Chapter Five
He hung up without missing a beat and let his fingers slide and crash against the screen. Mina figured he was probably blocking her, but he was too hungover to function. She was sure he didn’t mean to leave her and it was just the alcohol talking, but she didn’t feel bad at all. She felt relieved and hoped that he’d finish it off with her for good once he was sober. Greta was toxic and Aaron was a lot better off without her clinging to him almost every day.
His hands continued to fumble and Mina moved forward to gently pry it from his hands. She set it on the table and laced her hands in his hair once again as she lightly massaged the top of his head. He seemed to like it there. It was almost as if he was a cat. He sighed in frustration.
“I’m getting sick of her, Mina,” he whined, “I can’t take it anymore.”
“Sleep,” she whispered gently, “I’ll take care of everything, a’right?”
Aaron dropped back into the pillows, bouncing lightly as he gazed at Mina while she took the liberty of blocking Greta. His lids fell lower over his eyes with each passing moment, and he was soon fast asleep again pretty quickly. Placing his phone back on the bedside table, Mina gave him a careful look and turned to head back to the couch.
The noon after was quiet, and it felt awkward. The two had woken up at 12 and Mina handled Aaron with his hangover, getting him medicine and water to help with. They both then took to the kitchen where Mina prepared breakfast while Aaron was lost deep in thought.
“I broke up with Greta, didn’t I?” he spoke so suddenly that Mina almost dropped the bacon. She nodded, and Aaron sighed. She didn’t know if he was relieved or exasperated.
“Thank God, then.”
“Wow, really?” Mina chuckled, “I thought you loved her.”
“I do, Mina,” he said. It stung. More silence ensued, “I just don’t get the point of being with her if she can’t return it properly. All she does is take from me. I’m just being unfair to herself if I keep going, aren’t I?”
“Yeah,” she agreed, “You should love yourself enough to be strong enough to walk away from what’s bad for you, despite how much you care. You should always come first.”
“It took me quite a while to accept that,” he breathed and leaned on his elbows at the kitchen island, “I mean, who’s going to be with me until the end but herself? If I can’t be there for me, then no one can.”
“Exactly what I grew up telling herself,” Mina supported with a smile as she came forward and place a plate in front of him piled high with breakfast, “Eat up now. You’re not finished dealing with her yet, and you need the energy.”
Aaron groaned, but picked up a fork and knife. He dug in appreciatively as Mina took a seat next to him with her own plate piled just as high.
“I want to cook for you one day,” he mumbled through his stuffed face and Mina almost choked on her orange juice.
“Good grief, Aaron,” she coughed, “you look ridiculous when you do that.”
Aaron grinned at her and continued eating. They gorged down their food and Mina announced she had to brush her teeth, “And I’ll leave out a spare toothbrush for you on the sink.”
“Sure, you go ahead,” he said pointing to his phone, “I’ll deal with Greta in the meantime.”
“Good luck,” she laughed and left to freshen up properly.
They were soon on the living room couch, swearing incessantly at each other as the slammed their fingers onto their controllers, indulged heavily into the Xbox 360. Aaron hadn’t played Resident Evil in forever and was out of touch with it, but he did well enough. Mina, though, was an absolute monster and he’d never seen someone so playfully aggressive like her. How could someone be so angry yet so cute at the same time? He doubted he could ever take her seriously if she were to get mad at him, but from the stories she had told of her high school days when it came to dealing with bullies, he was careful not to underestimate her true wrath, if was ever unlucky enough to see it.
They lost their lives again and Mina gave a frustrated yell. Aaron reached over to tickle her and curb the flow of profanities she was spewing from her mouth. She screamed as his hands pinched her sides, rolling off the couch as she laughed holding herself to keep his hands away. She almost met the floor with a scream but Aaron was quick to catch her before the impact took place. He tried pulling her up, but his arms were weak with laughter and he ended up falling onto her. That set them off and they laughed even harder.
It wasn’t until they had calmed down did they realize how precarious their position was. Aaron lifted his head from the crook of her neck and supported himself on his elbows that were on the either side of Mina’s head.
“God, I’ve never laughed this hard in her life!” He cried out. He looked down at Mina and stopped short before he could say anything else. His mouth went dry looking at her. It scared him to admit how much he wanted her in the moment. He’d just ended it with Greta for good, only allowing her to still be friends with him so that he could help her out when she needed him. He’s already told Mina he loved Greta, but now he was wondering if he’d been lying to himself for the sake of not being alone. He feared loneliness. He only felt guiltier because he’d been with Greta on and off since his promotion as CFO. Five years was a long time with someone, and he was sure it would end earlier with him constantly busy and so invested in his business.
But now he was wondering if he ever really loved her in the first place. He found it easier to make time for Mina than he did for Greta. Or he was purposely avoiding her, knowing that the two didn’t really connect on the level he wished for them to. He wasn’t sure anymore. Maybe he loved her at one point when he was deluded university student pining after his junior who could’ve cared less about him back then and had plenty of boys drooling at her feet to do her bidding and have fun with. Aaron was always serious when it came to commitment.
