Page 55 of Busted Dreams

“Fine, I’m gone. I’ll see you in the morning.” I pressed one last kiss to his check, then left him in Cherry.

I still felt oddly high on my revelations with Ryan, emotionally confused after that intense talk with Beck, and angry but understanding with Rhys. Then underneath it all, I was excited to spend some time with Thatcher where it was just the two of us. Outside of school.

I could finally say I was one of the regular, hormonal teenagers I so often felt disconnected from. And it felt great.

Iarranged snacks and fresh popped popcorn on the coffee table, with a mini Styrofoam cooler on the floor right next to it with a couple sodas, waters, and fruity drinks with such a low alcohol content I doubted Trinity would bother swiping them. Finally, the long-awaited movie night had arrived, and nothing was going to ruin this for me.

Especially not Trinity, who had been absent almost twenty-four-seven since the day I’d discovered her little side hobby. I’d been so upset, I hadn’t asked the real questions. Was she dealing? Was someone using her to store drugs? How did she meet the people who gave them to her? I didn’t believe for a minute that blitzed out girl was her best friend.

No.Tonight was about Astrid. Only Astrid.

She would be here any minute. I wasn’t sure if she’d be into the horror films Trinity and I usually watched, so I had Amazon Prime and Netflix all ready with lots of options. As long as it wasn’t a kid’s movie or a western, I’d be game.

Two short raps sounded on the door before Astrid walked in. It must have started snowing, because she had little white flakes dotting her jacket and hair. I couldn’t hide the smile; she was too adorable.

Once glance at her face, and I knew she wasn’t as happy to be here as I was to have her. One side of her mouth tipped down in a frown, a small line separating her eyebrows as if she were thinking too hard, and the skin around her eyes was pinched.

“I want you to know I had sex with Rhys last night, and I know you already know. But I wanted you to hear it from me, because if we continue dating, you need to know who I’m sexually active with.”

“O-Okay,” I said, dropping the remote on the couch. That came out of left field completely. Well, not completely. It had been in the back of my head since this morning, but I choose to focus on other more pleasurable things. There was only so much stress a man could take in a short period of time. With everything going on with Trinity, I decided that wasn’t one of the things I needed to worry about. Not as long as she was happy.

She blinked once. Then twice.

“That’s it? Okay?”

“Yeah, it’s none of my business what you do with Rhys. I’m just happy you’re finally here. With me. Without those other idiots.” I tipped my chin down a little and grinned.

Astrid tilted her head to the side, rubbing her hands over the jacket material covering her forearms. “This…seems too easy.”

I walked up to her, helped her take off her jacket and hung it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs, then hugged her.

“I want your time with me to be easy. There are too many things that will be hard and challenging in your life. Things that will make you angry, make you doubt yourself, break your heart. But when you’re with me, I want your life to be easy.”

Her breath stuttered as she exhaled against my shirt, and I reveled in the moment of this simple pleasure. The knots of tension around my shoulders slowly loosened as I held her. The way she calmed me was why I needed her so much. No one else had ever been an anchor to ground me before.

“Okay. Just…the only thing I ask is that you let me be the one to tell the important things to the others. That matters to me.”

“Done. Now take your shoes off and sit on the couch. I’ve prepped everything so you won’t have to get up unless it’s to go to the bathroom.” I gestured toward the couch that was barely bigger than a loveseat.

“Wow. You even have a fuzzy blanket all ready.” She smiled as she took her shoes off, setting them by the door. I turned off the lights and settled into my favorite corner. I’d be lying if I didn’t feel flutters in my stomach when she leaned her back against me, stretching her legs out over the other cushion.

How long had it been since I’d felt the magic of a crush? Lust was plenty familiar, as was the satisfaction of good sex. Actual feelings were much more rare. Outside of a girlfriend I had senior year and a few crushes at the beginning of high school, I hadn’t experienced it.

I had been worried Trinity would be one of those girls who loved every new guy who crossed her path and metaphorically die when they didn’t return her phone calls. For years, I’d been relieved Trinity didn’t suffer from that particular teen girl affliction, but once again, I didn’t really know her, so who knew how she was when I wasn’t around.

Astrid was so far from that stereotype it wasn’t even funny. Her innocence was both a blessing and a curse. But the more I was around her and witnessed the way she was uncomfortable with people and society in general, it endeared me a little more. The artist in me had always been drawn to the unique and unusual, and Astrid fit both.

I was doomed from the first moment she walked in on Emily giving me a blowjob.

My cock twitched at the thought of being in that position with Astrid.

No. No, no, no. Nope. Tonight was not the night to go there. She lost her virginity the night before, and the fact that we all knew bothered her. I wanted more time with her anyway. For me to get to know her, for her to get to know me.

I realized then that Astrid was turning me into a sap.

Whatever.

“What are you feeling?” I made sure she was locked tight with my arm over her chest when I picked up the remote.

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