Spin The Bottle: A college romance: Chapter 26

The text comes just in time.

After I’ve finished showering and shaving every inch of my skin—sweating in the process—I read Aiden’s text which makes me shake with anticipation.

The three little dots dance on the screen until his text comes in, making me smile.

My head shakes, pressing my lips together as I type back.

I snicker, shaking my head. Ok, I can do that. I drop my phone on the bed and open my closet, looking around for a dress for tonight. My eye catches on the short black long-sleeve dress with a heart neckline Rosie designed for me a few months ago, and I pull it out, holding it to my body.

I rip my towel off, standing in front of my mirror in only my underwear. The lacy black underwear accentuates my tan skin, fitting perfectly on my curves. I can’t wait for Aiden to see it tonight.

I slip the dress on, adjusting it so it sits right and pull out the rollers until my hair falls over my shoulders in curls, framing my face. I’ve never been on a date, and the thought of going on a date with none other than Aiden Pierce makes my insides churn.

I barely have time to put on my heels when I hear a knock at my door. I glance at my reflection once more, fixing my hair before I head out and open the door.

I almost swallow my tongue at the sight of Aiden standing at my door, dressed in a white shirt that clings to his muscles and black pants that have my mouth watering when I look up at him.

“Fuck,” he whispers under his breath.

I snicker. “Took the words right out of my mouth.”

“You look….” He grips my waist, and pulls me into him, bringing his mouth to mine, moaning into my mouth. “I don’t think I’m going to make it through dinner.” A groan rumbles from him. “I’m struggling right now.”

“I’ve never seen you dressed like this,” I tell him, entranced by how good that shirt looks on him. “And you cut your hair.” I run my hands over the shorter strands.

“Do you like it?” he asks.

I never thought I’d see Aiden Pierce wanting my approval on… anything, least of all, how he looks for our date tonight. Is this really happening? I nod. “You look so good.”

He smiles, shaking his head, dropping his eyes to my body. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs. “How did I get so lucky?”

My smile drops at the reminder of everything he said this morning, of everything he wants, and everything I’m still reluctant to give him.

“Not tonight,” he’s quick to say. “We can talk about it another day. Let’s go.”

“Aiden, you’ve got to be kidding me,” I say when we step out of the Uber. “This is too much.”

He shakes his head. “It’s not nearly enough. Come on.” He holds out his hand in front of me and without even thinking, I freeze up, staring down at his open hand. I’ve been keeping up my guard for so long that the possibility of it being torn down makes my heart race. “No one knows us here,” he says, and when I look up at him, his forehead is wrinkled, frowning at me.

Our fingers intertwine together, and he gives me a little squeeze before he pushes open the door, walking us in. Shit, this place is huge, and fancy as hell.

“Reservation for Pierce,” Aiden says when we approach the host. He looks down the list, scanning for Aiden’s name.

“Right this way, sir,” he says, leading us to a table at the back, beside one of the huge windows overlooking the city. He hands us the menu when we’re seated and tells us a server will come and take our orders soon.

When he leaves, I glare at Aiden. “I can’t believe you did all of this.” I shake my head. “I would have been fine with a pizza and a movie.”

Aiden smiles at me, grabbing my hand on the table. He’s sitting so far away, it’s going to be agonizing spending the rest of the night unable to touch him, kiss him. “You deserve so much more than just fine, Leila.” Those intoxicating blue eyes bring me a kind of peace whenever he looks at me. “You deserve everything.”

My poor heart can’t handle it; it’s racing, almost beating right out of my chest.

He shakes his head, pulling away from me. “No, this isn’t going to work.”

My brows knit together. “What do you mean?”

He sighs. “I’m not going to be able to sit across from you all night without kissing you.” He stands up, grabbing his chair. “I need closer,” he says, moving his chair beside me. When he sits back down, he blows a breath and grins. “So much better.”

I don’t even have a chance to say anything before a server appears at our table, flashing us a smile. “Good evening,” she says, holding a notepad in her hands. “What would you like to order?”

I open the menu, scanning through it quickly since I spent the entire time ogling Aiden. “Are there any vegetarian dishes here?” I ask her, trying to find something that sounds good.

“All of it is vegetarian.”

