Date Me Like You Mean It

by Grey, R. S.

  His hand doesn’t move from my body, and my eyes stay closed.

  His fingers start to gently drift higher, oh so slowly, along the center of my stomach, drawing a shiver out of me.

  “Maddie?”

  I don’t say a word, aware that we’re suspended in a moment that won’t last forever. His fingers glide easily over my wet skin. I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure he’s no longer checking me for injuries. He’s just touching me, taking his time.

  We’ve never done anything like this before.

  It’s like he’s forgotten himself, forgotten who I am to him.

  Maybe, just for right now, I’m a girl in her panties, lying underneath him. Willing.

  His fingers skate over the bottom of my rib cage and I arch my back. My shoulder blades dig into the concrete, making his touch seem even sweeter.

  My eyes pinch closed like I’m scared he’s going to stop at any second. His hand peels away from my skin, but it doesn’t leave me. No, he’s only using the pads of his fingers now as he arcs up the center of my chest, right between my breasts.

  I suck in a quick breath as water drips from his hair down onto my neck. The droplets roll across my skin slowly, and I’m aware of every millimeter they cover. I sense him leaning down over me, as if I’m a drowning victim and he’s prepared to breathe life back into me. His finger drags over my collarbone and my pulse point, then my chin, and finally…

  My lips.

  He touches them so reverently, like they’re a pair of butterfly wings he doesn’t want to crush. I let them fall apart, and the moment I do, his mouth descends on mine.

  I’m trudging through so much disbelief and longing that for the first few seconds, I don’t react. I’m pressed down onto the concrete by shock and immobility, scared to wake up.

  His lips stay on mine, slanting open, and then all at once it’s as if someone’s struck me with a hot poker, awakening me to the moment with blinding clarity.

  My dream is coming true.

  Aiden is kissing me.

  I reach up to touch his neck, my fingers tangling in his wet hair. My mouth opens against his and his tongue sweeps across mine. A sound of longing pierces the air, and I don’t realize it came from me until Aiden reacts. He climbs over me, covering me with his body, kissing me harder. His hips touch mine. His hands swipe my hair back away from my face so he can cradle my chin and angle me perfectly. We kiss and it’s painful in its brevity. It’s like we’re trying to extract every last morsel from one another while we have the chance.

  He’s carefully holding his weight up and off me, aware of the concrete scraping my skin, but then I rake my fingers down his back, grab his waist, and pull him down onto me, bruises and scratches be damned.

  He groans and his hands slide down to my neck, then to the strap of my bra. His fingers glide underneath it and he starts to peel it down. I feel cool night air kiss my chest as my breast is bared to his touch. He covers my skin, rolling his palm over me, gripping and teasing as his kiss deepens.

  “Maddie, is that you?”

  Stephanie’s voice sounds like it’s coming through a train tunnel, miles away.

  I want it to be miles away, but it’s not.

  It’s the bell sounding at the end of the fight, the elevator ding just before the doors sweep open, the end I knew was coming.

  My eyes flare open and Aiden breaks our kiss, curses, and covers my nakedness with his body.

  I call out, “Sorry, we were just going back to our room!”

  Stephanie laughs and the door to the main house glides shut again. We’re left alone, but everything’s wrong now. I’m wet and cold and embarrassed. My elbow’s sore from getting scraped against the ground. Aiden’s already in flight, hurrying to right my bra strap and adjust himself in his boxer briefs.

  He leaves me before I can ask him to stay, heading over to get his t-shirt so he can tug it on before he retrieves my clothes too.

  I sit up and wait for him to say something, but he doesn’t. He’s in motion now, just like he was in the pool. I can feel us getting dragged backward like the moon calling in the tide. I feel naked, so I start to scramble then, tugging my clothes on so quickly my shirt ends up backward, but I don’t care. I’m moving, hurrying once my clothes are back in place. I go back to our bungalow, wanting the peace and privacy of our room. I expect Aiden to be right behind me when I push through the door and turn back to look, but he’s not.

