A sob ripped through me as I struggled to make sense of my weekend and how things went so wrong so fast. Aiden Black kissed me. We connected over music and then he leaned over and kissed me for the first time. An hour later, I was running for my life.
“How?” I cried into my hands.
Seconds later, there was a knock on the other side of the door.
“Brook? You okay?”
Clearing my throat, I answered, “Yeah! Just…singing.” Moving my face under the stream of water, I exhaled slowly and deeply. “Be out soon.”
Grabbing my body wash and washcloth, I lathered my body in soapy water as silent tears slipped down my cheeks. With each pass of the cloth over my skin, I tried to cleanse myself of the hurt, the anger, and the pain. I rinsed off and imagined all my emotions going down the drain. When I stepped out of the shower, wrapped in a fluffy towel, I expected to feel differently.
I didn’t.
I wiped the condensation from the mirror and stared into my almond-shaped eyes. I didn’t look like how I felt. I didn’t look like what I’d been through. And I thanked God for that.
Quickly, I changed into a pair of leggings and a sports bra. Once I opened the bathroom door, my nipples instantly tightened, protruding through the thin material.
I need to put on a shirt.
Grabbing a white t-shirt from a duffle bag in the office, I pulled it over my head when I heard him clear his throat. I yanked the shirt down, making droplets of waters fly around me.
“Is everything okay? Was standing to take a shower too much?”
I smirked. “No, it was fine. But we’re going to have to do something about you lurking behind the door when I shower.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You wish.”
I walked toward him, squeezing past him to exit the office. “From the way you were watching me get dressed, it’s clear that you wish.” Turning on my heel, I padded my way down the hall and to the living room.
I was sitting on the couch with my legs stretched out in front of me by the time he caught up with me.
“I wasn’t watching you get dressed,” Jay argued.
I watched him as he grabbed the remote to the TV. “I guess that’s why it took you so long to respond.”
He shook his head and let out a light chuckle. “I was getting my phone from my room.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know you were checking out this body,” I joked, moving my hips and upper body as seductively as possible with my feet propped up.
“Give me a break,” he grumbled as he tried not to laugh. But the amusement was evident in his voice. He flipped the remote in his hand but didn’t attempt to turn on the TV.
I watched the corners of his lips curl up and a sense of contentment filled me. There wasn’t the tumultuous high and low of potentially unrequited love with a celebrity classmate. There wasn’t the fiery rage that ripped through me when I thought of Dakota lying on me and throwing me under the bus for what she did. There wasn’t the pit of anguish associated with thinking Carter was in on the plan to sabotage me. There was only contentment with Jay. An overall ease settled my spirit and although my troubles didn’t disappear, they didn’t feel like they were going to suffocate me.
“Thank you again for letting me stay with you. I know I’m cramping your bachelor lifestyle,” I mentioned apologetically.
“Yeah, true.” He turned toward me, resting his hand along the back of the couch. “But I would do anything for you. You know that.”
“And I, you.” I paused. “There’s only one thing I wouldn’t do.”
“What’s that one thing?” Jay’s eyes dipped to my lips and I couldn’t help but smile.
“I wouldn’t let anything come—”
There was an aggressive knock on the door, interrupting my sentence. My eyebrows furrowed as I glanced at the door and then back at him.
He rose to his feet. “You wouldn’t let anything come? That’s odd and sexual at the same time.”
Rolling my eyes, I stifled a giggle. “I wouldn’t let anything come between us.”
He looked over his shoulder at me as if he didn’t believe me. “Yeah… I still think you meant it sexually,” he joked before opening the door.
I was going to argue but the smell of garlic bread and cheese wafted through the air and my stomach rumbled in excitement. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until the mere scent of tomato sauce made my mouth water.
Jay took the pizza and breadsticks. “I also ordered a two-liter.”
“What? You did?” the pizza guy asked in confusion as he looked around and patted his pockets as if a drink was hidden in there. “I’ll have to go back and get it. I’m sorry about that.”
They exchanged goodbyes and the delivery guy promised to hurry back.
I didn’t care about anything to drink as I made my way to the kitchen sink. I washed my hands and never took my eyes off the pizza box that Jay placed on the coffee table. I grabbed plates and two bottles of water and while he washed his hands, I closed my eyes and inhaled the smell.
“Why are you acting like you haven’t had pizza before?” Jay joked as he sat back down beside me.
“Because for the last month, I’ve been living with pod people.” I opened my eyes just as he lifted the lid of the box. I felt my eyes glaze over. “When they order from Gino’s, they order salads.”
For the next ten minutes, we chomped down on the delicious goodness. Ordinarily I would’ve eaten a couple of
