Heat.

| Chapter 9. |

When that gun went off, more than a few things changed in that very instant. But unfortunately, all Aaron could remember? Was seeing his mother. Her bone straight dirty blonde hair hanging in front of her beautiful dark brown eyes- because she always said that good for nothing shop could never get a trim right- and her big, warm reassuring smile that always made him feel at ease.

"Mi Gigio," His mother's soft voice spoke, pushing his hair back as she smiled up at him. He towered over her tiny frame, reaching for her hand as she kissed him sweetly. "Sempre il combattente."

Jolting awake then, Aaron sat up from the bed that did not belong to him, pulling the blankets off his ivory skin as he sat up fully.  He glanced at the girl in the doorway, her arms crossed and a pout on her lips. She was still dressed in her silk pajamas, equipped with her bunny slippers and her hair swept to the side in a messy ponytail. Damn, how long had he been out?

"Good morning, baby." A genuine smile came across his face as she shook her head and put her index finger to her lips. She was pissed. Aaron knew it too well. He shut up, watching her as she pointed to her bedside table.

He faintly smiled at the sight of the glass of water and the two aspirins beside it. He hadn't even noticed the hangover he was dragging but now that he was awake, he felt as if someone was banging on his head with a sledgehammer. He popped the two pills into his mouth, swallowing the cold drink and the painkillers in one swift motion. The silence thickened between them and pretty soon, she couldn't keep up the silent treatment much longer.

"Do you know what you did last night?" She rolled her eyes as he raised his arms to rub his temple and try to gain back an ounce of his memory.

Wait. This wasn't the day after the party. No. It was a month later. He was a Cobra now. Which means every night consisted of drugs, liquor, Darien, Maurice, fighting...

"Nope," He finally responded, licking his lips as he stared at her. She scoffed when he gave her his same small smile, the one that made every other girl drop their panties for Mr. AJ Russo. "But you're going to tell me, right?"

"You're damn right, I'm going to tell you!" She exploded, and Aaron laughed to himself at her sudden rage. She was such a small girl, yet she went off like King Kong. He loved it. "You got drunk and started some fight down at Cookies. Darien and Maurice saved you, but when the police showed up and it was time to go, you got lost. And who did you call in the middle of the night to save your ass?"

"At least you know where my heart resides, babe." He sent a wink in her direction, and just knew what to expect when she began trying to hit on him. She always did this when Aaron came over after a rough night and like always, the hits never seemed to bother him. But still, he couldn't resist in grabbing both her wrists, and pulling her underneath him before she could even blink.

She struggled to move, sighing and brushing the few hairs from in front of her face. "You know, ever since you became a Cobra, you've-"

"Changed. Yes, baby. I know," He finished her sentence as she continued to pout. "What happened to your lip?"

She hadn't noticed that with her hair falling out of her face and being so close to him, that he could see every detail of her face. Including her busted lip. She instantly tucked it in. "Nothing."

"This doesn't look like nothing."

"Nothing, damn. I just bit it in my sleep is all." Silence filled the air as he eyed her skeptically, eventually rolling off her and pulling her into his arms.

"I'm sorry for last night bambina, okay? Thank you for helping me," He kissed her nose. "I could just stay here with you forever."

Shianne rolled her eyes. "We both know that's not in your player ass Cobra handbook, AJ."