I drop my phone onto my chest and squeeze my eyes shut.
“Come on, Aiden. Come home already,” I mumble.
I don’t like that I’m about to swallow my pride and ask for his help. However, if there’s anyone I can talk to about this, it would be Aiden.
I love my friends and their advice has always been solid, but if I want to understand a man, it’s best to go to a notorious playboy and a smooth talker.
Aiden will know what I need to do to get Brandon to like me as more than just a friend. He’ll also tell me if Brandon is actually flirting with me or if it’s all in my head.
The front door slams shut, and boots thump toward the living room.
The lights flip on and I squint my eyes as I sit up. “Jeez, you could have warned me about the lights.”
Aiden raises an eyebrow, still standing at the threshold. “What were you doing in here, sitting in the dark?”
“I wasn’t sitting in the dark.” I blow a raspberry.
He rolls his eyes and crosses the room to the sectional couch. “Okay, brat. What were you doinglyingin the dark?”
“Can’t sleep.” I shrug.
He rounds the couch and catches my legs when I move to make room for him. Clicking his tongue, he folds his tall body into the leather seat and lays my legs over his lap with his hands resting on my calves. The way he’s holding me may lookinnocent, but it feels more like a trap. If I make a move to escape, he’ll drag me back by my ankles.
“Yeah?” He smirks. “Don’t tell me you were worried about me.”
I playfully punch his arm, earning a fake whimper from him. “What if I was? I don’t like you being out all day and coming home late.”
Aiden puts on a show of rubbing the spot where I punched him. “Goddamn, who taught you to punch like that?”
“You did.” I grin and slip my legs from his lap and scoot closer to his side until our thighs touch.
He smirks and wraps an arm around my shoulder to tuck me against him. “Then I’m not gonna complain. Now, what’s the real reason for you lying in the dark?”
I pull a strand of hair near the top of my hairline. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”
“Nothing is ever embarrassing when it comes to you. What’s going on?”
I tug another strand. “How did today go?”
He tsks and covers my hand with his, then lowers it to my lap. “You’re not deflecting this time, pretty girl.”
“Fine,” I mutter.
He threads his fingers through my hair with the arm still slung over my shoulder. “I’m listening.”
Goosebumps rise on my arms and legs as he plays with my hair and massages the spot where I plucked strands.
I open my mouth to spill everything to him, but nothing comes. Shame weighs on my chest, preventing me from taking a full breath.
Groaning, I bury my face in his shoulder. “What’s wrong with me?”
Aiden’s fingers pause, and his muscles bulge. His silence adds to the pile of worry that there really is something wrong with me.
I raise my head and peek at his face to gauge where his thoughts are. He’s always been expressive, no matter how hard he tries to hide his emotions from the world.
Aiden’s dark eyebrows pinch together. His voice comes out strangled, deeper, and tinged with an emotion I can’t put my finger on. “Nothing. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“No. There has to be something wrong with me.”Just tell me what it is so I can change.“Be honest with me and don’t blow smoke up my ass.”
