Chapter 6
SIX
NOVA
I yawn and stretch my arms out as I shuffle into the kitchen. My eyes slide shut, and I hum with a smile as I hit a wall of sweet and savory scents, the most notable being bacon.
Opening my eyes, I take a seat at the island, facing Aiden as he cooks breakfast. Basketball shorts sit low on his hips, and he’s shirtless.
I cup my cheeks and rest my elbows on the counter as I watch him rotate the bacon in the frying pan.
He hasn’t noticed me, which gives me time to enjoy the sight of him doing something so simple yet kind.
My gaze travels from his tattooed neck to his inked shoulders and back. Most of the pieces on his back are anime characters from the shows we used to watch together when we were younger.
I love that despite Aiden dirtying his hands in some ways, he’s still nerdy in others.
He shifts his weight and flips a piece of bacon, and the muscles in his arms and back bulge with the movement. My stomach clenches as I imagine Brandon having the same build as my brother. I’ve only ever seen down to his chest but never the rest of his body.
“Morning, pretty girl.”
I blink and focus on Aiden. He grins at me and slides a plate of stacked pancakes toward me. Strawberries and chocolate drizzle cover the tower, and a side of bacon sits off to the right.
“How long have you been sitting here?” He hands me a fork, then slides the bottle of syrup beside my plate.
I grin and dance in my seat as I eye the food. “Not long. Thank you for breakfast.” I lick my bottom lip and stab my fork through a strawberry. “You’re up early again. Are you leaving?”
Aiden leans his folded arms against the counter, and he watches with amusement as I pop the fruit into my mouth. “Nope. I promised you that we’d be busy today. I had to check on Ryder earlier and let him know I’d be gone for the day. So you’re all mine.”
My eyes slide shut at the first taste of chocolate mixed with strawberry, and I moan. “So good.” Swallowing the bite, I look at him and tilt my head. “What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
Aiden runs his fingertips over his mouth and glances away, a smirk peeking through his fingers. “Nothing. I just love watching you enjoy my food.”
“Right,” I drawl. I cut into the stack of pancakes and stab the piece. “So what are the plans for today?”
He pushes away from the table and piles a plate for himself. “We’re gonna fool the internet—and Brandon—into thinking we’re together.”
I catch my fork before it drops onto the plate. Aiden raises an eyebrow as he rounds the island and sits beside me.
“Wait. Hold on. Fool the internet how?”
“By taking pictures and posting them on Instagram.” He cuts into his stack of pancakes and pops a piece into his mouth. “Brandon follows you on there, yeah?”
“Yeah, he follows me, but so do Olivia and Madison.” I pick at the hem of my sleep shirt, then tug at a strand of my hair.
“Then we don’t show my face.” Aiden peeks at me from the corner of his eye. They narrow right as I pluck a strand of hair.
I shift in my seat, and my gaze drops to his hands. “Crap. Your tattoos.”
“Ah.” He glances at his hands with a pinched expression.
If my friends find out about this, it won’t be the end of the world.
I’m sure they’d understand why I’m doing this after I explained it to them, but I’d like to avoid that awkward conversation.
Besides, it’s not like we’re doing anything wrong by pretending to be together.
The most that will happen is an awkward conversation and laughing about it later.
“If you’re sure about hiding your face, then we can still do that,” I say. “If Olivia and Madison figure it out, it won’t be a big deal.”
“We have no other options. Besides, it’ll still get the job done, and I don’t know how you feel about pictures with me wearing my riding gloves to hide the tattoos. Because that’s all I can think of to solve that problem.”
My cheeks warm. “Yeah, let’s just stick with you being faceless. What sort of pictures were you thinking?”
“Typical couple stuff.”
I roll my eyes. “That isn’t very specific. What does ‘couple stuff’ look like for you?”
Aiden turns to me with an apologetic smile. “I’ve never done it before. Situationships, remember? But we need to do something that will show we’re together and not just friends.”
“Then I’ll look for ideas.”
I grab my phone and pull up Pinterest. It’s been my go-to for pose inspiration when I take cosplay pictures for Instagram. I’ve stumbled across couples’ aesthetics in the past, but a lot of them were risqué, and I don’t think that’s something I’m okay doing.
He ditches his fork on the counter and grips the bottom of my chair before dragging it closer to his side until our legs touch. I snap my head up and look at him. He just grins, wraps his arm around my shoulder, and leans in until his head is next to mine so that he can look at my phone screen.
I scroll through the photos. They start off sweet, featuring hugging couples or a guy holding a girl in the air.
Most of them utilize a sunset as the backdrop.
As I continue, the pictures tunnel into darker themes, like a man’s tattooed hand wrapped around a woman’s throat as he looms behind her.
Another shows a man pinning a woman’s wrists above her head on the bed.
I quickly scroll past that one and refuse to peek at Aiden to gauge his reaction.
Again, there’s no way I could do anything like that. We made rules, and we’re keeping to them; even for pictures, I don’t want to insinuate sex.
After scrolling through a couple more, Aiden plucks the phone from my hand and stands.
“All right. I’ve got ideas now.” He turns to me and flashes his signature cocky smirk. “Are you ready to let the world know we’re dating?”
My phone chimes with a new text message, and Aiden glances at the screen. His eyebrows twitch, and the corner of his jaw tightens before he raises his head and grins at me.
“It’s your man.” He hands the phone to me. “Tell him you’re going on a date.”
Butterflies fill my stomach, and I snatch the phone to read Brandon’s message. A smile creeps onto my face as I read it over several times, even though he’s asked me this question every single day since we started texting.
Brandon
Good morning, princess. What are your plans for today?
Aiden’s comment sinks in, and my head whips up. “Tell him I’m going on a date?”
He nods and pops a piece of bacon into his mouth. “You’re gonna flake out on him. He’s used to you being available all the time. Hell, I even suggest you don’t message him back right away. Wait a couple of hours before telling him.”
“So you want me to play mind games with him?” I frown.
Aiden snickers and places his hand on the top of my seat behind my shoulder, bringing his sweet scent with him as he crowds my space. “Us fake-dating is a mind game, pretty girl. Why stop there?” he coos.
I’ll give it to him. He’s right.
Knowing he’s won, Aiden grins. “Tell him this: ‘Can’t hang out. I’m going on a date.’ That will be enough to leave him wondering what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with.”
I huff a laugh and glance at my phone, but I hesitate. “Do you really think it will work?”
Aiden plucks my phone from my hand, straightens, and types out a response to Brandon. “Trust me, it will. He’s a guy. We think with our dicks. Hinting at being on a date will jumpstart that primitive side of his brain we talked about, and the chase will begin.”
I sink my front teeth into my bottom lip and refuse to linger on that bit about Aiden thinking with his dick. I’d rather know that he sleeps around than visualize it.
He taps one more time on the screen and then hands the phone back to me. “Don’t message him back.”
“But he hasn’t—”
My phone chimes with a new text.
Aiden smirks and grabs me by the elbow to help me stand. “Let him sit with this new information for the day. Now, are you ready to take some pictures?”