The Wall of Winnipeg and Me - Mariana Zapata Page 0,149

sneak into bed with you, so ha.”

What the hell had I just said? What in the ever-loving hell had I just said?

“If you think I’m supposed to be scared…” He leaned forward so our faces were only a couple of inches away. The hand on my neck and the finger pads lining the back of my ear stayed where they were. “I’m not.”

As if the peck he’d given me hadn’t done enough damage, the way he said that sent my heart pounding again. My chest flushing hot. Everything I thought I knew seemed to spiral out of control.

He was messing with me. Flirting with me. Aiden Graves. What was this?

It didn’t help that, before I managed to get my heart back in shape or get my head on straight, my phone started vibrating. When I saw the incoming message as a picture from Diana, I didn’t think much of it.

But when I unlocked the screen and saw the picture, it only sent me reeling all over again.

She had attached a shot of her television. On the screen was a picture of Aiden and me sitting in the stands just minutes before, his face so close to mine, his arm around my back. It looked… well, I didn’t know what exactly it looked like, but Aiden and I were laughing. I could see what it didn’t look like.

It didn’t look like this thing between us was fake.

But then it got me thinking. Had Aiden just been extra friendly and flirty because he suspected this would happen?

* * *

“Look, he’s right there.” I smacked Aiden with the back of my hand before pointing at the brown-haired booger standing just outside surrounded by teammates and other people not affiliated with the university. “Oscar!”

My brother didn’t turn around.

“Oscar Meyer Weiner!” I yelled again.

That had him swinging his head around with a big grin on his face. Raising one hand, I waved and tugged on Aiden’s hand briefly with the other, urging him forward. After away games, he usually didn’t have much time to hang around, so I wanted to take advantage of the few minutes we had together.

As we walked closer, I spotted my brother cutting a path through the crowd, only to stop abruptly for a second and look back and forth between Aiden and me, before he continued walking toward us. Behind Oscar, more than a few of the crowd were looking in our direction too.

My brother was smiling, but his gaze kept trailing to Aiden in confusion. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” he demanded as I took a step forward and let my brother give me a big hug, pulling me up off my feet. He’d been taller than me for nearly the last ten years and never let me forget it.

“I texted you on the way here, but I figured your phone was off when you didn’t write me back,” I said as he lowered me. I grinned at him, putting my hands on each side of his face to squish his cheeks together. We weren’t super close anymore, but I loved the hell out of him. He’d been the only one in my family to never disappoint me.

He stuck his tongue out and tried to lick my hand.

I gave his cheek a pinch before I dropped my hands and took a step back so that my shoulder brushed the side of Aiden’s arm. “Oscar, Aiden. Aiden, Oscar.”

It was Aiden who extended his hand first.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Oscar said, his tone a little surprised as he shook Aiden’s hand.

“Same.” The big guy pulled back. “You played a good game.”

I eyed him a little out of the corner of my eye. Had he just paid him a compliment?

My brother’s face turned a little pink as he nodded. The big idiot was like a younger version of me—words weren’t our strength in life. “Oh, ah, thanks. Everybody’s been talking about how you were at our game,” he stammered before his gaze swung over to me as his face kept that nice rosy shade. “I didn’t think you’d be here together.”

I shrugged, not knowing how to respond. “How was your Thanksgiving?”

Oscar shot me that face that said it meant about as much to him as it meant to me. “We had practice, most of us went to the coach’s house for dinner. You?”

“I worked and then went to his game afterward.” I elbowed Aiden’s forearm.

“Hey…” His eyes darted behind me for a second; an uncomfortable look crawled over