Chapter 27

𝙻𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚢𝚗

A whole week passed. Seven full days of walkin’ around with that stupid kiss burned into my brain like a tattoo. I tried to act normal, tried to focus on days I had class, tried not to replay the way Aries’ lips felt against my cheek. All soft and careful, but loaded.

And the thing is. It was barely even a kiss. Just my damn cheek. Yet somehow, my body reacted like she pinned me against a wall and made out with me.

It didn’t help that we ain’t talk about it. At all. 

No acknowledgement. No “hey, about the other night…” no nothin’. Just this weird tension, and her sitting too damn close to me like things were good. As if she ain’t kiss me then hold me all night like I was sumn precious to her.

Meanwhile, I’m over here sexually frustrated so damn bad it felt like a curse. Because now every lil’ thing she did irritated me and turned me on at the same time. And I hated that I couldn’t even hide it properly.

By Wednesday, I cracked.

“So,” I said, leanin’ across the table, lowerin’ my voice like it was government business. “She kissed me.”

Imani and Britney froze.

“WHERE?!” Britney screamed.

“My cheek,” I snapped. “Don’t play with me. Y’all think I’m going?”

“Overly.” Imani cut in. “And hell nah, that’s worse.”

“How??” I frowned.

“That’s mad intimate with the way y’all been actin’.” Britney added. “That’s that, ‘I think about you before I go to sleep’ behavior.”

“That’s that ‘lemme stare at the ceilin’ and yearn’.’ Imani smirked, adding right on.

I rolled my eyes. “Y’all annoyin’ as hell.”

They laughed, immediately diving into jokes about how I was down bad, how I was actin’ like a menace, how my attitude made so much sense, and how I been walkin’ around campus like someone owed me money ’cause I ain’t been kissed properly yet.

I tried to laugh it off, but my chest stayed tight.

Suddenly, Britney and Imani stopped laughing.

“Oh,” Imani said slowly. “Londyn…”

I frowned then turned. Aries stood down the hall, tall as hell—while Whitney was right in front of her. Smilin’. Talkin’. Reaching out for flowers.

Flowers?

I instantly felt my eye twitch.

Fuckin’ flowers???

“Oh you gotta be jokin’,” I muttered.

Imani leaned in, brows furrowed. “You good?”

“Yep.”

I watched Aries hand the flowers to Whitney like it was nothin’. Like she wasn’t out here ruinin my day. Like my heart wasn’t doing that fuck ass fast-slow thing it does when I’m pissed and hurt at the same time.

I sucked my teeth hard. “Yeah, nah. That’s crazy as fuck.”

And see, once something irritates me? Everything irritates me.

The rest of my day was ruined. I had in attitude in every class. Snapped at any and everyone, made hatin’ ass comments under my breath, and called everyone “bro” aggressively. And by the time we got home, I was heated.

Aries glanced at me, her brows furrowing before dropping her keys down on the keyholder.

“You aight?”

“No,” I said flatly. “I’m not.”

She turned to face me slowly. “Okay…talk to me. Wassup?”

I crossed my arms. “So we really out here handin’ flowers now?”

Her brows furrowed. “What?”

“Nigga, don’t play dumb with me,” I snapped. “Whitney. Flowers. Hallway. Front and center.”

She blinked, then sighed like what I was saying finally hit her. “Londyn—”

“Wrap it up,” I cut in. “I already peeped that shit.”

She stepped closer, but I stepped back with an eye roll.

“Nah, you got it wrong.”

“I don’t care,” I shot back. “You be real comfortable around her.”

Her jaw tightened. “That’s not—”

“You kissed me,” I interrupted, my voice low but sharp like ice. “And then you went and did that shit like it ain’t mean nun. Like I ain’t mean nun.”

Silence stretched between us then Aries exhaled slowly, running her hand over her mouth. “Londyn, those weren’t my flowers.”

I laughed. Bitter. “Nigga, please.”

“Some dude handed them to me and asked me to help him out,” she said, voice firm now. “The nigga ain’t have the balls to give them to her himself. I just passed them along to her so I could keep it movin’.”

I shook my head with a scoff. “You expect me to believe that bullshit?”

“Yes,” she huffed. “Because it’s the truth.”

The argument didn’t even cool down after hearin’ that. In fact, it got worse. ‘Cause now I felt crazy and jealous?

“I don’t care if they weren’t your flowers,” I snapped, pacing the living room like a damn caged animal. “It’s the fact that youn think. Youn explain. You just move however you want and expect me to be cool with it.”

