AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes,” I say slowly.
“Well, I came here to the house.” He sighs. I’m waiting for whatever the hell he’s holding back, so I stay quiet. He shakes his head. “Come on, it’s best if you just see.” His shoulders drop as he grabs my hand.
When we walk into the house, I gasp audibly. I look at him and he shrugs. I look back to a wall that has five holes punched into the sheetrock.
“Please tell me that none of those are for the same reason that one is,” I say, pointing to the hole still there from the last time we stayed here together. My voice is strained. He looks at the hole, I’m pointing to and jerks his head back and his eyes soften.
“No, no, no,” he says quickly, shaking his head when he realizes what I’m implying. “I didn’t even see Jessie.” I feel a sense of relief but then wonder what the hell happened.
“I’m surprised you didn’t break your hand,” I say, looking at the holes.
“I really don’t remember even doing it.”
I whip around to him. “You don’t remember?”
He shoves his hands in his pockets. “I was so pissed. I thought I’d lost …” His eyes tell me everything even when he stops talking. He lost me anyway. “I was piss-ass drunk the entire time I was here. When I decided I needed to get back, I sobered up and that’s when I saw it.” He looks over to Max. “Ryan said he’d fix them. I guess he hasn’t gotten around to doing it yet.” Max nods.
We haven’t even talked about that day. That one day that I went and saw Travis. The one day that changed everything. The day that made everything irrelevant, except surviving.
I place my hand on Aiden’s chest. “We can neither change the past, nor can we blame ourselves for what our parents did,” I say.
He places his hand over mine and squeezes. To change the subject, because I’m really emotionally exhausted from today and I’m ready to relax in Aiden’s arms, I say, “What are we ordering for dinner?”
It’s like a switch turned everyone back on.
“Pizza,” Syd says.
“Barbeque,” Max says.
“Chinese,” Aiden says.
All in unison. I laugh. “Can anyone narrow that down?” I say, looking at all three of them.
“I’m good with pizza,” Aiden says. I look at Max and he nods. I walk to the drawer that holds all the menus. I surprise myself when I remember where it was.
After I order our pizza, Syd and I change into more comfy and warmer clothes. The breeze coming from the ocean is chilly. I come out of the bedroom with yoga pants on and my oversized NYPD sweatshirt.
“Hey, sexy,” Aiden murmurs, bringing his beer to his lips. He takes a drink, keeping his eyes on me. The way he makes me feel every time he looks at me, like I’m the only one in the room, is indescribable.
He’s leaning against the counter with his bare feet crossed. He changed into a pair of dark blue jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt. Mmm … he’s so gorgeous. I saunter up to him and kiss him, leaning into his hard body. He tastes like beer.
“You taste good,” I say, taking his beer from his hand and bringing it up to my lips, my eyes never leaving his. Beer has never been my drink of choice, but tasting it on his lips—his tongue—is definitely moving to the number one spot.
I lick my lips and watch his eyes move down to my mouth before he blinks his gaze back up to me. His eyes darken as he pulls me forward. My body shudders.
I feel like a love-struck teenager who can’t get enough of her boyfriend. Butterflies flutter in my stomach every time he looks at me. My hormones are having a field day with his sexy looks. Sexy body. Sexy voice. Everything about him is pure sexy.
And to think just a week ago, I was afraid I couldn’t be intimate again. Now all I can think about is how intimate we can be. I giggle to myself. Five months and not a trace of desire in my body. Zero. Zilch. Thinking of it alone made me sick to my stomach.
But one look from Aiden and it’s a visceral need.
It’s like my body forgot the trauma. Maybe it instinctively knows that Aiden would never hurt me.
“What’s so funny?” Aiden asks, taking his beer back. See? Just the touch of his fingers across mine when he grabs his beer has my heart beating faster.
I smile at the sexy man in front of me. “Just thinking.”
“Well, stop that. Tonight isn’t about thinking. It’s about relaxing,” he says, giving me a quick kiss. “And letting me touch you all night.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
