Stuck with You - Alexandra Moody Page 0,6

boyfriend?

Aiden grunted his disapproval. “Don’t listen to him. Kid’s got more balls than brains.”

Another thing that must run in the family.

“I can’t help that I’ve got game,” Elliot said.

“You’ve also got Spider-Man bed sheets we can both see through your open door,” Aiden replied. “Real smooth, player.”

Elliot’s cheeks flushed, but he kept his attention on me. “Every Spider-Man needs a Mary Jane. Want to be mine?”

I let out a laugh. This kid really was a smaller replica of his brother. He was quick, flirtatious, and far too confident. Unlike Aiden though, Elliot’s comments came off as somewhat cute, and since I was living in his house, I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot. “Let’s just get to know each other first, Mini Moore.”

Elliot grinned triumphantly.

Aiden rolled his eyes though. “Come on, Clary.” He took me by the elbow and practically dragged me down the corridor away from his brother.

I looked over my shoulder and shrugged at Elliot.

“I’ll see you around,” he called after us before disappearing back into his room.

Aiden guided me upstairs before stopping at the top of the landing. “Sorry about my brother. He’s just discovered he’s got a dick, and he lets it do most of the thinking.”

“Funny, I was about to say how similar you guys are.”

Aiden grunted in disgust. “I would never call you ‘hot stuff,’ and his Spider-Man pickup line was lame.”

“Oh really? You could have done better?”

His eyes glittered at the challenge in my voice, and he took a step toward me. I swallowed as the electric current that always seemed to flow through the air between us intensified. It scratched against my clothes and tingled against my skin. It was the worst kind of irritation. “Uh, what are you doing?”

“Proving that I’m better.” He was standing so close to me that I could smell the spicy scent of his cologne.

“Um, well, you don’t have to do that. And, uh, what about social distancing? Lockdown rules say you’re meant to stand six feet away from me.”

“Lockdown rules don’t apply to people you live with.”

Crap. He had a point.

“Don’t you want to hear my pickup line?” His voice was so alluring as he spoke. Aiden could probably read a grocery list to a girl, and she’d agree to go on a date with him. It was a skill his brother clearly hadn’t developed yet.

It took all my self-control to keep my expression neutral, to ignore how close he was and how his deep voice sounded all too tempting. Even though I hated the guy, it was hard not to be a little drawn in by him. I was already acting slightly rattled, and I needed to get away from him—something I knew would only happen if I agreed to hear his stupid line.

“Sure, let’s hear it,” I said. The sooner he got his little pickup line over and done with, the sooner I could get my personal space back.

He slowly smiled. “Clary, I have to be honest, my spidey senses aren’t the only thing that’s tingling right now.”

I stared at him for several long moments before I burst out laughing. “That’s your amazing pickup line?”

He grinned widely and stepped back, holding out his arms as if he was ready to be showered in praise. “Yep.”

“It’s even worse than Elliot’s. You really think a girl would go out with you if you said that to her?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t my best,” he agreed. “But it made you laugh, and I just wanted to hear that sound again.”

I frowned in response. He was giving me a soft smile, and I couldn’t tell if Aiden was being sweet or just trying another line on me. If it was the latter, then it was certainly an improvement. Any other girl would have fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

He chuckled as he noticed my confusion. “And that’s why I’m different from Elliot,” he said. “I don’t expect one lame pickup line to convince a girl to go out with me. Making her laugh just might though.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course, it was just another line. “Well, it must not work that well because I don’t want to go out with you.”

“Don’t you?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure?”

I stared at Aiden, wondering for a moment if he’d lost his mind. How could he even consider the idea of us going out? He was most likely joking, but I couldn’t bring myself to laugh about it. He’d asked me out as a prank a few years back, and I still