AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He doesn’t crack a smile. I study his expression, shocked by the nervousness and seriousness I find there.
“Is something wrong?”
“That’ll kinda depend on how you take this,” he replies.
NowI’mnervous. “Okay…” I’m not sure what else to say.
He takes a deep breath. “After everything that happened with Parker, I didn’t think I wanted another relationship. I wasn’t sure if I was capable of it, honestly. If she hadn’t pushed me for one, I’m not even sure I would’ve ended up dating her. It never made much sense to me. My parents fought a lot and half of my friends in high school were fucking around on the side. It seemed easier—smarter to just avoid the whole commitment thing.”
His voice dips, down into a lower timbre that’s overwhelmingly intimate.
“But then I metyou, Rylan, and I realized it’s not a choice you make—having feelings for someone. That it happens without you realizing. That one day you’re driving a girl home from the library, and then all of a sudden you can’t imagine touching anyone else except her. She becomes the first person you want to talk to after you win a game. The last person you think about before you fall asleep.”
I’m frozen. Totally stunned.
Am I dreaming?
“You asked me the wrong question, that night on the porch. You asked how many girls I’d been with since you. You should have asked me how many girls I’ve been with since I walked into the library and saw you sitting there. Since I found out you were a student here, not at some school in England.None. I’m not interested in any other girl, and I really fucking hope you’re not interested in any other guy.”
My head is spinning. I reach for the crease of my elbow and pinch myself—hard.
Aidan’s eyebrows knit. “What are you doing?”
“You havefeelingsfor me?” I blurt.
“Did you seriously just pinch yourself?” He sounds amused.
“I was fast asleep five minutes ago, Aidan. I thought maybe this was a dream.”
“Would it have been a good dream, or a bad dream?”
I suck in a deep breath, my brain still processing. I can’t believe he just told me all that. That he feels that way. “Good.”
The naked relief on his face is as startling as the nerves were. I’m used to Aidan appearing sure. Even when he told me he was anxious about playing well again, after his hat trick, he was confident about being nervous. Owned it with no hesitation. I’d never seen him look truly uncertain before.
But he wasn’t sure what I would say. He just delivered thatshocking, romantic speech, put himself out there, and all I really managed was one word in response.
“I-I had no idea,” I tell him. “I thought this was just sex to you.”
“It’s not.” Aidan reaches out, tenderly brushing some hair out of my face. “Is that all it was to you?”
I shake my head. “Of course not. I realized I had feelings for you the night you brought me dinner. That’s why I wasn’t sure about having sex again. I knew I’d just get more attached.”
“You’ve been into me for that long, huh? I knewpool players are my typewas bullshit.”
I roll my eyes, then reach up to brush his jawline. He leans into my touch.
“Yeah, I’ve been into you for that long. I’m crazy about you, Aidan. I freaked out about what to do with my life, and you were the first person I thought to talk to.”
His expression softens. “That’s what you were upset about, on Wednesday?”
“Yeah. But it was nothing, really.”
“If it upset you, it’s not nothing.”
I think I’m in love with him. I’m absolutely in love withthis, lying in bed beside him while he focuses on me like every word out of my mouth is the most interesting thing he’s ever heard.
“I had a meeting with my advisor.”
