Page 28 of Trusting You
Aaron
The ride back to my place seemed to take forever. I felt like an idiot for not remembering to bring the door tops, but in my defense, I didn’t think it would get as chilly as it did. When we’d left the beach, it was cool, but the temperature was slowly dropping more. Summer was around the corner, but this spring seemed to be taking its time warming up.
“Almost there,” I called as I reached across the center console and rubbed her knee. Mel was curled on the seat with her arms wrapped around her. The flimsy sundress she was wearing was fluttering in the wind, and every once in a while, I would shiver too. “When we get to my apartment, I’ll give you something warm to wear,” I offered her a smile, but she just nodded. I could tell she was uncomfortable, but she was trying to suck it up for me.
I could see the relief in her eyes when we pulled into the lot by my building. She rubbed her arms before climbing out and meeting me in front of the Jeep. I wrapped my arms around her, trying to warm her up as I guided us to the door. Once I got the door open, I ushered us inside and searched for a light switch. “Have a seat. I’ll get you some sweats,” I motioned to the couch, and then turned to go down the hall.
I stayed in the master, so my door was the last one at the end of the hall. It was dark, but I knew my way around so I didn’t need to turn on any lights. I wasn’t paying attention, so when she touched my shoulder, I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Holy shit! You scared me!” I yelled when I turned the knob to open my door.
“I’m sorry,” her voice was tentative. “I needed to use the bathroom. I didn’t know where it was.”
I laughed lightly as I pointed at the open door in the corner of my room, “You can use mine. I’ll put some clothes on the bed here. Just come back to the living room when you’re finished.”
“Thank you,” she smiled as she moved around me and disappeared into the bathroom.
I quickly rummaged through my dresser until I found a clean lifeguard hoodie and a pair of matching sweatpants. I placed them on the bed, and then rushed to get back to the living room. To say it was hard having her in my room, possibly naked, and not touching her would be an understatement. I’d been telling myself all night that she was different, and I had to treat her different. If I wanted whatever this was to work, then I had to wait for her to make the next move. She knew I liked her; the ball was in her court now.
Melinda
When I stepped out of the bathroom, he’d left me. The door to his room was pulled almost all the way closed, and a small desk light was on in the corner. There was just enough light to move around freely, without the harshness of a bright lamp. A red hoodie and matching pants were sitting on the end of his neatly made bed, and I shivered with both excitement and cold. I shuffled over and picked up the hoodie, lifting it to my face. I buried my face in it, and took a big sniff. I never dared let Aaron know that I loved the way he smelled. I didn’t want to inflate his already oversized ego. The hoodie was soft from wear, and smelled just like him. It was a mix of coconut tanning oil, and the smell of the ocean with a hint of citrus like his cologne.
I smiled and closed my eyes just picturing us snuggled together on the beach. Before too long, I quickly slipped out of my sundress and pulled the hoodie over my head. After tugging the sweatpants up, and tying them so they wouldn’t fall down, I made my way over to his door. I shuffled down the dark hallway, careful not to trip on the too long pants as I approached the living room. I stopped and stared for a moment before he noticed me. He was sitting on the couch with his bare feet up on the table in front of him. His head was leaning back, and his eyes were closed as he faced the ceiling. His hands were linked together and resting on his stomach.
At first, I thought he may have fallen asleep, but when I moved the floor squeaked, alerting him of my presence and his eyes flew open. “Spying on me now?” he chuckled.
“Maybe,” I shrugged one shoulder as I moved closer.
“What do you want to watch?” he motioned to the TV. “I have a collection of DVDs in there, or we can just pick something off one of the movie channels.”
“Doesn’t matter to me,” I slowly lowered myself onto the cushion beside him. We were barely touching, but that didn’t seem to stop my body from reacting. My heart was racing like it did when I was thirteen and had my first kiss. My palms were beginning to sweat, and I wondered what to do. Did I take things further? Did I let him? Did I keep things the way they were? Would moving forward wreck whatever was happening here? Did he even want me like that? The questions kept coming, and I couldn’t seem to figure out how to stop them, let alone answer them.
“What’s going on in there?” he tapped my forehead. “You look like you’re going a million miles a minute and you’re heading for a wall full speed.”
“Nothing,” I stammered. Great, he’d caught me. I didn’t even know if I should tell him the truth at this point. I was a hypocrite. I’d been telling him since we met that I wasn’t going to be with him like that, and now I was thinking that I wanted to.
“Ok,” he turned back to the dark TV screen and lifted the remote that I now noticed was in his hand. He paused before turning it on, and I saw him curse himself. His eyes closed as he pinched his lips together trying to force himself to let it go, but he couldn’t. “I can’t do this,” he sighed before he tossed the remote on the table, and placed his hands on his bent knees.
“Do what?” I put more space between us as I turned in his direction.
“Pretend that this isn’t killing me,” he muttered. He rubbed his palms up and down his thighs before he shoved himself upright. He started pacing the small space beside me like a caged animal. “I like you. You like me, at least I think you do. You give me these looks that tell me you want more, but I’m trying to not be an ass. I don’t want to push you, but sometimes it seems like that’s what you want. I don’t know how to sit here and just be with you. I’m trying… so hard. I just don’t want to fuck this up.” He stopped moving and stared at me. “Tell me you want more. Tell me I’m not reading this wrong. Tell me you’re fighting whatever this is as much as me,” his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. I watched the confusion and desire wage war in him as he stood there staring at me. He was giving me an out. He was telling me all I had to do was give him a simple yes or no answer and he would either back off or give me everything he’d ever promised.
“I’m leaving in a couple of hours,” I motioned to the clock on the wall in a feeble attempt to delay my answer.
“Don’t care,” he moved closer to me and reached down for my hands. He pulled me up to stand in front of him. His head tipped forward causing his forehead to touch mine, and his eyes closed. “Tell me you want this,” his whisper was almost strangled, and I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed tightly.
He’d been so patient, so sweet, and here he was waiting for me to say yes. How could I possibly turn him away? How could I tell him that every part of my being was drawn to him? I sucked in a deep breath before whispering, “I want this.”
“Are you sure?” his eyes squeezed shut again.
I nodded before pulling back and looking up into his eyes, “Let’s go back to your room.”
He threaded our fingers together before turning to lead me back down the hallway. It seemed like a longer walk than before, and when he pushed open the door, it seemed brighter. My heart began to race, and nerves that I’d been keeping at bay all night were rushing to the surface. You would think by the way I felt, that I’d never done this before.
“Relax,” Aaron soothed as he closed door and flicked the lock. “I would never hurt you.”
“I know,” I swallowed as I watched him move around the room.
He came to a stop in front of me, and wrapped me in his arms. I shivered once again before he leaned down and brushed his lips over mine. It was tentative at first, but then he began to apply pressure. Aaron was a good kisser, and I couldn’t help but melt into him. He had this way of making you forget time, and just want to be devoured.
