Stay the Night

MARISSA

Snuggling into Layton’s side, my head rested on his chest. His heartbeat thrummed against my ear and I lifted my hand to rest it beside my head. I inhaled deeply, savoring the moment while I was still in it. When we got out of this bed, I didn’t know what would happen.

Lying in his arms felt so right. Being with him in any way felt so right. Before this moment, I told myself I wanted to apologize to him because it was the right thing to do. I had been wrong and he deserved to know it and to know I was sorry about it.

All this time, I’d been telling myself I didn’t want to get involved with him again, that I didn’t want to go back to how things used to be between us. But being here with him now, I knew I’d been fooling myself.

I did want Layton, very much so. And not just in my bed, but in my life. It had taken me too long to realize he wasn’t at fault for what happened with Annie. Denise finally made me realize that I wasn’t really to blame either.

At least four other kids in