Mag-log in107MAKING OUT 2 JAYDENI tighten my grip on her waist, laughing a little as I capture her lips once more. This time, it's just us, isolated in the warmth of my bedroom, locked in our own little world.Kissing her makes me forget all about my family and also makes me forget about her family saga. Her hand's slide down my neck, her palms pressing flat against my chest before her fingers hook into the button."I want this off." She says, undoing the buttons one by one. The shirt comes off and she connects our lips again. I hum against her mouth, deepening the already deep kiss, my tongue sliding past her lips to taste her completely. She gasps, a sweet, quiet sound that goes straight to my gut, and arches her back into the touch of my hands.My palms slide up the skin of her thighs, bunching up the hem of her dress as I guide her hips to fit against mine. She shifts on my lap, her knees tightening around my waist, and the gentle friction of her body pressing right against the head of
106MAKING OUT 1JAYDENI stare up at Aurora, watching the hurt swimming in her tear-brimmed eyes, and I'm instantly angry all over again. Because... what the fuck? This girl has been through so much in just a matter of days. What happened to the care free, stubborn princess I kissed before she left to go into her dorm that night?The adults have managed to drag my girl into their shit. If only they manage to not keep fucking up. If only they know what the fuck they are doing. One minute Aurora's happy. The other she's sad. Fuck everybody.The stinging on my left cheek doesn't even exist anymore. Whatever rage is boiling under my skin towards Elena evaporates instantly. It's replaced by a cold, lethal instinct to shield the girl standing on those stairs.I don't look back at Elena as I stake a slow step backward, planting myself firmly on the bottom riser, physically blocking any line of sight between the two of them."You heard her," I say. My voice isn't loud, but it's dead and he
105GO AWAYJAYDENShe tastes like honey and the hot chicken broth I just fed her, soft and sweet and reckless. And boy, do I fucking love it.The moment her lips slam into mine, all the smug humor drains out of my chest, replaced by a white-hot surge of need. I don't give her a second to second-guess it. My hands shoot out, one gripping her waist to haul her against my chest, the other cupping the back of her head, my fingers tangling in her hair.I pull her down onto my lap, deepening the kiss, sliding my tongue past her parted lips. She lets out this tiny, breathless moan right into my mouth... a sound that goes straight to my gut and threatens to snap whatever string of self-control I have left. I pull her closer, resting my thumb right against her jaw, ready to lose my damn mind...BANG. BANG. BANG.The loud pounding on the bedroom door shatters the moment like glass.We both freeze. Aurora breaks the kiss with a gasp, her chest heaving, eyes wide.Every drop of blood in my body
104CHALLENGE AURORA"You said what?" I blink, leaning forward, the duvet sliding off my shoulders. "Your mom? The woman you just rudely hung up on... she's your mother?"Jayden doesn't answer right away. He stares at the dark screen of his phone like it’s a bomb that might detonate in his palm at any second. His jaw remains locked so hard that I can see the muscle ticking beneath his skin."She's so pretty," I murmur, as I search his closed-off expression. "Jayden, Celina looks so much like her. And... honestly, you do too. You have her eyes. That same kind shape."Jayden shakes his head, breathing hard. "She doesn't have kind eyes, Aurora.""Baby..." I reach out, gently setting my hand over his grip around his phone. "Don't be so stressed, okay? Talk to me. What just happened?"He runs his free hand draggingly down his face. "I don't... I just don't get it. She's calling me after we haven't spoken in years. Years, Aurora. Then she just calls like that? Pops her face onto my screen
103MOMMY ISSUESAURORA The silence that settles in the room after Jayden shuts the door behind him feels heavy. I sink back onto his pillows, the heavy duvet drawn up to my chin. My body aches with a deep, bone-weary exhaustion, but my mind is spinning at a hundred miles an hour. Every word Jayden just said... about lawyers, about Malia, about Greta... echoes in my head, making my throat tight.I reach over to the nightstand, my fingers searching until they wrap around my phone.The screen lights up, blindingly bright in the dim room. My stomach drops.Fifteen missed calls. Eight text messages. All from Mama.I stare at the caller ID, my chest heaving as a bitter mixture of rage, pain, and betrayal knots in my gut. I shake my head, letting out a breathy, humorless sigh. For a second, I consider tossing the phone across the room. But the screen lights up again right in my hand. Her contact photo flashes across the screen.My fingers tremble as I swipe the green icon and bring the ph
HOCKEY HOUSE AURORA "I'm not going back there, Jay. I hate it there. Malia doesn't even want me there. Jayden she said I'm nothing but a mistake." "You are not a mistake." "And Greta says she wants a relationship with her daughter but she's doing too much and saying too much. They are going to lock my mama up in jail because of what? Raising me? I don't know why she took their baby but then what's done is done..." My voice trails off and I blink, my attention focusing on Jayden. He's just quiet, staring at me. He's watching me vent without uttering a word. I like that he wants me to get whatever is in my head out, but I don't feel comfortable with his silence. I need opinions at this point in my life. I want someone to tell me what's wrong and what's right. And I don't think I can trust anyone apart from Jayden. "You're not saying anything." I blurt out. He shrugs. "What do you want me to say?" "I don't know. You could start by telling me if what I did was wrong or right
005DATING 101AURORAI stare at my phone after the call ends, my reflection blurry through the tears still clinging to my lashes.Typical.Even from miles away, my mother still somehow manages to comfort me and bully me at the same time.A watery laugh escapes me before I wipe at my face again. Go
004BONDING?AURORAI can't believe how much things have changed in just one night. I don't want to think about Brian. I don't want to think about the kiss. I don't even want to think about anything.Because if I do, I'll lose it. And what better way to show a bunch of jocks that I'm vulnerable if
003HEARTBREAK HIGHJAYDENI hate days like this, man. Days where I attend all classes, show up to the gym for practice, pushing my body to its limits, and all I want to do is crash when I'm in my room, sinking into the mattress and disappear for a few hours. But then something morbid comes up and
002RULESAURORA "You're the figure skater."I stare at him. Then I narrow my eyes. "You say that like that's a bad thing.""Oh, it is," he says dryly. "When she's apparently going to be staying in my room."Excuse me? I fold my arms across my chest. "Your room?" He legs out a humorless laugh bef







