Page 157 of Scandalous

“Hey you,” Aurora says from behind me.

I stop playing and look over my shoulder.

“Satisfied?” I tease, wiggling my eyebrows.

Aurora sits down behind me, hugging me from behind as she rests her chin on my shoulder.

“For now,” she quips.

Turning my head a bit more, I kiss her. Aurora laughs as she pulls away.

“Talk about an awkward angle.”

“Right? With you behind me, I almost feel as if the roles are reversed.”

Aurora rolls her eyes. “You like it.” She looks down at the guitar. “Playing for fun?”

“Just trying to calm my thoughts.”

I turn and set the guitar off to the side. Aurora’s fingers slide through mine as we sit in silence.

“We’re not coming back here, are we?” she asks quietly.

“I don’t think so.”

“Is there anything we can do for him?”

I shake my head. “I’m not sure. This is one situation that I don’t know how to handle.”

“What we need to do is show him that we love him. You two more than Ezra and me,” Santi says as he walks up.

“That’s a given.” Aurora scoffs.

Santi sits down on the other side of us and rests his elbows on his knees. “Family dynamics are hard. Liam’s family is absent, Drake’s is toxic, Ezra’s is relatively normal now that his dad is six feet under, and mine is suffocating.” He shrugs. “We just need to be there for each other and remind one another that when shit gets tough, we won’t leave.”

“What about your family?” I ask Aurora.

“Hardworking, humble people who were forced to marry young and had too many kids. Not enough money to go around for extras and when the money was there, they stashed it for when it wasn’t. Strong beliefs when it comes to right and wrong.”

I laugh. “So, in other words, they won’t support you sleeping with four guys at once.”

“That’s a hard negative.” She smiles.

“Does that bother you?” Santi asks.

Aurora bounces her head from side to side. “Not really honestly. As fucked up as it sounds, I never fit their mold. I was never going to be what they wanted. They didn’t want me leaving my hometown to go to school, let alone moving to New York.” She laughs. “Hell, for a solid month, I had papers slid under my bedroom door about all the dangers of living in the city. The crime statistics and everything. It was out of control.”

“Your uncle stepped in and helped you, right?” Santi says.

Aurora smiles softly. “Yeah, he convinced them I would be fine on my own. God,” she groans. “If I never left, I would probably be in a loveless marriage with three kids by now.”

I cringe. “Seriously?”

“Unfortunately. I know a couple of the girls I graduated with who are already married and have babies. Not that anything’s wrong with that, it just wasn’t what I wanted.”

“What do you want?” Santi asks.

“You guys, duh.” She rolls her eyes, making us laugh.

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