“No!” he said quickly. “If I’d known that someone was going to … see us, I would never have taken you out. I didn’t think they actually cared about me. I mean, with everyone else they could be talking about; I’m kind of boring.”
I shook my head as I slid into the seat across from him. I forgot how nice it was to have a table. I could not understand why this man thought he was boring. Here he was, with a house that he redid and cars that he loved, and you know, the whole being a billionaire thing. That had to have some selling points, didn’t it?
“You seem interesting to me.”
“Thank you.” A smile touched his lips, and his cheeks flushed. “But really, compared to some of the people I know, I’m quite boring. I don’t travel as much as I’d like to; I don’t do anything dramatic.”
“Dramatic isn’t always a bad thing; sometimes normal can be more than enough.”
A grin touched his lips. “Thank you,” he said, reaching out and taking my hand.
“Anyways, you can always do traveling later.”
“Actually … I was thinking about it last night.” He took a deep breath and looked away from me. “I really wished you were with me when I was in Florida. I thought it would be kinda nice to do some traveling together. What do you think?”
That things are moving really fast. I didn’t say that out loud, of course.
“Where did you have in mind?”
“New York. It would just be a quick flight. We could do it for a weekend and still have lots of time to explore, even a day.”
I stared at him blankly. He talked like it wasn’t even a big deal. “It sounds fun. I’d just have to check my savings.” I wasn’t ashamed to say it; I normally said it. I was good at turning things down because I didn’t have money.
Aron waved the statement away. “I’ll cover it.”
I stared at him with wide eyes. “Y-you will? No. I can’t ask that of you.”
“I don’t mind.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll get us tickets right now. Does this weekend work for you?”
I stared at him gobsmacked. He was actually going to get me plane tickets to New York? I couldn’t believe it. Was he going to use it against me?
Why am I so cynical? Maybe he was just trying to do something nice.
“I … are you sure? I mean, I don’t want you to feel like you have to.”
“I don’t mind at all. I’ll take care of it. I’ve got money floating around that needs to be used; anyways, after all, you can’t take it with ya.” He gave me a soft grin, looking up from his phone.
My cheeks flushed. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but was I really willing to turn down a freakin’ trip to New York?
“I’ll pay you back,” I said.
“No worries,” he said with a smile.
He was on his phone for a couple of minutes before putting it down, letting me know that the flights had been booked. My heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t believe I was going to New York next weekend.
“I’ve got to tell my work.” I was pretty sure I had the Sunday off, but I would need to make sure I could get the Saturday off for sure.
My heart raced. I couldn’t believe we were actually talking about this like it was happening. It is happening, I reminded myself. I couldn’t believe it.
Aron grinned. “Look at us, going on our first trip together.”
I laughed, taking a sip of the tea in front of me. “I’ll have to tell my mom so she doesn’t find out via the news again.”
“I was thinking about that. I … I should at least tell my parents about you if they don’t already know. They are going to want to meet you. It will be a big deal to them, actually.”
“It will?”
“I don’t normally take people out on a date, let alone offer to pay for their airfare somewhere.” He paused. “The last time I even went on a date was probably … five years ago.” I stared at him with wide eyes. “I know my mom is going to make a big deal out of it. She’s going to want to meet you.”
“Oh,” I stammered. I didn’t know how I felt about having to meet his family already.
“I know, it’s fast. But it would be a lot to her, and I know she knows you, but … it will be kind of different. It would mean a lot to me if we could at least do lunch.”
“I can do that.”
“Friday?”
I bit my lip, mulling it over. “As long as it’s not at the same place I work.”
Aron grinned, squeezing my hand gently. “Thank you so much, Melina.”
I shrugged, not sure what to say. I wasn’t huge on the idea of it, but if it made his mom happy, I couldn’t really say no, now could I?
“You’re welcome.” I bit my lip.
“Anyways, what do you have planned for the night? Is dinner an option? Er, assuming I order something here.” He grinned.
“Sounds perfect.” I let out a yawn. “But I’m not sure I can stay long. I’ve got some homework I need to get done.”
“Of course. I understand … though if you did want to stay a while, I have a spare computer you could use.” He pushed himself up and headed into the front room.
I jumped up, eager to get a look around the place some more.
He made his way up the carpeted stairs and onto the second-floor landing. I looked around. There was what looked like a living room, or an entertainment room, with shelves of DVDs and a huge TV. The leather couch was positioned a few feet away from the TV, and there was a glass table between them. To the left of the couch was a pool table.
“Coming?” he asked, already almost in another room.
“Right,” I muttered, rushing to his side as we entered … his room?
It was a bedroom; that much, I knew.
It was simple, with bright red walls and black blankets on the bed, along with a handful of pillows. I took a deep breath and looked around me. It was clean and crisp. I got the impression that Aron didn’t spend much time in here, but there was a desk made to fit over the bed. My head tilted to the left.
