Single But Engaged ✔️

4: I've always known they were hooking up

'I'm in love with Aria. And she's the only girl I ever want to be with.'

Who would have imagined that those seemingly simple words would have the power to render me completely dumbfounded – and from the looks of it, I was not the only one.

One look at Aiden's grandma revealed a visibly stunned woman – a far cry from her usual poker face. When she finally managed to speak, it was: “is this true?”

To my alarm, judging by how her sharp blue eyes had locked in on my brown ones, the question seemed to be directed at me. As though to emphasize her point, she added, “are you and Aiden in a relationship?”

Ok, I just had to find my words. Heck, I just had to find my letters. 

Alright, let me see. A, b, l, r...shit, I was totally screwed. 

If this was some kind of twisted dream in which Aiden's grandma was interrogating me, with his mom and sister watching attentively with bewildered interest, then I demanded to wake up.

But when a full moment passed, and yet nothing changed, I was left with no choice than to accept the fact that this really was my reality. Which then brought the question: what the hell do I do now?

My hands were beginning to do that fidgety thing they did whenever I was nervous or panicked, and the muted ringing in my ears wasn't helping matters. But in the middle of all that, I caught the meaningful look of the boy beside me.

It wasn't hard to decipher just what meaning it aimed to express. After all, I'd seen it many times before, the same way I'd yielded to its message – ‘please help me out here.’

But those were entirely different situations. They were miles apart from the situation at hand now. Still, despite knowing this, like those times before, I found myself unable to resist. 

And before I knew it, the word that was slipping off my lips was: “yes.” 

Even as I said it, it sounded foreign to my ears, with the word coming out somewhat feebly. Still, I went on, managing some conviction in my tone this time around. 

“It's true. Aiden and I are in a relationship.” I could almost hear him release a breath of relief, his previously tense shoulders, finally relaxing a bit.

But while he found relief, his grandma seemed even more confounded than before. Her lips parted to speak, but no words came out. 

Aiden on his part, took advantage of her silence to say, “I told you; Aria and I are together. Forget Olivia, I can't even imagine being with any other girl.” His voice radiated such calm confidence, that if I didn't know better, I'd think he was telling the truth. 

His lips were upturned in a smile which was almost taunting when he stared at his grandma, with his hand moving to wrap around me, suavely pulling me closer to him. 

I was pretty sure I looked awkward as hell right now, still quite in disbelief as to how the events were beginning to unfold. 

But despite myself, I managed a small smile of my own which I was pretty sure stretched in a very unnatural way – almost like I was one of the characters in the 'Truth or Dare' movie. But the important thing was that I was smiling. 

See? I could do this for a minute or two more. Like Aiden, I could be the happy girl in love with a guy who was unwilling to be with anyone but her. 

So, I said, “that's right. I am totally crazy about this guy here. So crazy.” As I spoke, my hand moved to his chest, hitting it 'fondly,' between every word – so fondly that a wicked grin formed on my lips when I felt him flinch from the effect. But he was quick to cover it up with a chuckle.