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Chapter 16: Nothing In Between

This was the only way.

George got into bed. Jess and Bandit jumped up with him and walked around, looking for Scout, whining.

Fuck.

"Sorry, guys," he whispered softly when they came to peer earnestly at his face. He scratched their heads in apology. They lay down for a few minutes, then jumped off the bed and wandered into Scout's room, and he heard her dulcet voice talking to them, murmuring in soothing tones. He could also hear the unmistakable sounds of sniffling, which was like a knife twisting his heart.

He lay there a few more minutes and tried to fall asleep without the three creatures he loved most in the world, and finally realized that he couldn't do it. What was more, he realized that he didn't want to. He couldn't be a prisoner to the past anymore.

He tried telling himself he couldn't ask Scout to take such a huge risk with him, that it wasn't fair to her, but he realized he didn't care. So what if he just didn't tell her? Maybe he could just not tell her? Couldn't that be a kind of protection?

He wasn't going to.

He got out of bed and strode through the darkened doorway, hoping she wasn't sleeping yet. He approached her bed quietly, whispering, "Scout?"

She flipped the comforter back and grasped him by the wrist at the same time, pulling him into the bed, making a sound of gladness that made him smile in the dark.

He lay on top of her, resting his full body weight her slight form, his forearms on either side of her head. He reached over and turned on the lamp.

"I want to see you, is that all right?" he asked.

She nodded, eyes glowing, leaning up to kiss him, mouth open in anticipation.

"Dogs, off," George said, turning his head slightly, and he only had to say it once. Jess and Bandit both jumped off the bed and lay down near the doorway, content and tired.

He turned back to Scout, kissing her deeply, grasping her head firmly with his hand, exhaling through his nose.

He needed this. He was going to have this.

He sat up, unbuttoning the flannel pajamas he'd picked out for her just a short time before, his fingers fumbling with his nervousness. He bit his bottom lip as his eyes flicked from the buttons up to her luminous eyes.

"I'm sorry I sent you away," he said, brows furrowed. "I just--I--"

Scout sat up, putting a finger on his lips before leaning in to kiss him. "Shh," she silenced him. "I don't care, I don't," she assured him. "I just want to be with you now, okay?"

"Okay," he nodded.

She brushed his fingers away from her pajama top.

"You're taking forever," she said with a soft laugh. She quickly unbuttoned them and slid the top off, leaning back against the pillows when she was finished.

"Oh, wow, Scout," George breathed. "You don't even know how long it's been since I've seen anything so pretty, honestly." And he reached for her, sliding his hands up her waist until his thumbs were touching the gentle swells. He leaned in and kissed her, continuing to move his thumbs up until they were covering her nipples, which felt like soft gumdrops to him.

Scout moaned into his mouth for a moment before she pulled away. "It's okay, George, I've done this before. You can tell the truth," she said softly.

"What do you mean?" he murmured, moving to kiss her again.

"I mean I'm not some virginal girl you have to sweet-talk, that's all," she said with a smile. "I know about my body," she continued with a little shrug.