Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
NOVA
Olivia
um, excuse me?? It’s been days and no answer?? Who the hell are u dating? and why haven’t u told me about him?
It’s nothing serious
Serious enough to post on Instagram though
So who is he?
Okay, so this is a good sign. She doesn’t recognize Aiden’s tattoos yet. So maybe I can lie about who—
A new message pings on my phone, and I read the incoming texts from Olivia.
Now that I’m looking at the pics again, his tattoos look freakishly similar to Aiden’s.
Wait
Is it Aiden, and that’s why his face isn’t in the pics?
No judgement. I swear!
We’re not dating
So it *is* Aiden! I’m good!
You’re not dating? But the post…
He’s helping me with a guy I have a crush on. I swear this was his idea, and he’s pretending to be my boyfriend.
Okay that wasn’t a bad idea
U two r really committed to this con
Olivia sends a screenshot of Aiden and me kissing. My stomach flips at the memories it drags to the surface. Specifically, last night in the bathroom.
Gotta do what you gotta do
U know what? Hell yeah, girl.
Is the plan working?
Surprisingly, yeah. It is.
Why is it surprising?
I didn’t think pretending to be in a relationship would work
Oh it’s a common phenomenon that happens as soon as u aren’t available. Everyone comes out of the woodwork suddenly interested in getting with u.
I’m glad it’s working. u deserve the best. But if this guy fucks with u, I’m cutting his dick and balls off.
Give me updates! If u decide to get with Aiden instead, we’ll be here rooting u on. But my threat stands with him too. As soon as he fucks up…
Snickering, I close the thread and stretch my arms above my head with a tiny groan as the stiff muscles loosen. I slept like the dead after Aiden left my bedroom, and I don’t think I moved once after passing out.
My phone pings with several more texts from Olivia that I don’t bother reading. If I were to guess what she’s talking about, it likely involves murdering either Brandon or Aiden if they so much as hurt my feelings.
I love how protective she is of me—just as I am with her and Madison. However, I wouldn’t want them to hurt anyone on my account. Especially Aiden.
The conversation with Olivia helped lift some of the weight from my shoulders, lessening the worry of being judged for doing something controversial with my brother.
She won’t speak to anyone about this. And as much as she wants to support me if I get with Aiden instead, nothing will come out of this relationship.
I like Brandon, and it seems he likes me too.
I also can’t forget that Aiden made it clear I can’t fall for him. It’d be stupid of me to overlook the streak of flings he tangles himself in. I refuse to be another notch on his bedpost. Once a player, always a player, as they say.
Besides, I have doubts that he wants to do anything more with me.
Last night was a onetime thing that will never happen again.
He refused to let me return the favor and said he got his happy ending.
In my mind, that’s his way of rejecting me as nicely as possible when he realized I was open to doing more with him.
Aiden has always been flirtatious. Not just with me, but with everyone. So of course, the moment I showed interest in him, he recognized his mistake and backpedaled.
After dressing for the day, I leave my bedroom and pass by Aiden’s open door. The lights are off, and his unmade bed is empty. He probably headed out earlier this morning to get back to his usual schedule of helping his friends prepare for Hellfire Night.
After checking the time, I blanch.
It’s past noon. Jeez, I slept in late.
My feet shuffle on the floor as I enter the kitchen to make a smoothie. I pause mid-step, my eyes widening a fraction at the sight of Aiden lounging at the table, shirtless and wearing black alt pants and boots. His head is bent as he scrolls on his phone, engrossed in whatever has his attention.
My gaze drags over his naked chest, drinking in all his tattoos and muscles. The ink swirling over his abs dips beneath his waistband, and I loathe his clothes for hiding his body from me. He got to see me naked last night. All I saw of him was his bare ass.
Rude.
Aiden’s head rises and turns toward me. His eyes brighten as they land on my flushed face, and he sits straighter in his seat.
“Morning, pretty girl. I didn’t think you were getting up at all at this point.
” He smirks and looks me over, then tips his chin toward the two toaster strudels on the table. “I made you breakfast.”
I take the seat beside him and pick up a strudel with a large bite on one end. I give him a half-hearted scowl. “You couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
He grins and rubs his nape with a sheepish look. “Everything tastes better when it’s yours.”
Well, there goes the hope of forgetting about last night. Knowing Aiden, he meant that as a double entendre and is keeping his promise of rubbing what we did in my face.
