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ISABELLA

"I think it will be fun," Addy says as we sit in our designated booth at Rosie's. "But please keep me from drinking, I feel like shit." She massages her temples, trying to ease her headache.

I snort. "You didn't listen to a word I said last night! Putting alcohol in front of you is like putting a steak in front of a dog."

"Am I really that bad?" Her face scrunches up nervously as she sips her coffee.

"Yes, but at least you don't do it every weekend, only once in a while."

She shrugs her shoulders, shoving part of a blueberry muffin in her mouth. We went out for breakfast this morning for two reasons: one, Rosie's coffee is the best, and two, we have no food in the house.

Addy stumbled home this morning around nine, sober but queasy. I swear she has a stomach of steel. If I drank as much as she did, I'd be hungover for days. Thank gosh I didn't though, I have exams Monday and I can't afford to fail them.

"So, do you think tonight will be awkward?" Addy questions, still massaging her head.

I stare at the leftover coffee at the bottom of my cup. "Miles and I are fine now so it shouldn't be."

She sighs. "I know you're still upset Bell, you're my best friend for crying out loud." I stop stirring it and peer up at her. "Hey, you have every right to be but just remember that holding grudges doesn't do justice for anyone. I'm not siding with him by all means, but he thought he was protecting you. It wasn't like his intentions were bad, I just don't think he's ever been in a situation like this and it's overwhelming him."

I raise my eyebrows. "Wow, Addy, I'm impressed." She grins and flips her hair behind her shoulder. "But honestly thank you, I needed to hear that."

It's not like he cheated on me like Jake, he was just guilty for past actions. You'd think I'd be mad at the stuff he said about me, yeah at the time it hurt, but now I just don't seem to be affected by it. We cannot go back and change the past. We can only move forward from it.

"I'm going to run to the store, I think you should go home and get some sleep before we go to Miles'." I laugh as we walk out of Rosie's.

"Good idea."

When I get home from the store, I hastily unpack the groceries then rush to my room. I throw myself on my bed and try to relax before delving into my studies. We are spending the evening at Miles' apartment and I want to get some things done before we go.

I told Miles I'd bring dessert, so I bought strawberry cheesecake with vanilla ice cream. I remember him telling me it is his favorite.

After an hour or two rewriting my notes, I get a quick shower and get ready. Addy and I apply the last touches of our makeup and head out. Butterflies gather in my stomach as we walk up the flight of stairs; I'm nervous to see him but also really excited. I feel like tonight will be good for both of us.

"Here," I say to Addy as we approach his door. I knock three times and almost immediately it flies open, causing Addy and me to jump.

"Hey, guys. Come on in," Jasper says excitedly, stepping aside. I greet him with a quick hug, then I walk to the kitchen so Addy can go to town.

"Miles?" I question, walking through the living room to the kitchen.

"He's back in his room, Bell," Jasper says, catching me off guard as he and Addy walk into the kitchen. "He's on the phone with his dad. You should go back and check on him, it's the fourth door on the left."

"Alright, thanks." I smile and head back after I put the dessert away.

I follow the sound of Miles' voice that echoes from his room. Once I am two feet away from his slightly ajar door, I take a deep breath and knock. It swings open from the force, revealing him. The butterflies that were once calm go ballistic.

He is gazing out of his floor-to-ceiling windows with his phone pressed against his ear. His room is clean aside from the small cluster of clothes piled onto a chair. I take a step forward, which causes the floor to creak, and his head jerks around to see where the sound came from.

His intense eyes meet mine, and I bite my lip nervously. A mischievous but happy smile decorates his face, showing off his dimples. He looks handsome.

"Hey dad, I have company, I have to go. Yes, I'll be there tomorrow. Alright, bye," he says without breaking our eye contact. Swiftly he shoves his phone in his pocket and ambles over to me.

I walk backward until I'm against the wall.

"Hey." He grins, stopping a couple of steps away from me.

"Hi," I breathe, trying not to show my nervousness. All the anger I had for him is now gone and replaced by desire. The charge flowing between us feels stronger than ever.

With ease, he closes the gap between us. "I'm glad you came."

"I'm glad you invited me."

I feel his hand gently brush against my arm, sending chills up my spine. "You look beautiful," he states, observing my tight black jeans and white shirt.

I can't stop the smile forming on my face. "Thank you, you look pretty good yourself."

"No, I think you have us all beat." He winks. "Come on, let's join the others."

We saunter down the hall back to where Addy and Jasper are. They have set up the table, so we join in. Once everything is set up, we dig into the amazing food Miles has so not prepared.

We talk about anything and everything you could think of, school, family, sports. Well, it was more so Jasper and Miles who argued about sports; Addy and I did not take part since we know nothing.

