Freezing Bonds that Tie our Hearts (Blood and Water #2)

7. Aiden

As I stared at the house in front of me, something in my stomach dropped.

It was gorgeous. Two stories, white frontage, green, perfectly trimmed grass. There even was a white picket fence, for God’s sake. No garbage littered the ground, no well-used bike or toy was strewn around, and I could hear a pool pump working from behind the house where I knew the backyard was probably even more impressive than what I was seeing right now.

This house was perfect.

As perfect as the girl who lived in it.

Looking down at myself, I gritted my teeth. Talk about feeling out of place.

My sneakers were pretty old and although they didn’t have any holes or clearly noticeable scratches, they still had streaks of black here and there that wouldn’t go away no matter how hard I scrubbed. The risks of working in a garage, I guess. My jeans were distressed but fell comfortably around my hips, and the black shirt I was wearing came from the grocery shop where my sister worked part-time during the holidays, but it was fresh and clean.

Two women in pink velvet tracksuits sped-walked by me, eyeing me up and down and, just like that, confirmed what I had been feeling. I was out of place. Nova’s laptop suddenly felt like it weighed a ton inside my backpack and I was tempted to simply hop back inside my car and get the hell back to school.

J– AK, as most people called him— had sent me her address only mere minutes after I’d asked him for it, which I couldn’t tell if that was creepy or impressive. Him and I met a few years ago, at my local gym. We sparred a few times and he was honestly one of the best fighters I’d ever met. I guess we could say we’re friends but J really isn’t that friendly, he’s just loyal and reliable.

And a genius with computers.

Nova’s car was parked in the driveway and there was no other car in sight. I sighed in relief. Ever since her little hobbit friend at school said something about Nova’s dad, I started panicking a little. I’d seen him sometimes around town and during parents-teacher meetings, and boy did he look scary. Maybe knowing that he was half responsible for Nova’s existence made him even more intimidating in my eyes, but either way, he was big and rarely smiled, a frown constantly marring his sharp face.

It was funny to see them standing next to one another, though. Nova, with her pink clothes and soft looks and her dad in his fancy dark suits, towering well over her, watching their surroundings with a hawk’s eye.

Cracking my neck, I ultimately worked up enough courage to walk up the front steps leading to her house and knock on the big mahogany door. Almost immediately, footsteps were heard from behind the door, stomping down the stairs and around the foyer.

I stood motionless, waiting for her to open the door with my heart beating fast inside my chest.

Then, finally, the door was wrenched open and the object of my desires suddenly stood in front of me. Dark eyes widened in surprise as she stared for a few seconds, clearly not expecting me to be standing there. Honestly, neither was I. She was barefoot, only wearing satin pajama shorts and a white t-shirt, her braids up in a bun with two of them falling on each side of her face, framing it. It felt weird, almost intimate, seeing her here. This was her home, the one place where she could be comfortable and casual.

Herself.

“What are you doing here?” She breathed.

“You forgot your laptop.”

“And you couldn’t wait until tomorrow to give it to me?”

“I thought about that but then I imagine reading porn on your phone browser would be an inconvenience. Didn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

Her eyes got wide and before I could know what hit me, she grabbed my shirt and pulled me inside her house, slamming the door after me. She had a strong hand.

“Are you insane? People are nosy here! And it’s not porn, you one-brain-celled, inbred, idiot! It’s called romance!” Chuckling in shock, I felt my own eyes widening. Did she just call me an inbred?

“How is a chick getting fucked with a knife handle romantic?” I teased, a smirk stretching the corner of my lips.

“It’s— oh my God you’re infuriating.”

She looked so cute right then, her little nose scrunched up in anger, dark eyes throwing daggers at me. Fuck cute, actually. She looked hot.

And she stood so close to me too, only a few inches away, her hand still holding my shirt in her fist, my back flush against the door. She seemed to realize our proximity almost at the same time as I did and instantly froze.

I couldn’t move, too afraid that she would bolt if I did. Like a fucking freak, I took a deep breath, inhaling her sweet scent of candied apples. I wished we could stay like that forever, her perfume intoxicating me and the heat coming off her body making mine ache with need.

Neither of us said anything, and when I opened my eyes again— I didn’t even realize I’d closed them— she was staring at me like she saw me for the first time. I said nothing, making my best not to trigger her fight or flight response. My gaze fell on her plush lips and her chest rising and falling against my own was starting to make me hard.

“You need to go.” Her voice was a broken whisper.

Coming out of that trance, she took a step back and let go of my shirt. My own hands turned into fists by my sides as I fought my most basic instincts by trying not to touch her.

“We still need to work on our project.” I reminded her.

“Not here!” she hissed, “Are you out of your mind, what if the neighbors tell my dad you were here—oh my God! Where did you park your car?”

I rolled my eyes, “Seriously? I know I’m a one-brain-celled, inbred idiot but I’m not that dumb. I parked a few houses down.”

She flinched, “I’m sorry I said that. I’m sure you’re not inbred.”

“But I got one brain cell?”

“Well, you do fight a lot.”

I smirked, “Yeah? You come to some of my fights?” I never saw her there, and seriously doubted she ever attended but why did the fact that she knew I fought make me feel so high?

“God, no.” She snorted, “But Jelena does. She said they could get ugly.”

“Yeah, for the other guy.”

I wasn’t usually one to brag, but for some reason I really wanted her to know I was at least good at one thing. I wasn’t just some stupid bully from the wrong side of town.

The infuriating girl in front of me rolled her eyes and took another step back, putting even more distance between us.

“Listen, you really need to go. We’ll meet up tomorrow morning, okay?”

“Nope, can’t tomorrow morning. Let’s do it here, you got the room.”

