Page 20 of A Layperry's Heart
“But,” I say, sticking out my bottom lip. “I want you, Aldo.”
He smiles up at me. “I want you too. But we have time. Let’s not rush it. It’ll make it so much better if we take our time.”
“You guys are still talking about boning in a public space,” Christian helpfully says, leaning against the wall and watching us. I growl at him, showing him my fangs. He just laughs at me.
“Okay,” I say slowly. “I will go take a cold shower, as you’ve said. Thank you for today.”
Aldo gets up on his tip toes and pulls me down so he can give my cheek one last kiss before he’s ducking into his own apartment.
“So,” Christian says slowly. “Do I need to talk to you about the birds and the bees?”
“I don’t know what birds and bees have to do with sex, but I’m well aware of the mechanics, thank you very much.”
“Just making sure,” Christian says, slapping my shoulder. “I’m going to pick up some takeout. Need anything?”
I sigh, shaking my head. “Just a cold shower,” I say before walking into my apartment and closing the door, ignoring Christian’s chuckles as he walks down the hall. We’ll see who’s giggling when we’re back onDeltourahand he’s kissing Ghenie.
Despite the abrupt ending to our kiss, Aldo is right. We shouldn’t rush into anything. We can take our time and really enjoy this time we have together before we need to make big decisions.
With that in mind, I head to the bathroom for a cold shower.
Chapter Seven
Aldo
Thelastfewweekshave passed in a blur. Gendry and I have been spending time together, he’s joined me for more football sessions with my cousins, and there have been many stolen kisses between the two of us. Yet, every time things start to get heated, I pull back. I always stop everything before it can go any further.
Why?
Why am I holding myself back? Is it because he’s an alien and I’m still not entirely sure what to expect once our clothes come off? Maybe. Is it because this is the first time I’ve felt things so strongly for someone and I’m terrified that throwing sex into the mix will ruin everything? Certainly. Could it be that I’m starting to regret jumping into this knowing it has an expiration date? That’s not helping.
Fuck, I’m so screwed. No matter how I slice this, someone is going to have their heart broken. Either I stay here and lose Gendry when he goes back to his home planet. Or I leave with him and break my family’s heart for leaving them behind. Is there some sort of clause that allows me to bring my entire family with me if I left with Gendry? Would they even want to explore space with me?
I am a mess. A complete and utter mess. The closer I get to Gendry, the more I can see a real future with him. Despite that, I find myself pulling back more and more, wanting to protect my heart from the inevitable. One way or another, this is going to end with me hurting.
There’s a knock on the door. I let out a long sigh, rubbing tiredly at my face. All of this is leaving me feeling so exhausted and spread thin.
I look through the peephole in my door and my stomach flutters, my heart doing a funny little flip. I felt so upset a moment ago but just seeing Gendry’s face has my spirits rising. Maybe that’s the part of all of this I should focus on; the way he makes me feel.
Opening the door, I look up at Gendry with a small smile. “Hi.”
Gendry’s eyes sweep over me and I swear I canfeelhis eyes on me. My insides warm in the most pleasant way. When he’s standing here, looking at me like this, it feels silly to hold myself back. All of the reasons and worries that were bouncing around inside my head all fade away, leaving affection that’s grown so quickly since meeting Gendry.
As much as I don’t want to get hurt, I’m tired of trying to keep him at arm’s length. That’s doing nothing but making both of us miserable.
“Hello, Aldo,” he says, handing over the little translating device. I place it into my ear. “Can I please come in so we can talk?”
“Absolutely.” I pull the door open wider, letting Gendry into my apartment. He slides off his shoes and walks into the living room area. He looks like he’s about to sit down but instead, he stays standing, walking around my coffee table, wringing his hands.
My heart drops as I watch him. Something is wrong. It’s obvious Gendry is worried about something. Fuck. Have I self sabotaged so hard that he’s here to let me down gently? Is he leaving Earth earlier than expected?
I walk over to him, placing a hand on his wrist. Gendry freezes but meets my eyes. “What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry,” he blurts out, his face scrunching up when he says it.
“You’re sorry?” He nods his head. “For what?”
“I’ve done something wrong,” he says softly. “Obviously I’ve made you uncomfortable with my affections. I’ve done something to upset you or I’ve crossed some human boundary I didn’t know about. Whatever it is, please tell me and I’ll fix it. Or I’ll take a step back like you seem to want and we can go back to just being friends.” He rubs at his face. “I’m sorry, Aldo.”
