Stuck with You - Alexandra Moody Page 0,21
life—could not be worse than anything.”
“I don’t have a fever,” I replied. “And it really was bad. I woke up to him working out in my room like that. Who does he think he is?”
She didn’t respond immediately, and I wondered if we’d been cut off. “Zo, you there?”
The sound of Zoey clearing her throat came over the line. “Sorry, I was just trying to picture it. And, yep, you are crazy because there cannot be anything more hot than what I just imagined.”
My best friend’s judgment was clearly clouded by Aiden’s six-pack. Yeah, he looked good, but it took more than that to make a guy appealing. Why couldn’t Zoey see Aiden the way I did? How did she fail to notice how self-absorbed he was?
I threw my head back on the pillow and let an irritated breath escape my lips. “He’s so annoying. He loves getting in my personal space and winding me up. He’s always saying stuff that puts me on edge.”
“I would love Aiden to put me on edge.”
I rolled my eyes. “You should have seen him while I was cooking dinner last night. He kept talking about how much he loved my cooking and how he was going to keep me here forever. It’s totally creepy.”
“Yeah, that sounds horrible. A hot guy who can’t stop complimenting you and wants to lock you up in his sex dungeon…”
“He did not say he wanted to lock me up in his sex dungeon!”
“Sorry! Sorry! Wishful thinking,” she said. “You know I’m living vicariously through you at the moment, right?”
“Well, you should probably put the brakes on that because nothing else like this is going to happen. I’m only going to be staying here a few days, and then my parents will be back and everything will go back to normal. At least, as normal as things can get at the moment.”
“Only you could throw a cold bucket of water onto the hottest scenario ever,” Zoey grumbled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that you’re turning eighteen soon, and you should live a little. You need to loosen up, and Aiden is the perfect solution.”
“I don’t need to loosen up.”
“Yes, you do. You’re too safe and too responsible,” Zoey replied. “My parents would never leave me home alone while they were out of town for work, and yours do all the time. Why do you think that happens?”
“Because I’m trustworthy. And, unlike you, I’ve never come close to burning the house down with a curling iron.”
“No, it’s because you never do anything that might get you in trouble. Life is boring enough while we’re in lockdown; you need to have some fun.”
“I’m not boring.”
“No, you just choose the boring options. Take your last boyfriend for example…”
She meant my only boyfriend. “You’re talking about Daniel?”
“Yes, Daniel.”
I failed to see how he’d been a boring option. He was sweet and kind, and there wasn’t a bad bone in his body. I always felt relaxed around him, and I couldn’t see how that was a bad thing. We’d only broken up because his family had moved away. But that was years ago. I’d been a freshman at the time, and I didn’t understand why Zoey was bringing him up now.
“You know that was forever ago,” I said. “I can’t see why it matters.”
“It matters because he was pretty much the guy version of you—except you’re like a million degrees hotter.”
“So, now you’re saying I’m boring?”
Zoey exhaled. “No, I’m saying that he was a safe option. There were no fireworks or explosions between you two. It was comfortable and easy. You were more like friends than lovers.”
“I can’t believe you just said lovers.” I scrunched up my nose. “And what’s wrong with being with someone who you’re comfortable with? Surely that’s what makes a good relationship.”
“Ah, young Clarissa, you have so much to learn.”
I didn’t know how else to respond. Zoey and I clearly had very different beliefs when it came to the fundamentals of what made a good relationship. The way she flitted from guy to guy, it seemed Zoey thought any relationship was better than no relationship. She had dated enough guys to know what she was talking about though. Was I too safe when it came to dating? I hadn’t dated anyone since Daniel and I broke up though, so perhaps that was a sign I was doing something wrong.
“So, what have you got planned for today?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from thoughts of my sad dating life.