you probably won’t want to speak to me after what I did, I promise you I’m done with complicated.” I finally expelled a breath. “So, so done.”
Aiden glanced behind him, skating his tongue over his teeth as his shoulders lowered. “You sleep with him?” My mouth opened, but he must’ve known the answer. “Don’t say it.”
“Aiden, I wasn’t thinking properly.” I laughed, the noise breaking. “I never really do where he’s concerned, but like I said, I’m done.” My eyes begged. “I swear, and I’m sorry.”
“Done,” he repeated, dark eyes assessing mine. “Look, now’s not a good time, Petal. And if I’m being honest, I don’t know if I can handle—”
“Aiden?” a feminine voice sang. “Where’s the coffee?”
I tripped backward, stepping away from him and his apartment. “Who’s that?”
A blonde appeared behind him, a senior I recognized from campus. “Who’s she?”
Aiden didn’t look at her. “My friend. Coffee’s in the cabinet above the machine. I’ll be back in a second.”
She nodded, eyeing me a moment before vanishing.
He stepped outside. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” I croaked, riddled with disbelief.
“Look at me like I’ve broken your heart.”
“You have.” Until that moment, I hadn’t realized someone else was capable of doing so. “The part that belonged to you, anyway.” I turned and ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time and almost falling. I righted myself, swiping at the wet on my cheeks as I rushed past rows of doors toward the exit.
A hand grabbed my arm, stopping me. “That’s not fucking fair, Stevie.”
“What isn’t?” Struggling to breathe, I spun around and glared. “Me being honest with you?”
“Exactly,” he seethed, his top lip curling. “Not when it’s a little too late.”
“Whatever.” I went to leave, and then I was against the wall, and Aiden’s scent was everywhere, clouding my senses, blurring my vision.
“You don’t get to just give yourself to some guitar swinging asshole, then show up here with your heart suddenly on your sleeve.” The words were gritted through his perfect teeth, hard and desperate and tearing at my heart.
“I know, and I’m sorry,” I said, tears bubbling. I smacked them away and pushed at his chest. “I really am. I’ll just… I’ll see you around.”
He didn’t move, and when I gathered the courage to look at his face again, I saw his eyes glassing and felt the hurt radiating from every muscled inch of his body. “You fucked me up, Petal.” He chuckled, dry and weak. “No, you had me where you wanted me, fucking tied me down, then drove a Mack truck over my damn chest. You destroyed me.”
I blinked, sniffing as I dared to raise my shaking hand to his cheek. “I never meant or wanted to.” His skin was warm and smooth, a stark contrast to Everett’s clammy and prickly.
His eyes shut, a tear collecting on his long lashes. “I know.”
Remembering the guest inside his apartment, I gave a weak smile when his eyes reopened. Taking the tear from his lashes, I licked it from my thumb. “Go, she’s waiting for you.”
His nod, the way he retreated, was a razor dragging over the bleeding organ in my chest. Still, I forced myself to say it one more time. “I’m sorry.”
He walked away, and I made myself watch, knowing I’d ruined a chance at having something that wasn’t only real but also healthy and beautiful. “Don’t say that again, okay?”
“Why?” I asked, standing up straight from the cool wall.
He ran a hand through his finger swept hair. “It’s a reminder that you have something to be sorry for.”
“You’re really going back to her?” I couldn’t help but ask, knowing I’d all but sent him.
“Go home, Stevie.”
“I don’t want to.”
In quick strides, he was standing in front of me again. Muscles rippled, and my eyes ducked to the basketball shorts hanging low on his sharp hips. “Why? Did he leave you again?” I glared, my mouth slack. “Make you a bunch of empty promises to get between your legs and then bail?” Any softness had left his voice.
“Don’t,” I pleaded.
“No,” he snapped. “You made the mistake of telling me about him, and then I made the mistake of seeing it with my own two eyes. I won’t be your second choice because some asshole couldn’t make you his first.”
He cursed when my face crumpled. “Fuck you, Aiden. You don’t know nearly as much as you think you do.”
“Yeah?” He inched closer. “Well, the same goes for you, heart slayer. I’m fucking in love with you, but you either