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I shook my head. “Not even a little.”

His breath tickled my chest. He kissed the spot right above the strip of fabric that connected my bra cups. It looked like he wanted to bite the fabric with his teeth and lower it. Instead he took a deep breath and stood back up. “I’m actually pretty beat.”

Whatever high I was on came crashing down. “Oh. Right. Yeah, it’s really late.”

He lowered his eyebrows as he stared at me.

I felt my cheeks growing hot. “I should go brush my teeth.” I climbed off the opposite side of the bed and hurried into the bathroom. I pressed my back against the door. Had I done something wrong?

“Scarlett?” Axel’s voice was close. Like he was leaning on the opposite side of the door.

“I’ll be right out!” I called. I pushed myself off the door, quickly brushed my teeth, and washed the makeup off my face. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I wasn’t even sure why I was upset. Axel and I had already hooked up tonight. It had been perfect. It was enough.

But for some reason, him pulling back made me feel like I wasn’t enough. Had he thought I’d look different in nothing but my bra and thong? He’d seen me like that before by accident. Maybe it was different when it was on purpose. Or maybe I’d worn the jacket wrong?

My head was filled with maybes.

I took a deep breath. I’d read into every little thing that Axel did for years. It was hard to get the questions in my head to stop. But Axel loved me. I knew that. He was just tired. Or else he wouldn’t have said that he was.

Still, I waited several minute before braving opening the door. I peered out. Axel was on the bed with his eyes closed. Sometimes he slept on top of the comforter. But tonight he was beneath the sheets. He wasn’t pulling away from me. He was just tired like he’d said.

I padded quietly across the floor and hit the lights. I slid beneath the covers. Axel didn’t stir.

It reminded me of how I’d pretend to fall asleep next to him all those times I was secretly dying inside. Everything suddenly felt so awkward. An apology was on the tip of my tongue. But I wasn’t even sure what I was trying to apologize for.

I turned on my side away from him. I closed my eyes tight. Why couldn’t I get these negative thoughts out of my head? Everything was different now.

But...this wasn’t. Us falling asleep on opposite sides of the bed. We always woke up intertwined though.

I felt tears welling in the corners of my eyes. What if he really had changed his mind? What if he saw me exposed for him and wasn’t interested? Sophie always said that guys liked the chase. Axel had me. Could he really be bored of me so quickly?

The bed sagged behind me.

My heart started racing as Axel draped one of his arms across my body. His hand pressed against my bare stomach.

Just one touch and my whole body felt alive.

But it wasn’t just his fingers on my skin that had me pressing my thighs together. I felt his hardness pressed into my lower back.

If he was as turned on as I was...why had he pulled back?

His breath seemed ragged on the back of my neck. Like he was barely holding himself together.

And I didn’t want him to hold himself together. Maybe now that the lights were off, we could pick up where we left off. The way he used to hook up with me in dark closets. I had this nagging thought in the back of my head about that, but I pushed it away. I placed my hand on top of his and slowly lowered it down my stomach.

I was pretty sure he started holding his breath, because I didn’t feel it anymore.

I slid his hand beneath the front of my thong and the tiniest groan escaped his throat. I guided him even lower.

His sharp exhale was hot on my skin and he tensed behind me.

“Please,” I whispered.

The word was barely out of my mouth as he slid a finger inside of me.

I forced myself not to whimper as his finger slowly slid in and out of me.

“You feel like silk,” he whispered.