The Pretend Girlfriend

Chapter Twenty Eight~ Paper Confetti

Once more, Gwen found herself standing in the entrance hall of her humble apartment accompanied by Aiden. Unlike previous times, she didn't feel so self conscious. She didn't worry about him seeing her bedroom and the mess therein, or looking at her bed and somehow knowing about her dreams. This time, as soon as the door closed behind him, Aiden pulled her close and kissed her, nearly knocking her over while she tried to kick off her shoes. She wrapped her arms around his waist, standing against him with only one flat on.

"So eager..." she said in between gasps for breath when he finally relented enough for her to lean back a little.

Aiden smiled down at her, brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear and then lightly tracing her jaw with one finger. When it reached her chin, he tilted her head back and kissed her again, once more leaving her breathless. His lips unlocked all those lovely endorphins and other things in her head that made her feel wonderful, full of energy, loving every second of his affections. Before last night, she guessed that her body had been holding out on her, knowing that she wasn't sure about this whole relationship. But now that she knew, that both she and Aiden knew, rather, how they felt for each other, the levies holding back the bulk of her feelings burst.
Impulses and desires flashed through her, telling her that they needed to spend the rest of the day in bed. And the day after that. That they shouldn't ever be apart. The sheer volume of it all left her body tingling. And it was like Aiden was a whole new man, gentle and affectionate, with the true strength of his own desires showing up in hints here and there. Like the barely-contained strength of his arms around her, the heat of his mouth against hers, things along those lines. Gwen ran her hands up his arms. Her fingers caught in the tear on his shoulder, which she'd pretty much forgotten about with all the other things happening.

"Your poor jacket!" she said, running her fingertip over the jagged bit of cloth. It hadn't torn neatly, probably totaling the jacket.

"Don't worry about it," Aiden said, leaning over in an attempt to start another round of kissing.

Much to his chagrin, Gwen extricated herself deftly from his arms. Now that her attention focused on the results of that little scuffle with the police officer, she couldn't help seeing other marks that hadn't been so apparent at the time. The top of a scrape near the back of his neck poked out from beneath his shirt collar, suggesting more hid beneath his shirt.

"You poor thing! Does it hurt?" Gwen said.

"Does what hurt?" Aiden replied. She didn't know whether he was just trying to be all macho for her benefit, or if he really didn't notice the scrapes and bruises. So she reached up and lightly touched the scrape on his neck,
"This."

Aiden jerked away from her hand, hissing between his teeth. "Yeah, it does. Actually, now that you mention it, it kind of hurts all over."

"Come with me," she said, leading him by the hand to the bathroom. It wasn't nearly as nice as the one back at his condo, but it would have to do. At least it had a pretty long mirror over the vanity, and plenty of light. And there was also a first aid kit in the cupboard beneath the sink.

"Take off your shirt," she ordered him, pulling out the red soft-shelled kit with the white + on it.

"Yes, nurse," Aiden said, beginning the task. The jacket had protected his shirt and tie, and they looked none-the-worse for wear. It did feel nice to play at being the nurse, with Aiden the gallant hero fresh from the frontlines, in need of her ministrations. She grinned at herself in the mirror while watching Aiden's reflection.

Then she gasped. "Oh, your back!"

"What? What is it?" Aiden said, twisting so that he might see it in the mirror. That scrape on his neck was just the tip of the iceberg. Big, purplish bruises like a pair of ugly butterfly wings spread out just below his shoulders, with more scrapes by his ribs.