Page 110 of Firestorm
I only nodded, not trusting my voice not to quiver with emotion. I couldn’t wait to see Aiden and tell him the good news. He deserved something good in his life much more than I did.
Chapter 33
Aiden
I was a ball of energy.
I’d spent several hours into the evening in the affinity gym, trying to push myself toward Exhaust. I wasn’t worried about actually getting there, I’d tried in the past and had never reached the point of no return, but I often used overexertion as a way to calm myself down, especially when I didn’t want to do any drugs.
I hadn’t had any alcohol or drugs since the party.
I hadn’t felt like I needed them.
Getting on my knees for Skye gave me awaystronger thrill than anything else I’d ever tried. Sex aside, I was determined to be better for Skye.
Speaking of trying to be better…
My phone buzzed, another incoming call from my mother.
“Ugh,” I muttered, then silenced the call, so it would ring out to voicemail. I’d sent it straight to voicemail before, but that had resulted in a particularly bad beating. At least if it rang all the way through, I could pretend it was an accident.
Of course, Mother would never believe that. But with my improving grades and lack of drug or alcohol use, Harper, at the very least, might believe me. While she was still quite rude to me,generally…Harper was different. She wasn’t like the rest of my parents’ Chain. At times, I even considered the idea that she maybelikedme.
I shivered at the sudden chilly breeze cutting through my sweatshirt and shoved my phone back in my hoodie. I’d gotten my arms to stop glowing somewhere around six in the evening, and now it was eight, when Skye would be done with herAstrologycourse.
I practically jogged across campus to meet her, my skin vibrating with excitement.
I’d never given much thought to the sensation. I assumed everyone felt something similar, and we all had different ways of explaining it. For me, excitement and anticipation usually resulted in itchy skin, like static was washing up and down my arms.
Thunder rolled overhead and a gust of wind sent my red hair into the air. I groaned as I tried to comb it back down. Part of me knew Skye wouldn’t care if I had a hair out of place, and actually, she might like it if it were a bit messy, but I still wanted to look good for this conversation tonight.
It was now that my chest decided to spasm.
I’d ignored the pain earlier, when I’d seen Skye talking to Landon fucking Iykos, and again when she refused to call me her boyfriend. All day I’d been hanging onto the fact that she’d stopped herself before saying the words.
Skye wouldn’t have made her sexy declaration if she were breaking up with me.
Skye wouldn’t have allowed PDA if she were breaking up with me.
Skye wouldn’t have made me wait all day if she were breaking up with me.
So far, I was doing pretty good with practicing my self-soothing. Wyatt would be so proud of me when I saw him for my counseling session.
I scratched at my forearms slightly, the building feeling of anticipation sending waves of static down my arms. Rain began to fall softly just as a streak of lightning flared overhead, followed by the boom of thunder.
I caught sight of Skye standing under the overhang of theAstrology tower, huddling against the brick and watching the sky anxiously.
God, she was beautiful.
She was still a little damp from earlier rain. Her hair was up in one of those amazing messy girl-buns, and the hood from her usual black hoodie was pulled up around her neck. Her cheeks were flushed from the humidity, her eyes bright when they spotted me.
“Hey,” she said as I drew closer, and I couldn’t help myself.
I gently pushed her back against the cold brick wall, much more gently than how I’d manhandled her in the hallway earlier. She gasped just slightly and then my mouth was on hers.
I’d never enjoyed kissing a girl.
Ever.
