"Wow. If I would have known a book could-" she began, fighting a smile.
He let go of her hand, playfully shoving it from his. "Shut up. I mean it. And not because of the book. I was being a dick. And I apologize."
"It's okay," she said. "And I-I'm sorry too. For...for not telling you about Ben. And thank you for letting him stay. It means a lot to me."
He nodded.
Aria felt awkward again, so she decided it was time for bed.
It wasn't long before he joined her. She was almost asleep when she felt him shift and come closer to her.
He moved until he was beside her, not as close as he'd been that morning in the house, but closer than he'd ever been in this bed. She could feel his arm moving underneath the covers.
She felt it wrap around her middle.
She opened her eyes in the darkness, completely surprised by his closeness and the feeling of his arm draped around her waist.
"Is this okay?" he whispered from behind her.
"Yeah," she whispered back, putting her hand on top of his, "It's okay."
In the morning, his arm was still wrapped around her. But at some point, she must have scooted back because she could feel his body pressed firmly against hers.
They were no longer lying on opposite sides of the bed. They met in the middle.
She felt momentarily happy, content. A slow blush crept up her chest when she realized she could feel him hard against her lower back.
It's natural, of course. She knew that. In fact, she was a little surprised that this hadn't happened sooner. They had been sleeping in the same bed for quite some time.
She slowly made her way out from under him, getting out of the bed, trying to spare them both the embarrassment of that situation. He stirred a little but didn't wake. Thank god.
She went down to the throne room for breakfast after changing. Grace wasn't at her regular spot at their table; instead, she leaned against the one her friends were at.
"Aria!" Peter yelled, "We're going on a trip. Wanna come?"
"Where are you going?" she asked, walking up to stand beside Grace.
"There's this place Grace wants to take us to," Peter said.
Aria looked at Grace. She wanted to go, but she wasn't sure if she was really invited.
"It's just a little hike. There's a waterfall and shit," Grace said, shrugging.
"Okay, sure. If you don't mind," Aria said, raising an eyebrow in question.
"Why would I mind?" Grace replied, looking a little annoyed.
Aria shrugged. Even though Grace was getting along with the rest of her friends...she and Aria still hadn't really gotten to know each other.
After eating breakfast, she went to get her backpack since Grace said it'd be a good idea to bring a change of clothes. Aria was pretty excited, hoping she'd get the chance to swim again.
"Where are you going?" Lex asked, leaning against the door frame to the bathroom.
"Grace is taking us on a hike. She said there's a waterfall or something," she said, finding it a little hard to look at him. He was still shirtless, and his hair was sticking up at random angles. And he looked so damn cute, nothing like how Aria imagined a king should look.
"Have fun," he said, smiling.
"Thanks," she replied, walking past him and leaving the room.
She wasn't sure why she felt so different around him. Then again, he had willingly held her last night. He'd never done that before. She felt like things between them had shifted, and they were standing on the edge of something.
She met up with Grace, Mara, Brent, Peter, and Martinez. They set out, and within two hours, they reached the place Grace had told them about.
The scenery took Aria's breath away. The waterfall was huge, but the river below it wasn't very deep. There were plenty of rocks for them to perch on and jump from.
She spent the day by the river with her friends, wading in the water.
The water was freezing, but at some point, Mara convinced her to stand underneath the waterfall with the others.
This is what Earth should be like, she thought, watching Brent and Martinez taking turns to see who could stand under the waterfall the longest.
They were all at ease, laughing and enjoying themselves.
Summer had turned to Autumn, but if anything, it was even more beautiful than before. Everywhere she looked, Aria saw shades of orange, yellow, red, and brown. She wished she had a better drawing ability, so she could capture the beauty.
After her swim, Aria perched on one of the rocks and tried to untangle her hair. It had grown a lot in the past two months, almost reaching the bottom of her rib cage. She sighed in frustration, wishing she'd thought to bring a comb.
"Hey," Grace said, sitting down on a rock adjacent to hers. "Want some help?"
Aria studied her for a few moments, trying to figure out what angle she was playing.
Grace noticed and rolled her eyes. "Want me to cut it for you?" she asked.
"You have scissors?" Aria asked, unsure.
"No, but I have my sword," Grace said, raising an eyebrow.
Aria thought about it. Her hair was longer than she'd ever had it. And it would be nice to get a trim, but she wasn't sure about how comfortable she was having Grace's sword so close to her body.
"Sure," she finally said, shrugging, "What the hell? I could use a trim."
Grace nodded and went to get her sword. After she came back, she separated Aria's hair into three sections; on her left, her right, and down her back.
Grace grabbed a fist full in the back, and before Aria could say anything, she slashed through it with the sword.
Aria's hand went to the back of her head. She stopped short when she realized just how much Grace had cut off.
"What the hell, Grace? I said I wanted a trim!" she yelled.
Grace shrugged and grabbed the hair on Aria's left side.
"Stay still if
