Page 119 of Rise Above

probably be awkward, but not with her. Handing her one of my shirts, I watched her soft curves disappear. Aife pulled her hair into a low bun and smiled at me. I already had a soft spot for her smiles, but now there was something magical about them. She was truly beautiful, inside and out.

I handed her some Tylenol. Aife continually denied

the narcotics that she had been prescribed. She hated the way they made her feel. I wasn’t going to argue with her as

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long as she took the Tylenol. She took the pills from my hand and swallowed them then we both brushed our teeth.

Today had really been a perfect day even with the

disaster that was practice. Aife had made my day way better; she seemingly always did. Maybe my brothers had been right. That burned me to say, but sometimes they knew me better than I knew myself. Did I love Aife? I wasn’t even entirely sure I knew what love was. At least, in terms of romance.

“You keep staring at me.”

Aife’s voice broke me from my stupor. I hadn’t

even realized we were in my bedroom. She was looking at me, amusement all over her face. How long had she been trying to get my attention?

“I can’t help it, darling,” I said as we climbed into

bed. I immediately pulled her against my chest. “I feel like I’m walking on clouds right now.”

“Because of a kiss?”

“Because of a kiss with you.” I winced at my

cringey line. It felt stupid coming out, but I couldn’t prevent my mouth from saying the line.

Humming, Aife slowly traced designs into my bare

chest. “That’s not you, Talon. You are not a cheesy guy… not over a kiss.”

She bit her lip. My eyes couldn’t help but drop to

her mouth. My brain was offline. The combination of her biting her lip and being in my shirt was driving me a little nuts.

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“No, that’s not me. I pretty much instantly regretted

saying it. You’re incredibly special to me, Aife. I don’t think I have the words for it.” My cheeks flushed, and suddenly all I could think about was kissing her again.

“Try?” She asked, yawning. The day was starting to

impact her.

“Ask again tomorrow, darling. Let me help you

sleep.”

Her eyes widened briefly. “How?”

“Trust me?” She nodded.