THE SMELL OF bitter liquor and fried food wafts through Porter’s. It’s Friday night, and ever since I told Amara and Cassie about my talk with Aiden, they’ve been hell bent on taking me out. Apparently, they think telling him we should see other people means I should actually go out and see other people. I don’t know how to break it to them, but I can’t even look at another guy without comparing him to Aiden. Turns out they’re all pretty lackluster after him.
“Uh-oh.” Cassie halts to a stop and chuckles nervously. “I forgot to mention a very tiny inconsequential detail.”
Nothing from that sentence sounds tiny or inconsequential. When I turn the bar is swarming with Dalton’s hockey roster.
“They won tonight.”
I knew that because I watched the game on TV. Aiden dominated the ice, and my heart did little flutters every time the cameras focused on him. He hasn’t texted me to hang out after our talk, so I’m taking the newfound space to do what I want.
My only option is to leave the bar, but Cassie stops me. “The old Summer would never let hockey stand in the way of anything. Come on, we’re here to have fun, and there are plenty of other people here. We can avoid them.”
I haven’t seen Aiden yet, so I guess that’s a good sign.
“Sunny!”
As soon as I hear that voice, I squeeze my eyes shut.
“Worth a shot,” mumbles Cassie as she and Amara head to the bar.
Kian’s smiling wide, and he’s definitely drunk, judging by how he sways. His suffocating bear hug envelops me in the smell of beer. “I’ve missed you around the house. How have you been, stranger?”
“I saw you in class the other day.”
“Oh right, Aiden had me reporting ba—want a drink?” he diverts.
“I’m good for now, thanks. Congrats on the win by the way.”
“Thanks, but it was all Aiden tonight. He was electric. I don’t know what has gotten into him lately.”
I raise a brow. “Practicing more material for your best man’s speech?”
“Yup. You’ll have to hear it twice.”
I’m barely paying attention to his slurred words as I try to find an escape. He doesn’t let me go even as our conversation dwindles, so I nudge him. “Go back to your friends.”
“But you’re so much prettier than them.”
I roll my eyes. Finally, he saunters back, but not before giving me a sloppy kiss on the cheek. I don’t watch his retreat because I’m a coward, too afraid to see Aiden back there. But when an electric tingle flutters down my spine, and my heartbeat slows to little thumps, I know he’s got me like a spotlight.
On shaky legs, I head to the bar. Knowing that Aiden is here makes me highly sensitive to flirting, so much so that my stomach flips anytime a guy looks my way.
Like clockwork, I feel a warm presence hover over me. The way my heart starts to palpitate you’d think I’m going into cardiac arrest, but then I smell the cheap cologne rubbing off on my skin.
It’s not him.
“Pretty girl like you must not have come here alone.” The man is too close for my liking, and his breath is worse than the cologne. But his smile slows the uneasy feeling jittering through me.
“I’m here with my friends.” I point to the dance floor. The subtle nod I give Amara dampens her worry.
“Wouldn’t want to interrupt your girls’ night, though it would be a shame if I didn’t get your number.”
I laugh. “I don’t even know your name.”
“I’ll get you a drink, and I’ll tell you everything about myself.”
“Already have one coming. Though if you can guess what it is you can buy me another.”
He takes a seat at the bar. “I’m not much of a gambler.”
The response is disappointing, but before I can say anything, an abrupt shove from a drunk girl sends me crashing into his lap.
That spotlight from earlier just got hotter.
He slithers a hand around my waist to hold me in place. Despite my determination not to scope the bar, I look to where the guys are talking loudly, and my eyes collide with green. Aiden leans against the wall, eyes on me as he takes a slow swig of his beer, ignoring his teammate talking to him. His casual stance is a picture of calm, but something cold leaks into his eyes.
The sharp ache in my chest threatens to rip me in half, and I swallow the lump in my throat. Suddenly, the idea of a drink from him or even touching him makes me itchy.
“I have to go.” I scramble off his lap to head to the washroom. I release a shaky breath as I stare at my flushed face in the mirror. My hands are clammy, so I run them under the sink.
I’m drying my hands when the washroom door creaks open, and Aiden steps inside, a dark shadow covering his face. I swallow so hard that his eyes drop to my throat. When I step away from the sink, he closes the door.
A storm brews in my belly. “You’re in the wrong washroom.”
“I’m not.” He twists the lock, and the click echoes in my ears. “Is that the accountant?” he asks.
“What?” The word wobbles off my lips.
“The guy at the bar. Is he a part of your five-year plan?”
It takes me a second to process what he’s saying, but when I do, it irritates the hell out of me. “I don’t know. I’ll have to get to know him better.”
His tongue runs along the inside of his cheek, his gaze dragging down my body. “Didn’t have much of a conversation when your ass was on his lap?”
“Wasn’t really focused on talking.” I sound unbothered, though I’m sure he notices my heaving chest.
He shadows each of my slow steps. “Who is he?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Another guy touching you is very much my fucking business.”
“I thought we were giving each other space to—”
In one swift movement, he cages me against the wall. “Is this enough space for you, Summer? Because it’s too much to fucking bear for me.”
My heart constricts in my chest. “But Donny—”
“Fuck Donny,” he says through gritted teeth pressing his hips into mine. “I want to know what you want.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” my voice trembles.
“Yes, you do,” he says. “Either tell me you want this just as bad as I do, or tell me to leave.”
“Aiden…”
“One word.” His thumb runs along my jawline so delicately, I shiver. The caress tightens the twine suffocating my heart. “Either I’m in, or I’m out, Preston.” His usual confidence is loud, but tonight he sounds vulnerable. My mind teeters, but I know that I need him close right now.
“In,” I say breathlessly. “You’re in,”
“Good answer.”
