Grown ish: Zoey and Aaron's Story (BOOK 1)

Part 48: You and Me

Zoey narrates.

After talking with Ana, and as a result of how unwell I felt after last night, I decided to take the day off from classes, and instead, I waited for Aaron to come home from work.

I was so upset about how disappointed I'd made him, but I know that we had a lot to talk through, and I was determined to sort it all out.

I'm sitting alone in the living room, that evening, my knees hugged to my chest, deep in thought, when I see Aaron come home. He walks in, and he looks sad.

'Hey.' I say.

'Hey.' He replies, taking his bag off, and joining me in the living room. He sits on the sofa opposite me, rather than beside me, and the air between us feels cold.

'I'm...sorry about last night.' I say, quietly.

'Are you though, Zoey?' He replies, staring at me.

There's a moment of silence, where I guess we don't know what to say.

'Zoey, just talk to me. What's going on?' He asks, breaking the silence, helplessly.

'I don't know. I guess...I just feel distant from you. I feel like with all my classes and you now working, we barely have time for each other. But then at the same time, I feel like maybe you prefer it that way.' I say, looking down.

Aaron sighs. He walks over and sits beside me, taking my face and turning my head so that I'm looking into his eyes. I avoid his gaze, but he stays holding me, so that I'm forced to look at him.

I breathe in, and then he puts his lips on mine, slowly, but then slipping his tongue into my mouth, deepening the kiss. He pulls away, then kisses me once more.

'You're crazy.' He says.

'I'm sorry.' I say.

'I know.' He replies.

He taps his knee, and I sit on his lap, looking down at him.

'I'm sorry too, that you're feeling like this. And I know that I've been busy, and that's not your fault. But how can you even think for a second that I'd prefer to be away from you? Every minute that I'm apart from you, all I can think about is you.' He says, helplessly.

He takes my left hand and kisses my promise ring.

'This Zoey....this is real. And we are going to be together....but you have to understand that life will get in the way. Unfortunately we can't just live in our Cal U bubble.' He says, and I nod gently.

'Why have you been drinking so much?' He asks.

'Takes the edge off.' I say, looking away.

'Promise me Zoey, that next time you need to 'take the edge off' you'll talk to me instead? I know that it seems like I've been distant, but I'm right here.' He says, and I look at him, my eyes watering.

'I'll replace this ring sooner than you think. I'm not leaving you, Zoey. It's you and me. Always.' He says.

It's like every worry and thought I had just disappears. He always knows exactly what to say.

He kisses me again.

'I love you.' I say, between kissing him.

'I love you too.' He replies.

_____

So Aaron and I were doing amazing, now. We'd found our perfect dynamic, and I couldn't be more excited for our future.

My graduation was now approaching, and I was so ready for the future.

This morning, I was talking with the girls about our plans, post graduation.

'Honestly, I can't imagine not living with you guys.' Ana says, and we all nod in agreement.

'And I love this apartment. It's perfect.' Nomi adds.

'So why don't we keep it?' Sky suggests, much to everyone's surprise.

'What do you mean?' Asks Jazz.

'Why don't we all stay living together? Whilst we all figure out what to do next? With all of our current jobs combined, and in Zoey's case her dad's bank account, we can still afford to live here. And it's not a campus accommodation, so it's fine?' Sky says.

'You know what? It's not a bad idea.' I say, smiling.

'So we're all still going to live together!' Ana says, excitedly.

'This is the perfect way to end our time at Cal U.' Nomi says, and I couldn't agree more.

_____