I Really Wish I Hated You

Dirty Little Secret

"So, what do you say?"

Staring at Eddie, Aileen didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think. This entire evening was not what she had expected, and she was having trouble processing it all. Aileen couldn't understand why Eddie would want to have meaningless sex with her. She had always, perhaps naively, thought that when she had sex for the first time, it would have been with someone she loved. Or at the very least, be someone she was in a relationship with. And Eddie wasn't that person. She didn't think Eddie would ever be that person. Sure, that first kiss they had shared had stirred something within her. There was no denying that, in that moment, she had enjoyed feeling his lips on hers; had reveled in the way it had made her feel. Which had only irritated her even more. She had thought to herself how dare someone like Eddie Munson make her heart flutter and her knees go weak. She couldn't stand him...she hated him.

Sighing, rubbing her temples, Aileen shook her head. "I don't get it Eddie. I don't get how you could come to the conclusion that this...proposition of yours is something I would ever want. That I would ever consider. What have I ever done to make you think that I would want this?" Taking another bite of his food, Eddie regarded Aileen. Smiling at her, Eddie nodded towards her food. "Aren't you going to eat?" Looking down at the food before her, Aileen pushed the plate away from her, shaking her head. "I've lost my appetite. Stop avoiding my question. You always avoid my questions."

Thinking about what she had asked him, Eddie tapped his fingers against the table, wondering how to answer. She clearly didn't see that, despite their negative feelings towards one another, there was also this unexplainable pull. As if they were just naturally drawn to one another. Grinning once again, Eddie held his hand up, holding one finger up. "Okay, fine. There have been two instances. One. You kissed me." "That was to try and piss you off." Winking at her, Eddie shook his head. "Yeah, I could have guessed that. Unfortunately for you, that backfired. A lot." Holding up another finger, Eddie continued, "Two. Last night, you stripped down to your underwear and tried to seduce me into your bed." Blushing, Aileen looked away at that. She couldn't deny that. She had. But...

"I was drunk." "Exactly. You were drunk. My guess, Princess, is that you don't have a lot of experience with drinking. Which means you don't know that when you're drunk, one tends to become painfully honest. Can you deny that you wanted me last night?"

As much as Aileen wanted to, she couldn't. She had wanted him, despite being drunk. She remembered seeing him at that party, when he had grabbed her arm, dragging her away from the party. She had watched him as he drove her home, had seen the small smile he had thrown her way as she talked nonstop about whatever her drunken mind had decided was great for conversation. She hadn't seen him give her a smile like that since they had been kids. Lately, these days, whenever he smiled at her it was usually filled with malice, sarcasm, hate. But that smile? It had been soft, gentle. Almost...tender. And it had made her heart skip a beat. It was then that she had really wanted him. Because, despite everything they had been through, she had missed that side of Eddie. Fighting with him all the time was exhausting, so it had been nice to see him in a way that reminded her of when things hadn't been so strained between them.

But, despite all of that, she still couldn't believe that he was propositioning her with this.

"Munson..."

His eyes widening, Eddie took her hand in his again, shocking her. He didn't want Aileen to call him by his last name again. That felt like a step in the wrong direction. "No. Don't go back to that. Come on, Aileen. Is it really that crazy?"

He held half expected her to snatch her hand away, to glare at him and tell him fuck off. But she didn't. She just looked tired. "Yes. It is crazy. Eddie, say I agree to this. Let's say we do decide to just have sex. What happens when one of us finds someone we want to be in a relationship with? Because, I don't know about you, but that's something I want eventually. I want to be in a relationship someday." Thinking it over, Eddie shrugged. "I'm not looking for a relationship, Aileen. Probably won't for a while, if ever. But, if you find someone...then we'll stop. And we'll part as nothing more than strangers if that's what you want. Honestly, Aileen, this would be nothing more than letting off a little steam. Come on, what could possibly happen?"