My pulse drops like a weight between my legs, and I wonder how much longer I can stand. As if he’s reading my mind, or maybe just my body, one of his hands slides to my waist, searing my skin through my dress as he lifts me off the floor. His mouth covers mine, and he breaks me open with hungry, desperate kisses.
My dress rides all the way up, my back hits the cold tiled wall and his hard body spreads my legs open.
“Fuck, I missed you,” he whispers, nuzzling my neck.
He didn’t miss this. He missed me. The small detail wrenches my heart. Aiden pulls the straps of my dress and bra down, baring me to him. He kisses me everywhere, pressing the flat of his tongue along my skin. He nips, licks, and sucks my nipples until they’re impossibly hard in his mouth.
“I’m hoping you wore this dress for me,” he murmurs.
“I didn’t even know you’d be here.”
His lips glide along my buzzing skin. “We both know I’m the only one taking it off.”
“I don’t know,” I pant. “That guy at the bar was pretty close.” I’m not sure why I’m trying to incite him, but I can’t help myself.
“Hmm, how close?” He yanks up my dress.
“Judging by how his lap felt—Ah!”
He interrupts me with a pinch to my clit. “You’re going to get fucked hard for that.” The clanking his belt might as well be a singing church choir with how close I feel to heaven.
“Just to be clear,” he yanks my panties to the side. Cool air brushes over my exposed skin, but the heat of his gaze warms my core. “The only one filling you up is me.” He presses the head of his length along my wet core, and I shudder, every muscle in my body contracting. “The only name you’re screaming is mine—”
“Screaming is a bit of a hyperbole,” I interrupt.
“—and the only lap you’ll be sitting on is this one.” He looks down to where our hips meet and without warning, thrusts so deeply inside me, a scream rips from my throat.
“Hyperbole, my ass.” I try not to bite the hand that covers my mouth when he thrusts in again with too much force, causing too much pleasure. The firmness of his hold sends my heart aflutter.
“You love it, don’t you?” His stormy eyes lock on mine. “You love when my eyes are on you while I fuck you.”
I nod, just as he hits a spot so deep my eyes roll backwards, and his soft moans light up my body.
“You’re making a fucking mess, baby, dripping all over my cock.” He’s so deep, only our filthy noises soak the washroom air. “Did you miss me, Summer? Miss feeling me buried inside this tight little pussy?”
Too far gone to answer, I kiss him. But he fists my hair to pull me away so our foreheads touch, making me watch where we’re connected. He brings his thumb to rub over me, and my head falls back, grazing the tiled wall.
“Watch me, Summer. Look at what you do to me.”
I whimper, and Aiden grips the underside of my thighs and edges them back to my stomach. My calves touch the backs of his hands when he lifts them higher. The display of strength must be unintentional, but it gets me wetter than ever. I drop my head in the crook of his neck when he thrusts into me.
“Please don’t stop.” I bite down to keep from screaming.
“I won’t.” The slapping of skin echoes around us, and I squeeze, feeling my orgasm build to the point of no return. “Show me how much you like it, baby. Come on my cock.”
I come so hard I feel like I’m floating. Aiden’s strong arms hold me up, and I’m astonished how he still has strength. Then with a low guttural moan, he finishes inside me.
The click of my heels against the tiles is the only sound I can hear over my heavy breathing. I lean against the wall, watching him clean himself off and zip his pants. Then he grabs a paper towel and crouches to clean the wetness dripping down my thigh.
When he brushes over my sensitive core, I flinch, and his touch gentles. He moves my panties back in place before tossing the paper. When he grabs my face to pull me high on my tiptoes for a kiss, I feel it between my legs. As if what he just did to me wasn’t enough, I need him again.
“When you’re too sore to walk tomorrow, remember that only I can give you this. Bar guy wouldn’t stand a chance with your needy pussy.”
Every sound is heightened, and my pulse is pounding as we look at each other. “W-what happened to exploring my options?”
He chuckles. “If you want me to be the toxic guy who tells you I’ll fuck up anyone that comes near you, I will. But that’s not the kind of guy you deserve, Summer. I won’t dictate how you live your life.”
My entire life I’ve been on edge about every decision I’ve made. Every turn feels wrong, but the conviction with which Aiden believes that I am capable, no matter the circumstance, leaves me with a blooming sensation in my chest.
I meet his eyes. “So, you don’t care?” I ask, despite being unsure if I want him to care. My life would be a whole lot easier if he doesn’t, or if I can convince myself that I don’t. But the truth simmers below the surface like a pot ready to overflow.
His jaw tightens, and that once calm expression slips from his face like melted ice.
“Oh, I care.” He steps forward, and his palms rest on either side of me to cage me in. “The thought of some other guy getting to see your smile.” His thumb leaves a warm imprint on my lip. “Making you laugh or touching you. Drives me. Fucking. Insane.” Aiden steps back like he didn’t just steal every ounce of my personal space. “But I’ll deal. Because I know you’re only going on dates to distract yourself. You can pretend all you want, Summer, but we both know it’ll be me in the end.”
Something obscure flickers past his features but I can’t discern it through the hum of my body. I bite my lip, drawing his attention to my mouth. “And if he kisses me?”
The pad of his thumb tugs my bottom lip free. “Then when you finally come to me, I’ll make sure there isn’t a memory in your head of any other guy’s kiss or touch.”
The words settle in my stomach like rocks, and my once heated body cools. Aiden assesses my reaction with a look of curiosity.
“You don’t get it, do you?” I give him a blank look, and he smiles. “Well then, let me make it really clear, Summer. You could strip me of every championship and every award I’ve ever earned, but if I had you none of it would matter.”
His words cling to me like leeches as he unlocks the door and walks out.
