own body, I shook my head, then backed up. “I need to go. Um, sorry for gawking.”
“Please.” He scoffed, half rolling his eyes. “You can gawk all day long. Stevie, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
He licked his lips, nodding too as he retreated a step. “Well, hopefully my dad won’t curse up a storm when I tell him I got my sixth ticket for the year. I figure he’ll be okay when I tell him the story of how it led to meeting my future wife.” Tipping his shoulder, he added, “He’s a sucker for true love.”
I nearly choked on my next breath. “Excuse me?”
He chuckled, and I noticed a faint dimple in his right cheek. “I’ll see you round, beautiful.” With a wink, he turned and climbed into his black Audi.
“Girl,” Sabrina said, clipping the stems on a bundle of roses as I walked in. “That boy looks like bad news. The kind that’ll trample all over you, then return to feast on your remains.”
She was wearing purple rain boots today with a white sundress, and a glittery white scarf draped over her graying red hair.
I huffed, mumbling as I took my bag into the backroom, “He basically just did.”
I was still thinking about Aiden Prince that night when I got home, so naturally, I decided to do some detective work.
I mean, if a guy declares you’re marriage material the first time you have a conversation, I figured he deserved a little stalking.
His Instagram page was littered with shirtless pictures of him either on a yacht, at the beach, playing ball, or even washing his car. My stomach flipped at the latter, spying bunches of muscle tucked beneath his golden skin.
I had to wonder who’d taken the pictures for him, and as I kept scrolling, I realized it was probably one of the many girls he’d been photographed with.
I didn’t use Facebook much, but I logged in to find a few notifications before searching for him there too. Empty, for the most part. Only tags from some of his teammates with pictures of him playing.
I had to admit, those pants did great things for his ass, and the ball cap… I shut my laptop, then reopened it when I remembered I hadn’t even bothered to check in on the band.
Aside from the usual hangover or partying posts, there were no updates on Hendrix’s profile or the page Dale had started for the band.
After putting my laptop away, I showered before curling up on the couch and flicking through Netflix. I’d managed to go an entire day without thinking of him, thanks to Aiden, and then one tiny thing sent me tumbling back down into the murky void that was Everett Taylor all over again.
Did he even think about me when he was gone? The way he’d touched me, looked at me, and fucked me told me he had to be feeling at least half of what I was, and in that case, how could he keep doing the things he did if he’d left half his heart behind?
He’s a guy, Adela would say when I brought it up to her. But that didn’t matter to me. I thought controlling yourself would’ve been easy if you had a reason to.
Then Aiden bulldozed his way into my life, and I’d soon learn not everything could be controlled.
“Beautiful.” The heated whisper stole my attention from the notebook I’d been scrawling in.
I blinked, and then Aiden was in the seat next to me. Prying my eyes off his curling lips, I smiled straight ahead at the scowling professor.
Aiden’s arm slid close to mine, causing my skin to prickle, the tiny hairs rising as they met before the warmth of our bodies did. “What are you doing?” I asked between cracked lips.
“What do you mean?” he asked so casually while taking notes in his messy, barely legible cursive.
After looking at him with narrowed brows for three thudding heartbeats, I sighed and faced forward again, trying to ignore the touch that was causing my toes to scrunch.
We both remained silent until the lecture ended, and we began packing our things.
“Have dinner with me,” he stated more than asked.
I laughed at his audacity, then stood and slung my backpack over my shoulder. “I’m surprised you’re starting that low. Do you need to pay your ticket before you can buy a ring?”
Grinning, he rose with his book tucked by his side and inched so close, all I could smell was his cologne and all I could see was the