Even Heroes Have Scars

[65] Falling Over Me

Demi's P.O.V.

She stepped closer to me, hands nearing my cheeks, and I quickly became aware of how she was not wearing a shirt, of how I just spilled my heart to her, of how I really, really wanted her to kiss me.

But she didn't. She breathed me in, brushed hair out of my face, and then covered her face with her hands. I sighed and rocked back on my heels, sitting on the bed with my hands clasped in my lap. This was not a sigh of relief.

When she looked over at me, there was pity in her eyes. Maybe even some sadness. "What's wrong?"

I rose my gaze to see her face clearer and decided that lying would get me nowhere, so I exhibited as much truth as possible. "I'm an idiot. I want you to kiss me."

She pushed her suitcase to the middle of the bed and sat beside me. "I want to kiss you. But I think we should have a date first. A real date. We only ever went on one of those, and that was after we rushed things. If we're gonna do this, we need to do this right."

Do this? Do what? "So... you're saying yes?"

"Depends on what you're asking."

A nervous wave passed over me for the fifth time in the past five minutes. Something about actually asking this aloud made my stomach twist. "Ansley, will you go on a date with me? Will you be my girlfriend?"

She took my hand in hers, kissed my cheek, and said, "Yes and yes. I'd be honored."

I smiled so big that my cheeks trembled. Just like that, Ansley was my girlfriend. And we were going to do it right this time. No cheating, no lying, no rushing, and definitely no spotlight.

"Come with me," I pleaded, practically moaning in exhaustion. I wanted us to sleep in the same bed.

She rose an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Shit. It sounded like I said something else. Panic set in, and I needed to rescue this fast. "I mean, 'Come to my room with me.' I wish you'd come and sleep with me."

She giggled at me doing it again.

"Fuck," I groaned. "I mean that I wish you'd come sleep beside me in my bed instead of sleeping in here in this bed. We wouldn't even have to be touching. I just want you nearby."

Laughing, she shook her head. "I am nearby. Maybe tomorrow. Let's not rush this. Plus, I don't want you watching me sleep."

Laughing to cover up my disappointment, I stood up. She did, too, and we hugged for a few minutes. This intimacy with her felt heavenly, as I'd been dreaming of being this close to her for so long. Her bare skin pressed against me, and I wished I wasn't wearing a shirt, too, so we could feel skin-to-skin contact, so the levels of intimacy could be heightened. I loved closeness, and it saddened me when we separated, but I knew that tomorrow would be an even better day, especially if we got to sleep together. So, with a kiss on the cheek, I left to my room, squealing, "You're my girlfriend!" as I skipped down the hall.

Ansley's P.O.V.

It was kind of weird, to be honest. How this girl went from my crush to my girlfriend to my ex to my friend to my crush to my girlfriend. It was a weird cycle. I hoped she wouldn't become my ex again, because I loved what we were in. We were happy. I wanted us to stay happy.

I laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling in Demi's guest bedroom, and my mind couldn't stop racing. I was scared of history repeating itself, but I knew I needed to trust that we'd learned from the past, that we'd grown more over these past few years, that she wasn't going to hurt me. I wished I didn't have trust issues.