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“Oh, my god,” she says as she abandons the front door and heads further into the house.
I take the still open door as a sign that I can come in. I’m only a few steps behind her, but she doesn’t slow down.
What does she think she’s going to do? Outrun me in this tiny ass house?
“For fuck’s sake, Claire, stop.”
She turns around to face me, and runs a frazzled hand through her hair, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. “What do you want me to say, Aiden? I’m sorry I let your friend kiss me. I thought it didn’t matter. Maybe I’ll go back later tonight and find someone you don’t know at all and let them take me back to their place? Would that be better for you? Or should I bring them back here instead? I’d hate to do something you might not like. Haven’t you heard, you can be a real jerk about stuff like this?”
“Haven’t I heard—” I’m about to ask her if Chad is the one who told her that, but then I realize she’s playing a new version of her damn game. My heart pounds in my chest as I try to erase the image of her bringing some random asshole back here later.
This isn’t me.
But this is what she does to me, and I’m over it. I’m over her fucking rules and her fucking games. Walking toward her, I say, “You want to play games, Claire?” She takes a step back without looking behind her, and I move closer. “Okay, let’s play.” She backs into the kitchen island and those brown eyes are locked on me because she knows she has nowhere to go. Closing the space between us, I say, “You let Chad put his hands all over you, but I heard you didn’t like it.” The threat of tears is gone from her eyes. Her lips part like she’s going to say something, but she can’t seem to find a response. I can’t help narrowing my eyes at her as I say, “I heard you left because you couldn’t stand it.”
She swallows, and my gaze momentarily dips to the base of her neck. A small hickey is starting to show, and the fact that he left a mark on her sparks new anger.
Lowering my voice, I lean in like I’m telling her a secret. The smell of her shampoo might be more intoxicating than anything I’ve had to drink tonight, but I make sure not to touch her when I say, “I heard it’s because you want someone else, right?” When her breath catches, I know I have her. She’s thought about me—maybe not as much as I’ve thought about her, but it’s there. I pull back and study her reaction. Her wide eyes jump back and forth between mine, but she still says nothing. I prompt her again. “Fact or fiction, Claire?” She wets her bottom lip, and I can’t tear my eyes away from her mouth. She has a perfect mouth. I remember having the same thought in high school. Even back then, there was something about her lips that got my attention. I force my eyes back to hers. She’s watching me like the answer to my question lies within me, not her. “Well, wha—”
She pushes up on the tips of her toes and gently brushes her lips against mine. The shock of it steals the air from my lungs, those perfect lips exceeding all of my expectations. She pulls back just enough to break the kiss, and we both freeze.
I don’t know what the fuck just happened.
But I need more of it.
Breathlessly, I somehow manage to say, “Claire,” but her mouth cuts me off again, and I’ve never been so fucking happy to have been interrupted.
44
Claire
Kissing him was inevitable. I had to know if it would feel just as wrong.
It doesn’t.
Aiden’s hands gently hold either side of my face as he takes control of the kiss, and I let myself melt into him.
I wasn’t sure if he’d kiss me back.
But he is definitely kissing me back.
Holy shit is he kissing me back.
When he does pull away, it’s only for a moment. His lips find my neck as his hands push up the bottom of my dress to hook under my thighs, and in one swift movement, he lifts me onto the countertop. I let my legs fall to either side of him, the flowy material of my dress bunching up between us. His lips aren’t rushed and eager the way Chad’s were. Aiden’s kiss is slow and deliberate like he’s savoring every second, and I’d do just about anything to make it last forever. His hands grip my hips, and I hook my legs around him, pulling him closer. Hesitantly, I put my arms around his neck, my fingers moving up into his hair. My breath catches as his tongue sweeps over my bottom lip, and he doesn’t hesitate to part my lips further. I can’t get enough of the taste of him, the feel of him—I can’t get enough of him. My hands tighten in his hair, and a groan escapes him. The sound alone makes me rake my hands down his back to try to pull him in even closer.
I wish I hadn’t.
Because that’s when he pulls back to look at me, and I was nowhere near ready to be done kissing him. There are a million things I could say right now, but my mouth and brain don’t seem to be communicating. If they were, I’d tell him that I want this...but that I’m scared...but that I’m also not scared...that’s as far as I get because those blue eyes are locked on me, and all I can focus on is what thoughts might lie behind them.
Leaning his forehead against mine, Aiden says my name again, and this time I don’t cut him off. Our mouths are so close to touching, though, and it’s killing me. After a long pause, he says, “Why did you walk out on Chad?”
I don’t dare pull away from him, so keeping my forehead against his, I say, “It felt wrong.” When he doesn’t say anything for a moment, I add, “I was stuck in my head...I couldn’t...it just felt wrong.”
He lets out what sounds like a breath of relief but then pulls away from me. The sudden space between us feels like a void. “I should go.”
“What? Why?” My head snaps up to look at him. “I thought we...” I let my words trail off.
“You thought we what?” he asks, and I wish I could read his expression better.
