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Aiden sat back down on the sofa and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in close to him. He brushed his warm lips against my nose, my cheek, and my ear before whispering in a husky voice, “Even if you begged me like that again, I don’t think I could hurt a hair on your head, gorgeous.”
My heart pretty much jumped out of my chest and fainted dead on the floor.
The following day dawned bright and mild again. I practiced my guitar before deciding I needed to clean up the apartment. I’d gotten sloppy since Billy had left town. I deliberately allowed myself not to make the bed, and when I dropped my dirty clothes on the floor, I tried my hardest to banish Billy’s judgmental voice in my head. So when I got the desire to go for a run that afternoon, I decided to leave the mess and deal with it later that night. The sun was tempting me too much to spend any more time cooped up inside.
Toward the end of my jog through Central Park, my phone rang. It was Aiden. My heart skipped a beat and I felt my lips quirk up in anticipation of hearing his voice.
“This is Ash,” I said.
“Hey, it’s Aiden. Can I see you again?”
I paused for a beat, just enjoying the sound of his desire to see me. “I’d like that. When?”
“I don’t know… now, or something?” There was a teasing quality to his voice and it made me feel giddy.
I chuckled. “I just finished a jog in the park. Do you want to meet me at the Gothic Bridge by the tennis courts?”
“Give me twenty minutes to get there,” he said.
I finished my run and made my way to the bridge, taking my time to cool down with a walk and then do some stretches while I waited.
After straightening back up from reaching for my toes, I saw him. He was dressed in athletic pants and a matching zip-up jacket, probably something designer that cost more than I made in a week, but it looked amazing on his muscled form.
“Hey,” he said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “You look bright and happy today.”
“That’s because I had a nice night and a good run. What about you?” I said, smiling up at him. My stomach felt a little flippy but in the very best way.
“Same, minus the run. Although I may have set some speed records getting over here. Didn’t want to miss you.”
Aiden gestured toward the path in front of us, and we began strolling together around the reservoir.
I stepped closer and allowed myself to give in to the urge to link my arm through his. I wrapped my hand around his bicep so I could feel the rounded muscle move through the fabric of his jacket. If Aiden was surprised by the move, he hid it well, and instead of commenting, he glanced at me with a smile and reached up his free hand to squeeze mine.
“I would have waited for you, Aiden. Surely, you know that,” I said.
He smirked at me. “I should hope so. Otherwise, who would you have to grill about obscure Marvel comics?”
“Exactly,” I agreed. “Plus, I need your protection if any homeless people ask me for money, otherwise I’ll give them everything I have. I’m a sucker for their sob stories.”
He barked out a laugh. “Oh god, Ash. Tell me that’s not true. No wonder you’re having to work extra shifts. You’ll never save up any money if you can’t learn to ignore the panhandlers in the city.”
Just then, I caught sight of something and nudged Aiden in the ribs. He let out an oof and asked me what that was all about.
“Isn’t that Seven of Nine?” I hissed, tilting my chin toward a woman seated on a bench with a friend. I swore she looked like Jeri Ryan, the actress who played Seven in Star Trek: Voyager.
“Sure is. Do you want to ask her for a photo?” he asked, surprising me. I knew no true local would be caught dead asking an actor for a photo.
I whipped my head around to stare at him like he’d sprouted Ferengi ears. “Are you fucking crazy? I’m not about to bother her. Jesus. It’s Jeri Ryan, for god’s sake. She’s been in a bunch of stuff.”
I kept sneaking peeks at her until Aiden had an idea. “Take out your phone so I can show you a trick.”
He suggested taking a selfie of us that just so happened to catch the actress in the background. We leaned our heads together, but at the last minute Aiden turned to kiss me on the cheek, so my face was stupid when the photo snapped. It was sweet and funny but I elbowed him anyway, insisting we try again. This time he did the same thing, only turning at the last minute to nuzzle my neck. He kept teasing me like that until I knew I was flushed and laughing, having forgotten completely about the actress on the park bench. When he returned the phone to me, I noticed he’d set one of the pictures as the photo for his contact information.
