Page 72 of Broken Like This by Bethany

“Jerk,” she says, suppressing a laugh. We both face opposite directions as we change, then we climb under the covers together.

I flip the lamp off and wrap an arm around her.

“Aaron,” she whispers.

“Yeah?”

She doesn’t say anything, instead rolling over and pressing her lips against mine. My heart races as I deepen the kiss, sliding my tongue into her mouth. She kisses me back wildly, her hands rolling over my back. God, it feels so damn good to kiss her.

Kiss her.

Shit.

“Rae, wait.” I pull my lips away.

“What?”

“I can’t—I don’t want to lead you on.”

“I know we aren’t getting back together right now, Aaron. I just… wanted to kiss you. You know, afriendlykiss,“ she says playfully.

“We were always good at those,” I say with a laugh.

“Blurred lines,” she purrs.

I grab her and kiss her forcefully. I want her to know how I feel about her. I want this kiss to tell her everything I couldn’t possibly say with words.

We kiss for a long time. I think. All sense of time slips away like it always does when I kiss her. Her lips moving against mine make me feel alive in a way I haven’t in months. Or maybe it’s that I’m allowing all of me to pour into this kiss. I closed myself off for so long before we broke up that our kisses didn’t feel like this.

When she finally pulls away, she yawns immediately. “Sorry. I need to sleep.”

I kiss her forehead. “We both do. Come here.”

I pull her tight to me and we fall asleep quickly, wrapped in each other’s arms.

Rae

The escalating noise of my alarm wakes me out of a really good sleep. I fumble around and grab it, turning it off quickly. I look over at Aaron’s sweet face. I don’t want to get up. I want to stay in the fantasy world that is Aaron’s arms, but I know I can’t.

Last night he finally let me in, and even though I know it doesn’t change anything with our relationship, it was huge for him. I am so glad he finally opened up and let all that pain out. I had no idea it went so deep, but I hope this was a turning point for him.

I carefully slide out of his arms and pull the covers up over him, staring at him for a moment. I love watching him sleep. As I look around the bed for my jeans, his hand slides up my arm.

“Where are you going?” His voice is raw and groggy.

“I’ve gotta go. I have an interview at eight.”

His eyes snap all the way open and he sits straight up. “An interview?”

“Yeah, the one for the internship at Promise.”

His eyebrows raise, then he grimaces. “Shit. That’s why you weren’t going to the party last night. And then you came here and took care of me? I’m so sorr—“

“Don’t you dare.” I lean over and run my hand over the side of his face. “I made a choice, Aaron. And I have no regrets. You needed me last night, and I’m glad you finally let me be here for you. Plus, those kisses totally relaxed me, and sleeping in your arms, I slept better than I have in months. I’ll be fine. I just need to get myself presentable now.”

His eyes roll over my body, and he smirks. “You look fine to me.”

“That’s because you’ve always liked me wearing your clothes.”

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