  He didn’t follow me back.

  Chapter Nine

  Maddie

  I don’t know if Aiden ever came back to the bungalow last night. He wasn’t there when I fell asleep or when I woke up. A sharp headache sits right behind my eyes, a reminder that I had one too many drinks yesterday—though am I really all that remorseful? Look where it landed me: underneath Aiden.

  What. A. Kiss.

  Now of course there’re the aftershocks to contend with. Will we discuss it? Won’t we? Should we laugh it off or should I demand we sit down and have a serious conversation about his intentions? I mull all this over while I get dressed and carefully apply my makeup. I don’t intentionally put on my prettiest sundress, it’s just the one that’s hanging closest to me after I yank it from the back of the closet. A little dab of perfume behind my ear is casual. Another little dab on both wrists? Well, I don’t want to play favorites.

  Outside, the day is hot and sunny. I tug my hair up and off my neck and twist it into a low bun.

  Everyone’s at the breakfast table eating when I arrive.

  Aiden’s among them, sipping coffee when I stroll up and meet his gaze.

  My brow arches, and slowly, he releases a smile. It’s like he was trying to hold it back, not quite willing to give in to it.

  Interesting.

  “There she is! We were wondering when you were going to join us,” Dante says.

  “Well can you blame the girl for needing her rest? Word is she was up pretty late last night,” Stephanie teases.

  “At least someone was getting some action,” Dante groans.

  I turn my back on the group as I fill my plate at the buffet, hoping no one can tell I’m flushed from head to toe.

  “It’s actually so sweet to see you two finally together,” Stephanie says. “The rest of you don’t know, but Aiden and Maddie have lived together for years as roommates—”

  I pause and whip around, hoping to cut off whatever she’s about to say. “Stephanie, they don’t want to hear our story. It’s boring. Let’s talk about what we’re going to do—”

  “No! I love hearing how couples first got together,” Cadence says, clapping her hands together excitedly.

  Stephanie grins. “Let’s just say Maddie has been obsessed with Aiden since day one.”

  I’m paralyzed. Completely numb as I stand beside the buffet table.

  “She’d call and talk to me for ages about her crush on him and how she felt like he’d never see her as anything other than a friend.”

  So this is what it feels like.

  The truth spilling out like the pages of my diary raining down for everyone to read.

  “Aww, that’s so sweet!” Cadence says. “And obviously it worked out.”

  Tears gather in the corners of my eyes. My hands are shaking so badly my fork rattles against my plate.

  “And what about you, Aiden?” Dante asks. “Was it love at first sight for you too?”

  I can’t look at him. I’m a live wire. Exposed.

  His charming voice cuts through the ether. “Not exactly.”

  Not exactly.

  Not.

  Exactly.

  My body starts to move before my brain can catch up to it. I’m leaving the group before I think to offer a reason over my shoulder.

  “I’m going to go change,” I say quickly, blinking away tears. “I didn’t realize everyone would be in their bathing suits already. I’ll be right back.”

  I carry my empty plate with me back to our bungalow, hurrying along the path.

&nb
sp; I’m in shock. Nothing feels real. The landscape whips by me. A lizard scurries past. It’s all happening, but my brain is too busy trying to convince me this is all just a waking dream.

  I hole up inside, behind the privacy of the door, and I try to process what Stephanie just said. Words like “crush” and “obsessed” leap out and make my stomach squeeze tight. What am I supposed to do now? What could I possibly say to Aiden that could make this all go away?

  It’s one thing for us to both mutually lose control like we did last night. That feels like it was spur of the moment. Fun. Silly.

  This is the exact opposite of that.

  Stephanie revealing to everyone that I’ve been obsessed with Aiden since day one is not the way I wanted him to find out I had feelings about him. There is no downplaying words like obsessed. It makes me sound crazy.

  Worse, he’ll think everything she said is true. And it is! But he didn’t need to know that.

  The door opens behind me and I whip around, smiling huge.

