Page 91 of Crucible
Sighing, I rest my forehead against hers. “I don’t understand, Sunshine. Help me. Please.”
“Seth…” I lift my head, and Aurelia chews on her bottom lip while she looks up at me curiously. “How old was Zeke when you woke up for the first time?”
“Twenty-two.”
“And you’ve never had a girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Have you ever kissed a girl?”
I frown as I shake my head. “No, I…I guess not.” Is that why she doesn’t like me? Because I don’t have experience? Ezekiel does. Maybe I could ask Thorin or Khalil. It would be humiliating, but for Sunshine—
“So you’re a virgin?”
I drop my head and nod reluctantly. “Yeah.”
“Seth.”
I shake my head because I can’t look her in the eye now that she knows, but Aurelia doesn’t give up easily. She rises onto her toes, wrapping her arms around my neck, and she presses her sweet lips to my cheek over and over.
“Kiss me,” she urges when I just stand there like a dope.
“Really?”
“Kiss me, Seth. It’s okay.”
She’s barely finished the sentence before I press my lips against hers with a groan. The kiss starts off chaotic and uncoordinated, a dance of two people learning each other’s rhythms. But it doesn’t take us long to create our own.
“Like this, Sunshine?” I ask against her lips.
“Mm-hmm, yeah.” Aurelia moans and presses herself hard against me. “Just like that, Seth.”
Her lips are so soft.She’sso soft.
I like kissing. But only with Sunshine. She’s the only girl I want to share all my kisses with. I know it the moment we come up for air, and she has this sparkle in her eye as she smiles at me. I can’t see ever wanting this with anyone else. I may have to kiss her all the time. What a bummer.
“Okay, Seth.” Aurelia breathes heavily. “I’ll be your girlfriend on one condition.”
“Yeah?” I hold her closer. Now that I have her. I can’t let her go. “What’s that? I’ll do anything.”
We both jump like we were caught with our hand in the cookie jar when we hear Thorin’s bedroom door slam closed. He must be done washing the egg out of his hair.
His heavy footsteps are heading this way, so Aurelia says quickly and quietly, “Don’t let them hurt me.”
She turns away from me just as Thorin enters the kitchen.
Khalil is right behind him.
They’re both dressed in their snow suits so we can spend another pointless day looking for our girl when we’ve got her right where we want her. Well, almost.
“Tell me you at least forgive me for last night,” I demand. I can feel Thorin and Khalil watching us, but I pay them no mind as I turn Aurelia back around to face me. “I don’t want to hurt you. I like you, Sunshine. A lot.”
“Why?” Aurelia blurts out with a mixture of surprise and disbelief as if she doesn’t think there’s anything about her worth loving.
“Because you’ll never stop fighting. You won’t give up like I did.”
She’s frowning, and I wonder if I said the wrong thing until she blushes and tries to play it off by grabbing one of the coffee tumblers and handing it to me.
