That’s a shame. The boyfriend part, I mean lol
Are you still bringing him to Otaku Con?
Of course I am. I already invited him, and he’s been as excited as I’ve been about it.
Okay, that last bit was a reach. I don’t think Aiden is as excited as I am about this event. He’s been stretched thin from Hellfire Night preparations with his friends.
I tug at a strand of hair and pull up the text thread with Aiden. We barely had time to talk this morning, and I want to talk to him about Otaku Con and about the texts from Brandon.
I type him a message, delete it, then rewrite it before hitting send.
When are you coming back?
I set my phone down and pour the smoothie into a pink cup. My phone chimes with a new message, and I snatch it from the counter, my heart skipping a beat.
Aiden
It won’t be until later tonight, pretty girl. Are you okay?
Can I come by real quick? Or is that not allowed?
Real quick? You should know by now there’s no such thing as a quickie for me
I’m not asking for a quickie.
We’ll see about that Of course you’re allowed to come by. Let me know when you’re here.
I close the chat, grab my smoothie, and leave the house. On the short walk to the safe-house, I sip my drink and go over how to approach him about ensuring everything between us is okay. He seemed like himself while texting, but he’s hiding behind a screen, and I can’t see his expressions. For all I know, he could have been sending those messages with a blank look and mumbling about how he wants to be left alone.
Maybe I’m projecting here, but I can’t be the only one who sends “LMFAO” and laughing emojis without cracking a smile.
I shoot a quick text to Aiden, letting him know that I’m walking up to the front door. The Delivered receipt flips to Read, but he doesn’t respond. A second later, the door opens.
“There you are,” Aiden coos. He pulls me inside, slams the door shut, and pins me against it, his hand braced by my shoulder.
My stomach flips, and I suck in a startled breath as he leans in like he’s about to kiss me. Aiden stops and smirks right before his lips touch mine.
"Green tea chai?” He plucks the thermos from my hand.
“No, it’s strawberry, but it’s for?—”
He brings the straw to his mouth and sucks on the end, his gaze never leaving mine as he drinks my smoothie.
I swallow hard and whisper, “Me.”
“So fucking delicious,” he growls, and I don’t think he’s talking about the smoothie.
My laugh comes out strained, and I feel like I’m about to lose my mind from how nervous I am. And here I thought things would be weird between us by this new relationship we have.
Fling.
We don’t have a relationship. It’s a fling.
Aiden steps back, eyes dancing with amusement, and he rakes his gaze over my body.
“Not that I’m complaining about you being here, but if you don’t want a quickie”—his gaze flits back to my face, and he grins—“is there something else you need?”
“Oh, I, uh . . .”Think, Nova. Think. Don’t get flustered by his charm.“I wanted to see if we’re going to do any more lessons? You know, so I don’t clam up on Brandon whenever I see him next.”
