11. Aurora
Chapter eleven
Aurora
Y ou know that moment when you wake up and for a split second everything’s perfect? Yeah, that lasts about as long as it takes for my brain to register the marching band playing in my skull. Last night is a blur of tequila shots and bad decisions, but there’s something else... a memory that feels more like a dream. Warm arms, a familiar scent, and... oh God, did I friggin kiss Aiden?
“Ugh,” I groan, rolling over in bed. Everything in me wants nothing more than to close my eyes again and forget I even attempted waking up. Breathing is painful as my stomach attempts to empty itself, and I heave. Even my hair hurts. Speaking of which…
I open my eyes, hissing at the sun and its ever-cheerful presence slatting over my face. Normally, I would be happy to see a bright and sunny day, but after the night Katarina and I had, a night full of liquor and poor choices, I’m wishing for rain. I roll over on my back and stare up at the ceiling. The house is quiet, and I wonder if Jax and Aiden have gone to practice.
Aiden… Immediately, my mind floods with images of us, arms locked around one another in a tight embrace as we kiss. I shiver and try to push out the feelings that arise from that. It’s a fantasy not based on anything in reality…right?
I frown desperately trying to think back on the entire night. Where there should be memories, there are only blank spaces of time. That’s worrisome, considering I’m not even sure how we got back home. I don’t drink often, but last night was all about letting loose, and let loose we did. So loose that I’ve lost track of moments in time.
A knock at my door startles me from my thoughts, but I breathe a sigh of relief when I realize it’s only Katarina. She looks like she’s in a similarly great mood with her disheveled hair and slightly green tinge.
“Morning, sunshine,” I croak out, my voice rough, probably from way too much enthusiastic karaoke. “Please tell me I dreamed the part where I got on stage and belted out ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ at the top of my lungs.
“Ugh, not so loud.” Katarina winces… I think my brain is trying to escape. She manages a weak chuckle. “Sorry, babe. That definitely happened. You even dedicated it to all the Turners out there—and did a scarf throw at the end.”
I groan, burying my face in my pillow. “Oh…god. I bet I looked like a crazy ex.
“Nah,” Katarina mumbles, pressing a hand to her forehead. “Honestly, it was actually pretty badass. You looked like a woman who’s finally free and knows it. Even if my ears are still ringing.”
Well, the next time I suggest karaoke, just gag me, okay?”
“Deal,” Katarina mumbles, pressing a hand to her forehead. “But only if you promise to do the same for me. My head feels like it’s been hosting death metal concerts all week.”
She hobbles over to my bed, and I scoot over, giving her room to flop down beside me, which she does with a loud grunt.
“I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck,” she moans, pressing her face into the pillow. “A truck filled with tequila and bad decisions.”
“Yeah, well, that truck had your name on it, Miss ‘Let’s-Do-One-More-Shot.’”
“Never again,” Katarina mumbles into the pillow. “I swear on all that is holy, never again. Just let me die here.”
I want to laugh, but I also don’t want to do anything to make my head hurt even more. She turns and glances at me with narrowed eyes.
“How are you not in pain right now?”
”I am in pain. And I think we had the same number of drinks.”
“Are you kidding me?” I ask, my voice coming out in a croak. “My head feels like I ran into a brick wall with no helmet. I’m far from okay. How the hell did we even get in last night?”
“Don’t you remember? Your boyfriend helped us in,” she says, wiggling her brows.
“What? I don’t have a boyfriend, Katarina. “ I counter, trying to understand where the hell she’s even coming from. How did we even get to bed? I ask, hoping that with each passing minute, more of my memories will return.
It’s disconcerting to know that we got home and in bed, and yet I can’t recall how. I definitely don’t plan on going on another drinking adventure anytime soon.
Katarina cuts her eyes at me in a way I don’t appreciate this early in the morning. “Are you seriously telling me you don’t remember Aiden swooping in like some knight in shining armor to put us both to bed?”
