Chapter 4
FOUR
NOVA
My jaw drops, and I stare at Aiden like he just grew two heads and spewed out gibberish. He may as well have when he said we’ll be a couple.
This isn’t the type of help I had in mind.
Tell me how to flirt? I’m all in.
Tell me what guys like to hear? Hell yeah.
But dating each other to make Brandon chase me? That’s a terrible idea.
“Well?” Aiden tilts his head, amusement dancing in his eyes.
I hold up a hand. “Wait. Did you just say that we’ll be dating?”
“It’ll be a fake relationship. He won’t know any better, and we’ll make it convincing.
I’ll help you with what to say to him. What to send.
And when we go to Otaku Con, I’ll tell you everything you need to do, and it’ll have him eating out of the palm of your hand.
” He grins, pleased with himself for coming up with this bonkers plan. “It’s a great idea.”
I shoot off the couch and turn toward him. “No, it’s a horrible idea. Are you out of your mind?”
“You wanted my help. This will get you the guy.”
A strangled noise slips out of me, something between laughter and choking. “But you’re my brother. I can’t fake-date you.”
We live in a heavily populated city, and the convention center will be full of people who may recognize us. I’d like the old rumors regarding Aiden and me to stay in high school. Everyone thought we were secretly together, and they tried to belittle and bully the admission from me.
Understanding softens Aiden’s features, and he leans forward, resting his elbows on his bent knees. “It’s all pretend, pretty girl. What people think about us doesn’t matter, anyway. Besides, we’re not blood, so it’s not like we’re breaking any laws.”
I nod, even though I’m freaking out on the inside. My hand inches toward my nape, and I mindlessly tug at a strand of hair as I weigh the pros and cons of entering into a fake relationship with my brother.
It’s pretend. It’s not like we’ll have sex.
My stomach clenches at that thought, and an unbidden image pops into my mind of a naked, sweaty Aiden hovering over me with my legs cradling his hips as he invades my body.
I mentally swat away that picture. Nope. Can’t have those thoughts about him.
A warm hand covers mine as I pluck a strand of hair. I blink and look up as Aiden frowns and lowers my hand to my side.
“It’ll be okay,” he murmurs, and tucks a lock of pink hair behind my ear. “No one will talk shit about you.”
I take a deep, calming breath through my nose and let it out through my mouth. “Are you sure this is a good idea? What if he doesn’t fall for it?”
He tilts his head to get a better look at me. The dangling sword earring sways from the movement. “Trust me. He’ll fall for it.”
I nod and cling to his promise like it’s a lifeline.
“It’s a good idea, and a great way for me to teach you the art of seducing a guy. By the end of your lessons, you’ll have men crawling to you,” he says with a smile.
I narrow my eyes. “We’re not sleeping together, if that’s what you’re implying.”
Aiden drags me to the couch and settles on the seat with me straddling his lap. “We don’t need to sleep together for me to teach you.” He rubs my hip as he considers me for a moment. “But we’ll have to kiss.”
“What? No.” I quickly shake my head. “That’s a bad idea.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “You wanna convince him we’re together? We have to do more than hold hands and hug. Besides, is the thought of kissing me that terrible?”
My stomach clenches, and I scramble off his lap to sit on the other side of the couch to put more distance between us.
“You don’t want to kiss me,” I say with a forced smile to play off the awkwardness. “I don’t think fake-dating is a good idea. I can find another way to win him over.”
“Do you want the guy or not?” Aiden relaxes and winds his arm over the top of the couch while he man-spreads his legs to get more comfortable.
“I do, but I don’t want to do stuff with you.” I swipe my palm over my face with a groan. “Can’t you just tell me what I need to do without having to pretend you’re my boyfriend?”
“Have you ever kissed someone before?”
My hand drops to my lap like a brick falling from a skyscraper. I school my features and guffaw. “What kind of question is that?”
Aiden purses his lips, his gaze locked with mine. “You’re acting like a kiss is a big deal, which is how people who’ve never kissed before act. You don’t need to be embarrassed about it.”
“Aiden.” I moan and cover my face with my hands.
The room falls quiet, and the energy shifts. I peek at him through my fingers, finding him staring at me with a darker look in his eyes. He holds a throw pillow against his lap. He clears his throat while glancing away and shifts his hips.
“Listen, I’m not gonna pressure you to do anything. You want to win this guy over? The fastest way is to get him jealous.”
I sigh and drop my hands from my face.
