The second his eyes meet mine, the smile vanishes from his face. The unique gray eyes I know so well instantly grow alarmed.
“Scarlett? What’s wrong?” Aiden asks urgently. He puts his hands on my arms, and I flinch from his touch.
Because this will be one of the last times I will ever have physical contact with him.
I can’t speak over the lump that has frozen in my throat. I don’t want to say the words I have to say. Aiden keeps one hand on me and uses his other to shut the door. Then he takes my face in his hands, caressing it, searching for answers.
“Aiden,” I finally force out, my voice wobbly, “we can’t do this.”
His brow creases in confusion. “We can’t do what, baby?”
I want to sob. I want to fist his T-shirt in my hands and hold on to him as he draws me into his body. I want to feel his warmth, his muscle, his affection.
But I can’t. I have to let all of this go.
“We can’t do us,” I say, tears streaming down my face. “I can’t do this to you.”
Aiden begins stroking my hair, which makes everything worse. He’s so patient. So kind. Right now, all he wants to do is soothe me.
“Scarlett, what are you talking about?” he asks.
“I can’t see you anymore. I’m going to ruin you, Aiden. And I won’t do that. I care about you too much to do that. So this has to be goodbye.”
Aiden’s hand freezes in my hair. His eyes grow desperate and confused, as if he hasn’t heard what I said correctly, and the color drains from his face.
“I promised you I wouldn’t hurt you,” I say, forcing myself to go on. “But I have to hurt you now, so I won’t hurt you later. Ethan has made that clear to me tonight. We’ve been so wrapped up in our feelings, we haven’t seen the truth.”
I keep waiting for Aiden to push me away. To drop his hand from my hair, to take a step back with disgust.
But to my surprise, he remains still. His hand remains in my hair, and his eyes stare down at me, questioning everything I’m saying. Not angry. Not hurt. But trying to understand.
“Did you tell Ethan about us?” he asks quietly.
I close my eyes as more tears fall. Aiden puts a hand on my face, his fingertips gently tracing them away. I open my eyes, and it hurts so much to look at him that I can barely breathe. A sob escapes my lips.
“Dad was talking about you and Wyatt helping me after my accident, and Ethan made some smart remark about you guys hitting on me, and my dad—” I stop, as I know this is going to hurt Aiden. “Dad said you would never do anything like that. You’re a leader and an alternate captain.”
Aiden flinches. The second I feel his hands tense against me, guilt rips me apart. How could I have put him in this position? I never should have flirted with him. Met him for coffee. Pursued anything with him.
Or fallen in love with him.
“Ethan could read it my expression, my anger and upset over what was being said about you. He cornered me about it,” I say, my words strained. “He asked me who I was hooking up with—you or Wyatt. I said I don’t do hookups, and he guessed I was seeing you. I couldn’t deny it.”
Aiden continues to caress the back of my head. I’m amazed he hasn’t ripped his hand away in disgust or anger.
“But Ethan is just like Dad,” I continue. “He—”
“So he thinks I’m trash,” Aiden interrupts. “And Coach will think I’m trash, too.”
I bite down on my lip and nod. Once again, I wait for Aiden’s hands to fall away from me.
But they don’t.
“Aiden,” I say, my voice wobbling, “this is why I can’t do this. If Dad finds out, he’ll make your life hell. I think he’ll trade you. Or he’ll rip that A off your chest and create a PR crisis for you. You won’t be here in Miami, and he’ll make sure insiders know why you were traded. I can’t let that happen.”
“Wh—”
“I can’t let that happen!” I blurt out, interrupting him. I put my hands on his face. “You will be a captain in this league one day. This is yourdream.You’ve workedsohard. Stayed on the right side of things, became a role model. My dadadmiresyou so much. Do you think I can continue to see you when I know what will happen? I can’t destroy your dreams like this. I won’t.
