"I want to love you again, but I don't know how. Maybe I'm not like the moon. The moon is pure, an incandescent light in the midst of bitter darkness.
I have never been that forgiving."
WARNING: This is Book Three. If you have not read "affluenza"...
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A LIGHT NUDGE to my shoulder wakes me up. I blink rapidly in the darkness of the tent until my eyes adjust and I see Braylen staring down at me with a wicked smile. "Morning," he says, chuckling softly. "Come with me."
He disappears out of the tent quickly, leaving me to stare at the mostly closed tarp with a confused expression. There's a beat and then his head pops back into the tent. "Are you coming or not?!" he whisper-yells.
"Okay, okay," I mutter, shaking my head tiredly. "Care to explain to me where it is we're going at—" I check my phone with wide eyes. "At four in the morning?"
"You won't find out if you stay in here," he retorts. "C'mon!"
Braylen disappears again and I slowly rise to my feet, following after him. He's back in the house, shrugging into his jacket and pulling back on his pants. I glance at Artemis who is glaring at us from the inside of her cat tower, obviously angry that we'd woken her up. Still confused, I put on my jacket and stared at his wide grin, the color on his cheeks from excitement. "Where are we going?" I ask. "Braylen?"
"My car. Let's go," he responds, grabbing my hand and dragging me out the door and into the early morning air. It was still dark outside and the moon lit up his pale skin, making him look even more beautiful than he already was.
I slide into his front seat without further commentary, watching him as he pulls away from my house and turns down the street. His fingers drum against the wheel absentmindedly as he drives, humming softly to himself. After a moment, he glances over at me to catch me already staring at him. He laughs, returning his gaze to the road. "Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?" I ask, innocently.
Braylen blows out a breath, shaking his head. "Like you love me."
"I do," I murmur, reaching over and resting my hand on his thigh.
He reaches down and loops our fingers together, kissing the back of my hand. "I know. Now, stop doing it. It's distracting my driving," he responds and I laugh.
The rest of the drive is spent with Braylen's incessant humming and my stealing glances at him when he's not paying attention. We reach our destination soon enough and I take in the large 1950s diner standing before me, aptly titled The Jive in bright fluorescent pink. "Where are we?" I ask, raising my eyebrows in confusion as Braylen hops out of the car and strides down the parking lot. Still confused, I follow after him.
He locks the car and wraps his arm around mine, pulling me against his body in a way that sent shivers down my spine. "We're breaking in," he responds nonchalantly, grinning at me.
"Braylen, if I'm gonna go to jail for breaking and entering, I'd much rather it be someplace other than an old diner," I grumble, horror on my face.
