The Arrangement

Chapter 23

"Tr -trent!" I gasped. This was getting out of hand. "Wait,"

Trent's mouth moved back to mine for a moment before he lowered it to my ear. "Trust me," Trent whispered as he sucked on my earlobe.

"But - "

"I won't let it go too far. Trust me," Trent breathed as he nuzzled my neck. "Just trust me," Despite the fear I felt gripping my chest, I let him kiss down to my collar bone. Trent's hand went to mine and he brought it to his lips. He kissed my palm before holding it against his cheek, his hand completely covering mine. The heat I saw in his eyes made me squirm. "You're beautiful." Trent whispered as he brushed a stray lock out of my face. He kissed me again. This time, it was tender and gentle. He pulled back and just stared at me for a long while.

"What?"

Trent shrugged and smiled. "Just enjoying this."

"What is this?"

"I think this is you starting to trust me." Trent smiled.

Trent stretched then got up and pulled the covers down before climbing under. He held them up for me. "Come here." I stared at him before he sighed. "I won't try anything. I just want to hold you. Come over here," Trent gave me a puppy dog pout and that was so not fair. I thought for a moment and compared to what we had just done it seemed inconsequential, so with a sigh I obliged. Trent wrapped an arm around my waist and spooned me. "Do you feel better?"

I realized that I'd completely forgotten about my nightmare. "Yes, actually I do." I whispered.

"Good," Trent snuggled closer to me, as he rested his face in the crook of my neck. "Try to get some sleep,"

"Thank you," I whispered.

Trent's arm tightened around my waist and he held me snugly against him. "You're welcome." Trent kissed my cheek and it wasn't long before he fell back to sleep. I laid there for a while thinking. After about thirty minutes I still couldn't sleep. I tried to maneuver out of his arms, but the arm across my waist tightened. "Where you going?"

"I have to pee," I lied.

"Okay," Trent's hold loosened and I got up. "Hurry back,"

I went to the bathroom and stared in the mirror. Who was I anymore? I used to know. I was Mikaela Nero, a marine biologist who wasn't known by anyone. Now I couldn't go get milk without it becoming an ordeal. I'd been chased a handful of times. My face had been splayed across tabloids. I have become a pawn in some stupid game of cat and mouse and I was most certainly the mouse. Now I was a liar, lying not only to people I didn't know like Nicky, but also to people who trusted me, people that I loved. I couldn't really be mad at Trent because at this point I was using him as much as he was using me. What happened to the girl who did what was right just because it was right?

I jumped when I heard Trent knock on the door. "Hey, you okay?"

"Ye-yeah, I'm fine,"

"Can I come in?"

I ran my fingers through my hair. "Yeah, sure," I opened the door and tried to maneuver past him. "All yours,"

Trent shook his head. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because I'm starting to get to know you, and I know when you're lying."

I shook my head. "I'm just tired."

"Really?"

"Yeah,"

"Because that's believable."

"Did you get up to pick a fight?"

"No, I got up to make sure you were okay."

"Just go back to bed Trent."

"Sure, but not without you."

"I have to be up soon anyway."

"Mikaela, what's this really about?"

"I don't know." Trent rubbed his temple for a moment then sighed. He grabbed my hand and pulled me with him. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"You're coming with me. We're going back to bed."

"Trent, I can't sleep."

"I will help with that," Trent pulled me back to my bed. "Lay down on your stomach."

"What are you thinking?"

"Just trust me for ten minutes," Trent groaned.

"But -"

"No, no more questions, just lay down."

I sighed but let him have his way. I lied down resting my head on my crossed arms. "What is this about?"

Trent climbed into bed and straddled my back. I was about to ask what was going on when he started massaging my shoulders. "I'm going to give you a massage. Now relax."

"You don't have to."

"Shut up and enjoy it,"

The feeling of his fingers relaxed my shoulders, neck, and back. I felt the tension I'd been holding in those muscles melt away. Slowly my mind relaxed the same way my body did and I managed to fall back to sleep.