“Weare inevitable,”Icountered asIstood. “Whywould you throw away what we have just to stick to a plan?”
“What do we have?”Tearsstreamed down her cheeks. “Goodsex?That’snot a life,Jack!Ihave nothing here!”
“You have me!Whyis that not worth your consideration?WhyamInot worth your consideration?”
“BecauseIused to be somebody before all this.AndsinceIcan’t be her anymore,Ihave to figure out what the hellI’mgoing to do for the next fifty-something years thatI’malive.”
“Why do you have to make everything so fucking complicated?Aurora, you can do whatever the hell you want to do with your life.Bewhoever the fuck you want to be.Justlet me be there for it, goddammit!Don’tpush me out just because that was the plan.Weare more than a plan.”
She dug her hands into her hair. “Thiswas a rebound.Andrebounds aren’t meant to last.”
I knew she was picking a fight so she could walk away with her head held high, butIwasn’t playing that game. “Thisisn’t a fucking rebound and you know it.Don’tlie to me, and don’t lie to yourself.You’rebetter than that.”
“I can’t do this right now,” she muttered, shaking her head.
I grabbed her hand. “Don’tgo.”
The corner of her mouth wobbled as she fought tears. “I’mgoing to vet the buyer, and we’ll see what happens after that.”
In an insult from nature, rain began to pelt us both.
“You should get some sleep,” she croaked. “Storm’scoming in.It’llbe a busy shift for you.”
“Come back to bed with me.”
Aurora pinched the bridge of her nose. “Jack. . .” she said in a huff as she glanced at her house.
I didn’t give a shit that we were both mostly naked and getting soaked to the bone.Icupped her cheeks and kissed her. “Comeback to bed.Wecan fight about it tomorrow.Promiseme that we can fight about it tomorrow.”
I swept her rain-drenched hair away from her face.Hertears were hidden by the downpour.
Mine were too.
31
AURORA
AURORA
Rain pelted the roof in a distinct hiss.Thebeach was empty, free of the summertimers who had been soaking in the last remaining rays of sun before school started.Intheir place was a high tide and wicked current.
MotherNaturewas in a mood today.
So wasI.
Hers was the pissed off, “let me show you whatI’mmade of,”demeanor.Minewas melancholy.
Thunder cracked and rolled overhead.Aflash of lightning sliced through the somber sky.
This morning,Ihad woken up inJack’sarms with him holding me so tightly to his chest it was like he thoughtIwas going to disappear into thin air.Ihad climbed out of his grasp and slipped over to my house soIcould giveWhitneyher clothes back and say goodbye.
At least they had gotten out of dodge before the storm set in.
Reluctantly,Ihad gone back over toJack’sand watched as he reinforced his station bag with extra changes of clothes and snacks to keep on hand since the weather promised one doozy of a shift.
Before he left, he had pinned me against the door and kissed me like it was our last.Likehe was taking every opportunity he could to keep me in this madness.
Jack had asked me to ride out the storm in his house, butIcouldn’t.Evenwithout him there,Icould feel his body around me in the bed.Icould taste his kiss with every lick of my lips.Icould hear his provocative groans in each creak of the house against the wind.EverytimeIopened my eyes,Isaw a piece of him lingering around me.Icould smell his scent with every breath.
