losing her. ----- Rule #6 – This is supposed to be fun. Understand? He's my bad boy and I'm his good girl. And, yes, he's my stepbrother and I'm his stepsister. He wasn't always, though. We aren't just that. There's a lot more to us. Sometimes you need to follow your heart, or else you'll regret it for the rest of your life. You don't always have a choice in who you fall in love with. Sometimes you can't be perfect. You just have to be yourself. Sometimes that's what makes you perfect.

"Friends with benefits, stepbrother with benefits, what's the difference?" ----- Rule #1 – It's only supposed to last for a week... ----- Ethan is a cocky, arrogant jerk. He's always been that way. Why do girls trip over their own feet just to be with him? I don't know! I'll never understand it. Don't they realize he's just going to ditch them after a couple of weeks? Yes, he can be nice when he wants to be. It's true that he's ridiculously attractive, too. It's not like I want to stare at him when he walks around shirtless, but it's hard not to notice someone like him. He's got that bad boy smile that makes you want to... Did I mention he's my stepbrother? Ick. What? You think I'm falling for him? Nope! It's impossible.

Ethan fills a part of me that I never knew needed to be filled before. I give him something that he never knew he was missing.Rule #11 – I want to make you feel ecstasy at least once a day, Ashley. At least. Maybe twice. Three times. All day. I want to be with you all the time, near you, next to you, inside you. I need you...We all have our strengths and weakness. We're all good at something and bad at something else. This is why we need each other. This is why it makes sense for Ethan and I to be together.I'm the good girl, the careful, cautious one, who thinks before she acts. Ethan is the bad boy, the risk taker, the person who jumps into action regardless of the consequences. Sometimes you can't wait to think before you act, though. Sometimes you can't be careful or cautious. And sometimes you need to know when a risk is too great, and when you should reign in your recklessness and consider the repercussions.This is why we're perfect together. I'm sure there's a lot more reasons, but I think that's one of them.No matter what happens, we're going to find a way to be together...

It's not just for a week, it wasn't just a fling. Ethan's not just my stepbrother anymore, he's my boyfriend...Rule #14 – You're perfect just the way you are, Princess. Don't let anyone ever try to tell you differently.That's it for an entire week. We're going back to college now. We won't see each other until the weekend.It's only for a week, Ashley, I remind myself. I shouldn't be so upset at that, because a week isn't really that long of a time, but I am. I just...It's not just for a week. It wasn't just a fling. We didn't just spend the entire summer together only to go back to college and go our separate ways. He's not just my stepbrother anymore, he's my boyfriend, and he's special. We have more.He's kind of a bad boy, but he's my bad boy. He makes me feel so beautiful and special, even when I'm sad and upset.If only I didn't have my ex-boyfriend intent on making my life miserable, this would all be so much easier...

"It's not just for a week anymore, Princess. A week isn't long enough. I need more. I need forever."Rule #12 – You can tease me, Ethan, and we can play, but you can't be mean to me. I need to know that there's more, that this isn't wrong, that you feel the same way I feel...I never wanted to hide this from you, Dad. It wasn't about that. It wasn't that I was ashamed or thought I was doing anything wrong, but I didn't think you'd understand and I wanted to be with Ashley. I want to keep being with her, and whenever I thought about telling you, and then thought about you getting mad about it... well, yeah, that's it.How am I supposed to date her if you're angry about us dating? That's why I didn't tell you. This isn't a fling to me, it's serious.She's too much, but she's never enough, too. When I'm with Ashley she's the only thing I can think about. When I kiss her, I mean it. There's a difference there, a difference between just kissing, or kissing because of lust, or a sweet and nice kiss, or kissing because you really mean it. There's all sorts of different kinds of feelings, but that last one is the most important. That's the one I feel when I'm with her.It's crazy. This entire thing is crazy. I love it. I love her.

How can something so wrong be so perfect at the same time? ----- Rule #5 – I'm going to show you some things that you'll never forget. It's wrong. Not just this, but everything. I knew it was wrong, but I thought I could get away with it. Why, though? I'm not like this. I'm good. I'm the good girl, the girl with perfect grades, the girl who does everything right, prim and proper. I don't cause trouble, I don't get into trouble, I don't... It's only a few days, right? That's what I thought when Ethan and I started our stepbrother with benefits situation. Apparently a few days can be a long time. A few days can change your entire life. 

I seriously can't believe he's doing this.Rule #10 – I know you're a bad boy, but I want you to be my bad boy. I need you to promise that you'll only be with me and that you won't hurt me... How do I explain this to Ashley? I don't know. I'm not even sure I should try, because I'm pretty sure I'll say something dumb. Dating is hard, alright? Maybe you think it's hard to actually get someone to start dating you, but I think that's the easy part. It doesn't matter if you screw it up, because you can just move on to the next girl. When you're actually dating, though, it's like... man, I can't screw this up. I can't say something stupid, because it's not as easy as just moving on to the next girl. I don't want to move on to the next girl. I want to stay right here with Ashley.**

Bad boys love bad ideas. It's kind of their thing, isn't it? Ethan's no exception.Rule #7 – I don't care what you've done before. It doesn't matter. It's about what you want to do now. I'm really bad at being a good girl, aren't I? I blame Ethan. He's corrupting me. It's the perfect excuse, but I'm not sure how much longer I can keep using it. "I think that's what bad boys do, though," I say, playing Devil's Advocate. "It's in your job description: Be as rude as you can, as often as possible." "Maybe," he says. "How about good girls? What are they supposed to do?" "Become corrupted by bad boys," I say. "Haven't you even read the bad boy handbook, Ethan? Gosh!"**

I was never supposed to fall in love with my stepbrother. I never intended to. It just sort of happened. ----- Rule #4 – You can change your mind, too, Ethan. We can't. We're done. This girl lives in the same house as me. Her bedroom is just down the hall. It barely takes twenty seconds to go from her room to mine, and yet it's an impossible distance now. She might as well be on the sun. Ashley knew what was coming. I knew, too. Why can't I stop thinking about her, then?