  “Are you okay?” Aiden asks.

  My plan forms on the spot as words tumble out of my mouth.

  “Oh my god, yes. Don’t listen to Stephanie. I think I told her one time that I thought you were cute or something and she ran with it.”

  I roll my eyes teasingly.

  Aiden stops in the doorway, brows furrowed.

  I wipe my cheek, aware of a lone tear slipping down.

  I wish he wouldn’t notice. I also wish he hadn’t followed me back here.

  “It sounded like more than a one-time thing,” he prods.

  I force out a laugh. “I’m sure I did tell her more than once. I mean, it’s no secret that you’re attractive, but that doesn’t mean I’m obsessed with you.” I shake my head. “In fact, I talk to her about all the guys I’m dating. I think I just told her last week that I think Dan is kind of cute.”

  Lie. Lie. Lie.

  He frowns. “Dan from your work?”

  “Yeah, the one you saw me with at the deli.”

  “Right.”

  “Yeah, I mean, between you and me, I think Stephanie has always sort of wanted us to get together just because she thinks it would be a cute story. So whatever, don’t put much stock into what she said.”

  “What about last night?”

  Oh my god. Do we have to talk about it now?!

  “Last night was fun.”

  I’m moving around like a bird flitting from one tree to another. I set down my plate and head into the closet so I can grab my bathing suit out of my suitcase.

  “C’mon, we don’t need to have a heart-to-heart about this,” I call out so he can still hear me. “I haven’t even had coffee yet!”

  I sound cool as a cucumber, like I fool around with guys by the pool all the time. No big deal, just a hand on my boob—happens every day!

  I change into my sky blue bikini then grab for a short white cover-up. I slip it on and head back out into the bedroom. Aiden’s sitting on the end of the bed, staring out the window.

  “Aren’t you going to get changed? It looked like everyone was about to head to the pool.”

  He nods, but he doesn’t stand. “Yeah, sure.”

  His attention is still caught on something through the window.

  “Want to just meet me over there?”

  He finally turns and assesses me, staring like he’s trying to see something buried deep.

  I smile and waggle my eyebrows, as if to say, What?

  “You’d tell me, right?” he asks. “If any of that were true?”

  I groan like I’m in agony. “I thought we dropped this already.”

  “Maddie—”

  “Yes! Aiden, yes. Sure, I’d tell you. But it’s not true, so stop looking at me like that. Now let’s go have some fun.”

  * * *

  Turns out, all that talk about this being a couples’ getaway wasn’t quite true. Sure, there’re a few couples, but Dante is here on his own—his partner couldn’t get off work—and Cadence is single too. I’m highly aware of this because she’s taken a special interest in Aiden. She’s asked him a ton of questions about work since we rejoined the group, which I guess makes sense. She’s an assistant to a literary agent. She doesn’t represent her own clients yet, but she helps read submissions and queries all the time.

  She’s chatting with us in the shallow end of the pool, trying to convince Aiden to consider pushing his career in a new direction.

  “Last night, I read your article about the protests in downtown Austin. I loved the angle you took,” she gushes. “Telling the story through the eyes of the immigrant children. It took the issues down to the microscopic level, made them easy to digest.”

  Okayyyy. While I’m sure his article was wonderful, does she really need to stare up at him with stars in her eyes? I mean, for all she knows we’re in love! Didn’t she listen to everything Stephanie said at breakfast? She probably did, and unfortunately, it probably only made Aiden seem more interesting in her eyes.

  “I’m going to go refill my drink,” I say, though neither of them responds.

  I swim over to the other side of the pool and climb out. Elliot and Dante set up a bar on a folding table. There’s every type of alcohol under the sun, plus mixers, and ice.

  Dante’s there now, and I aim a winning smile his way.

  “Is there any way I could tempt you into making me the grapefruit drink from the other night? It was so good.”

  He winks. “Sure thing. I was about to make one for myself anyway.”

  I hand him my cup and he tells me to grab a cold can of Sprite for him out of the cooler.