I lift my head. “Excuse me?”

She smiles. “This is a vegetarian restaurant.”

I glance at Aiden who shrugs, glancing at me. “Didn’t want you to have limited options,” he replies making my heart beat even faster.

It pains me that we’re not alone right now. I scan the menu again, picking one that sounds the best. “I’ll have the tomato pasta, please.” I hand the server the menu, and she looks at Aiden.

“The risotto sounds good. Thank you,” he tells her, handing the menu to her.

“Great choices,” she says. “I’ll be back with your food.”

I can’t think when he looks at me, but I manage to shake my head when I look around the place. “This place is too expensive, Aiden.”

The frown on his face has my stomach in knots. He grabs my hand, looking at me and says, “I don’t want you to think I can’t take care of you, Leila. I will do anything it takes to make you happy. I don’t want you pitying me or thinking of me any differently because of my family.”

“I don’t pity you,” I tell him. “I just don’t want you to spend all your money on me. I don’t need fancy dinners or extravagant dates.” My throat constricts with the words that threaten to climb up and I blow out a breath. Just for tonight, right? We can pretend just for tonight. “I only want you.”

His eyes widen. “You mean that?”

There isn’t a hint of hesitation when I say, “All I want is you.”

His smile is one of the first things I noticed about Aiden. It was one of the things that annoyed me about him when we first met. He seemed to get anything he wanted by flashing a smile and it aggravated me, how everyone seemed to melt at the sight of it. But when I’m the source of that smile, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen. “I’m going to be so good to you, Leila,” he says, cupping my face with his hands. “You wait and see.”

I lick my lips, staring up into his eyes. I know he’s going to be the best boyfriend anyone could ever have. Too bad I’ll likely never find out.

He pulls back, pulling out something out of his pocket. “I almost forgot,” he says, placing the small rectangle box on the table. “Happy birthday, gorgeous.”

He got me a gift too? I lift my brows at him. “What is it?”

He laughs, running a hand through his hair. “Well, I didn’t have much time to get you something because I only found out it was your birthday this morning.” He slides the box over to me. “But I couldn’t come empty-handed.”

“This is too much.” First the restaurant, now this. I know he doesn’t want me to worry, but I can’t help it. Aiden needs the money. He works hard and gets almost nothing from what he makes. My stomach churns, making me feel guilty that he’s spending all of his hard-earned money on me when I know he needs it.

“Just open it, Leila. You might hate it.”

Not possible. I don’t even care what’s in here. Just knowing that Aiden went out of his way to get me something—anything—makes me want to cry and kiss him until I can’t remember why I can’t be with him.

I grab the small box in my hand, opening it up. Looking back at me is a small gold necklace with a small paw pendant. I press my lips together, staring down at the necklace, running my fingers over it. “It’s not much, but I thought you could look at it when you miss your dad. I know you got the tattoo for him, but you can’t really see it so…” I look up at him and he blows out a breath, shrugging. “It might be dumb, I just thought—”

“I love it,” I blurt out, my eyes brimming with tears. I didn’t even think he remembered what I told him about the tattoo, but once again, Aiden has proved me wrong.

“You do?” he asks, his brows lifting. A small grin appears on his face which makes me laugh.

I nod, closing up the box and wrapping my arms around him. “It’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

I hear his sharp exhale and he tightens his hold around me, pressing a kiss to my cheek. My stomach is twisting and turning and I never want this night to end.

When we pull back, the server is standing above us, holding up two plates. “Here you go,” she says, chuckling as she places the plates in front of us. “Enjoy.” She spins around, leaving us alone.

“This actually looks good.” Aiden grabs his fork, picks up the risotto, and shoves it in his mouth. He groans, looking at me with wide eyes.

I laugh. “Good?”

He nods, picking up another forkful. “You wanna try?”

I lean in, loving how he smiles when I accept the food from him. I close my lips around the fork, my eyes rolling back when I swallow the risotto. “Damn, I should have gone with that.”

He laughs, shaking his head. “Do you want to swap?”

“Really?”

He switches the plates, placing his risotto in front of me. “You should already know I’ll give you anything you want.” My heart races when he glances at me, a rush of emotions and warmth coat me, from my head to my toes. And when his thumb rubs against my cheek, looking at me with an admiration I can feel in my stomach, I know without a doubt that I’m falling in love with Aiden Pierce.

