Crossing the Line (23 page)

Mum spits her drink out. “Amelie Cohen!”

I hold my hand up. “Don’t worry, I’m
going.” Aden’s on his feet right after me. “I’m sorry,” I say to his parents.
“I hope we can get together another time, maybe without everyone else.”

His mum nods in shock. “Of course.”

I storm out of the room, bloody pulsing in
my ears because I’m so bloody pissed off. I hate them all. Shoving the front
door open, I make a beeline for my car, needing to be as far away from them and
the sticks up their arses as possible.

“Amelie,” Aden shouts behind me. I stop and
turn. He jogs towards me, the ground crunching beneath him.

Huh, he’s followed me? “I thought you’d
want to stay away from me after that. Why’re you here?”

“Because I love you, and I can’t stay away,
not even if I wanted to.”

How? “Oh,” I reply, my heart now racing for
all the right reasons.

“What the hell was that in there?”

“You know what that was. You heard what she
was saying.”

“And you couldn’t have ignored her?”

Possibly but it’s the principle. “No.”
Sighing, I run my hands through my hair. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You’re not coming home with me?” he asks.

Really? After that? “You want me to still?
You don’t want tonight apart?”

“Of course I don’t want tonight apart.
Millie, if I wanted someone sane I would be with, well, anyone else.”
Hilarious. “I love you, your overreactions and lack of thinking before you
speak. And having no brain to mouth filter only adds to the fun.” Wow. Okay
maybe I should just marry him now. “And one day we’ll have a talk about what’s
really going on with your family and why you’re so desperate to get away and
distance yourself from them.”

I frown. “That’s not what I’m doing.”

“You are. You constantly worry about
becoming them and are always telling me how much you dislike this life. If
there’s a disagreement, you accelerate it and storm out before they can do
what? Side with Isabel? Tell you they’re disappointed in you? What do you think
they’re going to say?” He tilts his head, staring into my eyes and says, “They
do love you.”

I swallow hard, clenching my jaw.
Shut up, shut up, shut up!
“Are we going
or not?”

He smiles sadly. “Yeah, come on. I’ll buy
you Chinese on the way.” I wrap my arms around him, pressing my face into his
chest and he kisses the top of my head.

Chapter Twenty-Two

We arrive back at Aden's after stuffing our
faces with noodles. He heads straight to make us coffee, and I flop down on the
sofa. I know I shouldn’t have walked out like that. As much as I hate Aden
being right, he is. I know they’re disappointed in me, and I try to not care,
but I can’t switch it off. I can’t watch them look me in the eye and tell me
that. It’s easier, safer, to say fuck it and leave.

“Aden, do you like it? And be honest.”

He pokes his head around the door. “I’ll
need more than that. Do I like what?”

“That life? How they are?”

“We've been through this, Millie. No, I
don't, but sometimes, especially in business and given who our families are,
you have to do it. That's life. You sometimes have to put up with and deal with
people and situations you don't like. You can't run from everything, baby.”

“I'm not trying to run from everything.”

“Really? How often would you visit or meet
you mum for lunch when you move out?” Well that would be never. My silence is
his answer. “Exactly. They're still your family, and nothing is going to change
that.”

“Unfortunately.”

“They're not evil, Amelie. You may not feel
that they care, but they do, in the only way they know how. Wanting your child
to be looked after isn't a bad thing.” Bastard is on their side.

They have no consideration for what I want
to achieve. They’ve handed out hundreds of thousands of pounds for my
education, and they don't even want me to use it.

“I'm moving out now.”

He sighs. “What?”

I raise my eyebrow. “It’s time to do things
myself. I can’t complain if I don’t make changes.”

“So you're just moving out?”

“Yes. Can I use your laptop?” I ask,
already reaching for it. “You can help me look for places.”

He disappears back in the kitchen, and I
hear cluttering around as he makes the coffee. I thought he’d say I’m crazy.
The fact that he’s said nothing at all doesn’t look good. I’m not changing my
mind, though.

How will Mum and Dad react? Isabel will
probably throw a party. Mum will no doubt freak at first and worry about how it
looks to everyone else. I bet she’ll tell people I’ve moved in with Aden.
Whatever their reaction I think they’ll be glad I’m gone.

