My lips twisted into a sarcastic smile as a reaction to his presence and a reaction to my useless hope of being a part of this family. “I’m fine,” I said flatly, trying to pull back from him but he wouldn’t let go of my arms.

“Are you sure?” he asked softly, his forehead wrinkled in concern as his chocolate coloured eyes searched my face, looking for a crack in my armour that he would never find.

I raised an eyebrow at him, taking a step back and pulling my arms from his grip but he just shifted his hands so that he was holding my wrists, not taking his eyes off my face.

“Cory,” he said quietly, his eyes lit with a concern that warmed my heart even as I kept my expression blank.

“Are you going to let me go now?” I asked, my voice flat as I sent a pointed look to where his hands were holding my wrists gently.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, reluctantly releasing his grip and I immediately crossed my arms over my chest, not wanting to give him the opportunity to touch me again.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, casting a glance up the stairs at where Jessica had disappeared, trying to ignore the unsettled feeling in my stomach as I wondered just what she was doing in my room.

“Jesse told me to meet him here so the three of us can ride together before the date,” he said, a smile stretching across his face. “Is he not home yet? I’m pretty early but I figured we could hang out a bit before we left.”

I blinked, thinking that this ‘date’ somehow involved me. “Who is going on the date?” I asked flatly, recalling the double date idea that I’d accidentally agreed to earlier in the week.

“You, me, Jesse, and Kristine,” Aaron replied, his smile widening even further as he looked at me. “I’m surprised Jesse got you to agree actually.”

“He didn’t,” I said flatly, sidestepping around Aaron, intent on calling my brother and bitching him out.

“What?” Aaron asked, his hand gripping my shoulder briefly but long enough to halt my movement. “He told me you agreed.”

“He lied,” I said, shaking my head.

Aaron frowned but I ignored him as I moved further away, digging in my jeans pocket for my phone. “Hey,” he said softly, placing his hand over mine before I could dial Jesse’s number. “It’s no big deal, Cory. He’ll be fine without us if you don’t want to go. It’s okay.”

I let out a short laugh, ignoring the warmth in my chest at his kindness and saying in my usual sarcastic voice, “Don’t you ever get sick of being so nice?”

He let out an easy chuckle and leaned a little closer, his eyes lit with laughter as he said, “You like it when I’m nice to you, don’t you?” My eyes widened as I realized he was right. He was one of few people who didn’t look at me with suspicion and hatred and I couldn’t deny that it was nice to have someone around who had a little faith in me whether it was warranted or not.

But he didn’t need to know that.

I let out a caustic snort and rolled my eyes but before I could say anything, the front door opened and Jesse walked in with Flynn right behind him. “Oh good, you’re both here,” Jesse said, grinning as he pulled his shoes off and stepped into the house. “Starting the date early?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and I realized the position Aaron and I were in. His hand was resting on mine and he was leaning close to me, our faces only a few inches apart.

Hastily, I pulled back, tucking my hand and phone in my pocket, remembering belatedly that I was angry at my brother for volunteering me for a date that I had no intention of going on. I put my hand on my hip and turned to glare at him but my eyes caught on Flynn’s and the look in his green eyed gaze made me forget everything else.

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