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“Don’t thank me. Amelia’s the one who told me to bring it.”
Noah looks at me before tackling me in a bear hug, planting overexaggerated slobbery kisses all over my face. “Oh thank you, thank you, Amelia!”
I laugh and push him off me, wiping his spit off my face. “No problem, Noah. I wouldn’t want to face my mother’s wrath either.”
Aiden and Mason suddenly wear matching scowls.
“All right! Let’s get this show on the road!” Chase stands up from where he was sitting on my front steps and walks toward Mason and Aiden. “Who’s going in which car?”
“Anna and Char are with Julian. Amelia—”
“She’s with me,” Aiden finishes for Mason in an authoritative tone that leaves no room for protesting.
Everyone turns to look at me. I have absolutely no problem with that—not a single objection. I like spending time with Aiden, especially one on one, and to be completely honest, I feel the safest when I’m with him.
“Okay. Then Noah and Chase are with me,” Mason finishes, his voice a little disappointed.
“Great. Now that that’s settled, can we please get in the heated truck?!” Noah exclaims, jogging over to Mason’s Range Rover and impatiently waiting for us to follow his lead.
Sitting in Aiden’s car, I put my seat belt on and wait for him to push the start button so that I can turn on my butt warmer. Best. Invention. Ever.
“Last chance to change your mind,” he says as the engine revs to life.
I shake my head. “No backing out now.”
“You stay with me tonight. When I’m not around, you stay with the guys. Okay?”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” I say, just to see what he’ll say.
“I know you don’t,” he says, surprising me. “B
ut you can’t be alone tonight. There are a lot of sketchy people there. A lot of Silvers we don’t get along with. Plus, kids from some other schools that aren’t too great either. Most people are pretty cool, and I’m not expecting that much trouble other than Simms and his asshole friends. But with your track record of finding trouble, I’ll feel better knowing you’re with someone I trust.”
“What about Char and Anna?” I ask, trying to move my train of thought away from how amazing Aiden is to me.
He takes his eyes off the road for a second to glance at me. “You really think Chase would leave Charlotte’s side?”
“I guess you’re right. Plus, I doubt Char would do anything to get herself into trouble.”
“And Anna’s been a couple times, but she won’t get herself in trouble.”
I look out the window at the scenery, the trees blurring together in the distance. “What are you going to do tonight?” I ask quietly, referring to his resolution to get back at Ryan.
“Just what I said I’d do. Make him pay.”
Aiden has a look of determination on his face, the scowl back in place from just thinking about Ryan. This anger is from more than just what Ryan did to my car—this goes way back. There’s more to the story, but I don’t want to press Aiden. No matter how much he hates Ryan, I still don’t want him getting hurt over any of this.
“I don’t want you to get in a fight,” I admit softly, running a finger gently over the knuckles on his right hand, which is resting on the gear shift, the spot rough from being busted and bloodied from fighting. His face softens, an unknown emotion running across it. He flips his right hand over and catches mine, intertwining his fingers with my own.
“I’m not going there with the intention of fighting,” he tells me.
“But what do you mean when you say you’re going to make him pay?”
I try not to feel disappointed when he releases my hand to shift gears, trying to convince myself that I don’t already miss his warm touch.
“I’m literally going to make him pay. Race him and up the initial racer’s bet. By a lot.”
I smile, understanding his plan, and my worries and stress lighten slightly. I should’ve known. Aiden isn’t stupid.