Aden comes back into the room and places
our drinks on the table. He turns to me with his deep in thought frown.
“Amelie, are you sure you're doing the right thing?”

“Yeah, of course. House or flat? I do like
the idea of having a garden, but then I'll have to cut the grass.”

“So you're sure you want to move out?”

“Yes” I reply. “One million, two hundred
and thirty-eight thousand per cent sure.”

He smirks. “Odd number. Alright, move in
with me then.”

All the air is sucked out of my lungs. What
the hell? Where did that come from? We’ve only just gone half public, and he
wants to move in together. “What?”

“Move in with me.”

Okay, definitely heard right. I’m torn
between telling him to stop being stupid and jumping on him in celebration. I’m
crazy about him, but we aren't living in some fantasy world where people meet,
marry within an hour and live happily ever after. This is real life, and you
have to get to know someone first. What if I move in and in six months find out
he has a C3PO sexual fetish and wants me to dress up like a robot? Or worse,
that he likes Justin Bieber.

“Aden, we haven't been together that long
and…” And what? Where am I going with this? Too soon? It is too soon. If I move
in before I’m ready then I might mess things up, and I can't take that risk. I
desperately want it to work out because I can see myself growing old
disgracefully with him.

He nods slowly once. “You don't want to?”

No, that isn't it. “It's not that I don't
want to.”

“Well what is it?”

“Aden, I love you.”

He smiles and sits down, scooting closer
and brushing my hair behind my ear. My heart races at the simple touch. “I love
you too, Millie. That's why I want you to live with me.”

“But is that enough? Especially so soon.
What if it's too, too soon and everything goes wrong.”

“You're worried about us breaking up if
this is the wrong decision?” I nod. That’s all I’m worried about. “Baby, if you
feel like living here's not working then I'll help you find a place nearby to
move into. No hard feelings. It doesn't always have to be all or nothing. If a
situation isn't working then we can change it, but if we never try then we'll
never know.”

I really hate when he makes sense, it’s so
bloody annoying, but it doesn't change anything. “I still can't. I'm scared,” I
say and drop my gaze to my lap. It’s not often I admit something like that, but
I am scared. I’m terrified of how I feel about him. What happens when he’s had
enough of me too?

He places a chaste kiss on my lips. “What
about a compromise? What if you stay at your parents until you feel ready to
move in with me.”

“How's that a compromise? I don't want to
be at my parents.”

“Well you could spend most nights here. We
can see how we'd work together, but you wouldn't officially live with me.”

“Are you asking me to half move in?”

“Maybe a little more than half. Stay here
five nights a week, more if you want.” Anymore and I might as well just move
in. He watches me closely, waiting for my answer with the most ridiculously
hopeful expression. “Well?” he whispers.

“I can live with that compromise, although
I'll see how it goes at home. I still might look for a little place.” He
frowns, probably thinking I’m mental for wasting hundreds of pounds a month on
a place I'll only stay at two nights a week.

My phone rings and I know I’ll be my mum. I
hold my phone out to Aden. “Tell her I died.”

He gives me a disapproving glare and
answers. “Hello, Elizabeth... Yes, she's right here. Of course, I'll pass you
over.”
You utter bastard!

I snatch the phone out of his hand and
stick my middle finger up at him. “Hello, Mum.”

“Amelie Cohen, what on earth got into you
at dinner? Your behaviour was unacceptable-”

“Mum, I can't talk right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don't want to.”

“We'll I don't care what you want young
lady.” Don’t I know it. “How dare you behave like that in front of our guests?
I cannot believe-”

“I really have to go, Mum.”

“Amelie Cohen-”

“Bye.” I hang up, resisting the urge to
launch the fucking phone at the wall. She makes me so bloody angry I want to
smash something.

“You’re acting like a child,” he says and
stands.

“And you’re acting like an arse.” I take a
deep breath. What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I just be normal? I feel like I’m
almost drowning, clinging to the side of the pool by my fingertips. I want to
be able to handle situations and disagreements with my family and my boyfriend
properly, but I just see red.

“Are you going to talk to me or not?” he
asks, rocking on his heels.

