bimed /bbby /bbMy /bbBully /bbAlpha /b

bChapter /bb190 /b

bAurora’s /bbeyes /bsearch mineb, /ba flicker bof /bsomething daring lighting up behind her gaze. bShe /bbstepped /bforwardb, /btaking ba /bbreathb, /band the smile that formed on her lips was bas /bdetermined bas /bever.

“bWe’re /bonly a bfew /bmonths apart, Caleb,” she said, her voice soft but firmb, /b“and bmy birthday’s /bbjust /baround the corner. We won’t technically be doing anything wrong.”

bHer /bwords hit me harder than I expect, and the urge to kiss herb, /bto take her right then and bthere/bb, /balmost overpowering me. But I resisted. I pressed my hand to her cheek gentlyb, /bmy thumb brushing over her skin as I held her face in my hands, trying to steady my breath. She looked at meb, /bso full of trustb, /bof yearning, and I couldn’t deny the ache that spread through my chest. But this isn’t bjust /b

about nowb. /bIt’s about what came after.

I leaned in, pressing my lips against hersb, /bbut I don’t let itst. I pulled back just as quicklyb, /bbmy /b

forehead resting against hers as I tried to keep my voice steady.

“When we actually have sex, it won’t be because you want to forget everything else. It will be because we love each other, because we can’t hold back our feelings anymore.” My heart raced as I tried to push the words past my lips, but I knew it was the truth. I needed her to understand that, to

feel it. I need her to know that the time just wasn’t right.

“No…Caleb, please…don’t do this…don’t leave me.”

I pulled away from Aurora, breathless and already regretting what I was about to do. She had been begging, practically pleading with me to let her in, to let her feel something else for once–anything other than fear. I had been trying to keep my distanceb, /bto stop this before it went too far. But the

desperation in her eyes, the way her hands trembled as they reached for me, made it impossible to

stay strong.

“I can’t,” I muttered, my voice cracking slightly. “I can’t do this, not like this. Not now, not when-”

“You don’t understand, Caleb,” she interrupted, her voice a fragile whisper of raw emotion. “The

insecurity, the fear, it’s suffocating. I need this. I need to feel alive again. Just… just for tonight.”

I hesitated, looking at her–really looking at her. There was something broken in her eyes, something

that made my chest tighten with guilt. She was so fragile right nowb, /bso lost. And for reasons I

couldn’t exin, bI /bfelt the overwhelming need to protect her, to help her forget–if only for a little

while.

“Aurora…” I started, but she stepped forward, closing the distance between us, her hands trembling

as they gently cupped my face.

“Pleaseb, /bCaleb. Just tonight, I need to feel something… anything, other than thisb…/bbfear/bb, /bthis… uncertainty,” she whispered, her voice breaking as if she was on the edge bof /bshattering.

bChapter /bb190 /b

bMy /bbresolve /bbcrumbled/bb. /bbI /bbhad /bbpromised /bbmyself /bbI /bbwouldn’t /bbcross /bbthat /bbline/bb, /bbbut /bbI /bbcouldn’t /brefuse her no blike /bbthis/bb. /bbI /bbleaned /bbin/b, bpressing /bbmy /bforehead bto /bhersb, /bbtrying /bbto /bbsteady /bbmy /bbbreathing/bb. /bbI /bwon’t… I won’t bhave /bbsex /bbwith /bbyou/bb. /bBut I’ll help you forget. Just for todayb, /bbI’ll /bbgive you /bbthat/bb. /bbNo /bbmore/bb, /bno bless /b

Her beyes /bsearched mine for a moment, as if weighing my words, before her lips bparted/bb, /bba /bsoft bexhale /bbescaping /bthem. She nodded, and before bI /bcould second–guess myself, bI /bkissed her. bIt /bbwas /bsoft at bfirst/bb, /bhesitant evenb, /bbut then her lips moved against mineb, /ba desperationcing the kissb, /band beverything /bbI /bhad been holding back melted away. I kissed her deeper, my hands threading through her bhair/bb, /bpulling her closer, feeling her body press into mine like she was trying to lose herself in bme/bb. /b

We both got lost in the heat of it–the moment, the kiss, the way she needed something to bkeep /bbher /bgrounded in a world that seemed to be falling apart around us. And I, I was the one who bwould /bbhelp /bher forget, if only for tonight.

bChapter /bbComments /b

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