I turn my head far too quickly for how much alcohol is probably still in my system. For a moment, everything looks wavy, and I have to swallow hard against the bile rising in my throat. My surprise and nausea are at war. Was my fantasy not actually a fantasy? I thought Aiden was just a figment of my imagination, but now Katarina’s telling me that last night was actually real. How the hell am I supposed to handle that knowledge?
I sit up quickly as I realize something. Dream me kissed dream Aiden. But if that wasn’t a dream, does that mean I really kissed him? The thought of it almost has me gagging—not in disgust but in embarrassment. Surely not. The thought of kissing Aiden is not unwelcome. I’m not blind. Aiden is almost too attractive to be real, and that’s something that has only become more apparent the older we get and the more he grows into his face. But that doesn’t mean he needs to know I recognize his attractiveness.
“I don’t remember that at all,” I reply, trying to keep my voice from sounding panicked. “Do you remember anything else from after we got home?” I hope Katarina can shed some light on these thoughts of mine before I worry myself to death.
She slowly shakes her head. “All I remember is my head hitting the pillow, the back of my eyelids, and then waking up with a massive hangover.” I’m happy she feels as bad as me, considering it was her idea to go out in the first place. “The next time I get some great idea about going out all night, slap me.”
“Oh, I one hundred percent will.” How people manage to do this more than once in their lifetime is crazy to me. I can’t imagine doing this again, not with how badly I feel now. Plus, I don’t need the worry of throwing myself at every good-looking dude hanging over me either. Hangovers themselves are rough enough.
“We are never doing this again.”
Katarina gives me a look. “ Agreed. Now shut up and go back to sleep.”
I think about smacking her, but going back to sleep sounds perfect. I close my eyes and try to ignore the image of Aiden leaning over me that floats through my mind. There’s no way I kissed him. Drunk or not, I know how bad of an idea that would be.
As I lay here trying to doze back to sleep, I piece together the fragments of last night. When did I become this person? The girl who drinks to forget, who’s so scared of her own feelings that she needs liquid courage to face them?
I think back to the Aurora, planning her perfect wedding to the perfect guy. She’d be horrified at the me now.
But you know what? That’s okay. Because that Aurora was living someone else’s dream. This Aurora, hungover and confused as she is, is finally starting to figure out her own.
Waking up now is much easier than earlier. Katarina’s Beside me, playing around on her phone. When I turn my head toward her, she pauses and looks at me.
“I’m starving.”
I snort at her words. “So, make yourself something to eat. You know where everything is.”
“Yeah, but that would mean getting up, and I don’t want to do that right now.” She nudges me with her shoulder. “Make me food, please.”
“No,” I grumble, nudging her back. Truthfully, I’m also hungry, but I don’t feel like moving either. If I could order something in and have it delivered to my bed, I would. It would make things so much easier. When Katarina turns on the puppy dog eyes, I groan in defeat. “Ugh, fine. But I’ll only cook if you come to the kitchen too and help me remember what the hell happened last night.” I sit up, ignoring the protest from my aching head.
Katarina shrugs but follows me out of the bed and into the kitchen. It takes me a few minutes to get comfortable being vertical again, and I lean against the counter until the room finally stops spinning. The refrigerator is mostly stocked, but I figure it’s easiest to keep it simple and make a basic breakfast.
“Eggs scrambled good for you?”
“Sure,” Katarina replies as she takes a seat at the small dining table. She leans her head on her hand, her eyes lazily tracking me as I move this way and that. The scent of bacon perks me up, and by the time I’m scrambling the eggs, my stomach starts to growl. “Oh my god. I can’t wait to eat.”
I hum in agreement before remembering that I’m supposed to be getting clarification about the events of the night before.
“So, remind me. What exactly happened last night?”
Katarina rolls her eyes. “Are you seriously asking me this again? Do you really not remember?”
I glance at her over my shoulder. “I’m serious. I don’t remember a thing after we left the bar. I woke up super confused about being in my own bed even.”
We lapse into silence, and the only sound that can be heard is the scraping of the utensils in the pan. I’m patient, waiting for Katarina to speak as I finish cooking and slide the food onto plates for us both. She doesn’t speak again until after we start eating.
“Did anything ever happen between you and Aiden before you started dating shit-for-brains?”