“I don’t want to argue. I’m sorry I
overreacted.” I rub the ache in my forehead. He sits beside me and waits. He
wants me to spill how I feel, but I’m scared of saying just how terrified I am
of being rejected by him and my family. “Can we forget what happened tonight
please?”

“Sure. Are you tired?” he says.

“No, I’d like sex. I want us to be okay
again.” His eyebrows shoot up. “I’m going to the bathroom. Be naked and in bed
in five minutes.” I walk to the bathroom and hear his thudding footsteps on the
stairs.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I wake up alone in bed. Where’s Aden? The
bed is so warm and comfortable, far too warm and comfortable to be left. I
groan and call out, “Aden.” What the hell can he be doing at stupid o’clock in
the morning? Hmm what time is it? Looking over at the clock, I see the orange
glow of 9:52am.
 
All right, not so
stupid o’clock!

He walks in and smirks, probably at how
awful I look in the morning. Well sorry guys, we don’t wake up with perfect
make-up and flawless hair. “Good morning, sunshine.”

I narrow my eyes. “Morning.”

“Coffee and breakfast?”

I frown in suspicion. “Why are you being
nice?” Usually he’d tease for the sort of thing I did last night.

“Sorry, should I be an arsehole?” He shakes
his head. “You’re so confusing. Women complain that men treat them badly, but
when you’re treated well, you complain still. We can’t win, can we?”

“Nope. Never.” I throw my hands up and
smile. “Welcome to a relationship.”

“Hmm, I’ve heard that.
 
Soon it’ll be sex once a week and BJs on
special occasions!” I laugh and get out of bed, naked. Aden’s wearing a pair of
grey tracksuit trousers that hang from his hips, making my mouth water. He
gulps as his eyes run all over my body. Sex once a week definitely isn’t going
to happen with us.

His arms reach out for me, and I
immediately snuggle into him. With one swift movement, I hook my hands over the
waistband and shove his trousers down.

Aden’s eyes widen. “You waste no time, huh?
Do you have no shame?”

“No. Bed. Now.”

He groans and picks me up, making me gasp
in surprise. Well this is a good start to my day. I wrap my arms around his
neck as he lays us down. My body bursts to life as he presses his naked chest
to mine. Our skin touching sends bolts of electricity through my whole body.

He peppers kisses across my throat, and I
moan loudly, bucking my hips to his. I want him now. His lips tongue grazes my
skin as he makes his way lower, licking and kissing his way down between my
breasts and belly.

I gasp, arching my back, trying to get
closer. His hot mouth on my skin is driving me crazy. I throb painfully,
needing my release. “Aden, please,” I beg. Making me wait now is just cruel.

He chuckles against the top of my pubic
bone and moves left, kissing his way down the inside of my thigh. Shit! I
clench down south and grip the sheets. Come on! I’m painting in anticipation.

He slips two fingers inside, and I cry out,
bucking my hips into his hand. I hear my pulse whooshing in my ears as I start
to build. Aden’s tongue flattens over my clit and he presses down, moving in
circles.
Fuck!
I push back, moving in
sync, gripping the quilt until my hands ache.

“Oh God.” It’s too good. His hand and
tongue together rockets me to my orgasm, and I come hard, body shaking and
spiralling into darkness.

When I float back to earth, I push him on
his back, and his eyes widen. “Amelie?” he says as I push his chest, lean down
and kiss neck. “Hmm,” he murmurs, running his hands up my back. He arches his
into my hand as I wrap it around his rock hard erection and pump slowly,
teasing. “Baby,” he says in the same pleading tone I did before.

He throws his head back as I part my lips
over his head and suck gently, still pumping at the base. I take him deeper and
suck hard. He moans, pushes himself up on his elbows, and arches his hips
upwards again, forcing himself deeper into my mouth. I love this. I love that I
can make him desperate for me. “Millie!”

His swells in my mouth and I know he’s not
going to be long. I pump harder, suck harder, taking him deeper and he
explodes, throwing his head back and groaning from his throat. Hot come spurts
into my mouth and I swallow, trying not to gag. I pull back, and I’m thrilled
to see him lying down, eyes closed, mouth parted, panting.

I hover above him, admiring his lightly
tanned skin, full but not too full for a man lips and his dark lashes. “You’re
watching me,” he says, eyes still closed and a smirk stretching across his
face.

