My Aussie Guy - Liz Lovelock Page 0,18

can help you get it sorted.”

“Thanks for leaving me in the lurch,” Elsie says sarcastically. I’m sure she knows what’s going down in that room tonight.

Addison winks and disappears around into the hallway.

I turn back to the kitchen where Dane and Paislee are pressing against each other.

“You pair better figure your crap out, because I’m not sure how Parker is going to handle this situation,” I say in a low voice, gesturing between them as they pull apart, looking sheepish.

I move toward Elsie, who’s now at the couch, trying to figure out how to set it up.

“Here. Let me help.”

She moves back. “Thanks.” Then she looks at Paislee. “He’s right… you two do need to figure this out, because Addison knows, so it’s only a matter of time before everything is out.”

“What do you mean Addison knows?” Dane’s panicked eyes flick between Elsie and me.

I raise my hands. “Dude, I said nothing.”

“Addison saw you both at the cinema, just like we did,” Elsie admits. “You’re not being very subtle.”

“What she said.” I throw my thumb toward Elsie.

“And if you’re thinking of sleeping in the same room, you better have a plan of escape.” Elsie waves a finger between them both.

Dane takes Paislee’s hand and leads her quietly down the hall. That pair have it bad.

I pull out the sofa bed and glance up. Elsie is looking toward the hallway. I wonder what she’s thinking.

Tonight, I’m going to tell her.

She needs to know.

I watch Dane and Paislee walk off. She’s been on campus for five minutes and has found herself a decent guy. And then there’s me, who seems to pick the ones who are just weird, who have girlfriends, and then there are guys like Clifton.

“Oi… are you going to help set this bed up, or am I doing it myself?”

I turn toward Aiden. He’s tucking a sheet in around the edges.

“I’m a guest.” I hold my arms out. “It’s courtesy for the guest to be taken care of.” I take a seat on the armrest with a sweet smile plastered across my face.

Aiden shakes his head, but a grin pulls on his lips. “You sure you’ll be all right tonight after that movie?” I can hear the mocking in his voice.

Standing, I pull at the sheet to fix up one side. “I’m not a scaredy-cat. I’ll survive. I might watch a movie on my phone to get rid of the thought of some crazy lady taking me hostage.”

“I can sit out here with you if you want,” he offers.

As much as I’d love for him to sit in the bed with me, I worry what might happen if he did. “No, it’s okay,” I quickly reply. The words taste foreign as I speak them, because I desperately want him to stay out here with me. But I know if he does, I will probably say the wrong thing, and then we’ll be left with awkwardness between us. I doubt he even sees that I’m interested in him.

“Just for a little while.”

I’m about to answer when I remember something. “Hey, you mentioned you needed to talk to me?” I reach up and pull my hair tie out and let my long brown hair fall over my shoulders. I turn to Aiden, and he’s watching me hungrily. I snap my fingers.

Aiden blinks a few times then straightens up. “Sorry, I drifted off for a moment. What did you say?” He runs his hand through his hair.

“You wanted to tell me something earlier.”

He moves around to where I’m standing. His hands lift and rest on my shoulders. My chest tightens. What is he doing? Suddenly, he gives me a light shove, and I’m tumbling back onto the sofa bed with a laugh.

“What was that for?”

He shrugs. “Just because.”

I pull my phone from my back pocket and then fix my pillow and sit up. I watch as Aiden slips his shoes off then climbs over my legs and settles in beside me.

“Are you all right there?” I ask, raising my eyebrows with some amusement in my tone.

“Yep.” He slides a little closer, his arm against mine. What is he playing at? It’s as if he’s doing this on purpose.

“Hey, have you spoken to your girlfriend lately?” I decide to bring up the inevitable. I recall Addison mentioning tonight about him having a fake girlfriend. What if he’s been lying to me? I’ve never seen him on the phone to her, and he hasn’t shown me a picture.

His mouth flattens. “No, we… ah… decided