Chapter 13

I couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night.

My mind is a cacophony of ideas and concepts that are far too frenetic to permit me the restful state he said earlier. Over and over I find myself reflecting on his words, mulling over all the times he had expressed admiration for me. It's not that I was trying to seek out validation from him, but it certainly plants a small seed of confidence in my heart. And although hearing his compliments was always a pleasant surprise, what really made an impact on me was what he seems serious about them.

I sucked in a deep breath and stole a sideways glance at Aiden, who was sleeping peacefully. He made no effort to punish me today, but he mentioned that we should practice sleeping without clothing on every night; it seemed like an inconsequential request so I readily agreed. As I watched him lay there undisturbed by the heavy silence, the thought that it may be pleasant to sleep naked together crossed my mind. But then again, this is something quite o