“I am. I like looking at you.”

His eyes flick open, and my heart skips a
beat. I love him so much it’s overwhelming. My throat closes up, and I feel
like I’m going to cry – what a fucking girl! He smiles and his almost
dimple is here.

He strokes his fingers across my cheek and
along my lips. I stay still, heart ready to burst out of my chest. The way he’s
looking at me is somehow more intimate than when he’s inside me. I want to hide
away he’s making me feel so self-conscious, but at the same time, I love the
intimacy. I need it.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers, and I
blush.

I don’t know how long we stayed in that
position – me hovering over him, staring at each other, but soon Aden
rolls us over and kisses me. His lips are sweet, moving against mine slowly.

He positions himself
at my entrance and the light; teasing pressure makes me dizzy.
“I love you,” he murmurs against my lips and eases himself inside me. I wrap my
legs around his waist as we kiss passionately.

His teeth graze my bottom lip, and I buck
my hips, trying to get closer as I that familiar tightening makes my heart
leap. This time is different; it’s tender and filled with love. I come in a
rush, my orgasm rolling on and on.

I lay my head on his chest, and we pant
together, trying to get our breath back. I close my eyes as my feelings for him
threaten to overwhelm and consume me. Aden makes me so happy it’s hard to
believe it’s real sometimes. I’m not the type of girl that gets a guy like Aden
but by some miracle I have.

“What do you want to do today? Shopping?” I
ask, planting a kiss on his sweaty chest. “Good choice. Get dressed.”

His looks down at me and frowns. “Why
bother asking if you've already made the decision?”

“I’m meeting you halfway.”

“And that was halfway, how?”

“I think I'll buy some slutty underwear,” I
say, knowing that’s exactly how to get him shopping, without moaning the whole
time.

His eyes brighten as I’d hoped. “Red slutty
underwear?”

Bingo. “Hmm yeah, I like red.”

“Alright, I'm up.” He hops out of bed,
eager. I watch the muscles in his body flex as he pulls back on his trousers.
“You shower first, and I'll make the coffee.” I roll my eyes. Men are way too
easy, mention something sexual or that can lead to sex, and they’re suddenly on
the same page.

Aden’s leaning against the counter in the
kitchen – still shirtless – drinking coffee. My heart leaps and
mouth waters. I pick up my drink and try to act casual, so he doesn’t think I’m
some sort of sex-crazed pervert.

“Why don't we invite your parents to dinner
tonight? And mine,” Aden says.

“Um, because I'd rather shove my head in an
oven.” What the fuck? Why would we willingly do that?

He cocks his head to the side. “Halfway,
Millie.”

I sigh. Damn I wish I’d never said that.
“Is this
really
something you want to
do?”

“For our families to get along? Yes.”

“They already get on.”

“You know what I mean. It’s different now.”

Does that really require dinner, though?
Our families got on perfectly fine whether we’re together or not. It’s me that
carries all of the issues around. I certainly don't want to spend any
unnecessary time with them. “Fine, we can do the dinner,” I reply.

“Good. I'll call my mum, you call yours.”

I groan, wishing I wasn’t so crazy about
him. No one else could get me to agree to this. Aden starts calling his mum, so
I guess this is a do it right now thing. I dial home from my mobile.

“Hello?” Mum answers on the fourth ring.
Wow,
she’s
answered. The maid must
off polishing Mum’s cauldron.

“Hi, it's Amelie.” I take a deep breath.
Just ask, Millie. “Would you and Dad like to come to dinner at Aden's tonight?”
Please have something else on.

“Oh.” She doesn't even try to disuse her
surprise at being invited. “That would be lovely, Amelie. What time would you
like us?”

“Seven?” I look at Aden, and he nods. “Yes,
seven.”

“We'll be there. Are we your only guests?”

“No. Aden's parents are coming too. At
least I think they are, he's inviting them now.”

“Well I do hope they can attend, even
though this is very last minute.” Not last minute enough it would seem. “Are
you inviting Oliver, Harriet, and Isabel too?”

“I hadn't planned on it. I thought just us
would be nice for our first time hosting. Although, if you want to bring
Isabel, if she's free, that's fine with us.”