And Mina got that. She felt the same about long term decisions like he did. He did not judge Greta one bit for her ways, but he was definitely not her type to satisfy her back then. She only understood what he wanted as she grew older and was definitely more than ready to commit long term, because she had fallen for him, too. For real, this once, she had fallen in love and was ready to settle. For him, getting her was a lifelong goal achieved. But now he wondered what was it was about her that attracted him to her.
He blinked himself out of his thoughts and focused on Mina. She was looking at him through her long dark lashes, eyes pools of melted chocolate. Cheeks stained pink as her short black hair spread out in a mess behind her head.
This girl right here was making him feel alive for once. He was a 35-year-old man acting like a complete teenager, yelling and screaming, playing videogames and having food competitions, and talking about the weirdest things like philosophy combined in paranormal realms and making stories out of nowhere and having burping competitions. They were an absolute nonsense of adults.
And he loved it. He’s missed it all as a child, and for good reason. He cherished it with all his heart now.
“A-Aaron,” Mina stuttered nervously. Well, dammit, he was falling in love with her. Because she was here with no make-up and a puffy face going red, and she looked just as good this way.
“Would you mind if I kissed you right now?” He said softly, looking at her rosy full lips. She gulped nervously and he felt bad, almost moving away until she spoke.
“You’re not going to believe me but,” she stated bashfully, “I’ve never been kissed before. So I don’t know what to expect.”
He looked at her with wide eyes.
“Damn, Mina,” he smirked with a gentle hold on her chin, and murmured over her mouth, “you sure are missing out.”
Mina’s heart literally exploded against her chest as she felt Aaron’s lips press against hers softly. It was a gentle kiss that didn’t last long, and he was pulling away to look at her.
Too soon.
I definitely want more of that, she thought and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him to her. He willing complied and kissed her again, a hand holding her by the waist, thumb rubbing at the skin under her shirt.
The desperation surprised the both of them. For someone with no experience, Mina was very confident and willing. It was no different than going into a new rollercoaster with multiple loops for her. Literally. Heart pounding and lower abdomen strangely pulsing with an all too familiar, unsatisfied flame, she knew that she would have to pull away and stop soon before she had all of her first times that day.
Aaron slid his arm under her back and pulled her against himself, tongue sliding past her lips, startling her. She always found tongue kisses weird on TV, but he tasted of the mint toothpaste he had, and his tongue was smooth against the crevices of her mouth, making her moan lightly. The sound of her only made him tighten his arm around her, hand moving to her neck and angling her head to swallow every little noise to made.
They were getting impossibly closer to each other, legs tangling, mouths wandering, breathless moans, and finger tracing everywhere they could, exploring each other as if they’d never touched a body before. And for Aaron, it seemed like as if he was kissing for the first time, because his brain was a gooey mess sliding down his spine.
Right to his groin.
Mina gave a startled yelp and he pulled away instantly. Mina’s face was flaming now and he smirked, “What?”
“Do you, er, like…have a stick somewhere in your pockets?”
He raised a brow at her and she shook her head bashfully and cried out, “Just don’t make me go anywhere near it right now!”
“Jesus, Mina,” he laughed, “it’s just her-”
“Aaron!”
“Good grief, you’re such a baby,” he sighed and rolled over so that she sat on his abs, and he pushed himself up to stand, grabbing Mina’s thighs and lifting her off with himself. She yelped and came face to face with him. She was very impressed with his strength.
His mouth was on hers again and she melted against him, arms wrapping around his shoulders and a hand in his hair. He started to move and spoke in between kisses, “Are you…sure…this is…your first…kiss?”
She pulled away, “I lucid dream, so no.”
“Just explain it later,” he rolled his eyes and covered her lips once again. He reached her bedroom and a hand moved to her butt to hold her steady, making her gasp. He smirked against her lips and gave her a squeeze, making her squeal and wring her fingers in his hair. He chuckled and pressed her back against the door to kiss her deeply. Turning the knob, he carefully opened the door and stepped inside, kicking it close behind them and dropping her on the bed. She pushed herself upright and reached out for him, hands on his face. He didn’t move towards her, but enveloped her hands under his as he looked down at her into her large eyes, dark with desire, lips swollen from sucking on them. Her chest rose and fell from breathing hard. He could feel her speeding pulse through the vein under her wrist.
His phone started to ring and he was forced to tear his gaze away from her. But, God, she was addictive and he was definitely continuing this with her once he was done with the call.
He rubbed her swollen lower lip with his thumb and tried to catch his breath while he reached out for his phone on the bedside table, eyes on Mina’s absolutely gorgeous, breathless face. He wasn’t going to let go of her out of the irrational fear that she’d disappear into thin air if she did.
“Aaron?” Greta’s voice came through, weak and timid, “Can’t we talk this over?”
“Greta, we’re over and that’s final,” he said firmly as his hands stroked Mina’s neck, “I’m busy right now so I request you to not disturb me any further, understand?”
And without any further ado, he hung up and crashed his lips hungrily against Mina’s once again.