Corbin

**Averi: Hey, it's okay. I'm okay.**

I hit send, giving in to the guilt once my anger is no longer behind the wheel, driving my need to ignore him.

A few moments after the message shows that it's been read, I decide to try calling him.

He picks up on the first ring, and my words rush out of me before he even gets a word out. "I'm so sorry, Knox. I didn't mean to worry you. I was upset. I thought you had just taken off."

Getting upset again, at what I had done to him, what his worry had done to him, my breath hitches, tears beginning to fall.

"I'm so sorry, Knox. I didn't mean to worry you. I'd just been so damn pissed when I thought you'd just taken off on me like that." "Averi..." Knox says, whispering my name, the sound of it falling from his lips like it had always been there: like it belongs there. "Please believe me when I say how sorry I am," he pleads.

"Knox...I didn't understand what happened. I was pissed off that you'd just up and took off, so I left. I didn't want to wait around and look like some kind of stalker, so I went back to my place and shut my phone off. And maybe, I'd been being just a little petty, by doing that..."

"I wish I could see you," he mutters. His voice sounds rough, tortured. Just as it had earlier, even if, through my anger, I didn't want to acknowledge it even as he continued, "I wish I could just hold you in my arms."

"Knox..." I cry into the phone, but this time it's not because of what we've put each other through over the last twenty-four hours. Instead, it's because I know that it truly is safest for both of us, if we keep our distance. *I shouldn't have even reached out tonight.*

"Don't cry, please. I'm sorry," he says, his voice husky

As I listen, his breathing becomes louder, making it obvious he too is crying.

"I'm so bloody sorry, Averi," he cries.

"Knox..." I say again, preparing to explain to him that we can't do this, but the line disconnects before I get the words out.

I immediately dial him back, but it rings and rings before going to voicemail.

"I'm on my way. I'm coming to you, Knox," I tell his voicemail, surprising myself considering I was going to tell him that we can't do this, that he needs to let me go.

After a quick shower, I put my brace back on and then rush around to get ready. Trying to style my hair one handed so that it looks more girly proves to be a feat, as does trying to put on some eyeliner as it ends up looking smudged, but I guess that works in my favor because it certainly doesn't look like I'd just applied it.

Next, I throw on a pair of jeans, a tank top, followed by a hoodie. Afterward, I slip my sling over the thick sweater material of the hoodie and then slide my feet into a pair of slip-on shoes.

I crack my door and look into the corridor to make sure that there isn't anyone around. Once I'm sure the coast is clear, I leave my apartment, closing the door behind me, and head towards Knox's place.

A short time later, as I wrap my knuckles against his bedroom door, my nerves begin to bubble in my stomach, making me feel like I may end up sick. *Dammit, this is stupid!*

The door opens just a crack, Knox peeking through before seeing that it's me.

"Averi?"

Pulling the door open, I take in his appearance. He definitely looks much worse than he had earlier, but still sexy as hell.

*I am so damn screwed!*

Knox is standing in the doorway, shirtless, with joggers slung so low on his hips that I can see that sexy "V" that guys have that leads the way to wonderland. "What are you doing here?" he asks, breaking through my lust-filled thoughts.

Without answering, I rush him, throwing my good arm around his neck, my lips falling against his. His whole body instantly relaxes, a moan leaving him as he begins moving his mouth against mine, deepening the kiss. I push forward, *screw keeping our distance from each other.* Then, without releasing him, I make him walk backward so that I can move us out of the doorframe and shut the door behind us.

"Averi..." My name falls from his lips as he moves them from my own to the sensitive skin at my neck beneath my ear.

Pulling me tighter against his body, I can feel his arousal against my abdomen as he releases another deep moan.

One of his hands replaces my breast through the material of my sweater as his lips come back to mine.

I moan at the contact and the passion in his kiss.

Deepening the kiss, he backs me against the door, his hips locking me in place as they grind against me, lighting me on fire.

Things quickly turn from heated to near frenzied in the blink of an eye, as we take things to the next level between us.

"Averi..." he murmurs as he trails his lips across my jawline, nibbling on my earlobe.

He releases his hand, fisting it in the fabric of my shirt and groaning as we both continue with torturous, teasing caresses that are likely going to make either, or both of us, go out of our minds. A strangled breath escapes his lips, his head falling against the door beside mine.

"Jesus bloody Christ," he murmurs, causing my breathing to accelerate as I get lost in him, wanting to take things so much further than what we're allowing ourselves.

His own breathing becomes more labored, his hips thrusting against me again, evidence of how worked up he is nudging my lower abdomen.

Releasing the grasp that he has on my top, Knox pulls away from the door, resting his forehead against mine and releasing a frustrated growl.

"Bloody hell," he pants, "I think...maybe..."

Pulling back further, Knox reaches out to grasp a hold of my hand when he does a double take, "What happened to you arm?" he asks, cupping me gently by the elbow, the look of concern he gives me causes something inside of me to shift. "Pretty sure I fractured my hand," I tell him, cursing myself for not not just leaving the sling and brace off, "It's really not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Baby, what happened?" Bringing his right hand up to cup my cheek, he searches my face for any sign of discomfort.

Unable to maintain eye contact, embarrassed by my action, I chew on my bottom lip then mumble the truth, "I may have...umm...punched a wall the other night..."

"Why would you...oh..." he says, his words trailing off as the answer dawns on him, "it was because of me, wasn't it?"

I waffle back and forth a bit trying to decide how to answer before muttering my response, "Umm...it's not really your fault. You didn't make me punch the wall. And besides it was all a massive misunderstanding." "I'm still so sorry." He says, pain and regret written all over his face.