“Is this your room?” I asked as he padded into it.
“Yes. The guest room is just over there ...” He pointed behind him, towards the living room.
I sauntered over to the large windows and stared out into the backyard. It shouldn’t have surprised me. It looked like it should be in a magazine, just like the rest of the house.
I shook my head. He must have hated my place, compared to most places it was nothing special, but compared to this—even more so considering he probably did all the work himself. This place was amazing.
I guess if it ever came to it, we’d move in together here. Not at my place.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about the idea, or why I even considered it, honestly. It’s not like we’d be having that conversation unless we made it a few years, at least. Although I am already meeting his mom.
The thought sent a shiver down my spine I didn’t expect.
The last time I met a boyfriend’s mother, I was 17, and we were both in school together. Of course, it hadn’t lasted very long, but I had managed to win his mother over easily. See, I’ve got this.
I turned away from the window to see Aron standing in the closet.
I crossed my arms over my chest, resisting the urge to make an immature comment when he stepped out and turned to me. He was holding a small blue laptop. “Here.” He held it out to me,
and I raised an eyebrow.
“I bought it a while back, not that long ago. Like a year. I really liked it, but I found something else I liked better and bought it. I kept this one as a backup. You’re welcome to use it so you can get your homework done.”
Now I didn’t have a reason to go home. And I really liked that.
I bit my lip as I closed the distance between us. What if he thinks I’m taking advantage of him? Was this some sort of test? I took a deep breath and reached out, taking the laptop from him.
“You’re sure?�
��
“Yup. It’s not doing me any good in the closet. If it means you can stay a little longer, I’d be happy to let you use it.”
I felt my cheeks burn. Was spending time with me really that important to him?
Chapter Six
I ended out staying most of the night and getting my homework done. He offered to proofread it for me, but I didn’t want him to feel like he had to, so I told him it wasn’t worth it. He took me back to my place around 10:00, and we said goodbye.
As I was about to step out of the car, his fingers tightened around my wrist.
“You know, if you ever want to stay the night … you’re more than welcome to.” My eyes sparkled. “Thank you.” But I was sure it would be good for us both to have a little time to ourselves. As nice as it had been to get homework done while he got caught up on work, it was … too nice. It felt too right.
It had me kind of freaked out honestly, and I wasn’t willing to admit that.
I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss before slipping out of the car and heading to my place.
Then it was right to bed. I had an early morning tomorrow.
A 7:00 a.m. class meant I was up at 5:00 and out the door by 6:00.
I made it to the school early, just as I liked, and had time to get a coffee before heading to my computer sciences class.
“Hey!” My heart skipped a beat. John waved as he came over to me.
“Hi.” I forced myself to try and sound normal, unsure if I pulled it off or not, though. His eyes shone.
“How’s it going?
“Not too bad, how about you?”
“Not bad at all, I hear you’re almost famous.” He fell into stride with me.
I swallowed dryly. Do we really have to do this now? I hadn’t thought about how to let him down easily. I hadn’t even thought about having to see him today. I’d been so caught up in spending time with Aron that I hadn’t been thinking things through.
“That’s the rumor,” I admitted.
“Is there any truth to it? I mean that you’re dating some old guy.”
I opened my mouth to protest—to tell John that Aron wasn’t that old. I closed it and shrugged.
“We went on a date the other day.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Did he ask you out again?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
“You said yes?” I could hear the hurt in his voice.
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to tell him the truth, but I couldn’t lie to him.
I nodded, already knowing that my silence had been enough to tell him that answer.
“I hope he takes you somewhere special. I mean, he’s going to have to—” He stopped suddenly.
I turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “He’s going to have to, what?”
He looked away from me. “Rebecca!” he called, waving my friend over to us.
Her eyes narrowed as she saw me, and I felt my heart skip a beat. I didn’t want to admit how badly I hadn’t wanted to see her. Still, I plastered on a smile as she came over to us.
“Hey, John. What’s up?”
“Nothing, you coming to Comp?”
“I … yes.” She still hadn’t looked at me as she fell into stride with us.
“How was your weekend?” I asked, seeing if she’d still avoid me if I spoke to her.
“It was fine. I had a great time with friends. You?” She raised an eyebrow.
“It wasn’t bad. I got some work done.” I gave her a smile. “And picked Aron up from the airport.”
I saw the blank look cross her face as she tried to process what I’d said.
“It was really nice actually; he let me borrow his car. Well, one of them.”
I stopped there, not wanting to make John feel worse; I didn’t want to make him feel bad at all and wasn’t sure if I’d crossed a boundary. I didn’t say anything else as we headed to the classroom.
Rebecca was more than happy to ignore me. John, on the other hand, was sweet. He tried to get me involved in the conversation, but I think he could tell that something was going on between Rebecca and I, and he gave up pretty quickly.
