Don't Let Me Be Gone

Chapter 16

We finish eating a great dinner that had been prepared by the people who work in the lobby. Time with Braxton and his family is the best. They're so fun, and they appreciate my presence, and it's even better that his mom trusts me.

Braxton and I return to our hotel room that is right next to the one his mother and Gracie are in. As soon as we enter the room, he takes off shirt and throws it on the floor. He lets out a dramatic sigh and plops himself onto the queen sized bed. I take a moment to go to the bathroom and get settled for bed, by the time I get back he is changed into a black pair of sweatpants. With me, I'm in a black tank top and pajama pants.

"Like what you see?" He smirks while sitting up onto the edge.

"Oh yes, of course." I smirk back and give a short laugh afterwards. I then join him sitting on the edge. It's silent for a moment. He decides to put his right hand on my left thigh again for the thousandth time today. I place my hand on his, his hands are so big compared to my small ones.

"Thank you for coming." He finally looks at me.

"It's no problem Braxton, really, it's not. I'm glad I came, I've never been to this part of Indiana before, it's nice and quiet." I smile sweetly.

"Yeah, it's nice. But I'm glad I live in Ohio with you."

"Me too." I place a soft kiss on his cheek. I don't move my head, but I lean it again his. My head is now against his right temple why he stays looking straight forward with a slight smile on his face. I wonder if he can feel the heat of my breath on his neck.

Braxton's P.O.V

The day had been hard, visiting my dad for the first time since his death that is. But right now in this moment I feel like all my problems could disappear. Maybe that sounds a bit too cheesy for a clueless guy like me to say, but it's most definitely true.

In this moment, my current distraction is Zoella's breath against my neck. She's extremely close to me, our faces haven't been this close to each other's since before Dalton raped her. I still feel bad that such a terrible thing happened to such an innocent girl, she didn't deserve that.

I moved my head slightly so we're exactly face to face. I can now feel the breath that was once against my neck, now against my lips. I wonder if she's ready to be kissed, I guess we'll find out. I decide to take my hand off of her thigh and cup the side of her cheek, she shows no reaction of not wanting to be kissed. Maybe she's indicating that I am allowed. I take my chances and decide to lean in. She doesn't back away, but leans in as well. As soon as our lips touch she jumps slightly. I quickly back away so I don't scare her.

"I'm-" I go to apologize.

"Sh." Zoella shushes me quickly. She places her left hand behind my neck and pulls me back into the kiss. I kiss her gently. We share passionate kisses all the time, but this one is much more different. It's so soft and gentle. Sharing a kiss with her, even for a couple seconds, could make anyone's day... not that I want her kissing anyone else, only me. We pull away slowly, our faces stay close, just like any other kiss we have shared. I see the big smile on her face for accomplishing something so big. Being able to kiss me without remembering Dalton did, at least forgetting a little bit, is such a great accomplishment. I'm so proud of her.

She can see in my eyes how happy I am for her because she kisses me again, this time, catching me off guard. I can't help but laugh into the kiss when I feel her smile against me. I grab her face with both of my hands while she places her hands on my thigh. We quickly move to the next level as I graze her bottom lip with my tongue. Zoella, now knowing what to do, slides her tongue into my mouth hesitantly. I don't want to take things too far, I don't want to scare her away. When she moves one hand hand to my chest, she also squeezes my upper thigh. A bit closer to my area than the first time she had ever squeezed my thigh. I've noticed that this action is a bit of a turn on for me, especially because of how close she had squeezed, maybe she's unaware of it. Either that, or she's teasing me. Because of her actions, my breathing becomes slightly heavier, as does her's. I put my hand on the small of her back and pull her closer to my body. Even without a shirt on the heat is unbearable, I wonder how she feels with just a tank top. The closer we get, the more heated the moment gets. I move my hand to her waist, unintentionally touching some skin that was shown by her tank top being risen slightly. She suddenly breathes in sharply and pulls away from our kiss. I quickly remove my hand when I remember the touch Dalton had left on her.