who is alone in quarantine right now. You need to take one for the team.”
“Gosh, if I’d realized I was letting everyone else down, I totally would have made out with him by now.”
“Really?”
“No, of course not. I’m not going to make out with a guy just because you want me to.”
“But you two really were cute together last night, and the goofy way he was dancing with his brother was sweet.”
“That doesn’t mean we should make out.”
Zoey let out a defeated sigh. “Maybe not. But I saw the way Aiden was looking at you, and I think he likes you.”
“He doesn’t like me.”
“You sure about that?”
“Of course, I’m sure.” The smallest sliver of doubt crept into my mind as I spoke though. “He looks at all girls that way,” I added.
“Except he doesn’t,” she replied. “I’ve seen Aiden Moore with a lot of girls, and not once has he looked at them the way he was looking at you last night. He definitely likes you. You should give him a chance.”
I fell silent. Was Aiden really looking at me differently? I tried to remember how he looked at the other girls he’d dated, but I couldn’t seem to picture it. Giving Aiden a chance wasn’t something I ever would have given more than a moment’s consideration in the past. For once though, I didn’t immediately reject the idea.
A knock at the door broke me from my thoughts, and I blushed at the direction they’d been heading in. Giving Aiden a chance? What was I thinking? I was just glad my best friend couldn’t read minds.
“Hey, Zo, I’ve got to get going, but I’ll call you later.”
“You better,” she said before hanging up.
Aiden pushed the door open as I placed the phone down at my side. He was typing on his own phone as he entered, and he frowned when he looked up at me. “Are you wearing that to the supermarket?”
I glanced down and realized I was still in my pajamas. “Sorry, I got distracted talking to Zoey.”
He chuckled. “I imagine that happens a lot.”
“You have no idea. It sounded like she really enjoyed iso-prom.”
At least, she enjoyed watching us like a weirdo stalker. As I stared at Aiden, I started wondering if Zoey was right about him liking me. I didn’t think he was acting any differently, so she must have been mistaken. I was weirdly disappointed by the thought.
“Yeah, everyone’s been messaging me to say how great it was,” he replied. “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah, I did.” It was hard not to smile as I recalled the night. It had genuinely been the best thing to happen since this whole crazy lockdown began. For a few short hours, I’d managed to stop worrying about my parents and the rest of the world. Unfortunately, my worries were never far from the forefront of my mind, and despite the fact my parents had messaged me this morning, my concern for them was back with full force today.
“I got a message from one of my neighbors,” Aiden said, waving his phone in the air. “One of the first responses from our postcard drop.”
“Really?” I sat up a little straighter. “Who is it?”
“Rosalind. You’ve seen her before. She was actually on the street with her husband Herb when we were posting the cards in people’s mailboxes.”
“The couple that were fighting?”
“That’s them.” He smiled. “They’re really not as bad as that though. I mean, she knits Elliot and me mittens in the winter, and Herb is always giving us lemons from their fruit tree.”
“So, they don’t normally fight?”
“Oh, they do,” he replied. “And I’m pretty sure Rosalind used to work for the FBI or something. The woman knows everything that’s going on in our neighborhood.”
I laughed. “Sounds scary.”
“It is. I swear she even knew what colleges I got accepted to before I did.”
“So, she goes through your mail too?”
He grinned. “Probably. Anyway, she asked me if I could pick up some medications for her.”
“We can do that.”
“Great, we can swing by the pharmacy while we’re out.”
I nodded. “It’s not like we have anywhere else we need to be. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll get changed.” I turned to my duffel bag to find something to wear, but he didn’t leave the room immediately.
“Hey, um, Clary…” Aiden cleared his throat.
“Yeah?” He was still standing just inside the doorway looking somewhat uncomfortable. His gaze seemed troubled, which was a look I’d rarely seen on him.
“There was something I wanted to tell you.”