s i x t e e n

She couldn't do it.

It was simple, really. She was going to just somehow appear in front of Xavier at his office and hope he listened to her explanation for ghosting him the past couple of days. Sadly, couldn't even bring herself to even leave her apartment.

Maddie had decided to sleep over and the two had stayed up talking until Maddie had fallen asleep at 3AM. Aurora ended up staying up all night mentally preparing herself to go see Xavier.

Then morning came quickly as Aurora continued to lie awake in her bed. Before Maddie left her apartment, she gave Aurora a stern look, urging the girl to go see her brother.

But of course, she chickened out last minute.

She was a coward.

Not only did she end up not going to talk to Xavier, but she also decided to take the day off from work. Instead, Aurora did what Aurora did best.

Pace around her apartment while sulking.

This was, of course, after she crawled back into bed after Maddie left.

When she woke up again, it was noon. After eating a quick lunch, she paced around the apartment while typing up more drafts on her phone all afternoon. Then she went to sulk in her bed. This process repeated a couple times until she decided it was time to go out for some fresh air before she officially went crazy.

It was around 5PM when she decided to go to a nearby market to look around. Call her weird, but grocery shopping always de-stressed her.

That was how she found herself walking back to her apartment an hour later holding 2 bags of groceries in her left hand while eating a Melona popsicle. This was all after she swore she was only going to look around the store.

Since it was practically still wintertime, people stared at her like she was out of her mind as they walked past her. She had been too lazy to change out of her large t-shirt that she usually wore to sleep, so she just simply slipped on a large coat over it.

Her legs were bare and she was really starting to regret her decision of not changing into leggings. Her feet were covered in a pair of fuzzy socks that did not match her lavender Adidas slides and her hair was blowing messily in the wind.

She was a literal mess.

But she didn't give a fuck. There were only two things going through her mind at the moment—

one: her popsicle was going to melt if she didn't finish it soon

two: it was fucking cold

Aurora picked up her pace as the wind began to pick up. Why did she decide to eat a popsicle in the middle of winter? Because it looked delicious.

Great reasoning, Aurora.

Just as she walked into the parking lot, she took the last bite of the Popsicle. She threw the stick into a nearby trashcan as her face distorted, feeling a brain freeze form.

As she continued further into the parking lot, she froze in her tracks when she saw a familiar figure sitting on the steps that led up to her apartment.

There he was, staring straight at her, eyes never leaving hers. She wasn't even sure if he was blinking.

What was he doing here?

She wasn't exactly planning to see him until tomorrow. Her mind began to race as she thought about what she was going to say to him. Maybe she would just have him read from her phone without having to say anything at all.

What a great idea.

She was literally a born genius.

He slowly got up and began to stalk towards her, like a predator after its prey. The sudden movement caused her mind to go blank from planning as she shamelessly stared at his tall figure.

Judging from his attire, Xavier looked like he had just come from work, minus the suit and tie. The sleeves of his black dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows, showing off his strong arms and his hair looked as if he had run his fingers through them several times.

Aurora blinked as she snapped out of it. Her eyes widened as he suddenly appeared before her. How did he walk so quick? It was as if he had teleported from the steps to where she was standing.

Now that he was closer, her eyes zeroed onto his lips, where a fresh bruise was forming as well as a small cut that seemed to be slightly bleeding.

"What happened to yo-"

Before she could even finish asking him about his lip, Xavier grabbed her waist and leaned down to her height. His lips were suddenly on hers, effectively shutting her up. Aurora's eyes widened as his lips gently parted her own, urging her to kiss him back. Her mind went blank and all she could think about was Xavier's soft lips on hers. She could feel a smile form on his lips as she broke out of her trance and slowly began to kiss him back.

As he continued to kiss her, she felt the world around her disappear. She no longer felt the coldness of the winter air, instead, a burning feeling ignited inside of her. With one hand around her waist, pressing her closer to him, his other hand gently cupped her face.

Their lips continued to move in sync before Xavier pulled back, letting her catch her breath. His thumb softly caressed her cheek as he looked into her eyes, their gazes never leaving each other. His beautiful eyes were full of emotion as he stood there taking in her presence.

Xavier leaned forward to place another quick peck on her lips before bending down to grab the bags out of her hand. Without a word, he turned around and began to make his way back to the stairs that led up to her apartment.

Aurora stood rooted in her spot, eyes wide with shock. Did that really just happen? She brought her hand up to her lips as the tingling sensation lingered even after they broke apart.

When he reached the foot of the stairs, Xavier turned his head to look at Aurora. A small smirk formed on the corner of his mouth as he stared amusingly at her frozen state.

"You coming?"

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"Hold still."

Aurora gave him a glare, scolding him for not staying still.

Xavier winced as Aurora began to disinfect the wound on his lip with a Q tip soaked with alcohol. She had her legs criss crossed as she faced Xavier on the couch. The unpacked groceries and her jacket were left discarded on the dining room table, both long forgotten as soon as Aurora remembered the wound on his face.

"This is why you shouldn't get into fights," A pout naturally formed on her lips as she gave her total concentration on the wound. She was unaware that he was blatantly staring at her as she worked.