I have to fight not to spit the food out of my mouth. I chew furiously. “What? Why do you ask?” A terrifying thought comes to me. “Did something happen last night?”
Katarina looks at me shrewdly before lifting another bite of food to her lips. “If I said yes, would you go for it?”
“Go for what?”
“Aiden,” she replies with an incredulous expression. “What the fuck did you think we were talking about? If something happened between you two last night, would you want it to happen again? Preferably horizontally?”
My brain nearly shorts out when I think about getting horizontal with Aiden. That direction only leads to the type of madness that would follow me like a bad habit. “No.” At Katarina’s raised eyebrow, I groan and correct myself. “Fine. Yes, something happened between us. But it was a long time ago.”
She sits up in her chair. “I Knew it! What happened? Did you two kiss? Have sex? Did he take your virginity?”
My mind reels with her spot-on assumptions. I almost don’t know how to respond. “I…” My voice trails off as I think back to the night that was never to be named.
Jax and Aiden are gone, so I know it’s safe to talk about, but I’m not sure if I want to drudge up the past without knowing what happened last night.
“First, tell me what happened last night, and then maybe I’ll divulge my darkest secrets.”
“Fair enough,” she replies. “Aiden picked us up off the floor, and then he put me to bed.”
I wait for a moment before frowning. “Okay, and?”
Katarina shrugs. “And that’s it on my end. I went to bed, so if anything happened between the two of you , I wasn’t in it.”
“That doesn’t tell me anything, Kat!” I exclaim, narrowing my eyes at her smug expression. “You tricked me. That isn’t fair.”
“You made the rules, babe. Now, tell me everything.” She leans forward as she takes another bite of food. Out of embarrassment, I almost tell her where to stick it but that’s really not my style.
“Fine. The answer is yes. We did… it.”
Katarina’s squeal nearly has my ears bleeding. “Holy shit, I knew it… tell me everything. Was this before or after your dick of an ex?”
“Both,” I reply with a sigh. “Right before my senior prom, my ex decided to dump me and leave me dateless. Aiden stepped in and was nice enough to take me since I had already paid for my dress, lined up the limo, and everything else.”
“Wait, what ex…Turner…No? And somehow that translated into getting your back blown out by the guy? OMG…Does Jax know?”
I shake my head before pointing my fork at her. “No, and you better keep your mouth shut. Aiden and I both agreed to keep it quiet. Nothing good could come from Jax knowing, plus it’s none of his business to begin with.”
“It’s not my business to tell,” Katarina replies, holding her hands up. I give her a look before nodding.
I don’t really think she would say anything, and definitely not to Jax. Though I’m sure I’ll have to deal with some teasing for the next few weeks before she moves on to something else.
“But babe, the way he seemed last night, are you sure there isn’t anything more there?”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, trying to push down the little flare of feeling that ignites from her words. “Aiden is Jax’s friend, his best friend. Nothing could happen between us, especially not now.”
“But he seemed so worried last night,” Katarina insists. “I mean, he was nice to me, sure, but the way he looked at you was something else.”
“I think the alcohol was making you see things that weren’t there,” I say, not allowing her words to get to me. “And even if there was something there, Aiden and I couldn’t be together.”
Katarina frowns before putting down her fork. “Why the fuck not? Because your brother won’t approve?” When I nod, she rolls her eyes. “That’s a stupid rule, and I refuse to acknowledge it.”
“Well, you might not, but Jax does. He already threatened his teammates once. Best friend or not, Jax would not be okay with Aiden and me dating.” I’m sure Jax would blow a gasket. “Besides, Aiden isn’t interested in me like that. He’s nice because I’m Jax’s little sister. That’s it.”
Katarina shakes her head at me, but I don’t want to talk about Aiden anymore. There’s no point. Aiden is off limits, and besides, he isn’t interested in me to begin with.
There’s nothing more to discuss.
As Katarina and I finish our breakfast, my phone buzzes. It’s a text from Aiden,
“We need to talk about last night. Meet me at the rink in an hour?” My heart races.
What exactly happened last night?