Page 13

Chapter 12

Aria

A fter a long day at the beach, my skin is so red, it hurts.

I'm not technically working, so I plan on heading straight to the hotel once Ivy gets into the car they hired. Watching Tobias fold her wheelchair in the back and buckle Ivy into her seat, I discuss with her mom about other days out we can take her on if the hospital allows it.

Her smile always lights up my day, and she giggles when I smile back. "Did you have fun today?" I ask her, placing her toy on her lap. She nods her head once in excitement. "We'll go again soon, okay?" I tuck a strand of her golden hair behind her ear and say goodbye.

"Are you going with them?" I ask Tobias, who gives Ivy the thumbs up, pulls a funny face to make her laugh, and closes her door.

He shakes his head, and I feel a smile fighting its way to the surface. "My car is at your hotel,” he says. “I'll walk back with you."

I'm not really sure why I'm trying not to frown, or why I care where he goes, but I feel a pang of disappointment. "Okay," I reply in a quiet tone, dropping my eyes to my moving feet.

We could easily pick up where we left off, since we're free for the rest of the day, but I don't want to mention that unless he does first.

"Sorry about earlier," he says, walking beside me along the promenade, the sun starting to fall behind the tall buildings on our left, the warm glow reflecting on the sea on our right. "I can't miss a call on my work phone." His smile at the last word completely lights up the blue in his eyes, and I'm staring for too long before I shake it off.

"It's okay." I shrug. "Although I give you points for multitasking.”

He laughs, wrapping his fingers around the leather strap of my bag, pulling me to him.

I almost stumble, inhaling his masculine scent, his arm wrapping around me to keep my feet steady on the ground while the other cups my face. He runs his thumb along my cheekbone, dipping his head, his nose nudging mine before his lips softly press against my own.

It's not a greedy kiss, no tongue, no gasps for air. No, it’s just his mouth pressing against mine, and he still overwhelms every sane part of me. The voice in my head is yelling at me to stop kissing Tobias in public, to stand back and tell him it's wrong, completely forbidden. But as I feel a strong wave of comfort wrapping around me, around us, I ignore my inner Aria and melt against him.

As soon as my brain catches up with my actions, I pull away, nervously glancing around us at the people walking by.

"Someone might see us. Moves like that cross the line of having whatever this is be no-strings only."

Scrunching his nose, he pushes off the wall with his shoulder and once again runs his thumb down my cheek softly. "I don't care," he says with a smile, kissing the tip of my nose before walking past me and across the street to his car.

The engine of his sports car roars so loud, my bones shake, and the window rolls down, revealing him in his sunglasses, a toned arm hanging out.

Standing frozen in place, I watch him drive off, my lips still tingling and my heart beating so fast, I might pass out on the sidewalk.

"Maybe you should send him a message explaining exactly what a fuck buddy is," Gabs says, throwing a bag of chips at my face. "Here, you need to eat something. You look ill."

I ignore her comment. I feel fine, just a little...dazed.

"Or I can just say it was a mistake and we should just stay colleagues."

Gabriella's face had lit up when I explained to her what happened in the last twenty-four hours, and she apologized for leaving me on my own in the first place. She was staying with Justin and left me in the hotel room for two days. She'd squeaked when I gave her a play by play of what happened in here too.

She’s always telling me to find someone else to keep my mind off Ewan and to keep me out of his bed when I grow bored, and I piss her off for the hundredth time when I go back to him anyway. I know she means well; she isn't one to run back to her ex when she feels alone. No, she finds someone else to get under and deals with it that way.

But this thing with Justin, I don’t like it. He gives me the creeps. But she must like him, because she's blushing as she tells me he's on his way to pick her up to go bowling. I know she's happy, and I don't want to dampen that by pointing out that we leave in a few weeks and to not get attached.

"Why don't you ask Toby to come over?"

I tip my head at her in disdain, scrunching my nose up at her. "No. And his name is Tobias."

"You are your own cock block, Aria. You know that, don't you? Live a little and ask the man over to fuck your temporary innocence away." She swipes on red lipstick in the mirror and puckers her lips, ruffling her curly hair. "Explain to him what no strings means while he makes you choke on his fingers again."

Giggling, I shake my head at her. I shouldn't have gone into so much detail and shocked her with that part. "I'm never telling you anything again. And temporary innocence ? Shut up."

"Suit yourself. Don't wait up for me," she says, kissing both my cheeks before she walks out the door. "Toodles."

I roll my eyes at her, but a smile plays on my lips.

After showering and applying aftersun to the raw skin on my arms and shoulders, a dash of lotion on my burnt face, I lay in bed and swipe through my phone, staring at Ewan and Tobias' contacts, fighting with myself. Should I reply to Ewan's earlier message to call him or ask Tobias to come over to finish what he started?

I throw my phone aside, choosing option three: ignoring the world. I click on the tv, deciding to watch some action movie. I get ten minutes into it when my phone vibrates beside me.

Ewan: I miss you. Please come home. You belong here.

Love is overrated, and from experience, it makes you weak. Unless you have that epic love that consumes you more than life itself, in my opinion, it's not worth it. Maybe one day, I'll think otherwise, but for now, I'll ignore Ewan and ask Tobias what he's up to tonight.