Aries stayed still, arms crossed, her jaw tight. “You spiralin’ over nothing, Lo.”

“Don’t tell me what I’m doin’, the fuck?” I shot back quickly. “You kissed me, then you go quiet, then you got me walkin’ around school lookin’ stupid, feelin’ stupid—”

“I never made you feel stupid.”

“Yes, the fuck you did,” I snapped, steppin’ closer and jabbing my nail into her chest. “‘Cause you know exactly what the hell you be doin’ and you still won’t say it.”

Her eyes darkened. “Say what?”

“That you want me!?” I said, my voice cracking despite myself. “Or don’t. But stop fuckin’ touching me like you do. Stop lookin’ at me like that. Stop actin like I’m not losing my damn mind!?”

My chest rose and fell fast. I was pissed, embarrassed, needy, and so damn sexually frustrated it made my skin buzz with anger, like every nerve ending was pissed off with nowhere to go.

She took one step toward me. “Londyn—”

“No,” I cut in. “Youn get to—”

She grabbed me, not rough, but not gentle either. Her hands firm on my waist to stop me from pacing. I opened my mouth to argue again, but she smashed her lips against mine.

It shut me up instantly. And that pissed me off worse.

Because if she could do this so easily, why the hell was she acting confused before??

I pushed against her chest weakly, breaking the kiss just enough to glare at her. “You so damn—”

She shut me up again as she took my mouth in a slower kiss this time. I felt every inch of my skin burnin’ like a forest fire with nowhere to go. Her mouth was warm, demanding, and moving against mine like she was done holding back, my knees immediately buckling.

I felt it everywhere. 

My stomach flipped. My breath hitched. My body reacted way before my pride could even catch up. I gasped into her mouth, my fingers clutchin’ the front of her shirt like it was the only thing keeping me upright.

The burn in my lungs didn’t amount to the feeling I felt when our lips touched. I didn’t even wanna break the kiss. I leaned into it deeper, heat flooding through my body so fast it left me dazed. A hot ache pooled low in my stomach, throbbing between my legs in a way that made me want to get irritated at myself all over again.

Her hand slid up my neck, wrapping around it firmly as my back hit the wall. I let out a gasp, before she bit down on my lower lip, pulling back before taking my lips in another kiss.

I reached for the end of her shirt, lifting it up. Without question, she lifted her arms up obediently, allowing me to tug off her shirt and toss it somewhere across the room without giving a fuck where it landed. 

I pulled her back in by her wife beater, her hands hooking under my thighs and hoisting me up.

This time, I took her mouth in a hungry, desperate, and needy kiss, a soft sound escaping my lips. I held her jaw, feeling  the muscle flex beneath my fingers while she kissed me right back. 

Eventually, the kissed slowed, both of us breathing harder, our lips brushing together before she finally pulled back completely.

I let out a huff, leaning back in. I didn’t want to stop. She doesn’t even know how long I’ve been wanting to do this. how long I been thinkin’ ’bout this.

“Breathe, baby girl.” she murmured.

“Okay…” I said softly.

“You arguin’ ’cause you need reassurance. Not ’cause you mad.”

“You drivin’ yourself crazy,” she continued quietly, our chests rising up and down. “And I get it. I do, mama. But don’t put words in my mouth when I’ve been showin’ you how I really feel.”

My hands gripped the back of her wife beater tightly. “You kissed me first…” I whispered, my heart thumping against my chest harshly.

“I meant it,” she said immediately. “I still do.”

My throat tightened.

Her thumb brushed my jaw, slow and reassuring. “You not imagining this. You not competing with nobody either. And you sure as hell not stupid.”

Every ounce of anger I walked into this conversation with started melting into something heavier. Warmer. Because that’s all I wanted her to say.

My fingers loosened against the back of her wife beater before tightening again, my ass becomin’ needy all over again the second her thumb brushed against my neck. My body still buzzed from kissing her, my lips tingling.

“You can’t just do stuff like that to me,” I whispered, my voice embarrassingly shaky. “You got me out here crashin’ out over flowers you ain’t even buy.”

Aries let out a quiet laugh against my mouth and I rolled my eyes. “Don’t laugh.”

“You was ready to light my ass on fire.”

“You handed another girl flowers!”

“They wasn’t mine!” she laughed harder now and I groaned loudly, droppin’ my forehead against her shoulder.

“This is sick. I’m sick.”

“You just dramatic.”

