Page 21 of Trusting You

When we were sufficiently far enough away, Aaron began talking again. “Avery’s not my mom,” he took a deep breath. “My real mom’s name was Sarah, and she never really wanted me.”

“You don’t have to tell me this,” I squeezed his hand. I could tell by the way his voice was shaking that it was hard for him to talk about.

“Yes, I do. You see…” he took another deep breath, “I’ve never had a very good opinion of women. I haven’t treated them right because my mom let men treat her like she was worthless, and she never protected me from them either. I like you, and I’m trying to do better for you, but you need to know why I’m like this.” He stopped walking and stepped in front of me to face me. “I know I’ll fuck up again at some point; just know that I’m really trying,” he pleaded before leaning down and pressing a light kiss to my lips. “Don’t give up on me.”

“We all have a past, Aaron. It’s what we do to change the future that matters. Trust me, I know,” I murmured.

If he only knew what I was hiding from him, we might actually work but after hearing this I knew we could never have the future that I wanted. I’d just have to enjoy him while I could and make sure I didn’t lose my heart in the process.

Chapter 9

Melinda

“Morning, Sunshine,” his whisper sounded right beside my ear, and the scruff on his chin tickled.

“Five more minutes,” I mumbled as I rolled over and felt a hard body beside me.

“Ok, but you might get sunburned,” he chuckled, causing my eyes to blink open. I’d forgotten that I’d fallen asleep on the beach last night. The embers from the fire were all burned out, and the remnants from our dinner sat scattered in front of me.

“Where are Emma and Brock?” I looked over at where the other blanket had been laid out, and the sand was empty.

“They went in last night. You were asleep. You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to wake you,” he nuzzled my neck, causing me to sigh.

“You stayed out here all night with me?” I looked back over my shoulder to see him grinning like a fool.

“I told you. You’re worth it,” he shrugged. “Wanna get breakfast?” he slowly sat up and shifted to face me. I glanced around as I tried to decide what to do. I wanted to jump up and shout ‘yes’, but I didn’t want to desert Em. “She’s probably doing the same thing with Brock. You can text her. Please?” he pouted.

“Fine,” I groaned as I stretched. It had been a long time since I’d slept that well.

“I’ll go toss this up by the pool. Hang here for a sec,” he balled up the blanket we’d been lying on and jogged toward Emma’s house. When he returned he held out his hand to me, “Come on.”

We walked along side-by-side for at least ten minutes before I noticed that we were coming up on a public section of the beach. “Where are we going?” I smiled as I saw two small children building a sandcastle.

“Breakfast,” he grinned as he turned and began heading over the dunes.

“I know that, but where?” I looked for his Jeep as we passed a public lot, but he kept walking.

“Here,” he turned and began to head toward a tan apartment building.

“I don’t see any place to eat,” I started to pull away, but he refused to let me go.

“Would you just stop, and trust me?” he sighed exasperatedly as we paused in front of a door on the ground floor. Aaron fished in his pocket until he produced a key that he slipped into the lock. When the door gave way, he ushered me inside. “Female onsite!” he shouted as he led us inside.

“What was that all about?” I glanced around. The apartment was nice. It was decorated in a tan and navy color scheme. Nautical relics were placed sporadically around the typical male space. There was a large sectional that faced one of the biggest TVs I’ve ever seen. There was a slider that faced the ocean, and vertical blinds providing shade. The kitchen shared a space with the living room, and was filled with all sorts of gadgets. A juicer was on the counter, and a counter top grill beside it. The place was cluttered, but clean for a guy’s hangout. A dark hallway was off to the side, and I’m assuming it led to the bedrooms.

“Sometimes the guys will walk out here for coffee in what they sleep in,” Aaron grinned.

“Ok,” I frowned. I didn’t understand what the big deal was.

“I sleep naked,” his brows bounced as he waited for me to catch on.

As if someone had thrown hot water on me, I felt my face heat. I coughed as my eyes went wide. “I see.”

“Maybe you will if you’re good,” he grinned as he waltzed into the kitchen. “Do you like eggs?” He opened the fridge as if he hadn’t just propositioned me and began pulling items out and placing them on the counter.

“I thought we were going to breakfast,” I slowly lowered myself onto a chair at the bar opposite him.

“I asked if you wanted breakfast. I didn’t say anything about going out. I thought this would be nice,” he shrugged as he started pulling pans out.

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