How did this happen? I promised I would never let myself fall for someone else. I told myself that no guy is worth the trouble and pain that is being in love. I thought I was in love with Jake, but what I felt for him was nothing close to what I feel for Aiden. It’s completely different with him. Being with Aiden fills a hole in my heart that feels like it was empty for so long, filling it with contentment and comfort. We could be sitting on my couch talking about absolutely nothing and I feel at peace with him.

He lifts my chin with his finger and brings his lips to mine. I get lost in him whenever we kiss. No one else exists, no one’s opinion matters and I imagine a world where I could be with Aiden. This kiss is soft and slow, like we have all night, and we do. We have the whole night to just pretend. Pretend that being his girlfriend is a possibility because when tomorrow comes, we’ll be in the real world, with other people and their opinions, and it won’t matter how well we fit together or how he makes me feel, I’ll know it was never a possibility.

He pulls back and when I look into his eyes, I have this overwhelming urge to just blurt it out and tell him I love him, but I know better. I press my lips together, giving him an inconspicuous smile and pick up my fork, eating some of the risotto.

His hand disappears under the table, his fingertips running over my thigh. My breathing stops and when his hand travels higher on my leg, I force myself to swallow the food in my mouth, and glance up at him. “What are you doing?” My eyes scan the room to see if anyone can tell his hand is dangerously close to my panties.

“What?” he asks innocently, smirking. “I’m not doing anything.” But his hands say something else as he trails his fingers higher and higher on my thighs, the tip of his middle finger bushing against my panties. I let out a heavy breath as the lightest brush of his fingers against my panties bring me pleasure.

“Fuck,” he groans. “You’re so responsive.” Another brush against my panties, harder this time, pressing against my clit. “And so wet already,” he whispers, running his finger along the damp underwear.

Hell no. I want his hands on me no matter how risky it may be. I reach underneath the table, moving his hand back into place, letting out a breathy moan, biting my lip to stifle any noise when his fingers press against my clit.

His grin only turns me on that much more. “You’re a little daredevil,” he whispers, tracing my pussy over my underwear. “What if we get caught?” he teases, raising his eyebrow.

“I don’t care.”

He hums, moving the cloth to the side and runs his middle finger along my slit, covering it with my arousal. I spread my legs for him, allowing him to do whatever he wants with me.

“Wider. Let me feel how much you want me.”

God, he’s going to kill me, right here in front of these people. I do what he says though, opening myself wider for him, my eyes rolling to the back of my head when his thumb comes into play, rubbing circles against my clit.

I bite down on my lip, hard. “Aiden,” I whisper, gripping his arm. “I can’t keep quiet.”

“Who said I’m going to let you come?” My eyes widen as I look up at him. His laughter makes his hand move against me, and I groan when it rubs against my sensitive, swollen clit. “I just want to tease you,” he says. “A little preview for what’s in store tonight.”

“Can we leave right now?” I gasp when his finger penetrates me, fitting inside my wet center.

He shakes his head, pulling his finger out halfway and thrusting in again. My legs clamp shut around his arm, silently begging myself to keep it together. “We still have a dinner to get through,” he says, thrusting in again.

A small moan escapes me, and my eyes widen, looking around the room. We’re sitting pretty far back, so someone catching us is unlikely, but just the thought has me contracting around his finger, which makes him groan.

“I think you like the idea of someone catching you with my fingers stuffed in your cunt,” he says, thrusting another finger along with the first. “You want them to know how much you want my cock right now?” He leans down to kiss my jaw. “How wet your pussy is for me?”

“Yes,” I whisper, feeling the arousal build inside my stomach. Fuck, it feels so good.

He hums, pulling all the way out of me. “Can’t let that happen,” he murmurs. “Only I can know what you sound like when you’re about to come.” He licks his fingers clean, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. “And what you taste like.”

My clit throbs harder, wanting—needing—his hands back on me. “Aiden,” I whisper breathlessly.

“Eat your food, Leila,” he says, picking up his fork, a mischievous grin on his lips. “You’ll need the energy later.”