and it was perfect

Chapter 7

Aiden and I stayed quiet for a moment as I watched them disappear. I couldn't believe the look the girl had just given me. Shouldn't she be grateful that I helped her? The adrenaline still pumped though my veins when Aiden finally broke the silence. "It was nice of you trying to help her. But she knows what she's gotten herself into. They're dating." That explained her attitude, but his words also hurt. He didn't mean it that way and how would he know, but he'd never been that girl. Not like me. He wouldn't understand. I tried to swallow my anger, gave him a quick nod and said. "Thank you." Then I left before he could see the tears in my eyes.

I didn't walk back to the others but made my way straight towards the cars. With any luck there would be an Uber waiting. Thankfully there was. I climbed in and told the driver the address, then I buried my face in my hands and tried to calm my breath. I could feel the weird look the driver gave me through the back mirror, but I ignored it on our quiet ride back. I made it into the bathroom, that's where I locked myself and broke down in the shower. I angrily rubbed my chin, trying to get every trace of Blake's touch off my body. I had sworn myself to never feel like that again. Get here I was, only a few months later. I sunk down on the floor and let the emotions run over me while the water running down on my face combined itself with my tears.

The following morning I woke up with my head pounding. I had texted Zoe last night letting her know I left because I felt sick, now it didn't even feel like a lie. I took some deep breaths and walked towards my drawer. Tired grey eyes and a scratched chin reflected in the mirror. I wasn't surprised. I quickly looked away and put on my favourite sweater. Zack was fast asleep on the couch when I went downstairs. He looked adorable and made me smile. When I walked into the kitchen I nearly ran into Aiden. He looked up from his phone when he saw me and handed me my coffee mug. He knew my routine by now. It was a tiny gesture, but it made my heart skip a beat. I gave him my best smile and thanked him. He watched me while I ran the coffee machine. "Are you doing okay?" he hesitantly asked. I quickly nodded and looked up, trying to act as neutral as possible. His eyes had lost all the coolness again. I didn't know why I wasn't scared of him after last night. It had only been a small moment. But it had taught me so much about his character. And that he was capable of so much more. I had no right comparing him to Nate, but I did. And the only thing that scared me was that I wasn't scared of him.  "I am, thanks." He looked like he wanted to add something, but in that moment his phone rang and he excused himself. I tried not to wonder what he wanted to say.

After him saving me from Blake he changed his attitude towards me. He still wasn't talking much to me, let alone joke around like he did with Zoe, but he lost his distance. And after a few awful nights I started to finally feel like myself again.

That's when I caught him staring at me after returning from my run one morning. He was only wearing his grey sweats, his smooth chest was showing, and my knees started feeling even weaker after my workout. My mind was still awfully torn between thinking about Nate, Blake and the issues I had to deal with thanks to them, but Aiden's effect on me was still undeniable. I tried to ignore him and grabbed my water bottle from the table to drink some huge sips. Then I saw his reflection in the mirror next to the entryway and froze. Aiden Stewart was watching me. I was wearing tight leggings and a sports bra; it must've caught his attention. He realized I had caught him but didn't seem to care. He was still a fuckboy; why would he? It took a lot of courage, but I turned around and faced him. I slowly let my gaze wander over his bare chest, arms, defined muscles and ... stopped at his crotch. Then I raised a brow. "Now we're even." I repeated his words from a few weeks ago. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he couldn't stop himself from a slight grin. I grinned back and went upstairs. It made me happy to see him smile. He hadn't looked as happy himself for the last few days. But staring at his crotch certainly didn't help to calm my nerves. It took a very long hot shower to finally relax.