Page 36 of The Chemistry of Us

Vaughan

I didn’t knowwhat possessed me to walk into her room last night and beg to stay with her, but I couldn’t be upset. Waking up to Tru was always one of my favorite things about us.

I barely slept, too consumed by the woman who let me back in her bed after all these years. Even after all this time, her scent still had the power to assault every last one of my senses.

The feel of her.

Her warmth.

Her touch.

The way her lips would pucker in deep slumber.

I watched her until sleep won out, and before I could think about what I just did, I carefully moved her and quietly left. I was never good with mornings. Probably because I never let anyone spend the night.

Just her.

And still, I couldn’t bring myself to break out of bad habits. It was in my nature. It was how I operated. It made things easier for me.

For us.

Or at least that was what I told myself time and time again.

I hated that I was proving her right, but I didn’t know how to prove myself wrong. The feelings I thought were long gone came back with a vengeance.

I hated her for that too.

The last thing I needed was another distraction in my already chaotic life. We would always be enemies—too much hurt, too much betrayal was between us, like a chasm that would always exist—but at that moment, I could at least pull her closer to me. Because sometimes being physically close to someone was enough.

While football was one thing that helped me get my aggression out—she was warm. The ice was cold. But the person lying next to me, the one who left me, was warm, and there wasliterally no replacement for the feeling of someone touching you, feeling you, knowing you inside and out, inhaling, exhaling with you, being so comfortable despite your differences that they just exist by your side.

Fuck, just having her by my side.

See, this was why having her as a roommate was a bad idea. It reminded me of way too much, and it made me want.

Shit.

I needed to focus on all the reasons it would end in an explosion of even more chaos between us. Neither of us would survive, and I needed to focus on my studies and football, not on legs wrapped around me or a girl who knew me too well and saw through the cracks beneath the surface with ease.

It wasn’t easy to leave her there.

To walk away.

But I did…

And further hated myself for it the entire time.

CHAPTER 13

TRU

Whatever, he wasn’t going to get an A. Organic chem was hard, and his practice and game schedule was even harder.

I checked my phone and snorted. The guy was already five minutes late to his own tutoring session. Clearly, he wasn’t starting off on the right foot.

I huffed out a breath and checked my phone again when a chair pulled out next to me, and he collapsed into it. He smelled like spicy body wash, and his hair was still wet from his shower. “Sorry.” He ran his fingers through the sloppy locks, somehow making him look sexier. “Practice ran late, and I figured sitting next to you all sweaty might not be the best look for our tutoring session.”

“Try to be on time next time.” I cleared my throat and pulled out the study sheet. “We only have an hour, anyway.”

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