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I just needed distraction. Needed to stay moving forward and never stand still.
Or maybe it was because I was rarely alone now, with Aspen indulging my request to sleep over most nights of the week even though she had a perfectly good apartment in Brooklyn all to herself.
“We should get back home,” Aspen said after another hour of window shopping, and my heart did this weird little jump when I knew she was talking aboutmyplace, not hers. “I only have an hour to get ready.”
“You could go as you are and you'd be perfect,” I said eyes trailing the length of her body, admiring the cozy cream sweater she wore that hung just below her luscious ass that was sheathed in warm black leggings, her feet tucked into a pair of black boots that were perfect for long walks like this.
She smiled up at me. “Thanks for that,” she said. “But I'd like to wash the city out of my hair before dinner.” A little flash of nerves shifted over her features, and I cocked a brow at her.
“Are you nervous?” I asked slightly shocked. She rarely showed that side of herself to anyone, and I was honored she trusted me with it, but she'd been in the room with some of the most powerful people in the world and hadn't batted an eye. But tonight's dinner?Thatwas enough to worry her?
“No, of course not,” she said, but I could read through her assurance. “It's going to be great.”
A little bit of apprehension skittered down my spine, as if I could feel her energy pulsing inside of me. I smoothed my hands down her shoulders. “If you're not ready,” I said. “We don't have to do this.”
It had been her idea, her insistence on this dinner happening, but if it was going to make her uncomfortable, we wouldn't do it.
“Is it me?” I asked, my stomach twisting. Was she worried about me? How I would behave? Was she worried I would mess everything up?
Shit,wouldI mess everything up?
“No, not at all,” she said, placing her hand on the center of my chest. “Crossland, I would never be worried about you. It's not that I'm even worried. It's just...” She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, her eyes meeting mine with an open vulnerability that tugged at something in my chest. “It'sBrecken,” she said. “I'm incredibly protective over her. It's kind of my tragic flaw. I’ve had it since she was born. And I don't normally introduce people to her until I’m sure they're going to be around. And I know we haven't exactly talked about what's going to happen in a month, but I want you to meet her. And I know she wants to meet you. And I'm probably making too big of a deal about this. We're friends, right? That's what we agreed to. Even after...”
There was a rock growing in my throat the more she spoke, something settling heavy in my gut.
She was right, we hadn't talked about anything that would happen in a month when our contract was up, but I knew for sure I wouldn't want to just pretend like she’d never been a part of my life. I wouldn't want to pretend like this never happened.
But I didn't know what to do or what to say.
This was all new to me. All paths I'd never navigated before.
“Aspen, I'm honored that you trust me enough to meet her. I know how important she is to you and I'm not going to take that for granted. I'll do my best not to fuck it up. And who knows, maybe she’ll be as enamored by my charms as you are,” I said, flashing her the cocky smirk I knew she loved. Wanting desperately to get us back to a more common ground where things didn't feel so heavy.
A month.
I had a month to get my shit together. To figure out exactly what to do when our contract was up. My friends already loved her, and were shocked that she was still around.
I couldn't blame them. It's not like they'd ever seen me in a relationship before. The bet was as good as won in my eyes, but what about after?
In the beginning, I'd never given any thought to actuallymissingthe person I'd entered into a contract with. What were we supposed to do? Were we supposed to just be casual friends that met up once a quarter when she found time?
That didn't sit right with me.
That didn't sit right with me at all.
When I looked ahead at the future, she was in it.
Shit.
Aspen had become someone I found invaluable in my life.
When had that happened?
“She’s more immune than you think,” Aspen said, drawing my mind back to what I'd said about me charming her sister. She looked at me with a little bit of pity as we climbed into the elevator that would take us up to my apartment. “Are you prepared to be grilled?”
“I'm always prepared,” I said as smoothly as possible, not even hinting at the turmoil that was wreaking havoc on my insides.
I tried to calm my nerves by assuring myself I had a month to figure things out. Aspen wasn't going anywhere until then. I had time.
