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I moved my stare to his eyes, and that was no better than before.
My heart pounded erratically against my chest as we made eye contact. When did his eyes get like that? Were they always that blue? I wanted to swim in his irises and bathe in his thoughts and—
What the heck, Hailee. Snap out of it.
Aiden made a goofy grin, and I loved it. Dang it, I wanted to bathe in that, too. “I mean, they want me to play a gorilla most of the flick. I just don’t think that’s the road I want to go down. It’s not the best script.”
“Then don’t do it,” I quickly snapped. I didn’t mean to snap, but my nerves were all over the place.
Aiden didn’t seem to take any alarm at my oddities. He nodded. “Do you want me to buy you ice cream after school?”
“Huh?”
He narrowed his eyes and glanced around before leaning in toward me. “You know, for your thing.” He nodded toward my lap. ,
“What? What thing?”
“You know. The thing that comes at the end of a sentence. Your monthly lady friend. You always get extra snappy around that time, and I know you like ice cream so—”
“Oh my gosh, Aiden, I’m not on my period!” I whisper-shouted, smacking his arm.
He rubbed his arm jokingly as if I hurt him, and my gosh, how I wanted to rub his rock-hard arm, too. “My bad, my bad. Just wanted to make sure you’re all right.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
Be so thoughtful.Thoughtfulness was a turn-on, too.
“Nothing. Never mind. I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Fair enough.” He nudged me in the arm, and those bluest of blue eyes looked deep into mine. Was there a longing in his stare, too? Did he ever look into my eyes and want to swim in them? Or was this a one-way crush?
He went back to his drawing, and I fiddled with my sweaty palms, wiping them against my gray sweatpants, leaving sweat stains. Sweat stains, which now, after seventeen years of Aiden knowing me, made me feel embarrassed. Did he think I was a sweaty beast? Did he wonder why I was so tomboyish? Of course, the crush was a one-way street. I’d seen the people he fell for, and I didn’t fit that prototype. I was the opposite of every single girl he’d ever wanted.
I went to my first few classes and tried to focus on my studies, but for some reason, my mind kept wandering to Aiden. It didn’t help that every girl in our school had a newly developed crush on my best friend. How cliché. Gosh. I was cliché because I, too, fell into the crushing on Aiden territory. I found myself scribbling in my notebook, writing his name and crossing it out, and trying to shake him from my thoughts. I wasn’t thinking about him too much, I told myself. I was thinking about him just as much as I thought about everyone.
As I walked down the halls toward the cafeteria, I held the straps of my backpack tightly. I moved past my classmates and noticed them, too. Just as much as I noticed and thought about Aiden, really. Aiden did not get special treatment inside my noggin. Nope. Just normal, everyday thoughts of my very best friend.
There was Erika Wells. She smelled like strawberry shampoo whenever she walked past me. And Tommy Henry smelled like cigarettes and hairspray. Kelsey Smith smelled like bad decisions and roses. And—
Lemon drops.
He smelled like delicious, sensational lemon drops.
“What’s that smell on you?!” I aggressively barked at Aiden as he set down his lunch tray to join me.
He didn’t seem fazed by my outburst. He smiled, and gosh, was his smile always like that? Did he always slightly nuzzle his bottom lip before talking? “A brand sent me a free collection of their colognes.” He held his arm out in front of me. “This one is called Bliss. Do you like it?”
I want to drown in you, Aiden Walters.
I swatted his arm away even though I wanted to rub my nose against his wrist for the remainder of the day while inhaling his lemon drop scent.
I shrugged and cleared my throat. “It’s fine.”
