Page 130 of Broken Like This by Bethany

Rae: It’s kinda sexy.

Rae: And by kinda I mean…

She doesn’t type anything else, so I look over at her. She gives me a grin and fans herself. Then she winks and turns back to the conversation at the table.

I blink back down at my phone. Sometimes it amazes me we still have those feelings for each other. That in the midst of being so broken, we can still feel so connected. Moments like this remind me of how we’ve always been. They make me feel like it’s possible to get through this.

Another text.

Rae: Put your phone away. I didn’t send you dirty pictures. ;)

I laugh out loud and slide my phone back into my pocket.

“What are you laughing at?” Joel asks.

My eyes catch Rae’s. “Nothing. Nothing.”

We continue talking and laughing and trying to cheer Jesse up. But all night, Rae keeps glancing over at me, and I can’t help but wonder what it means.

Chapter twelve

I Hate This

Rae

Myownbed.Myown room. Peace.

Sunlight streams through my bedroom window. I’ve missed my nice, large bed, and the quiet comfort of having my own room. I’ve missed living on my own schedule instead of working around everyone else’s. And I’ve missed having time truly alone. It feels so damn good.

There’s a knock on the window.

And fleeting, apparently.

Never alone for long around here.

I slide the window up slightly and am surprised when Aaron climbs in. I sit up straight in bed, staring at him. I quickly glance down to make sure my boobs have not escaped the tank top I’m wearing and send up a silent prayer when I realize they’re in place and my nipples aren’t poking through.Thank God for the built-in bra.Still, if he gets me hot and bothered, it won’t be long. Thankfully, the bottom half of me is still covered with a sheet, too.

“Hey, Ace,” I say, sounding way too chirpy.

Why is it so effing awkward?

Oh yeah, maybe because he’s been in my room all of, like, twice since we broke up. This room is where we first admitted we loved each other. My bed is where we first slept together. My room holds so much of us in it. Some of it bad, but most of it good. No, most of it incredible, emotional, and sexy as hell.

Shit, there go my nipples.

I debate trying to awkwardly cross my arms and hide them but decide against it.

Whatever, it’s what it is at this point.

“Hey.” He runs his hand over his hair. “Sorry, this is stupid and awkward. But I, uh, I brought you this.”

He holds out a to-go cup of coffee. I take it from him and inhale deeply.Hiscoffee. It’s not like he stopped making it since we broke up, but I felt weird going to his room to get it in the morning. Instead, I drank crappy coffee from the café on campus. I’ve missed a lot of things about Aaron, but his coffee is in the top five. Seriously. Is this how Lorelai Gilmore felt when she couldn’t go into Luke’s after they broke up?

I take a little sip and relax. I smile at him and he exhales. “Thanks. This is perfect. So, what brings you here this morning? I figure you probably have better things to do than be my coffee slave.” Good. Playful. We can do this.

He fidgets a little. “Well, I wanted to talk to you about something. Tell you about something, actually.”

I blink a couple of times. I know by now that this could go many ways. “Okay… good or bad?”

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