  As I hand it over, he glances at me out of the corner of his eye.

  “So should we talk about what Stephanie said at breakfast?”

  “Let’s not and say we did.”

  He laughs. “I know it was probably a little embarrassing, but what’s the big deal? You and Aiden are dating, so he must know you’re into him. I thought it was sweet.”

  I respond with a noncommittal hum.

  “I guess those early months can be tough though,” he continues, mulling over our perceived situation. “You two are still probably figuring everything out. You don’t want to seem too into him.”

  “Definitely not.”

  Dante pauses mid-pour and looks over at me. “Did he freak out when you two went back to your bungalow?”

  “Oh…yeah…”

  “He did?!”

  I shake my head vehemently, realizing I’ve lost track of the truth. “Wait…no!” I’m flustered now and trying to backtrack. “He didn’t freak out,” I insist. “I freaked out.”

  “Because you really like him,” he concludes.

  It feels good to nod. With Dante, at least, I can confirm the truth.

  I glance back at Cadence and Aiden just in time to see him swim over to the side of the pool and climb out so he can answer his phone. He hurries to pick it up and nods as he starts to speak. I can’t hear what he says as he heads back to the bungalow, apparently wanting some privacy.

  “Wonder what that was about,” Dante murmurs.

  “Work, probably.”

  Half an hour later, Aiden’s still not back at the pool.

  People start to ask where he went, and at first, I shrug, but then I decide to head back to check on him, just in case something’s wrong.

  I walk down the concrete path, around the side of the main building, and then I spot our private bungalow up ahead. The door is slightly ajar as if Aiden didn’t think to push it closed all the way, or maybe he was just in too much of a hurry. I reach my hand up to knock on the door and alert him to my presence, but then I hear him on the phone.

  “Obviously it’s my dream. It’s everybody’s dream.”

  He laughs at something the person on the other end of the line says, and then there’s more silence. I glance behind me, down the path, wondering if I should go back to the pool. But then, everyone will ask me what’s keeping Aiden, and I still don’t have an ans
wer.

  “I understand,” he continues. “My schedule is actually clear this week. I was taking some personal time, so there’s no reason I couldn’t be there tomorrow.”

  My gut clenches.

  There’s no reason I couldn’t be there tomorrow.

  No reason.

  “Okay, yeah sounds good. I’ll confirm flight options after I get off the phone. Once I know what time I’ll get into New York, I’ll be in touch.”

  He laughs again, thanks the person profusely, and then the call ends.

  I hear him shuffling around now, unzipping his bag, presumably getting his laptop out so he can check on those flights.

  I clear my throat and knock on the door. “Aiden?” I call out, acting as if I just arrived at the bungalow.

  “Hey, yeah, you can come in.”

  “You left the door open,” I point out as I enter. He’s sitting in one of the lounge chairs, fingers already flying on his keyboard.

  “Oh, sorry.” He doesn’t even look up from his computer. “I rushed back to take a call, must not have closed it all the way.”

  “Oh? Was it important?”

  He looks up at me as if just now realizing who I am and what I’m asking him. Then he nods slowly. “Yeah, you could say that.”

  I half-smile. “Why are you being so cryptic?”

  He mimics my smile. “I guess I’m just still a little shocked.”

  I arch my brows, and he shakes his head before continuing, “That was the Times.”

  “The Times? As in the New York Times?”

  He laughs in disbelief, leans back in the chair, and tugs his hands through his hair. “They want me to come up for an interview.”

  “No way.”

  My mouth is on the floor. This is Aiden’s dream.

  “Yeah. Dave said he put in a good word for me a few weeks ago, but I didn’t think anything would come from it.”

  Dave is the editor-in-chief at Texas Monthly. For years, he’s been Aiden’s advocate, believing in his talent and throwing him hardballs in the hopes that he’d knock them out of the park. I’m not surprised he provided a good reference for Aiden, and I’m not surprised they want him to go to New York for an interview.