In the Air (The City Book 1) - By Crystal Serowka Page 0,68

with Aubrey anymore, but maybe there was a way of going back.

I walked back into the hotel room. Aubrey sat on the couch, a magazine in her lap. She flipped through each ad as if it was on fire, and rapidly turning the pages was the only way of extinguishing it. I was certain she knew who had called me.

"It was rude of me to answer that, but I had to." I walked behind the couch, leaning over Aubrey's body, peering at the magazine on her lap. She was looking at Cosmopolitan, her favorite. I rolled my eyes at the article on the page. "How To Give Men Extreme Pleasure While Pleasing Yourself." Aubrey threw the magazine onto the table and turned to look at me.

"Does she know you're here, Samson? Does she know you have a girlfriend?"

"Aubs," I pressed my hand to her cheek, "we broke up, remember?"

"You came here to see me, which tells me you want to get back together. Am I wrong?" Yes. No. I don't know.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. I had to learn how to fall back in love with Aubrey. "Am I what you want, Aubrey?"

"Yes," she answered immediately, without hesitation.

"Okay." My decision was made. Aubrey wanted me, and Natalia didn't. All I wanted was Natalia but that didn't matter. I sat down on the couch, pulling Aubrey into my lap. She straddled me, pressing her lips to my neck. I closed my eyes, trying my hardest to block away every thought of Natalia.

"I love you," Aubrey whispered into my ear. "I love you," she repeated again, over and over. Her words were filled with so much passion. I roughly grabbed her face, still not being able to say the words I knew she wanted to hear, and pressed my lips to hers. I forced my tongue into her mouth, needing the stimulation to clear my racking thoughts.

The last time we made out like this was last year, after we had a huge argument over a game of Monopoly. Aubrey swore that if I landed on Park Place and Boardwalk that she would quit. When I did, she threw her metal car figure at my face and called me an asshole. Before she had the chance of storming off to her bedroom, I grabbed her, forcing her to kiss me. We made out on her basement floor, the Monopoly board underneath us. I may have over-counted my move just so I could land on Boardwalk, but Aubrey never needed to know that.

"Wanna play Monopoly?" I asked, biting down on her neck playfully.

"Samson!" she screeched, pushing my body away. "I'll never play that game with you again."

"You're such a sore loser."

Aubrey wasn't able to push me away for long, and soon enough I was nipping at sensitive spots on her neck.

"You're just a cheater!"

The word cheater reverberated through my mind. I knew Aubrey didn't mean it in that context, but I couldn't help thinking about the first night I kissed Natalia. I was still with Aubrey and I kissed another girl. Shit, I was a cheater.

"Hey," Aubrey gazed into my eyes, "did I say something wrong?"

I shook my head in response, smiling so she'd know all was okay.

"I'm really happy your dad convinced me to come back to the city." Her face turned pale as soon as the words left her mouth.

"You spoke to my father?" I instantly sat up.

"No, I meant I spoke to your mom. Your father picked up the phone for a second," she stammered, her eyes quickly opening and closing. "He was just saying I should visit the city. How it would make me feel better. That's all I meant."

"You're lying." Anytime Aubrey lied, she blinked excessively.

"I'm not." She continued to blink rapidly, validating my suspicions.

I moved to the opposite end of the couch.

Aubrey leaned on her elbows, peering at me. "That's all it was, Samson. Come back over here." She pressed my side with her foot, trying to find my ticklish spot.

"That's not going to work. Tell me the truth, Aubrey," I demanded.

She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking. "The truth? Why don't you tell me the truth?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you sleep with Natalia before we broke up?"

The question caused me to jump from the couch. "You know I would never do that!" I glared down at her. "Changing the subject doesn't help you, Aubrey. What did you and my dad talk about?"

She looked down at her lap, studying the creases in her pleated