“I’ll wait with you then.” He didn’t look alarmed or in a hurry. “How did you get home that night anyway?”
“My friend came to get me.” My chest hurt at the reminder of my stupidity. Callie sank to the ground and I joined her. Our outfits would be ruined, but fuck it. I was exhausted. The night had been fun until an hour ago.I knew we should’ve left at midnight.
“I know this is a long shot,” Todd said, “but I really liked you. I assumed you would never talk to me again after that night. But would you want to try again?”
I didn’t get a chance to answer before someone punched him in the face. A large, swift body came out of nowhere and it took me thirty seconds to realize it was Aaron.
Aaron punched Todd in the face.
“What the fuck, man?” Todd spat out, wiping blood from his mouth. His eyes were wild and afraid.
“That’s for the shit you pulled at Dirty Matt’s.” He pulled back his fist and hit him again. “That’s for pathetically asking my girlfriend out.”
“Aaron!” I jumped into action, confused as hell about how and when he’d got there. “Stop. Let it go.”
“I’m good. I got my two shots in.” He twisted so he faced me and Oh. My. God. His eyes were lethal. Steel gray, calm and predatory. “I’ll never forgive him for scaring the shit out of you that night.”
I stood, dumbfounded. “How… Why are you here?”
“Zade came for Callie. I came for you.”
Ugh, my goddamn heart. His words could kill me or light me on fire.
Zade already had Callie on his back, him carefully looking at her fingers. I assumed he’d found out about the fight and was whispering sweet nothings to her. I glanced back at Aaron and he was still studying me. His chest heaved, the tight gray fabric leaving nothing to the imagination. My mouth dried up.
“I think Zade’s taking Callie home.” He bit his lip, a grimace coming over his face when he noticed his hand. “I’ll walk you home.”
“I have an Uber on the way.” I checked my phone and saw it would arrive in two minutes. “I can’t cancel.”
“I’ll go with you. Come on, let’s leave this asshole alone.” He put his arm around me, his familiar scent intoxicating me. Being around Aaron was like a ride on a roller coaster without a seatbelt. I had no choice but to follow him toward the main road. His fingers teased my skin, up and down my bare arm. I shivered. “Are you cold?”
“Slightly. My adrenaline wore off.” My teeth clattered, the car pulling up that second. I sighed. “Good.”
We got into the car, but Aaron wrapped his arm around my waist. He prevented me from scooting all the way over. Instead, he pulled me onto his lap. He wrapped his strong arms around me. “Wh—what are you doing?”
“Warming you up.” He chuckled, his laugh hitting me in the chest.What the fuck is happening?
“Oh.” I welcomed his heat and soon enough, we were dropped off outside my apartment. Aaron kept his arm around me while we headed up the stairs and my nerves took off. He turned me on. I didn’t know when that had started. He messed with my head and emotions. We needed to talk, but it was already super fucking late. Did I invite him in? I had no idea.
“I’m coming in. I’m beat.” He shut the door and locked it behind him. He winked and added, “Remember I have an extra key?”
“I should probably take that back.” I fumbled with my words.
“Not a chance in hell. Do you need to sleep right now? Can we talk first?” His tone changed, confidence replaced with insecurity. “Please?”
I eyed him. He looked broken. “Sure. I can stay awake.”
He plopped onto the couch and patted the cushion next to him. “Come on.”
I obeyed and crossed my legs. I re-crossed them at least three times before he started talking. “Greta, I’m a shitty friend and an even worse fake boyfriend. I assumed you didn’t want to talk all week because I pissed you off.”
“I—”
“Don’t interrupt, G.” He put his long finger on my lips. He smirked. “Thank you. I know you’re the gabby one, but it’s my turn.”
I nodded, the first sign of relief flowing through me.
“You’re not like how I envisioned a girlfriend. You don’t fit the stereotype. Certainly not to me. I won’t do that again.” He held my stare and I gulped. “I hated not talking to you every day. I don’t know when you did this, but I blame you.”
