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“Only because you gave me no choice.” A faint smile traced her lips, some of the tension between us ebbing away.
“For what it’s worth, I am so fucking sorry. You deserved more than that. But he’s my kryptonite, always has been. It’s why I moved to Lakeshore and never looked back.”
“What do you mean, you moved here?”
“I left Buffalo the second I graduated and haven’t been back since.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is.” I shrugged. “I work hard every day to be better than he is. And every day, I think I’m moving past my shitty childhood but…”
“You never forget.”
“No, shortcake. You don’t.” I closed the distance between us, stopping just short of her. “I know I fucked up, but it was about me, not you.”
“You have to realize I’m not like the girls you’re used to being with, Noah. I don’t put myself out there. And when I do…” She trailed off, struggling to maintain eye contact.
“What really happened with your ex?”
“I told my brother we mutually ended things, but we didn’t. He… he decided he didn’t want me anymore, so I declined my place at Fitton U and transferred here. Austin and I aren’t close, but I thought having a familiar face around would make things easier.”
“That’s not the whole story, is it?” I asked.
“No. So I guess that makes us even.”
“You know, shortcake. If we’re going to do this thing, then we should probably be more open with each other.”
“Who said I’ve forgiven you?”
I inched closer, reaching for her. My arm went around her waist, crushing her to me.
“Noah!”
“I’m not ready to say goodbye to this yet.”
“I don’t trust myself around you, Noah. You draw me in, and I can’t afford to lose myself again. To get swept up in this fantasy and—”
“Shh.” I pressed a finger to her lips, unwilling to hear the doubt in her voice. “Give me another chance.”
“Noah…” she murmured.
I was wearing her down. Slowly breaking down her walls. And I wouldn’t stop until she gave me a chance.
“We’re not done; you know we’re not. There’s something here, shortcake. Something real.”
“And when something better comes along? What then, huh?”
“Fuck, Aurora.”
Anger welled inside me, and I hated—fucking hated—that she believed in herself so little.
“Nothing better will come along, so get that thought out of your head. I know you probably don’t want to hear this. But I slept with a lot of girls last year. Too many. But I didn’t have a sleepover with a single one. You own that first. You, shortcake.”
Her breath caught.
“I’ve also never taken a girl on a date since starting at Lakeshore U. Another first.”
“So you’ve never taken Sam to The Regal?”
