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4
ARIA
I’d just taken my first bite of Shelby’s mom’s famous baked ziti when I heard a knock at my door. Eyes wide, I looked around my cottage. Who could that be? Was it Ethan, coming back to apologize? Ugh, I really hoped not. I didn’t know what had happened in his past that led him to jump to such crazy conclusions when I’d told him it was my friend’s hoodie, but I wanted nothing to do with it. Or him.
“Who is it?” I called from the couch. I still held my fork in the air halfway to my mouth, not fully committed to letting whoever it was come in and interrupt my pity party.
“It’s Will.”
My jaw hit the floor. Will? What the heck was Will doing here? Putting down my fork, I got up from the couch on shaky legs. Then, I carefully stepped around the wooden TV tray I’d been using instead of the romantically decorated table in my kitchenette and padded barefoot to the door. Looking through the peephole, I confirmed it was really him. I wasn’t sure why I’d felt the need, but whatever. It was him, all right. Standing on my porch in a tight T-shirt in all his magnificently muscled glory.
Unlocking the door, I put my hand on the knob and started to turn it. But then I looked at the black fabric covering my hand and pulled it back with a start. Crap. I was wearing his hoodie. Will was on my front porch, and I was wearing the stupid hoodie he’d given me months ago that I still hadn’t returned. The same hoodie that blew up my date tonight, in fact. It was on my couch because I wore it all the time, and I’d forgotten to put it away before Ethan showed up.
And now Will was here, and he was going to bust me.
“Are you going to let me in?” Will called from the other side of the door.
“Just a second,” I said, my voice an octave too high.
My mind raced. What should I do? Should I take it off and stash it in the coat closet? I only had a tank top on underneath it—with no bra other than the one built into the cami, unfortunately—so that was a no. Should I run to my room and change real quick? Or would it be rude to leave him standing out there too long?
“I can come back if it’s not a good time,” Will said.
I was being dumb. I should act confident, like I’d just decided to steal his sweatshirt without a second thought. Yeah, that was probably the better plan. It was definitely a better option than making it awkward and acting like the sweatshirt was a treasured memento or something. Even though it kind of was.
Letting out a breath to calm my nerves, I opened the door and fixed a bright smile on my face. “Will, hi. What brings you here on this lovely evening?”
Okay, that wasn’t smooth at all. What the heck, Aria?
Will’s lips twisted into something resembling a smile, but it was like he was trying to stop it. Then his eyes lowered to my chest where the logo of his squadron was emblazoned in red. “Uh, I heard about what happened with your date.”
That was unexpected. Though, I supposed it shouldn’t have been since he’d been home with Paul when we’d talked earlier, so of course my brother had told him. Swallowing, I gripped the doorknob harder. “Ah, yeah. It was pretty crazy.”
“And uh,” he said, pointing at my torso, “it was all my fault, since I haven’t come to get my hoodie back from you.”
I looked down like I was surprised I was wearing it. “Oh, yeah. Ha. I sort of stole it. It’s mine now.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep. Sorry, not sorry.”
In my defense, it was totally something an annoying little sister would do. I was just staying in character, right? He needed to be careful what he wished for.
Will chuckled and tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Well, shoot. I guess I wasted a trip then, huh?”
“You came all the way out here to get your hoodie back?”
“Well, since it was clearly interfering with your love life, I figured it would be best for me to take it off your hands.”
Something like disappointment coursed through me then, wishing that hewouldwant to interfere with my love life. But why on earth would I ever expect that to be a possibility? This was Will we were talking about. Will, who had told me he was happy for me that I had a date with a special guy tonight. Will, who had insisted I was like family to him. Twice. Of course he wouldn’t want to interfere. It was dumb to think he would.
“Well,” I said, straightening to pick up with the confident act, “I guess you did, then. Because I’m not giving it up.”
Will’s gaze raked over me, then quickly away like he regretted it. His eyes found the table with its flowers and candles behind me, and I turned to see what he saw. I probably looked so pathetic to him. I’d set up this nice dinner thinking it might kick up some sparks into this new relationship, then I’d gotten dumped for having another guy’s sweatshirt on my couch. And that would have been understandable if it were for the reason Ethan had assumed. But instead, the hoodie belonged to the guy who had rejected me not once but twice, telling me he didn’t look at me like that. Yep. From where Will stood, I looked pathetic with a capitalP.
Will chewed on his lip for a minute, then blew out a short burst of air. “All right, well, I’ll take off then. But listen, for what it’s worth, it’s that guy’s loss. You’re the special one, not him.”
And with that, Will did what I’d done to him earlier—walked away without looking back.
