I Adore You // Braeden Lemasters

Chapter 9: Trust Fall

"What was he doing there?" Aubrey asked angrily.

"I don't know," Natalie said with frustration. "I mean it's a coffee shop. He was probably there to get coffee."

"I guess so." Aubrey said with annoyance. "Everyone is pissed about it. Hailey, too. Mikey is pretty much kicked out of the friend group."

"I guess that's good." Natalie sighed.

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The Next Day

"Wow, your place is so cute."

"I know it's not Dylan's parents' house. But it's more than enough for me." He chuckled.

"Well, I like it." She said. "It seems very homey."

Braeden laughed. He led her to the couch where they sat down. He turned on the TV.

"Do you want a drink? I have
La Croix, Bud Light and Mike's Hard. Or water."

"Some beers would be fine."

They put on Wedding Crashers and drank together. He looked at her and smiled. He put an arm around her and pulled her closer. She grinned bashfully, and curled up into his striped t-shirt. His cologne smelled good. She looked up at him and smiled. He gave her a peck.

She continued to drink for a while. They kissed some more. Things started to get hot. She started to touch him and feel around a little. Braeden gently pushed her away.

"Listen, I want to." He said. "But not like this."

She looked at him trying to read what he was thinking. She said nothing. He reached for her hand.

"I really like you, Nat. But we've been drinking..."

She looked a little sad and embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"No, it's okay." he smiled. "You don't have to be sorry. I just don't want anything to happen we might regret later on, okay? I don't want to mess anything up."

She bit her cheek and nodded. He gave her a kiss to hearten her then pulled her close to him, again. She rested her head on his shoulder. She slowly began to drift off to sleep.

When she woke up she didn't remember where she was at first. The ceiling was unfamiliar. She rubbed her forehead in pain, feeling a little hungover. She sat up from the couch, gazing around, remembering she had been at Braeden's.

Braeden appeared from a doorway across the room.

"Hey," he said, taking a seat at the foot of the couch. "Good morning."

"Hi," she said, noticing a blanket had been draped over her. She pulled it up to her chest. She rubbed her face tiredly.

"You feeling okay?" He asked.

"Mmm, yeah," she said with a yawn. "Just a bit of a headache. I'm really not a big drinker but I've kinda been drinking a lot lately."

He nodded and rose from the couch. He went across the room to the bathroom and came back with some Tylenol.

"Here." He said, handing her the bottle. "Let me get you a glass of water. One sec."

He returned with a glass of water and returned to his spot at the end of the couch. Natalie gulped the Tylenol down and thanked him.

"I'm really sorry about last night," she said sincerely. "I'm honestly so embarrassed. I really need to cut back on the drinking."

"Hey, it's cool. I didn't think anything. I just feel like there's no reason to jump into anything or rush anything."

She smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Where did you sleep?" She asked.

"In my room." He said, nodding over his shoulder.

"Hmm." She nodded with a little smile.

"Well the couch is only so big." He chuckled. "And I just want you to feel comfortable."