Give Me Courage (Give Me Series #4)

36 - Last Night

Anxiety injected its self into my veins beneath my fair skin until it nestled inside the walls of my rapid beating heart. The last thing I wanted was for word to get out that I cheated on Stiles with Malia when that was far from the truth.

Isaac set the bowl in the sink after he finished drinking the milk that remained. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, narrowly missing the sleeve of his sweater.

"I didn't think you would kiss her," he added in an earnest tone. "I see how you look at Stiles, Chloe. I don't think I've ever seen you look at anyone like that— not even the asshole."

The sharp dig about 'the asshole' surely referred to Scott. Isaac and Aiden's hatred toward Scott subsided a minuscule amount after we gained closure following my return back to Beacon Hills. They were naturally protective over me and they saw how firsthand how the breakup affected me in the beginning.

Our relationship was something I no longer missed or yearned for to be in my life. The universe brought Scott into my life for a reason, to teach me a lesson, but I understood why we never lasted. Scott and I were never meant to last longer than we did. Scott knew I already forgave him for his mistakes, yet he had to work a little harder to fully gain their trust back again.

The notification sound dinged from my phone with a new text, more than likely from Stiles, announcing he was waiting in the driveway. I sharply inhaled through my nose as my nerves kicked in.

"What are you going to do?" Isaac asked.

I silently shook my head a few times before I exhaled through my mouth. "I don't know," I halfheartedly admitted, "But I do know that I need tell Stiles. I'll see you later, okay?"

Isaac nodded.

The warmth of the sun greeted my legs and forearms uncovered by my shorts and oversized, denim jacket I hijacked from Aiden's closet. The jacket had never seen the light of day as long as I knew Aiden, which hopefully meant he wouldn't mind if I stole it for a day.

I jogged down the few steps of the porch and walked toward the brightly colored, blue jeep in the driveway that looked in dire need of a wash. A smile tugged on my lips when I saw my handsome boyfriend's happy-go-lucky self in the driver's seat.

Stiles absentmindedly pounded his forefingers against the top of the steering wheel until he noticed movement in his peripheral vision and swiveled his head toward the window with a bright smile adorned his lips. Butterflies swarmed in the pit of my stomach. He never ceased to make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

"Hey," Stiles cheerfully greeted me when I opened the passenger door. He waited until I climbed into the seat before he eagerly leaned over the center console, lips puckered for a quick kiss.

Panic struck through my chest as I leaned back before this lips brushed across mine. My skin grew warm once more when a look of sadness and confusion passed through his chocolate eyes. He titled his head to the side, taken aback from my harsh actions, resembling a confused puppy.

"I'm sorry," I rapidly apologized with my hands outstretched in front of my body with the smoothie bottle still held between my fingers. "I just— I need to talk to you about something before I can kiss you— Not that I don't want to!" I exclaimed, realizing how bad everything I said sounded. "I definitely want to kiss you! I always want to kiss you! In fact, I could honestly spend all day kissing you and be totally content with my day...That's not the point, though!"

Stiles furrowed his eyebrows at my strange rambling and behavior. "Baby, what's going on?"

My heart melted at the sweet nickname. He only called me 'baby' on a few rare occurrences as if he wanted to test the waters before he officially used it more often.