Page 118 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

A chill rushed through Anna’s veins. Being with Aaron... dancing with him... had been unbelievably wonderful. But good things never lasted.

Aaron tightened his arms around her before she could step away. “Hey.” He cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes. “Let me take care of this and I’ll come find you in a few minutes, okay?” His eyes were soft and tender. “I won’t abandon you, Anna,” he added in a whisper, and kissed her gently on the lips.

Anna nodded, believing him... for some reason. They walked hand in hand around the side of the house, back to the party. After the stillness of the garden, the noise hurt her ears. Part of her wanted to run back to the solitude of the garden, but another part of her bubbled with bravery, and she wanted to hold on to that feeling. Aaron kissed her temple and squeezed her hand, then turned to follow Garrett into the house.

Jenna appeared at her side a moment later, grinning like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. “You were gone for a while.” Her eyebrows wagged. “What were you two doing?”

Anna blushed and she bit her lip as warmth spread through her chest. “We... danced.” She smiled at her friend. “And he kissed me.”

Jenna’s eyes widened and she gaped at Anna for a long moment before glancing toward the house and then back to Anna. “Aaron kissed you?”

The warmth in her chest vaporized. “Was that wrong? Should I not have let him?”

“No... I mean, yeah... Shit!” She grinned and wagged her eyebrows again. “I didn’t think he would...” She shrugged. “He was complaining about you and Alex earlier.”

“Me and Alex?” Why would Aaron complain about her and Alex? Alex owned her; that was their only connection.

“Alex was watching you like a hawk tonight. Aaron thought Alex would break up with Kirsty and go after you, and he didn’t want to be in Alex’s way.”

“Alex only watches me because of...” She motioned to the bracelet Alex had given her. “He’s so confusing.”

“He can be that way, that’s for sure.” Jenna rolled her eyes.

“Do you know him well?”

“Alex? I mean, he’s Aaron’s best friend, so I’ve hung out with him a lot.”

“Did you and Aaron ever sleep together?”

“Nah, he doesn’t think about me that way. I’m like his little sister.” She shrugged and then giggled. “Not that I haven’t thought about it.”

Anna giggled too. When Jack and his friends had touched her, more than once, her mind had wandered to Aaron, wondering what it would have been like for him to touch her like that.

But that was so long ago. She hadn’t thought about him after... after things changed. Good memories had been too painful to dwell on.

After dancing with him in the garden, though... oh, she was thinking about him now. And he’d kissed her.

As she and Jenna headed back to the pool, she realized she hadn’t been trying to read Aaron to find out what he wanted from her. She’d just... enjoyed being with him. How strange. And wonderful!

She walked back into the water, her head full of new thoughts. Maybe this was what it was like to be a normal person. Maybe this was what Alex wanted from her.

She relaxed into the new feelings. With Alex gone, she didn’t have to worry about pleasing or upsetting him.

At the same time, him not being there made her feel like a part of her was missing.

It was all so confusing!

Aaron returned a few minutes later. While they chatted with the other dancers in the pool, Aaron stood behind her with his arms around her waist. Sometimes he would rest his chin on the top of her head. The way he focused on Anna caught the other dancers’ attention, leading some to tease Aaron about it. When Anna tried to pull away because she didn’t want him to be uncomfortable, he wouldn’t let her, telling her he liked her right where she was and didn’t mind the teasing.

A dancer named Travis had arrived while Anna had been upstairs with Kirsty. When they were introduced, Anna saw him tilt his head when he noticed her necklace. He raised his brows and Anna’s heart sank, but he just grinned and continued his conversation with the rest of the group.

Did he know what she was?

He didn’t leer at her or make her feel uncomfortable. In fact, he seemed to be almost... happy for her? Strange. He himself had a single nipple ring. Aaron had jumped out of the pool to get something for someone, and she found herself staring at Travis’ ring, wondering what it could mean.

“It means I’m an illegitimate son.”

Anna looked up sharply into Travis’s face, blushing at being caught staring. Travis was very good looking, with bright blue eyes and straight brown hair that hung like a curtain around his face. He was thin, as many dancers were, but with well-defined muscles.

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