AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My quick nod doesn’t seem to reassure him, but he flips off the light and we climb into his bed. His arms wrap around me and pull me close. My head finds its place on his chest. The beat of his heart is comforting. I feel calmer than I have all week.
“I didn’t mean to be so rough,” he says, running his fingers up and down my spine. The regret he expected from me lies thick in his voice.
“I loved it. I needed it. So did you. The world isn’t a soft place for us, and I think we need to rage against it sometimes.” My fingers play in his chest hair. “Personally, I think that was way better than the Smash and Bash Rage Room.”
His chest vibrates with a chuckle. “It was another kind of smash room.”
“There’s our next business venture. The Smash Room. Pissed off at the world? Come and fuck your brains out in a padded room.”
It’s quiet for a couple of minutes after we stop laughing until Oliver asks, “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on with your studio? You can talk to me, you know.”
“I know, but this is nothing compared to what you’re going through. I didn’t need to add it to your worries.”
“Hey.” He shifts until we’re lying face to face. “That’s not how this works. You’ve been there for me from the beginning. I want to be here for you. You always put everyone else first, but you matter too. What happened to you this week was unfair and awful.”
Tears begin to build in my eyes. “I feel like I’m losing everything. Like the things I love and care about are being plucked out of my life one after another.”
“I’m sorry, El.”
He doesn’t point out that he’s facing way worse than I am. He doesn’t try to solve the problem for me or tell me that it’ll blow over and everything will be okay. He just holds me tight. “It’s complete bullshit. You don’t deserve it. I’m sorry.”
“You’re the best thing in my life,” I confess, and brush my lips over his. “This is the best thing but…”
He sighs and touches his forehead to mine. “But we won’t let ourselves have it.”
My fingers thread into his hair. “If this is wrong, it doesn’t feel wrong.”
“How I feel about you is the only thing I know is right.” His words reach inside of me, squeezing my chest.
“I don’t want to fight it anymore,” I admit. We’re only making things more complicated, more chaotic, but I don’t care.
A small smile appears on his lips. “Do you mean that?”
“Yes.”
His kiss is passionate and relief flows through me like a weight has been lifted. One less battle to fight. There’s a tiny smirk on his face when he looks at me. “It was the smacking your ass that won you over, wasn’t it?”
Giggles spill out of me. “Yeah, that’s what did it. You figured me out.”
“I knew it!”
I roll over and he spoons me. It feels so good. It feels right.
“Are you worried about what our friends will think? Tori? The guys?” he asks.
“Tori knows about the first time we had sex. She doesn’t think it’s a good idea or healthy for either of us. At least not right now. But she won’t judge. Are you worried about the guys? Or how it might look if the prosecution finds out we’re seeing each other? Especially after the accusations going around online now.”
He strokes his hand over my stomach. “The guys can kiss my ass if they don’t like it.” His sigh is reluctant. “It probably wouldn’t help my defense or your business troubles to have our relationship confirmed in the public eye.”
“It’s nobody’s business anyway,” I assure him. “Things are chaotic enough. We don’t have to advertise our relationship. But once we get through the worst of it, once the charges are dropped against you or you’re found not guilty, I don’t want to hide anything.”
His arms tighten around me, and he rests his chin on my shoulder. “You have such faith that things are going to go my way.”
“I have to. You’re innocent.”
CHAPTER6
The rest of December ticks by while Oliver and I spend most of our free time together. Well, most of his free time. All of my time is free. We spend Christmas the same as we did Thanksgiving, except this time we don’t stop at a kiss, and he gets his blueberry pancakes the next morning. The new year is rung in at an overnight movie marathon with Smith and his husband. We’re finding some little joys where we can despite what’s breathing down our necks.
