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She heard talking outside the door, though the words made little sense to her.
“How did she get like this?” the masculine voice asked.
“We were having fun at the reunion. She said she went through a breakup recently, and she drank a little too much. She needs a ride back to her mom’s. She’ll be fine,” Erica said.
“Damn right she’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of that.”
There was silence for a moment, then the front door of the car opened.
The man paused. “You picked my Uber on purpose, didn’t you?”
Erica laughed. “I did. You two were great together. I figured I might play matchmaker.”
He growled. “Don’t do me any favors.” A moment of silence, then a knuckle rap on the roof. “Thanks for calling a ride for her. I’ll get her home in one piece.”
“Thanks, Aiden.”
He made a non-committal noise, climbed into the driver’s seat, and shut the door behind him.
Bex’s last thought before she passed out was, Wait, did Erica say ‘Aiden’? As in ex-boyfriend, prior love of my life, Aiden?
Chapter 5
Aiden
Aiden glanced in the rearview mirror at Bex. Even passed out drunk in his backseat, she looked great. The last ten years filled out her small frame and gave her all the right curves. She looked sexier than ever in that little black dress.
He’d watched her grow up through the media, catching all the shows and concerts she played online. Anything he could watch, he did. But the changes in her still seemed unreal to him. When he pictured her in his mind, he still pictured that tiny 18-year-old he once knew.
Her brown pixie-cut hair framed her face. She hadn’t spiked it into a mohawk that night like she did onstage. The cut accentuated her features and reminded him of... well, a pixie. While they’d been together, his nickname for her had actually been “Pixie.” Bex always seemed magical to him, much like the mythical creatures. The association felt natural.
He focused on the road, taking the familiar route to her parents’ house — a route he remembered like the back of his hand from all the times he drove it during high school. He and Bex spent three years together back then.
Aiden sighed as he pulled into the driveway and parked. This place brought back so many memories. Most of them were good, but the last one — the day he broke up with Bex — made his chest burn with regret. Worst day of his life.
The front porch light of the two-story house was on, but no other lights came from the house. He wondered if that meant Mr. and Mrs. Teter were out for the night. He glanced around and settled on yes when he couldn’t find their car.
He turned off the engine and climbed out of his car. Almost as an afterthought, he pulled his phone from his pocket and entered into the Uber app that he had dropped the rider at their destination.
Shoving his phone back into his jeans pocket, he crossed the small front yard. Thinking it would be easier to get Bex inside with the door open, he climbed onto the porch and tried the front door. Locked.
He walked down the front steps and surveyed the flower bed. He spotted the hide-a-key rock and picked it up. He chuckled, thinking how often he’d used this key to sneak in during their youth — probably hidden in this same rock.
He slid the rock open, and his chuckle faded when he found the rock empty.
Shit.
Okay, so Bex had a key, right?
He put the rock back and walked over the grass to his car. He pulled the back door open.
Bex still sat passed out with her head leaned back against the seat. He leaned down and lightly squeezed her hand.
“Bex.”
“Mmmm. Aiden,” she murmured without waking.
He gently shook her. “Wake up, Bex.”
