Bad Trade (Revamped!)

Chapter One

"Oh, hey, Petra!" Gill called from inside, waving at her from his seat on the couch. She glanced at him but instantly looked away when she saw his naked, hairy chest. She tried not to look shocked, but couldn't help it. So, Gill just sat around without a shirt all day? "How're things?" He asked, oblivious to her stunned expression.

"Um, they're—they're fine." She stammered, once again trying to force a grin or even a sane face. She silently willed Lukas to come back. When he finally made it down the stairs, she would've given a sigh of relief if it wasn't for the person standing right next to him, giving her that levelheaded leer. Petra forced herself to make eye-contact with Aiden.

"Um, hey." She said detachedly.

He chuckled softly at her attempt to hide her anger. "Hey, Peets." While Petra silently fumed at his nickname for her, Aiden sent Lukas a grin and a dismissive nod. Lukas eyed him for a moment and reluctantly left. Probably jealous, Aiden thought. He turned to see Petra staring daggers at him. "Well, that just makes me want to give you every emerald I have, now." He griped. Surprise flashed across her face, and Aiden knew he'd hit the right spot. He didn't know how or why, but Petra needed him right now, and he would be stupid to not milk the possibility. He smirked when Petra's angry expression softened to a more neutral one. "That's better. So, you need an emerald?"

"Yes. Do you have it?" Petra stared at the emerald when he pulled it out of his pocket, letting her have a good look at it. But when she reached out, he pulled it away from her. She scowled at him.

"Not before you tell me what I get in return."

Petra held back a growl. She happened to glance at her watch to see time was running right out of the room, along with her patience. She didn't have to deal with this! She should've been on her way already, with an emerald given to her by Lukas. Not haggled for with Aiden.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Peets. I thought you knew how to make trades. You know, if you're going to trade something, you actually need something to trade with." He joked dryly. Petra enjoyed his sense of humor so much she wanted to give him a good, hearty slap to the face. With a shovel.

"How about shovel?" She asked bitingly. He laughed, thinking she was joking. "How about gold?"

"Mmm... no. That's a tempting offer," he said, giving her lean figure a good grazing, "but I already have gold. Something else, Peets." That name again. Petra's fingers curled into hard fists.

"If you're going to call me Peets, why don't I just call you Aids? Sounds like a fitting name, don't you think?" She would've smiled when Aiden's eyes widened, but she still felt too angry. It worsened when his look of surprise quickly melted into one of pleasure.

"Feisty. I like that about you. So feisty. What other nicknames do you have for me, huh, Peets?" He chuckled.

"Look, I have somewhere to go. Could we please hurry this up?"

A hand flew to his mouth and he feigned a surprised look. "Oh! You have somewhere to go! Why didn't you just tell me?" He spoke like an enthusiastic daycare provider encouraging a toddler. Petra raised a brow, on the edge of confused and ready to rip out her hair. Or his hair. "Okay, how about we do this? I give you the emerald today, and you come over here tomorrow and we can discuss what I want?"

"Or, you can just give me the emerald, I leave and never come back, and we just go on with our lives."

"Nope. That's the deal. Take it or leave it, unless you have more time here." He said, flashing her a wide grin. Their eyes locked, and Petra could see the enjoyment twinkling in his green gaze. Then her eyes flashed down to the emerald in his hand. She didn't dare glance at her watch.