His smile broadens, and he’s clearly pleased that he made me squirm. He tips his head to the side and eyes the strudel as I inspect it. “They should still be warm for you. I made them five minutes before you walked in.”
“Why did you put the frosting in the middle and not on top?” I scrunch my nose at the obscenity.
“If you don’t want them, I’ll take them.”
I snatch the pastry as he reaches for it. “No! These are mine.”
Aiden chuckles and settles in his seat as I eat. My eyelids slide shut as a mixture of sweetness bursts on my tastebuds. A moan creeps up my throat.
“That good, huh?” Aiden’s amused voice snaps me out of the moment.
I swallow and lick my bottom lip, catching a drop of filling that escaped. Opening my eyes, I smile and nod. “Yeah. I know it’s silly, but these have always been a comfort food for me.”
“Good. I want my girl to be nice and full before we go out later today.” He grabs the edge of my chair, drags me closer to him until our legs touch, then winds his arm around my shoulder.
I lick more of the filling from my lip and suck the sticky mess from my fingers. “We have plans today?”
“Yeah, I still need you to hold up your end of the bargain.”
“Oh.” My eyes widen. I forgot he needed my help today. It feels like it’s been years since he pinned me to the counter while whispering his rules in my ear. “So how do you want me to help you with your problem?”
“An acquaintance of mine is throwing a house party tonight. He’s been begging me to show up to one of them for a while now, but I haven’t had the time. Hellfire Night preparation and all that shit.”
I nod.
The corners of Aiden’s lips curve, and he continues explaining the plan. “But tonight will be perfect for two reasons. The main one being that I want these women to see you with me. Once they do, they should back off for a while.”
A drop of pink filling falls from the pastry, and I barely catch it before it lands on my shirt.
“You’re such a messy girl.” Aiden tsks, leaning down while circling my wrist with his fingers. He holds my gaze and lifts my palm to his mouth, then drags his tongue over the sticky mess, licking me clean of the sweet filling until it’s gone.
I force myself to swallow the barely chewed food. My thighs squeeze together, dulling the throb between them at the memory of his tongue licking somewhere far more intimate than my palm.
Tearing my gaze from his face, I stare at the half-eaten strudel. “You think the girls will leave you alone because they’ll think I made a deal with you, right?”
Aiden releases my wrist and straightens. “Exactly. They know I stick to one for a while before moving on. So if they think you’re my current fling, it’ll buy me some time.”
“How long do your deals last?” Now would be a great time to ask him about making one with him.
He’s trying to get out of being in one. He said he wanted a break from flings for a while. Read the room, Nova.
Aiden hums in thought and plays with a strand of hair framing my face. “Three months, give or take. It depends if they follow the rules. A lot of them don’t.”
“They fall for you?” I peek at him from the corner of my eye and nibble the rest of the strudel.
He shrugs and folds his arms over his chest. “Some, yeah. Most of them want more from me. Either kissing or cuddling. They always think they’ll be an exception to my rules.”
“So they want romance from you.” I nod subtly and turn to the second strudel. “And you prefer to avoid catching feelings for any of them, so you keep an emotional distance by refusing intimacy and even going so far as only fucking them from behind.”
I wouldn’t be against having something like that with him if it meant not ruining our relationship. The last thing I want is to lose him. He’s the only family I have left.
But I’m worried about him. It must be lonely without that connection.
He’s always chasing after the next person for whatever fix he’s craving.
Aiden has closed himself off from the world, sometimes even from me.
He doesn’t let many people get through the walls he’s built around himself—walls formed from humor as a way of deflecting instead of facing his inner wounds.
I’d like to say I could fix him. I blame the toxic trait in me for that one. A lot of women have probably said that about him too, but I don’t want him to change. I want him to heal, and I want to be there for him as he does.
Aiden leans forward, resting his crossed arms on the table. He raises an eyebrow. “You’re asking a lot of questions about my deals. Is there something you need to ask me?”
My back straightens, and I duck my head. “Nope. Tell me more about this party.”
Aiden watches me with the same amused expression and drums his fingers on the table. “It’ll be a little different from what you’re used to. I need to make it clear that I’m unavailable.”
“Whatever you have in mind can’t be that bad.”
“It may challenge your no-sex rule, but I don’t see you minding that since you showed me what a naughty little rule breaker you are.” He winks.