The Ascension

Chapter 16: Tangled

Ronnie didn't remember falling asleep.

The last thing she remembered was nestling closer to Aaron's warm, solid body—breathing in the faint scent of his cologne, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath her cheek, the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat in her ear.

Feeling safer than she'd felt in a long time.

Then nothing.

Now, consciousness crept back slowly.

Warmth first.

The kind of warmth that came from another person—body heat radiating through fabric, seeping into her skin.

Then pressure.

Something around her waist. Holding her. Pulling her closer.

Ronnie shifted slightly.

The pressure tightened.

Her eyes fluttered open.

Grey fabric filled her vision—a t-shirt stretched over a muscular chest, rising and falling with slow, even breaths.

She blinked.

Tilted her head up slightly.

Aaron's neck. The underside of his jaw. The shadow of stubble she'd never noticed before.

He was still here.

He hadn't left after she fell asleep.

Ronnie's heart did something complicated in her chest.

She looked down, trying to assess their positioning without moving too much.

They were tangled together.

Completely.

Their arms were still locked around each other—hers around his torso, his around her waist. The fronts of their bodies were pressed firmly together, no space between them. Their legs were intertwined, locking them in place from head to toe.

Ronnie could feel every inch of him against her.

His chest against hers.

His stomach against her ribs.

His hips—

Ronnie froze.

Oh.

Oh no.

She could feel it.

Pressed firmly against her lower stomach, separated only by the thin fabric of their clothes.

Aaron's morning erection.

It was impossible to miss. Fairly big—a little bigger than average, she thought distantly, her brain short-circuiting—and thick enough that she could feel the shape of it even through their clothes.

Heat flooded Ronnie's face.

Her heart started racing.

What do I do?

If she moved, she'd wake him. And then he'd realize. And then it would be awkward—more awkward than anything had ever been between them.

But if she stayed still—

If she stayed still, he'd wake up on his own. And he'd realize. And it would still be awkward.

There was no winning here.

Ronnie squeezed her eyes shut, trying to slow her breathing.

Trying not to think about the fact that Aaron was hard and pressed against her and they were tangled together in her bed and—

Aaron shifted.

Ronnie's breath caught.

His hips adjusted slightly—just a fraction of an inch—and the pressure against her stomach increased.

Ronnie's heart was hammering now.

Loud enough that she was sure he could hear it.

Loud enough that—

Aaron stirred.

No no no no—

Ronnie squeezed her eyes shut and forced her body to go limp.

Pretended to still be asleep.

Her heart was a drum in her chest, pounding so hard she thought it might break through her ribs.

Please don't notice. Please don't notice. Please don't—

Aaron woke to the sound of a frantic heartbeat.

Not his own.

Someone else's.

Fast. Erratic. Panicked.

His eyes fluttered open.

The first thing he saw was dark hair.

The second thing he saw was pale skin.

The third thing he registered was warmth.

Soft, feminine warmth pressed against him from chest to thigh.

Aaron blinked.

Looked down.

Ronnie.

She was still asleep—her face pressed against his chest, her body curled into his, her breathing slow and even.

But her heartbeat was racing.

Aaron frowned slightly.

Now that he was awake—now that the fog of sleep was lifting—he could see her more clearly.

The early morning light filtering through the window cast her face in soft shadows.

He'd never really looked at her before.

Not like this.

Not this close.

She had freckles.

A light dusting of them across the bridge of her nose, spreading out under her eyes like constellations.

He'd never noticed them before.

Her skin was pale—almost porcelain—but there was a faint blush on her cheeks. Pink and soft and—

Aaron's breath caught.

She was beautiful.

Not in the way Katie was beautiful—all golden hair and bright smiles and carefully curated perfection.

Ronnie's beauty was quieter. Subtler.

The kind you didn't notice until you were close enough to see it.

Aaron's chest tightened.

He looked down at how they were positioned.

Arms locked around each other.

Bodies pressed together.

Legs tangled.

They were as close as two people could be without—

Oh.

Oh no.

Aaron's eyes widened.

He could feel it.

His morning erection, hard and insistent, pressed firmly against Ronnie's lower stomach.

Heat flooded his face.

Shit.

This was bad.

This was really bad.

