Chapter 3
THREE
NOVA
I raise my phone, and the screen wakes up. Its blinding light glares into my eyes as I lie on the couch in the dark living room. I start to put in my password, then drop the phone onto my stomach with a trembling sigh.
I hate how my feelings for Brandon have rendered me hopeless.
Where is the girl who didn’t care about stuff like this? There was once a time when I could shop without constantly checking my text messages and hoping to hear from him.
It’s past midnight, and I don’t know how long I’ve been lying here, trying to gather the courage to message Brandon and let him know that I like him as more than a friend. Normally, we’d still be playing right now, but I got awkward when he brought up Otaku Con again.
I raise my phone, unlock the screen, and pull up the thread. That’s as far as I get. I re-read the message he sent a few hours ago after hopping off Discord. Because what’s another stab to the ego?
You still haven’t answered my question about a double date at Otaku Con lol.
I drop my phone onto my chest and squeeze my eyes shut.
“Come on, Aiden. Come home already,” I mumble.
I don’t like that I’m about to swallow my pride and ask for his help. However, if there’s anyone I can talk to about this, it would be Aiden.
I love my friends and their advice has always been solid, but if I want to understand a man, it’s best to go to a notorious playboy and a smooth talker.
Aiden will know what I need to do to get Brandon to like me as more than just a friend. He’ll also tell me if Brandon is actually flirting with me or if it’s all in my head.
The front door slams shut, and boots thump toward the living room.
The lights flip on and I squint my eyes as I sit up. “Jeez, you could have warned me about the lights.”
Aiden raises an eyebrow, still standing at the threshold. “What were you doing in here, sitting in the dark?”
“I wasn’t sitting in the dark.” I blow a raspberry.
He rolls his eyes and crosses the room to the sectional couch. “Okay, brat. What were you doing lying in the dark?”
“Can’t sleep.” I shrug.
He rounds the couch and catches my legs when I move to make room for him.
Clicking his tongue, he folds his tall body into the leather seat and lays my legs over his lap with his hands resting on my calves.
The way he’s holding me may look innocent, but it feels more like a trap.
If I make a move to escape, he’ll drag me back by my ankles.
“Yeah?” He smirks. “Don’t tell me you were worried about me.”
I playfully punch his arm, earning a fake whimper from him. “What if I was? I don’t like you being out all day and coming home late.”
Aiden puts on a show of rubbing the spot where I punched him. “Goddamn, who taught you to punch like that?”
“You did.” I grin and slip my legs from his lap and scoot closer to his side until our thighs touch.
He smirks and wraps an arm around my shoulder to tuck me against him. “Then I’m not gonna complain. Now, what’s the real reason for you lying in the dark?”
I pull a strand of hair near the top of my hairline. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”
“Nothing is ever embarrassing when it comes to you. What’s going on?”
I tug another strand. “How did today go?”
He tsks and covers my hand with his, then lowers it to my lap. “You’re not deflecting this time, pretty girl.”
“Fine,” I mutter.
He threads his fingers through my hair with the arm still slung over my shoulder. “I’m listening.”
Goosebumps rise on my arms and legs as he plays with my hair and massages the spot where I plucked strands.
I open my mouth to spill everything to him, but nothing comes. Shame weighs on my chest, preventing me from taking a full breath.
Groaning, I bury my face in his shoulder. “What’s wrong with me?”
Aiden’s fingers pause, and his muscles bulge. His silence adds to the pile of worry that there really is something wrong with me.
I raise my head and peek at his face to gauge where his thoughts are. He’s always been expressive, no matter how hard he tries to hide his emotions from the world.
Aiden’s dark eyebrows pinch together. His voice comes out strangled, deeper, and tinged with an emotion I can’t put my finger on. “Nothing. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“No. There has to be something wrong with me.” Just tell me what it is so I can change. “Be honest with me and don’t blow smoke up my ass.”
I expect a guffaw or a smirk from him. Instead, Aiden cocks his head, and a muscle jumps in the corner of his jaw.
“I’m not blowing smoke up your ass and would never lie to you.
” His eyes flick back and forth as he studies me for a moment before asking, “Did someone say something to you to make you feel like there’s something wrong with you? ”
I reach for a strand of hair on my forehead and stop when Aiden’s eyes narrow. “No. Not exactly.”
“Then why are you asking?”
Taking a fortifying breath, I mentally prepare myself to rip off the Band-Aid and ask for his help. I already feel like crap for beating around the bush and being dramatic about this.
“I have a crush on a guy I met through gaming. I thought he was into me too, but he’s talking about going on a double date to Otaku Con.
He was flirting with me before all of this, or what I thought was flirting, but now I don’t know.
And now I’m questioning myself and hoping to get him to like me as much as I like him, but—”
“I’m going to kill him,” Aiden says through clenched teeth.
“What? No.” I swipe my palm down my face with a groan. “I don’t want you to kill him. I want you to tell me what I can do to make him like me. Searching online was no help, and I don’t want to ask my friends.”
“You searched online?”
