Chapter 12
Aiden and Lynn lay side by side in her queen sized bed. It was dark, way past midnight, and he was running his fingers through her short hair.
“It’s so amazing to me how easy it is with you,” He said softly.
That didn’t register for a second before she was leaning back to glance up at him, her smile easy as she rested her palms against his bare chest.
“It’s a nice break from the usual, isn’t it?”
He nodded, his lips finding their way to her hairline.
She reveled in his soft touch, in his attention, in his gentle affection. It was so out of the norm for her that she had no idea how she’d lived without it for so long, but it was for the best. She wouldn’t appreciate it as much as she did if she hadn’t.
“Do you think it was worth it?”
He tipped her chin up slightly so he could see her better.
“What?”
“Everything we went through before now. Do you think it was worth it?”
He pressed his lips to her mouth again, caressing her tongue with his.
“I’d do it all over again if it meant that I’d get to lay here with you. I have everything I need right now, right here, with you.”
It meant the world to her that he said that, out loud, and that his expression seemed so earnest, too. He didn’t even look like he was lying.
“It won’t be easy,” She whispered.
“What are you talking about?,” Aiden asked, obviously confused.
She took a deep breath and pressed her hand against her chest.
“This part of me, the only true thing I can give you- it’s not right. It doesn’t work smoothly. It’s rusty, and gritty, and stubborn like those old engines you work on.”
Aiden frowned, sadness seeping into his expression.
“That’s not true,” He argued.
“Loving me isn’t going to be easy. Trust me. It’s going to be really hard. I’m not perfect by any means. I’m too stubborn, I’m loud, and often times I say whatever I’m feeling in that moment because it hurts to keep it in. I may have the best of intentions, but those often go unnoticed.”
Aiden dipped his head for a moment, his fingers caressing his jaw as he seemed to ponder what Lynn was saying.
“You’re wrong.”
“How so?”
“Loving you is the easy part. Healing you? That’s a different story. Healing you will take time and patience, and that’s what’s going to be hard. You’re the softest woman I’ve ever met beneath all those walls and armor. Love isn’t about the fluffy moments, it’s about the gritty moments. It’s about those moments where neither one of us knows if we can keep going, but we choose to do so anyways. Together. I’m not going to abandon you.”
“What if you change your mind?”
Aiden smiled, his eyes landing on her mouth as he leaned in to press a kiss against her soft lips.
“I’m not going to change my mind.”
“Promise?”
He winked at her, “Friends don’t lie.”
“I’d hope at this point I’m more than your friend,” She joked.
He was smiling when he told her, “You’re right, you’re the woman I love and my best friend, and that’s the truth.”
The truth.
That’s exactly what Lynn had wanted all along, but this? This felt like a dream, like a movie, because she still had no idea how their situation had gone from tentative strangers to intimate lovers.
And, it was worth it.
She hadn’t had something impact her life apart from her writing in such a profound way in so long, that at first, she’d questioned the hell out of herself and him. Sure, she still questioned things from time to time, but not because she wasn’t absolutely sure that being with him was what made her happy.
She was unsure because Every. Single. Time. She’d felt that way before, it was only a matter of time before the rug was ripped violently from beneath her. This was the halfway-happy phase, the unsure-but-I-can-still-protect-myself phase.
That phase right before she gave Aiden the most power she could give anyone because she did love him, and she had no idea how it happened, and yet there she was…
Cuddled up in his arms like she’d never spent a day with anyone else.
Holding on to him like she couldn’t live another day without feeling the warmth of him next to her.
Tucking her hand into his like he could save her, whatever was left, whatever she could scrounge up from the stained hardwood floors of her apartment, where she’d laid for hours after Jake packed his things and left her there.
Alone, cold, and the slightest bit cuckoo. Aiden didn’t even seem to mind that she had to whisper the words back to him, like a secret between them.
Like, maybe if she didn’t put too much of herself into the promise of the words, it wouldn’t hurt so badly when he changed his mind.
“Lynn.”
She glanced up at him, her grip on his hands tightening slightly.
Here it comes…
“I’m not leaving you any time soon. I’m here until you get sick of me.”
His eyes were glued to her, stuck on her, and for a moment, her fears subsided.
She relaxed against him and accepted the tender swipe of his fingers along her cheek, her eyes closing as she inhaled deeply.
“Okay.”