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The day went by smoothly, Aiden left early to drive to Portland, it's about an hour and a half away. I'm guessing he's looking for apartments there. I wonder what he does? What kind of job he has or what his major was when he graduated earlier this month. My curiosity is high as I search through our small house for Ashley. I don't bother changing out of what I slept in, no one is home but her.
I find Ashley sitting on the couch with her laptop open, typing violently against the keyboard. "Ash? You okay?" I ask curiously as I assess her behavior. She clicks one more button and then slams it shut.
"Yeah, I was just sending my English teacher a few choice words on an E-Mail for giving me a seventy on my final. It was an essay about Love which is supposed to be subjective!" She silently screams. Which makes me laugh.
"Miss. Parks?" I ask.
"Yup, that's the one." She says while huffing.
"I think you'll be okay, you have a what... a ninety-seven in that class?" I ask with humor in my tone.
"I wanted a perfect one hundred, that essay was thirty percent of our grade! She's just angry because her husband left her last year. I mean why make us write that for a final if you're scorned and don't want to hear about love?" She places the laptop down on the table, to the left of it is the book that Aiden was reading yesterday. When I see the title I smile, I take a seat on the couch.
"Aiden reads classic novels?" I say with surprise as I stare at the bent and tattered copy of Jane Eyre.
"Yeah, it's weird right?" She laughs while gesturing to the book. "He's always been a reader, I always wondered why he went down the corporate road. He would have been great at a publishing house."
"Corporate? Aiden?" I ask astounded.
"I know, with the tattoos it seems odd, right?" She laughs as she pulls her thick hair through a scrunchie and leans back on our couch. "He went to Stanford and got his bachelors in Finance." She says proudly.
I nearly choke on air before I compose myself. "Wow, that's amazing! Does your dad have money like that?" I say surprised. I know Ashley is here on a scholarship, her mom doesn't have a ton of money. She has no contact with her dad, but it seems like Aiden does. I remember her saying she originally wanted to go south for school, I'm glad she decided against it or we would have never crossed paths.
She lets out a loud laugh. "No way, even if he did there's no way Aiden would want shit from him. Aiden is completely self-made. He got a full ride for his academics in high school." She's beaming. I can understand why she's proud, that's a huge accomplishment at twenty-one. I ponder this for a second, a full ride to Stanford? He has to be insanely smart. I'm going to feel even more nervous around him. I feel more attracted to him knowing he has brains to go with his looks.
Like she's reading my thoughts Ashley begins talking "He told me about how all of the classmates glared at him for a few weeks when he started." She laughs as she waves her hand absentmindedly. "I mean a guy who looks like Aiden, covered in Tattoos, has to be quite the unusual student at a school like that, but his brilliance showed through and the students there quickly realized it I'm guessing. He made some really great friends there, I know he was sad to graduate but he's ready to start his life in Portland." She says.
"So why Portland?" I ask curiously, my elbows on my knees. I am listening intently.
"That's what he is doing today, he interned through college making investments for high up businessmen. He is so good at what he does he was able to make his own investments pretty early on, he owns some properties in the Portland area so that's why he wants to move there. He's also leasing a floor of a high rise so he has somewhere to meet with his bigger investors, some of them can be... intimidating." She looks at me uneasily. "Others are your normal run of the mill rich men. He's going to check out his new office and see about his lease on the apartment. That's why he's staying here for a couple of weeks, so they can get it finished." She says with another proud smile.
I sit up straighter "What do you mean intimidating?"
"I don't know how to explain it, almost like the mafia is what I would guess. Aiden can handle himself so he takes those clients when no one else will. I don't know much about it but I would stay away from his work if I were you." She laughs a humorless laugh.
"What does he do though, like his title?" I ask curiously.
"He's a private investor, I'm not really sure what it entails. He's great with numbers, and I believe he purchases investments for CEOs and things like that?" She questions herself.
"Good for him! That's awesome he already got a job that quick. I hope when I graduate I can find somewhere I fit in." I say with a sad tone but hide it behind a smile. Everyone else has their lives figured out, my current major is the opposite of what I want to do. My dream is to become a pastry chef. I would love to be able to go to a culinary school but I opted for community college, I didn't want to make my mom work even harder.
"Don't even stress. He's older than us, we are only freshman, you have plenty of time to plan your life." She says to reassure me.
I raise my brow, "Did he always know he wanted to do this?"
"You're curious about him aren't you?" She examines me as she waits for a response.
"No. no. I mean, maybe?" I say with a shy smile.
She throws her hands up, "Look, truly if you want to go after him I don't care. It's not like we are in high school, you're both adults." She smiles at me.
A laugh escapes my lips, "Yeah, I don't think that will be a problem. He's nice to me but I don't think he is interested." I say, dismissing her thoughts as I add "Plus, the whole Ian thing." I shudder from the humiliation I received last night at his hand.
"Oh, fuck Ian." She bellows. "As for Aiden, I wouldn't be so sure he's not interested."
I blush "I mean, really, he's just a nice guy." I say.
She scoffs, "To you, he is. Every other friend of mine that he's met he has ignored with obvious annoyance." She says with a smile. "Also, you need someone to take your mind off of that preppy douchebag." She shrugs.
