“Are you still seeing this guy?” A thick brow arched. “Girl?”
I smiled again. “No, I rarely ever see him.”
“Rarely?”
I nodded, not wanting to offer any more than that.
He sucked in a hard breath, then drummed his hands on the table. “Okay, how about this? We just hang out.”
“Just hang out?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, you’re too easy to stare at, you smell fucking incredible, and I like hearing you laugh. Those are good enough reasons to hang.”
I felt my brows gather. “You’re suggesting friends, then?”
His expression lost its playfulness, those high cheekbones lowering. “Friends. Who knows, maybe you’ll eventually want more. Or maybe, I’ll tire of your beautiful face and leave you in the dust.”
I laughed, even as the word eventually ricocheted in my ears. “You’re too smooth, Prince.”
“You know my last name,” he said, brows ticking up. “Go on, tell me more about the stalking you’ve been doing.”
I bunched and tossed a napkin at him.
Laughing that full-throated laugh, he caught it and grabbed the pen that had been resting atop his book. I watched as he unfolded and scrawled his number on the napkin, then slid it over the table to me. “I lied.” He slurped the remainder of his milkshake, then collected his book and pen. “I do have another class. Text me, friend.”
“And what if I don’t?” I asked, still staring at the napkin.
After another caressing chuckle, he grabbed my hand to press his warm lips to before swaggering out of the cafeteria.
“Hey, friend.”
Smiling, I stopped on the sidewalk, waiting for Aiden to catch up. “Hey, Prince.”
“You know,” he said, sunglasses shielding his curious eyes. “I’ve never liked chicks calling me that before, not when all my teammates do.”
I twisted my lips, kicking at a lone pebble. “Is that your way of telling me to stop?”
“No,” he said, bumping my shoulder with his and gesturing to his car down the street. We headed toward it. “If you stop, I’ll be pissed.”
Laughter infused my voice. “Noted.”
“No school today?”
“Work.” I gestured over my shoulder.
Tossing a glance backward, he hummed. “Petal Power. How fitting, you little ray of sunshine.”
I laughed loud, almost snorting. “I’m not so shiny these days.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” he said. A weighted moment passed before he asked, “Because of that guy you were talking about?”
“Yeah.” I exhaled a breath. “I’m okay, though.”
Stopping at his car, he opened the passenger door, and I climbed in without a word of protest.
After giving him directions to my place, we spent the short drive in silence until he pulled up to the curb. I wanted to talk, to say something, but words failed me; all the while, his presence comforted me.
“I had this girlfriend once.”
“Senior year?” I unclipped my seat belt, then turned in the seat to face him.
His eyes glimmered as he removed his shades and did the same. “You remember.”
“It was only last week.” I knew saying that would give away that I’d been thinking about him, but I didn’t mind admitting it.
With a nod, his attention dipped to the console. “Her name was Darby, and she was my first real girlfriend since anything before ninth grade doesn’t count. Anyway, she broke my heart. Haven’t tried again.”
“What did she do?” I asked, feeling pressure on my chest when he turned to stare out the window.
“Stripped for a living. I could get past that. But then things went awry with a bunch of my friends one night.”
I blinked several times, hating the memories that cloaked his features, turning them to stone. “He was my brother’s best friend, a damaged soul and a heavy drinker.”
Darting his gaze to me, Aiden’s eyes narrowed. “Shit.”
“He was also beautiful, kind, creative, and talented.” I undid my ponytail, rolling the elastic over my wrist. “Besides my mom and best friend, no one knows we had, I don’t know, something. It was never going to last. I knew that, and still, I thought that maybe one day…” I cleared my throat. “And now, they’re all on the road, playing music.”
“Your brother?”
“Guitar, all forms.” I smiled, grabbing my purse. “They’re really good.”
“Searching for fame, huh?”
Pondering that, I looked back at him. “They’re searching for something; I just don’t know if it’s the same thing.” Shrugging, I opened the door, then paused. “So I’ve still got that napkin.”
Flashing me a grin, he watched me climb out. “Music to my ears, Petal.”
“I don’t think your dad will care what you get him as long as he gets to see you.”