He had to move. Had to get out of this bed before she woke up and realized and—

Ronnie's heartbeat spiked.

Aaron froze.

Was she awake?

He looked down at her face.

Her eyes were closed. Her breathing was even.

But her heart was pounding.

She's awake.

Panic surged through Aaron's chest.

She was awake.

She could feel it.

She knew.

Aaron moved without thinking.

He pushed himself up—too fast, too hard—trying to get away from her, trying to put distance between them before this got any more awkward—

His body rolled off the edge of the bed.

And he hit the floor.

Hard.

The impact rattled his bones—or would have, if he wasn't invincible.

Instead, it just made a loud thud that echoed through the room.

"Aaron!"

Ronnie's voice was sharp with alarm.

Aaron looked up to see her leaning over the edge of the bed, her dark hair falling around her face, her eyes wide with concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Aaron scrambled to his feet, his face burning.

"Yeah," he said quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just—"

He adjusted himself as subtly as he could, turning slightly away from her.

"—I forgot where I was for a second."

Ronnie stared at him.

Her cheeks were flushed.

Her hair was messy from sleep.

She looked—

Aaron looked away.

"Right," Ronnie said.

Her voice was tight.

Awkward.

They stood there in silence.

Aaron stared at the wall.

Ronnie stared at the bed.

Neither of them could look at each other.

"I should—" Aaron started.

"Yeah," Ronnie said quickly.

"I need to get ready for school," Aaron said.

"Me too," Ronnie said.

More silence.

Aaron ran a hand through his hair.

Ronnie pulled at the hem of her shirt.

"So," Aaron said.

"So," Ronnie echoed.

Aaron turned toward the window.

He couldn't stay here.

Couldn't stand in this room with her for another second without combusting from sheer awkwardness.

"I'll see you at school," he said over his shoulder.

"Yeah," Ronnie said. "See you soon."

Aaron paused at the window.

Looked back at her one last time.

She was standing by the bed, her arms wrapped around herself, her expression carefully neutral.

But her eyes—

Her eyes were soft.

Vulnerable.

Aaron's chest tightened.

He wanted to say something.

Wanted to acknowledge what had just happened.

Wanted to—

He didn't know what he wanted.

So he said nothing.

He opened the window.

Stepped out onto the ledge.

And flew.

The cold morning air hit him like a slap, clearing his head, cooling the heat in his face.

He crossed the distance between their houses in seconds.

Slipped through his own window.

Landed in his room.

And stood there, breathing hard, staring at the wall.

His heart was still racing.

His body was still—

Aaron groaned and sat down on his bed, dropping his head into his hands.

What the hell just happened?

Ronnie stood by her bed, staring at the open window.

Aaron was gone.

The room felt colder without him.

Emptier.

She wrapped her arms tighter around herself.

Her heart was still pounding.

Her face was still burning.

She could still feel the ghost of his body pressed against hers.

The warmth of his chest.

The strength of his arms.

The—

Ronnie squeezed her eyes shut.

Stop.

She couldn't think about this.

Couldn't let herself go there.

Because if she did—

If she let herself think about how safe she'd felt in his arms, how right it had felt to wake up next to him, how much she'd wanted to stay exactly where she was—

She'd break.

Ronnie took a shaky breath.

Walked to her closet.

Pulled out clothes for school.

Moved through the motions mechanically.

Shower.

Dress.

Makeup.

Hair.

By the time she was done, she looked normal.

Put together.

Like nothing had happened.

But inside, her chest felt tight.

Her hands were shaking.

And she couldn't stop thinking about the way Aaron had looked at her.

Just for a second.

Before he flew away.

Like he'd seen something he'd never noticed before.

Ronnie grabbed her bag.

Walked downstairs.

Ignored her parents' concerned looks.

Got in her car.

And drove to school.

The whole time, her heart wouldn't stop racing.

And she couldn't stop replaying the moment over and over in her head.

The warmth.

The closeness.

The way his body had felt against hers.

The way he'd looked at her.

Ronnie gripped the steering wheel tighter.

They were supposed to be partners.

Best friends.

Nothing more.

But something had shifted.

Something had changed.

And Ronnie didn't know how to change it back.

She didn't know if she wanted to change it back.

And that terrified her more than anything Mercer had ever done.