I hit her with a pillow and a fight quickly ensues as she grabs two throws from the couch and hurls them at me. Laughter booms throughout the living room and soon we are in a fit of giggles on the couch, my legs are thrown up over the back of the couch while my back rests on the bottom cushions.
A deep cough interrupts our childish fight and we look towards the sound of the noise. My jaw involuntarily drops as I take in the sight of Aiden leaning against the door frame of the living room.
His black hair is slicked back perfectly. His eyes look deeper than last night. He has a more serious vibe, which matches his attire, A black suit with a black dress shirt underneath. His tattoos barely visible but I can see one peeking through on his arm as he undoes one of his cuffs.
I force my jaw shut and travel to his face, his eyes are burning into mine and that's when I realize I'm still in just my panties and a tank top. I flip my body around quickly and search for a blanket. I grab the one he used the night before and cover myself as I try to ignore the delicious scent that it's laced with. Leather and mint.
"Hey, girls." He speaks in a serious tone, but a smile creeps up and makes his rough edges soften.
"You look all business, Aiden." Ashley laughs.
He rolls his eyes, "I'm going to get changed." He says as he walks down the hallway slowly.
"Stop gawking." She says quietly. I fear Aiden heard her attempted whisper, I look up to see him turning the bathroom doorknob and my stomach drops as I see his face turn slightly to meet mine.
The sexiest half smile I have ever seen swipes across his perfect features, my face burns from embarrassment.
I hit her once more with the pillow after he steps into the bathroom.
Once the water starts running I look over at Ashley, my cheeks burning. "He heard you!" I quietly scream at her.
She shrugs and we fall into a fit of laughter, again.
I quickly head to my room to throw on some jeans. I need to get the sight of him in that suit out of my head, quickly. I decide to run some errands, it's a nice day and a drive through town sounds like just what I need.
After a few hours and my backseat full of essentials that we need for summer. I decide to swing by the mall, maybe a new dress is just what I need to build my confidence up from last night.
As I walk into a popular clothing shop I'm met with way too many options but a black mini dress catches my eye. I grab my size and go into the dressing room. I squeeze into the tight-fitting dress and turn to look at myself, a smile appears on my face. I love it! I normally go for a little less revealing but I need a change. It hugs my curves perfectly and I feel... Sexy. I giggle to myself as I run my hands over the soft fabric, the neckline is low so I won't be able to wear a bra and the back is cut low. There isn't much material but I feel comfortable in it, surprisingly.
The sun is almost set when I pull back into the empty driveway. Aiden's car is gone, I assume he made other plans and isn't joining us tonight. I sigh as I step out of my car and throw the heavy bags over my arms, I am not making a second trip. When I get into the house I set the bags down in the foyer and head for the kitchen to look for something to eat. A note is placed on the counter.
Hey! We ran to get pizza, hurry and get dressed! We are leaving at 10. Love you, xoxo Ash
I glance at the clock and see that it's nine, where did the time go today?
I run back to the foyer and grab my dress from the pink bag in the pile and rush to put my room to get ready. I start with my make up, taking more time than usual on my eyes. Focusing on making them a little darker than Ash did last night. I finish fairly quickly and begin to curl my hair. I hear the door opening and feet shuffling inside.
"Hey!" I yell as I twist the last lock that needs a curl around the large wand.
Ashley enters the room with a box of pizza and sits on the hardwood floor. Her hair and makeup are perfectly finished but she's in jeans and a t-shirt, I begin to worry about my dress.
She smiles as she hands me a slice. I put the wand down on the marble slab where it normally sits.
"I am about to throw my dress on, I'm wearing that red one, what do you think?" She asks and I sigh in relief, I didn't want to look overdressed tonight.
"I love that one!" I say happily. She smiles as we quietly eat our dinner on the floor. After a few minutes, she stands. "I'm going to change, be ready In ten minutes!" She says excitedly as she bounces out of the room.
I get up to shut the door behind her as I take my clothes off, along with my bra and climb into my new black dress. It looks even better with my hair and makeup done. I put on a tall pair of black heels that have a thin ankle strap, laughing as I wonder why the strap is necessary because it's so thin. I take one last look in the full-length mirror and smile back at myself. I feel confident and I'm excited to show Ashley my new outfit, maybe Aiden too. I giggle as I walk out of my room and down the hallway.
I pass the bathroom and suddenly I feel a large hand wrap around my arm, it makes me jump.
"You're going out in that?" His voice booms through the narrow hallway and his hand firmly yet gently holds me in place.
"Umm, is it bad?" I ask quietly as I start to question my chosen attire. I frown a little as I look down at my dress.
He sighs as he drops my arm "Exact opposite," He says flatly. "Do you know how many guys I'm going to have to fight off tonight? They're going to all be staring at you." His voice is so serious it makes me giggle. I guess this is his way of giving compliments.
"I highly doubt you'll have that problem, Aiden," I say through laughter but I since irritation behind his green eyes. Why does he care if guys stare at me? I don't even know him.
He looks me up and down one more time as he pulls in his bottom lip between his teeth, I shudder at the sight. He begins to walk away leaving me breathless. He turns towards me as he edges the end of the hall. "You look gorgeous, Emma."
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