Page 27 of Trusting You

My face heated in embarrassment, but it passed as Aaron let the conversation drop and acted like he didn’t know how jealous I really was.

“The swordfish is really good here, but so is the crab,” he mused as he stared at out at the water.

“You really love the beach, don’t you?” I watched as a cloud washed over his face.

He nodded, “I do. It’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve lived here since I was just a baby.”

“What’s wrong then?” I shifted in my seat. I could tell he was upset about something, but he was trying to hide it.

“You have to leave tomorrow,” he sighed.

“You knew this,” I shrugged.

“That doesn’t make it any easier,” he reached across the table and placed one of his hands over mine. “I guess I thought if I ignored it, it wouldn’t be true. It’s gonna suck tomorrow night when I don’t have you here.”

“What are you saying?” I couldn’t help but worry. With the way he was carrying on, it almost sounded like he didn’t want to keep doing what we’d been doing, like he was giving up.

“I’m saying that going back to talking on the phone instead of touching you is going to suck,” he laughed lightly. “I guess May isn’t too far away, though.”

“We can still see each other between now and then. You’ve come to Eastman twice now,” I giggled as I thought back to him ambushing me at school. I hated it at the time, but now it made me like him even more. He hadn’t given up, and it had worked out.

“You could come here, you know,” he tightened his grip on my hand. “I know we haven’t really talked about this, but you could stay at my place. You wouldn’t have to rely on Em, and I have plenty of room.”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” I murmured. The truth was, I had a lot going on and was lucky to get this week away. I was going to have a lot of catching up to do when I got back, and I wasn’t sure when I’d get time away again.

“Just promise me you’ll think about it,” he squeezed my hand.

“I will,” I smiled through the lie. I already knew my answer would be ‘no’ whenever he invited me back. It had to be, he just didn’t know it yet.

“Did you enjoy your dinner?” Aaron smiled down at me as we continued to walk down the beach. After dinner, he’d driven us to a public parking lot. It was dark now, but neither of us were tired.

“It was good. Thank you,” I leaned into him as he lifted his arm to wrap it around my shoulders. If a stranger saw us, they would think we’d been together forever. I was amazed at how fast he could make me relax. Over the last several days, Aaron had worked tirelessly to get me to open up. I was finally there, and now I was leaving. The melancholy feeling he’d had at dinner was now plaguing me. “It’s so beautiful here at night,” I mused as I changed the subject in hopes of lightening the mood. Maybe if we didn’t talk about it, the morning wouldn’t come.

“Yeah. This is my favorite part of the day. When I was little, my dad would take me for walks along our stretch of beach when I couldn’t sleep. He started when I was just a baby, and kept doing it until I was old enough to go on my own,” he pulled us to a stop, and turned to face the water. “Too bad it’s too cold now, or we could go for a night swim,” he chuckled, causing his shoulders to bounce.

“You just want to get me naked,” I mused in a teasing voice.

“The thought has crossed my mind,” he turned us to where we were facing each other, and before I could really comprehend what he’d just admitted, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.

In the past, our kisses had started out slow and sweet, but this one was different. Aaron’s hands came up to hold my head in an almost iron grip as his mouth plundered mine. His tongue swept in with urgency, and an almost feral growl tore out of him. He seemed desperate, and he clung to me as if I were going to disappear at any second.

He pulled away panting, and rested his forehead against mine. “I’m really going to miss you. I feel like we’re finally getting somewhere, and now you’re leaving.”

I lifted my hands and wrapped them around his wrists as I murmured, “I’m going to miss you too.” Emotions rolled over his face but words never came. It was like watching the ocean as the waves lapped at the beach. The push and pull was a constant struggle, and though I feared what falling for him would do to me, I couldn’t help but give him a small piece of my heart in the moment. It had happened without me even planning it. I’d come here last summer intending to blow off steam, and now I was trying to figure out how he’d weaseled his way inside. Aaron was slowly taking the pieces of my broken soul, and healing them one moment at a time.

I shivered against the ocean breeze and Aaron chuckled before wrapping me in his arms. “It is a little chilly out here tonight. Wanna go somewhere and warm up?”

“That would be great,” I sighed as I burrowed into his embrace. “What did you have in mind?”

“I’ve got the place to myself tonight. I was thinking we could watch a movie or something,” he pressed a light kiss to my bare shoulder.

“Ok,” I leaned back and looked up at him. “Just a movie?” Aaron had me all twisted up, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted in the moment, but he had to know I was vulnerable.

“You’re worth it, Mel. We’ve got plenty of time, so yes… just a movie unless you say otherwise,” his arms tightened in a quick hug before he turned us and began walking us back to his Jeep.

If this was the real Aaron, I was so dead. I could love THIS Aaron. He was sweet, caring, and everything I could want in a partner. This is the Aaron that could break me.

Chapter 12

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