“Thank you. I'll ask her when she wakes.”
She’s still in bed. Lazy, lucky cow! “We'll see you tonight.”

“Yep. Bye, Mum.”

“Goodbye, Amelie.” I hang up and wish I'd
never agreed to it in the first place. After last night… Oh, I suddenly realise
this isn’t about his parents getting along with mine, it’s about me getting
along with them. I frown. Meddling, sweet bastard. Part of me wants to yell at
him, and the other part loves that he wants to try to fix it for me.

“They're coming then?” Aden asks.

“Yes.”

“Good. Mine are too. Now, what should we
cook?” I let it go because I don’t want to fight and deep, deep down I suppose
I do want to fix my relationship with them.

“Domino’s pizza?” Aden rolls his eyes.
“Supermarket then?”

He nods. “I'll take you slutty underwear
shopping another day. For now, I don't mind if you wear nothing.”

“I bet,” I reply dryly.

“Where do we start?” I ask, staring at all
the ingredients laid out on the counter. Neither of us have cooked before, not
a proper three course meal anyway. We can cook simple things like roast
dinners, lasagne, enchiladas, and spaghetti Bolognese, but tonight is something
else. Tonight is ridiculous. We should just serve a big lasagne and not care
what they think.

Aden scratches his jaw. “Err... I'll get
the recipe book.” Because we’re not chefs, we’ve also bought a cookbook. “We
need to start with the pork, it'll take the longest to cook.” I sigh and slam
my head down on the counter. This is going to be a disaster. How do people do
this for a living?

I’m right. We have used every pot, pan and
utensil that Aden owns. The cheesecake is the second one we’ve made, as the
first one was a complete disaster. “We should never open a restaurant,” I
mutter, stirring the homemade vegetable soup – one of Mum’s favourites.
“I think we’re doing alright, though.” We are, considering we’re making a
three-course meal, and I had the attention span of a two-year-old.

“Tonight’s going to be perfect,” he
replies. He’s happy, and I can’t help getting caught up and enjoying myself
too. Growing up I’ve never felt good enough, my parents make me feel flawed and
as much as I hate it, I’m worried that tonight will just be another page to add
to the very full Amelie the Failure book.

The doorbell rings and I put down the
spoon. “I’ll get it.”

Plastering on my best smile, I open the
door to find my parents standing in front of me with big, almost scary looking
smiles. I can see too much teeth. “Hi, Mum, Dad,” I say politely.

“Hello, Amelie,” Mum replies and kisses my
cheek. So far, so good.

Dad hands Aden his jacket. “Thank you for
inviting us. I’m sure there are many other things you would prefer to be doing
on a Saturday evening than hosting dinner for your parents.”

Yep, like sawing off my own arm.

“No, we’re happy to have you over.” Man I
lie well. Aden smiles down at me. and my heart gives a flutter. “Where’s
Isabel?”

“She’s unwell. Migraine,” Mum replies.

Good. Well, not that she’s in pain, just
that she’s not here. Actually I bet she feels fine but doesn’t want to come.
“Oh. Well, I’ll pour the wine. Come through,” I say, leading them through just
as Aden’s parents walk in the door.

Aden’s place is amazing. I love it, and I’m
going to live here – most of the time. “This is a lovely place, Aden,”
Mum says, looking around. “Who did your curtains?”

He frowns. “They were here when I moved in.
They fit the white, so I left them.”

Mum’s eyebrows shoot up in shock. “Oh. Well
whoever they were, they had very good taste.” If this is the type of
conversation I can expect tonight, I might shove my head in the oven.

Aden nods. “They did.” I can tell that was
bull. He couldn’t care less about curtains; they could have hung bin bags
over the windows, and he would have just left them up. I bet if they took them
with them he wouldn’t have any at all.

Mum moves closer, invading my personal
space. What’s she doing? “He’s definitely a keeper, Amelie. Though this place
definitely needs a woman’s touch. I’ll help you.” She smiles brightly. Oh no.
Oh no, no, no! Decorating with my mother. Decorating my boyfriend’s house,
which I do not live in - full time anyway, with my mother. I feel
like hyperventilating at the thought of turning Aden’s modern house into
something straight out of a Better Home magazine. Just wait until she sees the
piano then.