“Forget I said that.” I wave a hand, like it’ll wipe the whole online research comment out of existence. “Will you help me?”
Aiden glances away and leans his head against the sofa’s back cushion. Pursing his lips, he stares at the ceiling in silence.
I squirm, uncomfortable and worried about him coming up with a gentle way of saying no.
I force out a laugh and scooch away from him, hoping the space between us will make this less awkward for the both of us. “Sorry for making it weird.”
“Nova.” Aiden’s head snaps toward me, his lips pinched together in a harsh line.
“What?” I shrug and laugh again, and it sounds more like a dying animal. “I’m just saying. I made it weird since I’m your sister and you don’t want to think about helping me get lai—”
“I wouldn’t finish that thought if I were you,” Aiden growls.
I blink at the turn of his mood. Gone is the playful golden-retriever brother. Sitting beside me is someone who exudes danger with the threat of violence.
My mouth slams shut, and I pinch my lips together to keep from word vomiting any more. Because that’s what I’ve been doing since he asked for the real reason for me sitting in the dark.
Sorry, lying in the dark.
I hate having all the confidence in the world while cosplaying and playing games on Twitch, but as soon as it comes to little things like dating and romance, I’m unskilled and talk myself into a grave.
Maybe that’s what’s wrong with me. I’m awkward, and pretending that I’m not isn’t working.
Aiden’s eyes soften and bring me back to the moment. “I’ll help you.”
“Really?” I smile. “You’ll help me?”
He nods, his expression still tender, but guarded. “Yeah. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”
My body lightens, and butterflies fill my stomach. I giggle and throw myself into his arms for a hug. “Thank you so, so, so much. This means the world to me. You have no idea.” I squeal and squeeze him tighter.
Aiden returns the hug, his sweet and clean scent enveloping me and putting me more at ease. “You’ll need to fill me in on some things, though.”
“Like what?” I pull away from him with a grin.
“You said you think he’s been flirting with you. But how are you interacting with him? Are you flirting with him or . . . ?” He raises an eyebrow.
Ah, crap. He knows me too well.
I cringe and rub a lock of hair between my fingers. “Well, I think I’m flirting with him.”
“You think?”
“I mean, I’m not an expert or anything at it.”
He rubs his palm over his mouth and mumbles something I don’t catch.
“I just act like myself.” I shrug. “And try not to be awkward. We talk all the time; he asks about my day, and he says he loves hanging out with me after we’re done gaming. He even calls me princess. So that must mean something, right?”
He drops his hand and nods. “Okay. That’s definitely something.”
“Oh!” I dive for my cellphone and open the text thread with Brandon and then shove the phone into Aiden’s hand. “You can read our last few messages if that’ll help you. You can tell me where I’m going wrong. What I’m miss—”
He ignores the phone. Instead, he grabs my wrist as I pull away, and he holds me in a loose-but-firm grip that prevents my escape.
“First thing you need to do,” Aiden says gently, “is to stop blaming yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you. If he can’t appreciate you being yourself, then he doesn’t deserve you.”
I nod. “Okay. Easy enough.”
The corner of Aiden’s lip hitches in a subtle smirk. “That’s my girl. The second thing you need to do is relax. You know I’ll take care of you.”
Oh, sweet hell. I hate it when he praises me. Okay, that’s a lie. I love it, but I hate the weird, uncomfortable feeling that follows the giddiness.
I nod since I can’t form words now. Pleased with my response, Aiden releases my wrist, dragging his tattooed fingers over my skin before dropping his attention to my phone. He reads the last messages with Brandon, his eyebrows pinching together with each passing second.
I watch his face as he reads, cataloging every micro-expression, twitching, to his lips curling in a slight frown or ticking into a smirk. He rubs his pierced nostril while fighting back a laugh as he continues reading the messages.
When he finishes, he raises his head with a grin. “Oh, pretty girl,” he coos. “You’re not flirting with him at all. You need to be more clear about your interest.”
“But I am flirting with him.” Maybe I’m not doing the best job, but I feel like I need to defend myself here. Even though I literally said I need feedback not even two minutes ago. But whatever.
Aiden huffs a laugh and covers his face with a hand. “You barely responded to his questions.” His laughter increases, and he can barely get out, “It’s adorable. You’re adorable.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I fold my arms over my chest and roll my eyes. “Laugh it up, big guy. But you’re supposed to help me, not laugh at me.”
Aiden shakes his head, his cackling dying down enough for him to suck in calming breaths, and he drops his hand. “I’m not laughing at you. Like I said, you’re adorable, and I clearly have my work cut out for me. You need to be a little more obvious and give him a chase. I can help you with that.”
“How?”
He leans closer to me, his smile turning mischievous. “I have an idea. It’ll push boundaries, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”
“Oh, crap,” I say. A mischievous Aiden is always a shit-starter Aiden. “What’s the idea?”
“We make him jealous. Once you tell him you’re dating someone, it’ll kick that primitive side of his brain to chase after you.”
I blink. “But I’m not dating anyone . . .”
Aiden smirks. “That’s where you’re wrong. You’ll be dating me.”