“Would you like something to drink?”
“No. Thank you,” she adds and wanders around the room.
I haven’t fully unpacked yet, so the condo is bare except for some pieces of sparse furniture. I don’t intend to stay here long and, within a month, after the renovations are complete, I plan to be moved into the new house I purchased just this morning.
“Would you like to sit down?”
“I’m fine where I am.”
One of the very few things Dustin did tell me about Aurora was that she placed a total moratorium on anything that had to do with me because it hurt her too much to hear my name spoken aloud. She hasn’t seen any of my games. As pathetic as it sounds, I would search the crowd for her before every game, and after each game I would make our hand signal just in case she was watching.
Aurora finally looks at me. “I’m sorry to hear about your dad, and that you quit the NFL. I know how much you love football.”
“Not as much as I love you,” I blurt out softly and want to kick myself.
Aurora narrows her eyes at me, and if her look could take on a physical manifestation, I’m sure I would be dead right now from hundreds of knives protruding out of my body.
I swiftly switch topics. “I’m so proud of you, Aurora, for what you’ve accomplished. The youth center,” I amend.
“I saw Cam’s mom for the first time since his funeral.”
If she wants to do small talk, I’m all for it, as long as she doesn’t leave.
“She was a nice woman. I met her a few times at some of our games. Do you still ride Cam’s bike?” There was nothing sexier than seeing Aurora on the back of a motorcycle.
Her lips curve up. “I still ride it almost every day. Knox and I—” She presses her lips together in a thin line like she has to force herself not to finish that sentence.
I knew Knox was interested in Aurora the entire time she and I were together. He probably jumped at the chance to get with her as soon as I was out of the picture.
“When did that happen?” I ask, referring to her relationship with Knox, like I have every right to know.
“That’s none of your concern,” she snaps, threading her fingers through the ends of her hair, something she used to do when she was nervous. “First thing in the morning, I want you to call Fallon and resign from the director’s position.”
“I won’t do that.”
We face off against one another like gunslingers in the Wild West, and I’m positive neither one of us will be the first to flinch.
Aurora walks over to the large bay window that overlooks Beacon Park. “Why are you here, Jackson?”
I can hear the emotion in her voice. Aurora would only call me Jackson when she was caught up in strong feelings like when we would kiss, make love, or fight. Hearing my full name from her lips now is making me twitch to get my hands on her. Touch her. Hold her.
“I came back for you, sunshine.”
“You can’t say that to me! You left. No phone call. No explanation. Nothing. So, I’m going to ask you again. Why are you here?”
She stares at my reflection in the window as I slowly walk up behind her. Her body starts to vibrate and tremble the closer I get. I stop mere inches from her, our eyes glued to our dual reflections in the window glass. My mind drifts back in time to the night when I pushed Aurora up against the glass pane of the French doors that led from her bedroom out to the balcony. How her body arched back into mine, her arms raised above her head, palms flat against the glass, as I drove into her from behind until we both shouted out our climax and collapsed together in a tangled heap on her rug, sweaty and so very sated. I can hear Aurora’s breathing catch and stutter and I know she’s reliving the same memory.
I raise my hand, dancing my fingertips along the curvature of her neck and shoulder without actually touching her, but from the way she’s reacting, it’s as if my hands really are caressing her skin.
“I’m here,” I lean in and breathe against her temple, “because I’m finally free and I’m taking back what was taken from me five years ago. I’m taking back my life and my girl.”
“I’m not your girl anymore.” Her voice wavers with the lie.
“You will always be my girl,” I declare with certainty and press a kiss on the top of her shoulder, never once taking my eyes off hers in our reflection.
Her breathy moan sets me on fire, and I trail my fingertip gently across where my lips just brushed. Her body thrums and a red flush appears on her exposed skin as if a scorching heat is burning her from the inside out.
“I know I hurt you, Aurora. Will you let me explain?”