“And whose fault is that?” I shot back quickly before liftin’ my head again.

Her smile faded slowly when our eyes met again, her eyes softening. Yet somehow, that felt way more intimate than us kissing.

Her hands settled firmly on my waist while my legs stayed wrapped around her hips, my body still pinned between her and the wall.

“You know what you do to me, right?” I muttered before I could stop myself.

Her jaw flexed as she nodded. “Yeah…”

I swallowed harshly as her thumb rubbed slow circles against my side beneath my shirt. Grounding me right back down to reality after kissing me senseless just 20 seconds ago.

“I wasn’t ignoring you,” she said quietly. “I just ain’t wanna rush you into something ’cause I knew once we crossed that line…that was it for me.”

“Aries…”

“I’m serious, Lo,” she murmured. “You think ion be losin’ my mind too?”

My stomach flipped so damn hard it genuinely irritated me. Because finally. Finally she was saying the things that’d been sitting between us for ’bout a week.

“I swear, you be actin’ too calm,” I muttered. “Meanwhile I’m over here goin’ crazy.”

She laughed softly and I hated how much it was becoming my favorite sound.

“You was callin’ everybody ‘bro’ aggressively all day.”

“Because I was angry!”

“You told your professor ‘lock in, gang.’?”

I covered my face instantly with a groan. “Okay, see now you bringin’ up stuff that had nothin’ to do with you.”

“It had everything to do with me,” she smirked.

I peeked at her through my fingers before narrowin’ my eyes at her. “You think you funny?”

“I know I am.”

I sucked my teeth, but my whole body softened when she leaned in, brushin’ her nose gently against mine.

“You still mad at me?” she asked quietly.

I pretended to think about it even while my arms tightened around her neck. “A lil’ bit.”

“Mhm?” Her lips brushed mine softly this time. “What I gotta do to fix that?”

The heat pooling low in my stomach spread all over again and I hated how quickly she could do that to me.

I looked at her for a second too long, before mumblin’ under my breath, “Prolly kiss me again…”

𐃯

I leaned into her and she smiled. “See?” she said softly. “Still right here, my love.”

And God help me—I believed her. Every.single.word…

I didn’t pull away. That was the first thing that hit me. The fact that I could’ve. Should’ve. But I didn’t even think about it. My body was warm everywhere, like that kiss flipped a switch I’d been fightin’ all week. Shit. All month.

Every little touch, every stare, every time she called me mama in that low voice finally crashed into me all at once.

She leaned over me, giving me room to stop her if I wanted. 

I nodded, her hand resting beside my head by the pillow while the other slid along my waist. My fingers stayed hooked against her jaw as she took my lips in another slow kiss.

I hummed softly into her mouth, my body relaxing beneath hers until she shifted closer and her front pressed against me fully.

The friction made my breath hitch, my legs squeezin’ around her hips before I could stop myself, and just when I thought she didn’t notice, She stilled for half a second, eyes flicking down like she’d caught the shift.

Her mouth moved from my lips to my jaw slowly, then lower to my neck, kissing the spot right beneath my ear that made my breath hitch instantly. I bit down on my lip hard, but a soft moan still slipped out anyway.

Aries let out a satisfied little chuckle against my skin and I huffed, already breathless. “Shut up….”

“Mmm,” she hummed knowingly, shiftin’ against me again just enough to make my eyes flutter shut.

“Aries…” I warned weakly, fingers sliding through the back of her hair.

“That’s what I thought.”

She kissed me again before I could say anything else, sucking gently at my bottom lip before easing back just enough to look at me while her hand tightened slightly at my waist.

I gripped her hair tighter without even realizing, my hips shifting into hers at the exact same time she moved again.

Another soft sound escaped me immediately, quiet, needy, and I buried my face against her shoulder outta pure embarrassment.

“Okay,” I whispered breathlessly. “Too much…”

This was bad.

Actually, no.

This was fuckin’ terrible.

Because I didn’t realize how bad it was until we made it to her room and I still couldn’t get enough. I knew kissing her would fuck me up, but damn?

One kiss and suddenly I forgot how to act??

She nodded immediately, thumb rubbing slow circles into my side.

“I want you,” she said softly. “I just really ain’t tryna rush you.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay…”

“We’ll take our time,” she promised quietly.

I hummed, eyes closing for a second while I traced lazy little shapes across her shoulder with my fingertips.

“Don’t go nowhere,” I murmured.

“I’m right here, baby,” she whispered back.

And for the first time in a long time—I believed it.