Chapter 22 - I prefer a hug

Sarah and Aiden reached his apartment. Bags from the mall were arranged in the living area.

"Do you want some tea?", Aiden offered.

"Yes, please", she responded.

"Lavender?"

"Mhm", Sarah confirmed.

She started unpacking the bags and arranging items.

When Aiden stepped out of kitchen carrying two cups of hot tea, Sarah was busy wrapping the paper around the presents they got for his family members. She was sitting on the floor, focused on gift wrapping while humming Christmas song. He placed tea on the table, sat on the sofa and observed her. Aiden noticed that when Sarah is working on something, she focuses on that and is not easily distracted. Seeing that she is immersed in packing, means that he can take his time observing her without concern that he will be caught staring.

With her slender fingers moving swiftly, boxes were tightly wrapped with sharp edges and no wrinkles on the paper. He can tell that she wrapped presents many times before. After she finished wrapping three boxes, she handed three gift tags to Aiden, "Fill them up". Then she took the neatly wrapped presents, placed them on the table, and pointed at each of them, "Mom, brother, dad".

Looking at the boxes, she was content with the results of her work, and started sipping the tea. She was sitting on the floor with her back leaning on the sofa. "You said your grandparents are on East coast. Is it North or South?", she tilted her head to look at him.

"North."

"You can get them scarfs, with their initials. I can send you few sites that offer personalization. I'm confident they will love it", Sarah smiled.

Aiden smiled back, and she took that as his agreement. He observed her and wondered if she is always that thoughtful or is it because of him. He hoped that it's because of him. 'If I could confirm that she thinks of me differently than the others, that would be amazing.'

Sarah noticed his intense gaze and felt the need to break the silence. "Do you celebrate Christmas?" She looked at the cup of tea in her hand.

"We have dinner", he responded.

'Why such a short response?' She was hoping he would talk more. "Any decorations?"

"Christmas tree ", Aiden slid down from the sofa, now sitting next to her. His eyes didn't leave her, as if he does not want to miss a slightest change in her expression. "How about you?"

Sarah smiled nervously. 'Close! Close!', alarm rang in her head. She swallowed hard and focused her gaze on her teacup. "We go all out: Mom decorates indoors while dad works outside..." Her voice trailed off when she realized that her hands are trembling. The only sound she could hear is her heart beating in her ears.

Aiden observed her and wondered why she is so tense. 'Is it because we are this close? Is she afraid of me? Does not look like it. She would not come here if she is afraid. Does she like me? This much that she trembles when I am this close?'

Aiden reached and took the teacup out of her trembling hands. He placed the cup on a coffee table without removing his gaze from Sarah's face. Seeing that she didn't avoid him when he reached for the cup, he concluded that she is not afraid of him. 'Is it possible that she likes me, this much?'

Sarah faced him and their eyes met.

Aiden watched her as she inhaled deeply and held her breath. 'She does that when I'm close… Is she blushing? She does like me!' Aiden inched closer to Sarah.

Sarah could tell that her cheeks blushed. He had his devilish smile on, and she was not able to move, or even blink. It took some time for her to get control of her voice, "You are too close", she said in a quiet voice.

"Do you dislike it?", his voice was deep and enchanting.

She could feel his breath on her cheek, and her mind went blank. Sarah lowered her head, and her forehead was resting on his left shoulder. "No", she responded with a whisper.

He smiled and started shifting his body closer to hers.

"Don't move, please", she was whispering, not finding strength in her voice.

He stopped moving. They sat in silence, close to each other with her head resting on his shoulder.

"What are you thinking?", Aiden broke the silence.

She could feel his breath on her ear. It made her shiver. "I'm not thinking."

He wanted to move and to see her face, but as soon as he started moving, he heard her say in a quiet voice, "Can we stay like this?"

'Finally!' he was happy that he got closer, close enough to touch her. He nodded and put his right hand on her back. His fingers moved slowly, as he was trying to get her to relax.

Sarah felt that her skin was burning where his fingers touched. She closed her eyes and took few deep breaths. Woody flowery fragrance took over all her senses, and she felt that him being so close overloaded her reasoning.

Sarah wanted him closer, but she didn't dare to move. Confused by realization of this desire, she found her voice again, "I don't know if I should hug you or push you away".

Aiden was concerned, 'What if she moves away?' But they are already this close, he can't let her pull back now. "I prefer a hug", his breath grazed her ear and her mind went blank.

Sarah could still not move. Her brain stopped working, and there was no one to command her muscles to move. She could only feel his presence, and somewhere in her mind a thought appeared, 'This is right. This is how it should be.' Restless heartbeat was replaced with a warm feeling, and smile appeared on her face.

Aiden felt her body relax and knew that she made her decision. Decision not to run away from him. His impulse was to pull her closer and finally taste those lips, but he suppressed the urge. He does not want to scare her away. He needs to go slow. He does not want to mess this up. Aiden wrapped his left arm around her.

Sarah was surprised that her body didn't fight his closeness anymore. It felt warm, and comfortable. She lifted her head and their eyes met again. His face was very close, but now she didn't want to move away. They looked into each other eyes without speaking. Both were smiling, as if looking in the mirror. Sarah lowered her head to rest on his shoulder while her arms moved around his body embracing him.

For a moment, his back stiffened. 'At last, she took the initiative to be close to me.' He was happy. Aiden pulled her in a tight embrace.

After some time, she said in a quiet voice, "I should go." Sarah didn't want to go. She wanted to stay like that longer, and to get even closer to him. Part of her was whispering that it's too fast, she needs to slow down and analyze her emotions before proceeding.

"Stay a bit longer", his body craved for more.

"5 minutes", she responded.

He tightened his hug.

...

Sarah was not sure how much time passed before she realized that they are in front of her dorm entrance. The sky was dark, clouds hid the stars and the moon. No one was outside, except for two people standing in silence facing each other. It seems that cold weather is not affecting them. Sarah observed his face and took a mental note of all his features, stopping on his lips which were slightly curled upwards, just above her eye level. Then she looked up into his eyes and met his penetrating gaze.

It was time for them to part, but she didn't want to. Sarah took a deep breath, looking troubled, "I'm not sure what to do".

"Just do what you feel is right", he responded while slightly tilting his head.

She nervously bit her lower lip, took a step toward him and hugged him. He hugged her back without any delay.

Sarah felt like time stopped, and it's only two of them in the world. And even if anyone else existed, it didn't matter. She slowly let go of him, and their eyes met again, "I'm going inside now".

His right hand reached at the back of her head and he lightly kissed her forehead, "Go".

She nodded and went inside.

When she entered her room, Sarah turned on the lights, dropped her bags on the floor, and went to the window to put the blinds down. She looked outside and saw Aiden looking toward her. She waved and he waved back. Her smile widened, and she pulled the blinds down. She didn't move for a while, and then slumped on the bed. Sarah stared at the ceiling for a long time. Her mind was shifting between thinking about previous few hours and going blank. Like her memories were put on a replay in the loop, to make sure she does not forget any detail. Her mind was a mess, she could still feel his hug with her body, and smell his fragrance. Her forehead burned where his lips touched.

Sarah was not sure at what time she drifted off to sleep.