When we got to the classroom, I was thankful there wasn’t anywhere we could all sit together. It gave me an excuse to go off on my own.
However, I couldn’t help noticing some of the looks I got. Girls whispered to each other, pulling out their phones.
I could feel my cheeks burning as I sat down. People stared at me, and I could hear them whispering about how I’d been seen out on a date with a billionaire. An old man. I’d been on their home page.
I pulled my laptop out of my bag and got set up for the class, thankful I could use something to take my mind off everything going on around me.
Rebecca was mad; John was hurt, Aron was … I don’t even know. All I knew was that I really liked him, but we were moving hell fast. And that scared me.
He didn’t seem scared by it.
Was I crazy? Was I in over my head?
I had no clue, but when class ended and we were given no homework, I was almost disappointed. That’s okay, I told myself. It’s a good thing, really. I already had so much to do. I would have lots of work to do without being given more. I waited until most of the people were out of the room before standing up and tucking my laptop into my bag.
I turned and felt myself hit someone.
“Crap,” I muttered. “I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. It was me.” She forced a smile over her face, despite the fact she had a coffee stain over her blue shirt.
“Crap. I’m so sorry.” I set my purse down on my desk and rummaged around in it until I found one of those stain remover sticks. I turned and held it out to her.
“Thanks.” She took it from me and used it.
“It’s the least I could do.”
She raised an eyebrow as the stain started to fade. “I never actually believed these things worked.
“I didn’t for a long time, either.” She handed it back to me, and we fell into pace together,
“Hey, you’re the girl everyone is talking about, aren’t you?”
I snorted. She had a way of getting right to the point. “Yea.”
“I’m Kim; it’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Kim. I’m Melina, but you can call me Mel.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mel. It must be a pain in the ass having everyone talk about you.”
“You have no idea,” I muttered as we made our way out of the classroom.
I caught Rebecca staring at me; Sarah stood beside her, talking in a hushed tone. I took a deep breath.
It doesn’t matter, I told myself. Maybe if I told myself that enough I wouldn’t be hurt by the way Rebecca was acting.
“Honestly, it’s not even the talking about me that I mind ...” I’m not sure why I was opening up about it. “I have … err had this friend, and when it happened she just stopped talking to me.”
“Ouch.” Kim gave me a sympathetic smile. “Well, she’s stupid. Obviously, you didn’t go out of your way to piss her off by going on a date.”
“I didn’t even know who he was,” I admitted, my voice so soft I wasn’t sure if she heard me.
“Then that just shows how stupid your friend is. She’ll come around once she’s done being fussy over it.” Kim smiled. “But I’ve got to go; my next class is up three flights of stairs and at the other end of campus.”
“Oh, yea. Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you.”
“I didn’t mind at all.” Her eyes sparkled. “I’ll see you around, famous girl.”
I was surprised to feel myself smiling as she left, her brown hair bobbing up and down as she all but ran.
I’d never seen Kim in my class before, but I’d always been so busy with Rebecca, I never noticed anyone else.
That was nice. For the first time since getting to school today, I’d
felt like someone actually liked me, or like I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Hi, Melina,” Sarah said coming up behind me.
I took a deep breath. “Hey, what’s up?” I asked, walking away. If she wanted to talk, she could follow me.
“I was just wondering—do you want to get together this weekend? For lunch or something?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Rebecca challenged.
“Can’t. I’m not going to be around.” I gave them a smile, part of me wanting to brag about going to New York and the other part of me wanting to keep it a secret so they wondered.
“Oh.” Sarah sounded disappointed. “I was just hoping we could get together for lunch.”
“I’m sorry.” No, I wasn’t, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. “Maybe next weekend.”
“Sure.” But she still sounded defeated.
Sarah must have been done because she didn’t stay much longer. Rebecca fell back, even though we were in the same class, she must not have wanted to be seen with me.
I tried to tell myself it didn’t matter, but even I didn’t believe that.
Finally, I took a deep breath and turned to face her.
She came to a stop in front of me, surprise written all over her face.
“Look,” I snapped. “I get that you’re mad at me and all because I went on a date with some guy and you’re worried about the guy you’re into being heartbroken, but how long are you going to glare at me and give me the silent treatment?”
I didn’t want to fight with Rebecca, but her not speaking to me was worse than fighting. If we fought, we could get it all cleared up.
Rebecca clearly didn’t feel the same way. She raised an eyebrow and stepped past me without another word. It’s fine, I lied to myself. I took a couple of breaths before turning back towards the class and making my way to it, fighting back the urge to cry. It doesn’t matter.
I knew that was a lie too.
I tried to pretend that wasn’t the case, and as I made my way into the class, I almost believed it.
I sat down at the first empty seat I could find, pulled my laptop out of my bag and ignored everyone staring at me.
The Deal Page 81
