Stuck with You - Alexandra Moody Page 0,88

lean in to kiss me though. Instead, he looked troubled as he gazed into my eyes. “Seriously, Clary, what’s up? You’ve been off all day.”

How did he know me so well? I’d been trying my best to act normal today, and I thought I’d done a pretty good job of it despite the fact I’d been struggling to stay positive. I didn’t want to admit the truth to Aiden because it felt silly. He’d probably laugh when I told him I was feeling sad because it was my eighteenth birthday tomorrow. I’d been looking forward to my birthday for ages, but who wanted to celebrate when they couldn’t see their friends or be with their family? I just wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening.

“Are you sad we didn’t drive past your parents’ place today?” he asked.

“No, it’s not that.” Aiden had made sure I got to see my parents every day by driving us to their house. We hadn’t been able to do it today though because his mom’s car wouldn’t start this morning and she’d taken Aiden’s truck to work.

“You know you can tell me anything,” Aiden said.

I smiled at him and nodded. “Yeah, I know. I’m just a little down today though. It’s no big deal, seriously.”

He looked far from convinced, but I leaned over and silenced his questions by kissing him. It was only meant to be a quick kiss, but it quickly turned into more.

“So much for self-restraint,” Aiden said with a chuckle.

I returned his laugh and shook my head. “Yeah, next week, we’re doing homework in the dining room.”

“Clary, wake up.” I opened my eyes to the gentle sound of Aiden’s voice and let out a grumble. The curtains in my room were drawn, but there was a small gap, which allowed a thin thread of light to peek into the room. It was morning already, which only meant one thing: it was my birthday.

I groaned again and threw the blanket over my head. “It’s too early, Aiden.”

He laughed and pulled the blanket away. “You always say that.”

“And it’s always true.”

“I brought you coffee…” he said in a singsong tone, like he knew how much I’d be tempted by it. I drew in a breath, and when I smelled the sharp scent of coffee, I knew I couldn’t resist.

“Okay, okay, I’m getting up.”

I pushed myself upright in bed as Aiden pulled the curtains wide. I squinted from the sudden brightness in the room, but as my eyes adjusted to the light, I gasped. My bedroom was covered in streamers, and there were dozens of helium balloons floating across the ceiling.

“Happy birthday,” Aiden said, a cheeky smile lighting his features.

“You knew!” I accused him.

He laughed and nodded. “Clary, we’ve been in the same class for years. Of course, I knew.”

“Nobody remembers their classmates’ birthdays.”

“You’re not just a classmate. You never were.”

I blushed and tried not to let his sweet words distract me from the fact he’d been keeping all this so quiet. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

I pouted and fell silent. I didn’t say anything about my birthday because I’d been busy feeling sorry for myself. I could hardly tell Aiden that though.

He smiled and passed me the mug of coffee. As I took the cup from him, I immediately forgot what we’d even been talking about.

“Mmm, that’s good,” I said, taking a large sip. Coffee was definitely my biggest weakness in life.

Aiden laughed as he watched me. “I really hope we’re never in a life-or-death situation where you have to choose between me or coffee, because I feel like I wouldn’t have a fighting chance.”

I grinned. “Here’s hoping because I’d really miss you.”

“I know.” Aiden shook his head but was still smiling as he looked at me. “Luckily, that’s not something we have to worry about today.” He leaned across and brushed his lips against mine. Despite the early wake up, this was officially the best start to a birthday ever.

When Aiden pulled back, he settled himself on the bed beside me, giving me a better view of my room. As I considered the balloons and streamers surrounding me, I became curious. “How did you get the balloons in here without waking me up?” They certainly hadn’t been there when I fell asleep the night before.

“Clary, you sleep like the dead,” he said with a snorted laugh. “And while it’s cute as hell, it’s also great for planning birthday surprises. You barely even flinched while I was putting all this up.”

“So,