Page 60 of Miss Typed

“Fine, I’ll give it to you, but then will you feed me?”

My lips ticked up into a playful smirk. “Yes.” After getting the necessary information, I took two cheeseburgers out of the bag and offered him one.

He took the burger before moving to the only seat available, my bed. “What’s with your obsession with McDonald’s cheeseburgers?”

My smile was quick. “It wasn’t cheap for my parents to feed four kids, which meant we didn’t go out for meals often. But on Sundays, the local McDonald’s had cheeseburgers for forty-nine cents, limit of ten. So my dad would pile all of us in the car, and we’d drive over, getting ten cheeseburgers each. It was the best day.” I stopped, getting sentimental about a time when my father had still been alive, and James had just been my big brother without a drug problem.

I took a seat next to Aiden on the bed and bit into my own cheeseburger. They may not be the healthiest thing, but I loved them. “And besides cheeseburgers being nostalgic, they seem to be effective for luring men to my room.”

He chuckled. “True. That’s a nice memory of your dad. How old were you when he passed away?”

“Thirteen. Massive stroke no one saw coming. James was seventeen and took it the hardest. Started running with the wrong crowd. It went downhill from there, as you know.”

“Do you want your brother’s address? I could probably get you a phone number.”

It was tempting, but I’d been disappointed too many times in the past. He was a user. Both of drugs and of people. Until he got help, he wouldn’t really be my brother. “No. He’s not the same person I used to know.”

Aiden tensed at my words. “You’re right not to. You’d be wasting your efforts if you did track him down and tried to pretend he was still the same brother you used to know. Nostalgia is a dangerous motivator.”

“Is nostalgia why Miranda was here?”

He sighed and grabbed for the bag. After handing me another cheeseburger, he unwrapped the other. “Yeah. Although considering my mom’s recent voicemails, I’m assuming it was a group effort. Everyone is disappointed. I’m not the same person they used to know either.”

“My brother is on drugs and wasting his life. You are a functioning member of society who doesn’t leave your debts for your family to deal with. I’m not sure how they could possibly be disappointed.”

“I don’t know about the fully functioning part.”

His self-deprecation once again took me off guard. Okay. Now what? It was early in the morning. Aiden was on my bed. I was at a loss as to what to say or do. So I did what any twenty-something-year-old girl should do. I drank my milkshake.

“How is it?” he asked, turning my way.

I grinned. “Like I said in the parking lot, I’m not sharing.”

He took the cup from me. After setting it on the nightstand, he framed my face in his large hands. “Guess I’ll have to get a taste another way, then.”

He lowered his lips to mine. His kiss was like fire, the sensation of the cold from the milkshake on my tongue mixed with the white-hot heat of his sent shivers down my entire body.

He pulled away just as suddenly as he’d started, his stormy eyes focused on me. “How do you feel about dating?”

“Other than Hank the Tank, I really haven’t spent much time doing it, but I hear it’s fun.”

Amusement danced in his eyes. “I meant to ask, how do you feel about dating me? I can’t offer you a relationship, Chloe. I can’t even pretend I know where I’ll be a month from now.”

Wait, he was planning to leave?

“But I know this attraction isn’t going anywhere, and I enjoy spending time with you. If it’s enough for you, I’d like to try it.”

Was this the equivalent of passing a note in class with a check box asking “Do you like me, yes or no?” The answer would be yes. “I’d like to try it, too.”

He dipped his mouth to mine again, groaning when I sucked on his lower lip. “We can’t do this here.”

“Mm, I sort of beg to differ.”

His chuckle filled the room while his fingers tucked my hair behind my ear. “I want a chance to make your first time special for you.”

My smile was the silly kind. We might only be “dating,” but the fact he wanted to make my first time special meant a lot.

“I’m sorry about earlier at my apartment.” He snuggled me into his arms, positioning us better on the bed, so we were lying down.