"To be fair, he came at me first," muttered Xavier.

Aurora scowled at him as she pressed harder on his wound causing him to grimace and mutter a curse under his breath. "Yeah well, look where that got you."

"He got it worse."

Aurora rolled her eyes at his response as she applied Neosporin to his cut. Grabbing his knuckles, she began to inspect the cuts and bruises that were beginning to form.

As he watched her fix his wounds, Xavier had to bite back a smile from breaking out onto his face. He thought she looked adorable glaring at him, kind of like an angry puppy.

Xavier's eyes did not once leave her face even as she finished wrapping his hand up.

"There," She finally met his eyes and gently tapped his knuckles. "All patched up."

Quickly, Aurora looked away, his stare getting too intense for her to handle. She busied herself by putting all the supplies back into her mini medical kit.

Just as she stood up with the kit, his hand shot up to grab her arm. With a swift jerk, he pulled her down. She let out a small yelp as she fell onto his lap sideways with surprise, his arm wrapped around her waist to tightly secure her.

Their faces were now merely inches apart and their gazes were locked tight. He gently pried her hands off of the kit and placed it on the living room table.

"Be mine," His declaration made her eyes widen. "Give me a chance to prove to you that I won't hurt you. A chance to prove to you that you're the one who makes me happy."

Aurora's mouth opened and closed, not knowing what to say. She couldn't think properly. Not with his presence so close to her.

Taking her small hand in his, he brought her palm to his chest, placing her hand right above his racing heart.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Feel that?" He asked, keeping her hand still. "That's what you do to me. Every time I see you. Every time I hear you laugh. Every time I think of you."

Aurora looked into his eyes that held a combination of emotions that made her eyes water. There was love. Compassion. Trust. His look made her feel beautiful and wanted. Nobody had ever looked at her the way he had.

"Let me in," he whispered. "Please."

He patiently waited for her answer as silence surround them. As she stared into his eyes, she felt herself giving in. He was everything she ever dreamed of in a man and he deserved to be given a chance.

Aurora felt her walls collapse as she finally nodded.

"I'll be yours."

As soon as she said those three words, Xavier's mouth came crashing onto hers as if he had been waiting for this exact moment. But before they could go any further, Aurora pulled away from him.

"But, your lip-"

Ignoring her hesitation, Xavier brought his lips back to hers, not caring about the wound on his lip. All he wanted was to feel her lips against his.

Her tense body slowly began to relax as her lips began to move in sync with his. Her small body melted into his muscular chest as he held her tightly. She slipped her hand out of his grasp and wrapped it around his neck. He groaned when he felt her fingers on the back of his neck, playing with the ends of his hair.

For the first time in a while, she felt her worries evaporate into the air. He continued to attack her lips with a gentle assault, urging her to open her mouth. Playfully, she denied him access, causing him to growl as he continued to kiss her. She gasped when he gently nipped at her bottom lip. His tongue slipped into her mouth as he began to explore her mouth, making sure she knew that she was now his.

"You drive me insane," he muttered against her lips. She felt herself melt as his lips touched hers again. He pulled her closer with one arm, kissing her deeper and more passionately, like he was afraid she was going to disappear. His other hand cupped her face, his thumb caressing her cheek gently.

When they broke apart for air, she rested her forehead against his, catching her breath. A small smile graced his face as he stared lovingly into her eyes.

"Do I really?" Her voice came out breathlessly.

He pressed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Does that answer your question?"

She nodded looking into his eyes, biting her lip timidly. This action caused his eyes to trail back down to her lips and he leaned forward to press another kiss on her lips. He was addicted now that he's had a taste and just simply could not get enough of her.

"You're so beautiful." He said as he pulled away from her once again, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Xavier found her even more endearing as a soft blush found its way to her cheeks. He planted a soft peck on her cheek.

Aurora found herself in awe as the smile did not leave his face. It was gentle and filled with words that didn't need to be said.

"You should smile more."

"For you, I will."

She shyly smiled back, red further tinting her cheeks at his sweet words. She sank further into his hold, burying her face into his neck. His chest rumbled as he chuckled amusingly.

They continued to sit on her couch, wrapped up and lost in each other's embrace. He whispered sweet teasing words in her ear that caused her to blush as she softly slapped his chest when he laughed at her.

As if snapping out of a trance, Aurora suddenly pushed back against Xavier causing him to topple back as she sprang up from his lap. She remembered the groceries that were left forgotten on the dining room table.

"My Melona!"

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Hello my loves! Happy Tuesday^^ Finalllyyyyyy!!!!!! The long awaited chapter where they are finally together! Honestly, it was all Maddie. We love her.

By the way, have any of you ever had Melona? It's probably one of my favorite ice creams(?) and gah I really want some now. You should really try it if you've never had it before- I highly highly recommend.

So, I've decided to try to update every Tuesday and Friday. I am hopeful that I will stick to this schedule, but please be patient with me. I'm trying to stay a couple chapters ahead while I write and I'm doing really good with that as of now. Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed the chapter and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to read my story! Please look forward to the upcoming chapters and let me know what you think so far^^

Have an amazing Tuesday and stay safe!