Tempted Hearts (bxb)

Chapter 3 - Back To You

Midnight. I found that, in the city, midnights could become your afternoons. I always loved the idea of tall, modern cities and the constant hustle, the blinding lights, the mid-level murmurs of people passing by twenty-four-seven. There was something so delicate about sitting in student halls at your desk and looking out of your window with low level lighting just behind you.

I caught a glimpse of students down below getting ready for a night out in the clubs - on a Wednesday. The city was everything I hoped for, and everything I was afraid of at the same time. Having Lilly in my life again, though, made everything so much easier, and while I loved the challenges I faced in semester one - starting again, making new friends, finding my way - I really appreciated someone to rely on when I needed them.

A knock at my door broke me from my trance, and I spun around, knocking my pencil case onto the floor. Ah, yeah. I was meant to be revising my presentation. Oops. I stood up and walked over to my bedroom door, unlocking it and opening it wide.

Standing there, in the dim, blue midnight hue of my corridor, was Cameron. I beamed and he leaned down to kiss me.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" I asked with a playfully posh accent like I was some evil villain from a movie welcoming his equally evil lover home.

Cameron rolled his eyes. "Hey cutie. Come on, let's chat," he said, moving past me as I pulled my door closed.

A few things began racing through my head. Had I done something wrong? Did I say something or text something funny? Nope, I was doing it again; making shit up that wasn't really going on. I had to stop doing that.

"What's up?" I asked, sitting beside him on my grey and white striped bed.

He breathed deep and we locked eyes. "You went out for breakfast with Lilly the other morning."

"Yeah, oh my God, it was so nice. I haven't seen her in forever, and you know how much I missed her," I breathed a sigh of relief as I spoke.

His face didn't animate much, and he looked at me again. "I thought it was strange that you couldn't meet me that morning. You didn't tell me."

Now I was confused. I did text him to tell him I couldn't meet him, I remember doing it. "Yeah, I told you. You knew about that."

"It's just weird, like. You didn't say you were meeting Lilly." At that point, I was really confused. Perplexed, if you will.

I frowned, trying to find out where he was going with all this. "Yeah, I dunno, I didn't think you'd want all the details."

He shook his head. "I'm your boyfriend, Max. We tell each other things, you can't be, like, saying you can't meet me then meeting with someone else. Does that sound right to you?"

I thought about it for a second and supposed he did have a point. "No, but, it's not like I was meeting another guy, Cameron. I'm sorry I didn't give more info, but I feel like it's not, you know, that big a deal."

"It's okay, Max. I just want us to be communicating super clearly so that we don't, ya know, start worrying about shit. I worry about you, ya know?"

Nodding, I cracked a smile and looked up at him. "Yeah, I got you. I'll do better next time."

"Good. How about we get lunch this weekend? You and me, somewhere nice. Just us."

"Absolutely. I'll pick somewhere good."

His hand touched my cheek, and the winter chill from his reddened finger tips caught me off-guard, making me flinch slightly. I leaned into his touch and we kissed as I pushed him further down until his head rested on my pillows, and I made quick work of unbuttoning his shirt.