I need to quit being so dramatic about this. Aiden is willing to help, and I can’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
“What’s in it for you if we make this deal?”
Shadows creep over his face and disappear as quickly as they appeared.
He locks away whatever emotion he’s feeling and turns a cocky smile toward me.
“I’m on hiatus from situationships at the moment.
I have some chicks frothing at the mouth to get with me, and I’m not interested.
” He leans forward, pillow still on his lap.
“You pretend to be my girlfriend, and it’ll get them off my dick for a while.
I’ll help you. You’ll help me. It’s a win-win for us. ”
Nodding, I say, “Okay. It’s a deal. But we need to lay some ground rules. Like boundaries and whatnot.”
I can’t believe he’s convinced me to do this, but I trust him.
Aiden grins and tosses the pillow aside. “We can do that. I’m good at making rules, since I already have a few of my own.”
“What kind of rules?”
He snorts a laugh and sweeps his fingers through his messy grey hair. “You don’t want to know them because they center around sex, and we’ve already established that we won’t fuck. So the rules don’t apply.”
“Oh.” I let out a laugh and wave my hand. “Never mind, then.”
Aiden bites his bottom lip to hide a smile peeking through. He cocks his head as he looks me over. “You’re curious about them, aren’t you?”
“What?” My laughter dies and I shake my head. “Pff. No. Your sex life is none of my business.”
I’ll never admit to him that I sometimes wonder.
It’s always against my will to imagine him sleeping with other women, though I’ve overheard him fucking some of the women he brought home.
It’s kind of hard to ignore when our rooms are next to each other and she’s screaming like she’s being murdered by his dick.
I snort out a laugh at the thought of being killed by cock.
“Okay, so you don’t want to know the rules I have with other women. But we need some of our own.” Aiden’s smile widens, but he doesn’t question why I’m laughing. “So for our rules . . .”
I sober and clear my throat. “No sex.”
Aiden raises an eyebrow. “Right. You made that clear the second time you said that.”
“We only act like a couple when we need to. Other than that, we continue our sibling relationship.” I hold up two fingers to mark the rules.
Aiden nods. “Got it. Anything else?”
Deep in thought, I bite my bottom lip. A condition rises to the surface of my mind, and I glance away from him. I don’t think it’ll happen, but I’ve read enough fake-dating manga to know it could.
“Nova?” Aiden’s gentle tone drags my gaze back to him.
“If things get weird between us, the deal is off.” I stare straight into his eyes.
“Weird how?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and groan under my breath. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but if one of us catches feelings, it’ll make it weird.”
I don’t want to lose my brother. He’s the only family I have, and I’m afraid if one of us catches feelings, the other will get hurt. I can’t let that happen.
Aiden hums in response. “Okay, I have a few rules to lay out too.”
I peek at him. “Yeah?”
He nods and holds up a finger as he lists his rules. “Anything we do together is only to help you learn. If you want me to teach you anything in the bedroom, you’ll have to follow my other rules. And most importantly, you can’t fall for me.”
A laugh bubbles out of me. “I promise I won’t change my mind about not sleeping with you. And I won’t fall for you either. I know how you are.”
He’s allergic to commitment and would rather be a playboy for the rest of his life than settle down with someone. If I fell for Aiden, it would end with him ghosting me the way he’s ghosted all the other women I’ve seen come and go.
Aiden flashes a tight smile. “So we have a deal?”
“Yeah,” I say, and hold out my hand for a handshake.
He eyes my hand with a shake of his head, stands, then crosses the small space between us. I squeak as he yanks me from the couch and pulls me into a hug. Warmth fills my chest, and I melt into his arms.
I’ll say it again. I never want to see the day when Aiden stops being so affectionate with me. It reminds me too much of my past with my mother and how she never let me go to sleep wondering if anyone loved me.
She’s gone, but Aiden took her place and stuck by me all these years.
“Thank you,” I whisper, unsure if I’m thanking him for helping me or for just being in my life.
He buries his nose in my hair at the top of my head and snickers. “Don’t thank me now. We haven’t hooked this guy in yet, and you have a lot to learn.”
I can’t stop the cheesy smile from creeping onto my face at the thought of finally winning over Brandon. “So when do we start?”
“In the morning.” He leans back and catches my chin between two fingers, then raises my head until I meet his stormy gaze. “Until then, get some sleep. We’re gonna be busy all day.”
“Doing what?”
He boops the tip of my nose with his finger. “You’ll see.”