"Just because Bell and I can't throw a ball does not mean we're not talented!" Addy shouts, slamming her finger down on the table. "We are actually very talented women!"

"Tell us what you're talented at then," Miles says with amusement, leaning back into his chair as he folds his arms.

"Uh, hmm," Addy mumbles, not knowing what to say. "I am extremely good at picking out outfits and Bell can sing really well!" I jolt my head towards her.

"You can sing? I didn't know that," Miles says intrigued.

Addy gives me a "sorry but not sorry" look, and I glower at her. "I thought you did," I say.

"Well, not for a fact, but I do now." He smirks. "I am expecting a concert dedicated to me."

"In your dreams, Cunningham."

"No Darlin', this is going to happen," he acknowledges and I roll my eyes.

"Okay, you two, enough flirting," Jasper says, causing me to blush like crazy.

Miles doesn't even seem phased by his best friend's comment, he just looks at me with a troublesome grin. "Oh, I'm just getting started."

Oh, no...

After dinner, we play a couple of rounds of pool. "He shoots!" Miles pauses as the striped yellow billiard ball rolls across the red felt table towards the basket. "And he scores!"

Addy and I roll our eyes while Jasper and Miles high-five each other. You'd think they'd be the boys to let the girls win, but no, they are the complete opposite, which I like. But they have won so many times now, it's getting annoying.

"Can we have a studying contest? Or a baking contest? We'd win that." Addy groans, tossing herself onto a beanbag in Miles' makeshift man cave.

Jasper laughs and plants a kiss on the top of her head. "You're so cute, baby."

"You're cuter." She giggles.

"Okay, you too, enough flirting," Miles mocks, leaning up against the pool table.

"I guess Jasper and I could go flirt somewhere else then..."

"You're leaving?" I question nervously, looking at Addy.

She stands, taking Jasper's hand in hers. "It is getting late! I think we should." She winks at me, and my eyes widen. I know exactly what she's doing.

"Yeah, Addy left something back at my place anyway!" Jasper joins in. "It's something important."

"You two are awful liars," Miles chuckles, hanging his cue stick up.

"We're not lying," Addy asserts, grabbing Jasper's hand. "We better get going."

Can I do this? Can I be alone with Miles? The most we will do is talk, and I figure he'll take things slow because he thinks I'm still mad.

Yes, I can do this.

"Alright." I smile, catching everyone off guard. I don't think they expected me to go along so easily. A beat passes before anyone speaks.

"Okay, thank you so much for having us!" Addy beams and we exchange goodbyes. Five minutes later they're finally gone, and Miles and I are alone.

The apartment feels vast with only us in it as if the walls could swallow us both whole. And we haven't said much, we are cleaning up the mess left from dinner in awkward silence.

I pick up the dirty dishes and carry them over to the sink. As I put them in the dishwasher, I discretely glance at Miles wiping down the table and chuckle under my breath. His eyebrows furrow, almost deep in thought. I wonder what's on his mind.

"Did you forget to put that away?" I point at the lone wine bottle on the table.

"No, I didn't." He smiles, brushing past me into the kitchen.

Before I can ask what he is doing, he materializes two wine glasses. "Grab the bottle, come on," he says and motions towards the deck. I hesitate but then follow suit.

We sit beside each other, but not too close. I tuck my feet underneath me as he pours us both a generous glass of wine. He sinks back into his cushioned chair and kicks his legs up on the table.

It is a beautiful night. There is a light breeze, and the town is glowing. The boy sitting beside me is a bonus.

"Tonight was nice," I say, bringing the glass to my lips.

"Yeah, I thought it went well. You and Addy are very different." He laughs.

"Well, you know what they say," I lean back in my chair, "opposites attract."

He pauses before looking at me. "So we must be opposites then, huh?"

I raise my eyebrow. "Who says I'm attracted to you, Cunningham?"

He swings his legs off the table and onto the ground, facing me. Slowly, he leans in until we are a couple of inches apart. "Oh, but you are," he says. "I can tell from how you act around me. For instance, your breathing stops when I get this close to you." He closes more space between us, and I do just as he said. My breath involuntarily hitches in my throat. He grins, knowing he's right.

"And you bite that lip of yours when you're nervous." I immediately unclench my lip from my teeth and close my mouth.

He takes the wine glass and sets it on the table. "Admit it Bell, you have feelings for me."

I'm getting dizzy, but I can't tell if it's from him or the alcohol.

"Because I have feelings for you. But you already knew that," he whispers, making my heart beat erratically.

Without thinking, I say, "I do, have feelings for you, Miles."

His lips curl upward, and he reaches to cup my burning cheek. I think he's going to kiss me again, but he doesn't. He just stares. A moment passes before he moves his hand from my face to my hands. It looks like he's contemplating what to say.