"I told you, it's not a big deal. It's okay," I tell him, then lift up on my tiptoes and place my lips against his for a brief kiss. He tries to pull away but I hold him in place with my good arm, deepening the kiss so he understands that I don't hold anything against him.

We're both breathing pretty heavily when he finally pulls back, "Maybe you should come in and we can talk" he says taking a step back to put more space between us, "because if we don't stop, things are going to escalate, and I don't want to screw whatever is happening here up any more than what I already have."

Sliding my hand into his, I close the distance once more and make sure he is looking at me and actually hears what I'm fixing to say to him. "I told you, you didn't screw anything up, so please believe me and stop blaming yourself."

He nods in confirmation but the look on his face says that he still blames himself. Instead of standing there arguing though, I let him lead me further into his apartment. It's definitely more spacious than mine, considering that it has an actual living space along with two attached bedrooms, and a bathroom between the two.

We've stopped by a couch, standing awkwardly next to one another. I look up at his face, trying to see where his head's at.

Licking his lower lip, it's obvious that there's something that he would much rather be doing than having this conversation.

"Knox..." I whisper, on the verge of telling him that we don't have to talk about anything heavy, and can just enjoy the presence of one another's company when he dips his head once more, kissing me slowly and ending it far too quickly. With his forehead against my own once more, a grin plays on his lips.

"Thank you for coming here. You shouldn't have, but bloody hell I'm so damn thankful that you did." Then, giving me a peck on the lips, he whispers, "I needed you here more than I realized."

His words were whisper soft, and as he peers into my eyes, it seems as if he is trying to relay the full depth of his gratitude.

"Want something to drink?" he asks, grinning down at me after a bit, his smile lighting up his whole face.

"Do you have any water?" I ask, swinging our hands between us.

The happiness that I feel at this very moment washes away all of the heartbreak, uncertainty, and confusion the last twenty-four hours have held: all because of a misunderstanding. "Yeah, I'll be right back."

He squeezes my hand, seeming reluctant to break our contact, then throwing me a wink, he finally untangles our fingers and saunters off into what I assume is his room.

When he returns, he's holding out a bottle of water for me as he comes back to the living room, then settles down next to me.

"Would you maybe want to watch a movie or something?" he asks, picking up the TV remote, but not turning it on until I answer him.

"A movie sounds great."

I smile up at him and he leans over, placing a chaste kiss against my lips before wrapping his right arm around my shoulders and pulling me into him. I snuggle up to him, finally feeling content for the first time since coming here. "Is there anything in particular that sounds good?" he asks, pulling up Netflix.

"How about a comedy?" I murmur. "I think after everything that's happened, we don't need anything heavy or full of drama. What do you think?"

He tosses me a smile. "I think that sounds perfect."

After scrolling for a few minutes, he settles on Superbad, and propping his feet up on the coffee table in front of the couch, he gets comfortable before pressing a kiss to the top of my head as the movie begins. We're a few minutes into the movie, when Knox begins trailing his fingers up and down my arm, eliciting goosebumps on my skin.

Another thirty minutes pass, I replace I need to adjust how I'm sitting, as I'm beginning to get a slight kink in my neck. After a little shifting, I end up lying my head in his lap, which causes him to flinch at the contact.

Though very much aware of where my head is, I pretend I'm solely focused on the movie, but feel my breathing kick up a notch when Knox moves his hand to rest against my hip. His fingers ever so slowly touch the little bit of exposed skin at the top of my jeans, tickling, and he begins tracing them back and forth against my flesh, leaving tingles in their wake. The sensation causes my heart to pick up its pace and butterflies to begin dancing in my stomach.

The air becomes fraught with tension so thick it could be cut with a knife and I only make it another two minutes into the movie before I raise my arm up and curl my hand around the back of his head, then pull his mouth down to meet mine. Groaning at the contact, Knox quickly shifts our positions, rolling us over so that his large body is over mine, pressing me into the couch as his mouth devours mine, his hips locking me in place.

"I won't take this any further than kissing," he mutters as he breaks the kiss, his mouth lowering until he is nibbling along the column of my neck and pulling the flesh into his mouth, sucking on it, causing me to moan with pleasure. I don't know how long we lay on the couch making out, but when Colt comes walking in the door and Knox pulls away, lifting his head to see who's just come in, my lips are puffy and tingling and my face is raw from where his stubble scratched me.

"Oh, shit, sorry man. I didn't know you had company," Colt says, glancing awkwardly around the main area. "I'll just uh...be in my room," he finishes as he starts to dart off toward the door on the other end of the couch, opposite Knox's. "Colt," Knox says, stopping him from tucking away in his room as we stay out here resisting the temptation to do anything more than kissing. "Stay, it's cool."

"I don't want to be a third wheel to y'alls makeout session, but thanks," Colt says, taking another step towards his door.

"It's fine, really. We need to take a breather anyway," Knox informs him, glancing from Colt, down to me. Then lifting himself off of me, he reaches out his hand, and wrapping it around my own, he helps me to sit up.

"I should probably be going actually..." I mutter, heat making its way onto my face from getting caught in a compromising position with Knox by Colt.

"Please, don't go," Knox says at the same time Colt says, "No, I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll just go into my room, stick my headphones in so I can't hear anything, and be out of your way."

The fact that he thinks that he would need to block out our noises causes my embarrassment to intensify, no doubt making me look like a dang tomato.

"Mate, stop being a wanker and come finish this movie with us," Knox says, scooching over to the middle of the couch, and wrapping his arm around my shoulders as he places a kiss against my cheek. "It's probably better this way, saves us from risking getting caught up in the moment."

I just nod my agreement, entirely too embarrassed to speak right now.

*Dear Lord, help me!*

Tip: You can use left, right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.Tap the middle of the screen to reveal Reading Options.

If you replace any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report