Page 40 of Unraveling with You

“Do you feel like your dad could come find and hurt you now?”

Biting my lip, I hide my eyes against Remington’s neck. “No. It’s only when he loses his patience after bottling things up for a while.”

Remington hums. “Then what about your mom? I know you’ve mentioned she’s sick, but is she safe with him?”

My fists tighten. If I tell Remington about Mom, I’m not sure what he’ll think of me or my situation. What if he thinks I’m right to feel guilty, and that I should’ve done more to protect Mom? Or that I’m being too lenient and should cut myself off entirely from Dad?

But as my shoulders rise, Remington adjusts his cuddle on me, enveloping me just as warmly. “Baby girl, if you’re not comfortable talking about it, you’re more than welcome to say ‘no,’ remember?”

Every inch of me loosens. Closing my eyes, I mutter the shaky truth. “O-okay, thank you. I’d rather not talk about it yet.”

“Thank you for telling me, gorgeous.”

I smile, stroking the smoky tattoos up his collarbone and neck. We cuddle in silence for a while. With my ear against his chest, each airy pull of his lungs reminds me that this is real, and he’s this special to me already. How could he be single?

“Rem?”

“Yes, L.L.B.?”

My heart flips. “You don’t have to answer, but why aren’t you dating or playing with anyone else?” I gasp. “W-wait, no– That came out badly. I just mean– I don’t understand who wouldn’t want to be with you.”

Remington’s breath heightens against my cheek. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I can hear the nerves in each tender inhale. He strokes my hair, and I nuzzle my head into the nook between his chin and collarbone.

“I don’t want to spend too much time talking about it today, but my last partner was into non-consent play, and as you now know, that’s a hard,hardlimit for me.”

I’ve never heard Remington’s voice sound so small. “O-oh. And you broke up because of it?”

He sighs, loosening his grip on me. I straighten in concern, but he doesn’t look at me, his chin tipped to the ceiling like he’s laid back and relaxed. The taut muscles of his neck tell me it’s the opposite. “Only after she tried to force it on me over time. It slowly broke my fucking heart.”

Acid burns my chest. I instinctively place my hand over Remington’s heart, only to find it racing.

But Remington keeps talking. “I really do like role-playing, but I felt like she was sexually harassing me to be sexually harassed, and how do I even explain that to anyone? I lost so much enjoyment in playing that I gave up on participating, moved, and just became a bouncer to protect others from feeling that way. I didn’t expect to meet you and feel this way again, so— So it’s kind of new to me to trust again too.”

I feel so deeply for him. This must be why he never fully smiles.

But I’m missing a big piece in this equation. “What is it that you’d prefer the most instead for role-play?”

His head pops up. He shakes his short, dark hair, still not meeting my eyes. “I really like feeling needed, so role-playing rescue scenarios as the hero is my favorite. But it kind of scares me - allowing myself to have that selfish title of a hero. So it’s a little thrilling, but also holds a lot of shame for me. Which, of course, that asshole trainer made fun of me for wanting to play the hero with you on that first day we met without knowing how deep it cut.” Remington laughs, but I rub his chest.

“Youweremy hero. And it wasn’t roleplay. It was real. You saved part of me that day I didn’t know needed saving.”

He finally looks at me. My lungs swell, filled with courage from the deep trust in his stare.

My voice quivers. “I feel like you’re saving my heart now too. It’s been so scary to challenge my fears about how I look and sound, but the more time we spend together, the freer I feel to exist.”

Shutting his eyes with a heavy exhale, Remington breathes, “Lilibeth. God, you’re such a sweetheart.”

His hand on my shoulder urges me back for another cuddling hug, and I happily return my cheek to his chest. But this time, I tilt my head enough to keep staring him in the eyes. He gazes down at me with a soft chuckle, nestling me closer before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. The longer we stare, the deeper the need I have to kiss him.

But Remington breaks into a devilish grin. “As your next challenge, you can be the one to kiss me first.”

I groan. He’s right; I’m absolutely terrified to kiss him myself. “I really want to, right now, but...” I sigh.

He giggles, stroking my cheek. “That’s fine. We’ve got time.”

We whisper about the rest of our plans for the week for a while, mere inches from each other’s lips.

But before we leave, panic strikes my heart.

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