AllFreeNovel
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I wasn’t expecting a lot of what happened today.
The butterflies in my stomach go wild at the thought of seeing him again. And it suddenly occurs to me that I don’t know how I should act around him in front of his friends. Has he even told his friends? Em didn’t seem to give any hint that she knew what happened between us when I texted her, but then again, it was a short conversation. Would she have said anything if she knew?
My spiraling thoughts continue until I’m led to the address Em sent. I can hear music playing from inside. It isn’t as loud as it would be for a party, but it’s probably louder than most people listen to music on a Sunday night.
Ethan answers when I knock, and my already uneasy stomach isn’t settled by the look he gives me. He tilts his head for a moment before opening and shutting his mouth like he doesn’t know what to say.
After a moment of awkward silence, I mutter, “Uh, Em said Aiden’s here?”
That seems to snap him back to the present. “Right, sorry. Come in,” he says just as Em comes rushing around the corner.
“Claire!” she half exclaims, half whispers. “Come with me.” She grabs my arm and leads me down a hallway to the left of the front door. “Do you know what’s wrong with him? I thought maybe you two fought with the way he’s been acting.”
My eyebrows crease together. “Not at all.”
Em frowns and glances at Ethan who’s still standing at the end of the hall waiting for us. He lifts both hands in a sort of shrug and walks further into the house. Turning back to me, she says, “Sam showed up a few minutes ago.”
The butterflies in my stomach feel like they’ve all just turned into bees. “Oh?” I ask, not sure how I should react.
Giving me a sympathetic smile that makes me want to turn around and go home, she nods. “He came here in a bad mood, but I didn’t know he invited her here. I would have told you.”
The more I talk to Em, the more I want to find Aiden and figure out what’s going on. “I’m sure everything is fine,” I say, and I don’t know who I’m trying to convince more, her or me.
“Yeah,” she says as she turns to lead the way, but she doesn’t sound convinced. “He’s right over here,” she offers as she walks me through the apartment.
Speaking of the apartment, the Natty Shack is...wow. There are large road signs up on the walls saying things like “Right Turn Only” and “No Outlet.” The other wall décor consists of a large banner for an energy drink that you might see at some sort of sponsored sports event and a neon Heineken sign. The kitchen sits to the left of the living space with the famous Natty backsplash. It’s made up of empty cardboard beer cases that have been flattened and somehow stuck to the wall like a Natty collage. Beyond the kitchen lies the family room, which would look normal if it weren’t for the stacked couches.
Yes, stacked couches.
There’s one couch on the floor, and behind it sits a second couch on top of some type of wood platform like a makeshift movie theater.
Em seems to read my mind because she says, “Yeah, I haven’t had the chance to redecorate since the guys lived here without me.”
I suddenly feel bad. I wasn’t trying to look down on her place. There’s just so much to look at. “If anything, it’s impressive,” I say honestly.
Em laughs nervously. “At least it’s clean now.”
I’m about to laugh with her but then my eyes land on Aiden, and her comment doesn’t seem as funny as it did a moment ago.
He’s on the couch with a drink in one hand, the other draped over Sam’s shoulders as she snuggles up to him. I don’t know if the similarities to how I found out Garret was cheating on me come into play, but the sight alone might as well have knocked the wind out of me.
“Claire!” Chad yells from the far end of a beer-pong table. He waves his arms with more enthusiasm than I can handle. “Team with me!”
The best I can offer him is a weak smile. “Maybe a little later,” I manage to say.
Aiden takes a sip from a red Solo cup, his eyes momentarily locking on mine as he does. That look says that I shouldn’t have come here—that much I know for sure.
Ethan and Chad continue their game of beer-pong, so I walk up to Aiden and Sam, my feet getting heavier with each step. By the time I reach them, I don’t even know what to say.
Luckily, I don’t have to come up with anything. Sam addresses me before I have time to think.
“Hi!” she says, beaming at me. “I’m Sam. Are you friends with Em or something?”
She stares up at me with her twinkling blue eyes that are nothing like Aiden’s. His eyes are deep and dark like the ocean, whereas hers are almost clear like ice. The combination with her brunette hair makes her striking to look at.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say to avoid being rude. My eyes flicker to Aiden before adding, “No, I’m sort of friends with Aiden.”
Aiden raises an unconcerned brow at me before taking another sip, and it takes everything in me to not sound angry when I ask, “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