"Then be mine."

I blink.

Be his? His girlfriend? I just told myself I'd give him a hard time winning me back. Although every part of me wants to give in, the fear of being rejected has me in shackles. What if I don't satisfy him like I didn't satisfy Jake? Then what will happen?

I look down at my feet, thinking back to the conversation we had in the library, and then lift my head up so we're both staring at each other. "I'm not saying no, just give me a little more time to think."

He smiles faintly. "Alright."

✤

"I'm doing it and you can't stop me!" I scream.

"If you do it, you have to sing along," he states, lying aimlessly on the couch. I grab my phone and hook it up to the Bluetooth speaker in his living room. Okay, maybe I had one too many glasses of wine tonight. The alcohol buzzes through my veins like fire on gasoline, and it's liberating.

"You have to sing along also," I say, scrolling through my music until I find what I'm looking for.

He jumps up and saunters toward me, trying to see my phone. "Well, I don't know what you're going to play!"

"Just wait, you asswipe! It's going to start soon."

And then the music starts. "Just like Heaven" by The Cure blares over the speakers, echoing through the room. His face twists into a grin, disclosing his panty-dropping smile. His hands shoot out, grabbing me and pulling me against his hard chest.

I squeal as he twirls me around the living room like a ballerina. I am laughing too hard to sing along, but that doesn't stop him. He is singing off the top of his lungs like the day in the car. Although it's completely off-pitch, it makes me smile.

The words, oh the words. I never realized what they said until now as he sings them to me. Then Miles dips me unexpectedly, causing me to gasp, but then pulls me back to his chest.

"Sing, Bell!" he shouts, and I do. We sing our hearts out until the song is over, which ends up being too soon.

It is silent between us as the next song in the album drones on. But all I can hear is our heavy breathing. We're standing in the middle of the room, still pressed against each other. I don't want him to let go, and I don't think he wants to either.

"You can sing." He grins.

"You consider that singing? I was screaming." I shake my head as laughter pours out of me. That's when he slowly let go. A chill blows past my body as he walks over to the couch and sits down, leaving me standing in the same spot we just occupied, but alone.

"Come here." He pats the empty spot beside him, and I comply. He extends his arms out, signaling me to come closer. Without hesitation, I lean my head on his lap.

His fingers massaging my head, I close my eyes, savoring the moment. "I have to go into Philly tomorrow," he says.

"Is everything alright?" I ask, turning onto my back so I'm looking up at him.

"My dad is making me come to one of his meetings for the corporation." He sighs. "He told me if I don't go, there will be repercussions, and I know what he will do."

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "What would he do?"

He scoffs. "Most likely take me out of school."

My heart stops. Would his dad do that to him? I thought parents would be proud of their kids if they were acing college. "He wouldn't, would he? I mean, he'd just throw all those years and money away for nothing?" I say in disbelief.

"He would. He wants me to work for him. And it's not that I don't want to, I do when I have spare time like in the summers. It's how I have a lot of the things I do." He motions to his apartment. "I just feel obligated to work at the hospital."

"Why? If you don't mind me asking," I ask as he continues massaging my head.

He takes a deep breath. "Because of my mom, I don't talk about her much."

A moment passes, and he says nothing else, so I don't press any further. I can tell it's an uncomfortable topic. I reach up and caress the side of his face.

"You're twenty-one, Miles, you're an adult. You can make your own decisions."

"I may be twenty-one, but I will not disobey my dad." He pauses, looking straight ahead. "And to think I used to look up to him."

I pull my hands back. "So it wasn't always like this?"

"Not at all. He is a great guy, Bell, don't get me wrong. He just expects too much from me sometimes."

I smile sadly at him. "I know what you mean."

Miles having family issues never crossed my mind. From the outside, it looks like he gets what he wants. But then I find out he works over the summer and has a job working at the gym, so he makes his own money too. But nothing like his father. That man has money. But Miles doesn't flaunt his, and that's what I like about him.

I feel myself drifting off as we lie here in the silence, and I suddenly don't want to go back home. I want to stay wrapped in his arms, to be beside him as he keeps me warm.

I trust Miles, but I don't think he trusts himself. Of course, I was mad at him for the other evening, but he was angrier at himself. He doesn't think he deserves happiness because of choices he's made in the past, especially over me, but people grow. And lying here in his arms has me realizing how he has proven his growth.

I want him.

"Miles?" I say sleepily. He looks down at me, stroking my cheek.

"Yes?"

"Can I stay here?"

He stares for a minute before a smile fills his face. "Yes."

"And," I begin.

"And what?"

"Yes, I'll be yours."

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QOTD: What's your first name and your favorite movie? 

Anna and Titanic:D

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