The thing about Stone was that he never asked for anything from me. He never made it clear what he wanted. It always seemed like it was enough for him to be even just around me. Like he was content with the bare minimum.

I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind and reminded myself to resurface them later.

Smiling at him while playing with the zip on his jacket, I asked shyly "Do you want to stay?"

He kept his thumb against my cheek as he pushed some hair behind my ear.

"I was going to watch Addams Family." I suggested to him "You could stay."

Stone grumbled while checking the time on his watch. "I can't, Medusa."

I nodded and let my gaze lower away from him.

His hand went to under my chin, and he moved my head so that I was looking at him again.

"I want to." He rasped before cursing "Fuck, I want to, but I can't."

I nodded and offered him a small smile.

He appeared deep in thought like he was contemplating something as he watched me.

"You should go." I waved him off "It is okay. I will finish reading Jane Eyre."

He smirked after a few minutes "Little nerd."

I rolled my eyes before proclaiming "There is nothing better than rereading a good book."

"Even this?" He asked deeply and determinedly before he descended back onto my lips.

I responded back before pulling away and smiling. I still had my eyes closed when I giggled "Still debatable."

Stone let out a tenacious growl before lifting me off the counter and up so that he could kiss me while I was wrapped around him.

He kissed me harshly yet softly. His huge, calloused hands were capable of soft delicate touches. He treated me like he yearned for me, but he also treated me as if I was something precious that he did not want to break. It was a perfect balance of both.

He proved that there was something way better than reading.

We stayed in our little bubble in the kitchen for what felt like a small infinity. However, it seemed nowhere near long enough.

He left begrudgingly when his phone went off, running away into the night like some vigilante, leaving me flustered and dizzied by him.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The flowers' stem was going to snap. I was clutching onto the bouquet tightly as I exited my apartment building. The look of the white flowers made me feel a little nauseous.

Every year on my mother's birthday, we would sit and watch old reruns of random shows and eat junk. I had inhibited my bad habit from her.

I would do anything to go back to the time where I could do that with her. A time with her.