Eight Weeks (Unfrozen Four Book 2)

“I swear my whole world is turned around”—Upside Down by Austin Moon

“Kiss you?”

“Yes. You want to see red on me, kiss me.” His eyes drop to my lips then meet mine again. “Or are you scared you might fall for me if you kiss me?”

Asshole.

I’m a competitive person. I have to be if I want to make it through skating competitions without losing my head. The losers always end up on the receiving end. Being competitive and working your way up to be better than everyone else sure helps never being at the bottom of the rank.

So, tell me I can’t do something and I’m likely to do it just to prove the other person wrong.

Setting the bottle down on the floor for a hot second, I place both of my hands on either side of Aaron’s face. He smirks at me, either anticipating the kiss, or thinking I won’t go through with this.

I inhale deeply. Here goes nothing.

Moving in closer, I barely get the chance to catch another breath before Aaron’s mouth crashes down to mine, lips locking soft and gentle, yet it feels like they’re on fire.

My heart skips a beat or two when his hands grip onto my waist, pulling me from beside him right over in his lap. My legs are on either side of his body, seeking stability from the hay bale we’re sitting on. I try to hold myself up, not sitting down on his legs for my very own sanity. I’m not sure if it’s unfortunate, or fortunate when Aaron pushes my hips down, seating me right on top of him.

My brain sinks into my pants when I feel his dick press against my thigh. Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I sure would love to know what he would feel like inside of me.

As soon as his tongue slips into my mouth, my brain shuts down. Thinking about whether or not this is wrong, that we shouldn’t kiss or be anything but friends isn’t important anymore. What’s important is that we both want this. So why the hell not give into the temptation?

People’s ways part all the time for various reasons, but if we never try to explore the unknown, we’ll never find out, right? Who even knows, maybe Aaron and I could be as good together as I prayed we would be. Maybe not.

I know we won’t last forever because I could never move back to New City. Getting a part of him for a little while will have to do. It’s all I can ever get, all he can ever get from me, and it sure is better than not having had the other at all, right?

Though there is one thing I refuse to do, lie to Aaron. He needs to know that this won’t be going anywhere. No future. No strings attached.

He is attracted to me, that much is obvious. The question is whether he is interested in a friends-with-benefits kind of relationship or not. I would be. Maybe it’s not the very best for my heart, but again, it’s all I can offer.

I can feel my nipples harden as I rub against him. Aaron groans into our kiss, pushing his tongue into my mouth to claim me. Like I’m not already his.

“Aaron.” I gasp for air, but before I know, his lips are back on mine. His hands slide from my hips to my ass, giving it a firm squeeze.

“There you are.”

Aaron and I break apart, my head instantly snapping toward the direction my mother’s voice came from. She just stands there, a smile on her lips, her arms crossed over her chest. My sister is standing right next to our mother, her hands balled into fists on either side of her body.

“I told your father he’d find you here, and I was right.”

Given that I’ve been hiding up here since we moved to Baierbrunn, one would think my father knows of it. I always come here to write. This barn has been my escape ever since. It’s cozy, warm. It’s quiet with nobody around. It’s just what one needs when they need to get away from everyone and everything. And well, nobody ever came up here, so I did instead.

“People are asking for you, Sofia,” Julia says, her voice scornful. “But I suppose they’re used to one of us being the disappointment of our family.”

“Julia,” my mother warns, drawing in a deep breath. Her patience-level must be through the roof with Julia and me recently.

Well, recently is an understatement. I’ve never been too fond of Julia, thanks to our age gap. She has always been more interested in other things, things that didn’t include me. She never made an effort in getting to know me. And as her younger sister, I didn’t think I would have to be the one getting to know her. Anyway, our mother had to be patient with us since I was born, and it only got worse when I found out she slept with my boyfriend and didn’t even regret it.

“Yeah? How does that feel?” I ask Julia. “I mean, you already took the spot for the bitch that sleeps with taken guys. Was wondering when your nickname will change from ‘the whore’ to ‘disappointment.’”

Before my sister gets the chance to let out the rage that’s burning in her eyes, my mother is escorting her away from me. Hopefully right back down the functioning stairs. A set of stairs I did not tell Aaron about.

“I didn’t think your hatred went this… deep,” he says as soon as our eyes meet again. “I suppose I should have guessed it would.”

I lean down, my forehead pressing against his shoulder as I let out a quiet laughter. My body shaking, chest rumbling with a chuckle so soft, I never knew was possible. “Wait until you witness my father and I interact,” I mumble, mostly to myself.

“What do you mean?”

I sit up straight, sighing. “I made sure he had a couple of difficulties with me ever since we moved here.”

“Why?”

“Because I was mad. I didn’t want to move here when I was seven. I didn’t want to leave New City. Being the age I was, I didn’t exactly understand why we had to move, and it made me furious that I had to leave everything and everyone behind just because my father had been given a better job in Munich.” And the incident, but there’s no need to tell Aaron about it.

He nods slowly as he processes what I’m saying. “So you turned rebellious?”

“Yeah, toward him. I only ever gave him short answers, if any. Or yelled at him. He had no control over me whatsoever. And by the time I understood why his job here was so important and far better for our family, I had no idea how to fix my relationship with him. So this time around, we’re just co-existing.” Though, I know my father loves me in some ways, and I hope he knows that I love him. It’s just difficult for both of us to approach one another without drawing out some rage from the other person.

All of a sudden, Aaron reaches a hand up to my face, his thumb stroking firmly along the skin right underneath my bottom lip.

I watch his face as his eyes linger on my lips. His features are soft, a glimpse of a smile tugging on the corner of his lips. His eyes full of admiration, and perhaps a hint of hope. Hope for what? I do not know, and I’m not sure I want to find out either.

“Red is not your color,” I tell him, taking in the bits of red lipstick smeared not only on, but also around his lips. “Did you try purple? It’s the complementary color of your eyes, so it should make them pop.”

“That’s what I have you for, Icicle,” he answers. “You’re all sorts of purple at all times.”

I hate, hate, hate that he is right. I do wear a lot of purple every single day.

Aaron shifts underneath me, pulling out a tissue from his pocket. He unfolds it and starts removing the bits of lipstick on his lips without seeing where to wipe. Putting him out of his misery, I take the tissue from him and help him out.

Shortly after that, I have to deal with Aaron almost falling down the ladder while complaining about how insecure said ladder is, and that it should be put out of order, to which I remind him that this ladder is a simple ladder, not some fancy electric one that could malfunction.