“What?!” I didn’t let her finish and kicked off my shoes, side-stepping her and walking further into the huge house.

Damn. I knew her dad was pretty well off, but I had no idea just how much. They could literally film an episode of MTV Crib in here. High ceilings, marble on the floor, weird-ass-looking art dressing the walls. Yup, Nova and I were from two different worlds.

Making myself at home, I put my backpack on the huge carpet and sat on the sofa, taking out her laptop and putting it on the glass coffee table—super slowly because I was kinda scared I’d break that shit.

“What on earth are you doing? Get out of here!” Nova looked two seconds away from a mental breakdown.

“Damn, little star, where’s your southern hospitality?”

“I’m from New York.” She deadpanned.

Of course she was, and I knew that. I knew everything there was to know about this girl. In a non-stalkerish way, of course.

“Aiden,” I froze when she called my name.

It was the first time she ever called me by my name and I wouldn’t know how to explain it, but it did something to me.

“If my dad comes home and sees you here, he’ll kick your teeth in. He’s really protective of me.” I frowned.

“And not your sisters?”

I saw her falter a little but then she caught herself and shook her head dismissively.

“Of course, my sisters too, but my sisters aren’t eighteen and bringing guys home.”

My jaw tensed “You bringing guys home often?” the thought alone was infuriating.

“What?” She hissed, like what I was saying was completely unbelievable then shook her head like it wasn’t even worth thinking about. “You know what? Fine. Your funeral.”

She turned around and disappeared around a corner and for a second, I thought she was dismissing me and going back to whatever she had been doing before I invited myself over.

Nova came back not even a minute later though, with two cans of some soda which brand I couldn’t recognize, probably something plant-based that rich people loved to drink. She also had a plate of home-made cookies that she put in front of me. I looked up and, against all odds, she gave me a small smile.

I felt it in my chest, that smile.

It was the first time Nova ever directed her nice personality at me. Usually, I only got her strained, fake smiles and blatant dismissal of my existence.

But not right then. Almost as if she had forgotten who I was and that she disliked me—because Nova Starling wasn’t capable of hate— she sat on the couch next to me and grabbed a notebook which, I hadn’t noticed until then, had been lying on the table.

“Okay, so a debate. Right.” she nodded to herself, “Tell me all about why you think classics aren’t good.”

I rolled my eyes, “I never said they weren’t good, I said they were over-hyped. It’s like, because they were written years ago by some old fuck, it automatically makes them good? Hell no.”

“But that’s not why they’re good,” she sat up straighter and put a leg underneath herself, getting comfortable.

I did the same, letting the big sofa engulf me more and swinging an arm on the back of it. A smile was begging to spread on my lips but I held it in, not wanting to seem like a creep.

“They’re good because their message is relevant no matter the generation. Because no matter when you read it, you’ll always feel like it makes sense to you, because the characters are so beautifully flawed that you can’t help but fall in love with them.”

“You fall in love with flaws?” I croaked.

She bit her lip and shrugged lightly, “I mean, don’t we all? Being perfect is boring, what makes someone human is the way they’re flawed and how they manage these flaws.”

I tried to act like her words had no impact on me but the truth was, they made a surge of electricity go down my back. They made me believe that, maybe, just maybe, one day would come where she could fall in love with my flaws.

I squashed this idea quickly.

“And what message does Pride and Prejudice relay that still makes sense nowadays?”

“That we are not set in stone. That human nature changes and evolves depending on society and the people we surround ourselves with. It shows how love can change things when nurtured.”

I said nothing, simply watching her as she continued explaining passionately how classics, and Pride and Prejudice in particular, were God’s gift to mankind.

But she was wrong. That stupid book wasn’t God’s gift to mankind.

She was.

Her and her long dark braids, her pink clothes and sweet aura. Her and her love for romance, her beautiful smiles and kind eyes.

I had no idea what she was doing to me, I had never felt this way before I met her. And it was so fucking ridiculous because I didn’t even really know her. All I knew about her had been stolen information.

Information I got from stalking her on social media or by listening attentively whenever she and her friends were talking not far from me.

Forget about J, I was the fucking freak.

“Plus, Darcy is a real gentleman.” She finished her rant and plucked a cookie from the table. “Can’t find men like him no more.”

I frowned, my spine going rigid. “Are you kidding me? He was an ass.”

“He was just grumpy and behaved like a man of his time! But, again, love changed him and he became exactly what Elizabeth needed.” I didn’t have the heart to prove to her how much this book was garbage so I held my tongue. She really loved it and I’ll be damned if I rained on her parade. So I chose to change the subject instead.

“So, how did you go from Pride and Prejudice to knife fucking?”

She choked on the cookie. Literally choked on it.

And I panicked, going ramrod straight and grabbing my can of soda, opening it as fast I could, before putting it to her lips. She drank without second thoughts, her much smaller hand wrapping around my wrist. Fuck, her skin was so soft.

She gulped one, two and three times before pulling away and I let her go, still watching closely and making sure she was okay.

“Are you trying to kill me?” She rasped.

I frowned, “Never.”

“Will you ever forget about what you saw this morning?”

A smirk stretched the corner of my lips. “Never.”

Nova rolled her eyes and squirmed a bit before scooting back on the couch, putting some space between us. After a minute where we both stayed quiet, lost in our thoughts, her gaze found mine. She looked like she couldn’t recognize me. And maybe she couldn’t, after all. It was probably the first time we had a real conversation without me acting like a jerk on purpose.

My hand was still gripping the can and her lip gloss stained the edge of it. Her eyes darted towards it and she seemed to notice the same thing I did. Before I could even think about it, and without pulling my eyes from hers, I put my mouth right where hers had been, gulping down the soda.

This felt almost like kissing her.

And I fucking loved that.