Page 92 of Hunt for the Roses
As Aria and I control our breathing, I pull her face down to catch her lips on mine. Our tongues dance around each other, and we’re saying everything that isn’t being said with our lips and tongues. It almost feels like we’ll never be close enough to each other, no matter how much our lips are closely pressed together. We’re each other’s lifeline now, and there is no other way to survive in this world without the other.
It’s us against the world.
Saturday, July 30, 2022
The next morning, Dane and I go for a jog along the boardwalk. Something unspoken passed between us last night, and our eyes said a million words to each other in those sacred, blissful moments. But no words were actually spoken.
Does Dane love me?
If he did, wouldn’t he have said it?
For me, I’m hesitant to take that next step and officially say or acknowledge that I love somebody. It’s one thing to have sex after Kyle, but loving someone after Kyle?
Do I love Dane?
“Hey, I gotta say, you’ve become a much better sport about running,” Dane pants out.
“Practice makes perfect, right?” I pant out in response.
We jog the last quarter mile, and then we stop to catch our breath. I’m bent over with my hands on my knees, while Dane hangs over the wooden railing of the boardwalk, looking out at the beach.
I adjust my black spandex shorts and stand upright so I can place my hands on my hips. “You think you can carry me back?” I ask.
Dane turns around. “Oh, yes, after a two-mile run I always look forward to carrying one-hundred-twenty pound people on my back.”
I shrug. “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it. It could be a blast, you never know.”
Dane walks toward me. “I think someone just wants me to get handsy,” he says as he scoops me up like a groom would carry his bride, and he starts to playfully nip at my shoulders.
“Okay, okay! Never mind!” I say through a fit of giggles.
Dane smiles as he lets me down, and when I finally get my bearings on steady feet, we walk alongside one another to make it back to our houses.
“So when is your dad’s restaurant officially opening?” Dane asks.
“Two weeks from tomorrow, actually. Isn’t that crazy?” I respond.
“Damn, I feel like you just told me the news yesterday,” Dane says.
I look up at him. “Well, you obviously need to come for the opening. My family wouldn’t want to miss you there.”
Dane swallows a nervous lump in his throat like I just said something wrong. And then I realize he’s probably thinking how much my family would dislike him after they find out about us. “When are you planning on telling them?” Dane asks.
I answer truthfully. “To be honest, I don’t know.”
Dane continues to look forward but doesn’t say anything, and as the silence between us commences, the tension thickens. I place my hand on Dane’s arm and stop him so we can actually face each other and have a real conversation. “This isn’t easy for me, Dane. Telling Kate and Trent wasn’t a walk in the park, imagine how my family is going to react.” I start to shake my head before elaborating further. “But this hasnothingto do with you, or my feelings for you.”
“I’d just like to know that it’s somewhere on your radar, Aria.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I never said it wasn’t on my radar, I just don’t know when I’m going to tell them.”
“Maybe you don’t want to tell them because then it becomes more real,” Dane says, and then he shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“How could you think that?” I ask.
Dane inhales as he holds my eyes, seemingly considering the fact that he’s overreacting. But as I stare back at him, I start to wonder if he’s overreacting or if he’s reading me correctly. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m not so sure Dane’s completely off-base here, and maybe on some subconscious level, I don’t want to shed light on our newfound relationship. Maybe I want to continue to live out this fantasy in our own little bubble for a few more days or weeks without judgment.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Dane’s voice flings me out of my head, and he grabs my arm to bring me in for a hug.
