by J. S. Cooper
“No, I do not want him to take me to the bed after I’ve made a comment like that. That would just be because he thinks I’m begging for him to jump my bones.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Well, yes.” I laughed. “But I don’t want him to jump my bones because he thinks I’m some sort of sex fiend, begging to be taken and dominated by him.”
“He’s not going to think that,” Liv said. “Trust me.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not saying that. I’ll think of something.”
“Wear something sexy as well.”
“Liv, how am I going to wear something sexy? It’s not like I can wear some sexy teddy, since you’re going to be there as well.” I shook my head. “Liv, come on now.”
“I know, I know. I just want you guys to get together so badly.” She rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Could you imagine? We can go on double dates and on trips together.”
“That would be cool,” I agreed. “What does Xander think of all of this?”
“I don’t know.” She made a face. “I’m still upset that he told you not to tell me that Aiden is a Dom.”
“He’s just trying to protect you.”
“I guess, but I mean, come on, why can’t I know that my brother is a Dom?”
“Please don’t tell Xander I told you.” I was worried that Liv would tell Xander, and then Xander would be mad at me and then he wouldn’t provide me with any new information about Aiden. And I needed new information on Aiden as much as a coke addict needed coke, maybe even more than that. And I knew that Liv wasn’t going to be the provider of any real and useful information about her brother.
“I won’t.” She made a face. “Now back to your outfit—what are you going to wear?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to be too obvious. Especially because he has a girlfriend.”
“He doesn’t have a girlfriend. He just went on a few dates with that girl.”
“He went on a few dates?” I said quickly. “How do you know?”
“Well, I only know about the one,” Liv responded. “But I assume they went out more than once, right?”
“I guess.” I groaned. “Why does that ho have to be after my man?” I looked at Liv’s giggling face and groaned again. “I’m horrible, aren’t I? I bet she’s a great girl and here I am calling her a ho. She’s nothing like a ho.”
“Oh?”
“She went to Dartmouth for undergrad,” I said quickly. “And she has a pet dog and a hamster and she enjoys playing racquetball.”
“Huh?” Liv’s eyes widened. “How do you know all that?”
“Google is my friend.” I laughed. “Plus, she has a blog where she talks about her life.” I rolled my eyes. “And she has photos of Frodo, her hamster, and Blackie, her dog.”
“Please don’t tell me her dog is black.”
“He is.” I nodded and giggled. “Who calls their black dog Blackie?”
“So unoriginal,” Liv agreed. “She has to go. You’re much better for Aiden.”
“Yeah, right. I doubt he thinks so.”
“He’s an idiot,” she said and pulled out her phone as it beeped. “Okay, that was Aiden, he’ll be here at seven-ish.”
“Oh my God. What am I going to wear?” I squealed. “And does he know I’ll be here?”
“Of course he knows,” Liv said. “Where else would you be?”
“Yeah,” I said weakly. “Where else would I be?”
***
I waited at the coffee shop two blocks away from our apartment for Liv to text me to let me know that Aiden had arrived. We’d decided that I wouldn’t be at the apartment when he arrived. Instead, I’d arrive back home about thirty minutes after he arrived and talk about my hot date.
I have to admit I felt like a bit of a tart, sitting in the coffee shop in my short black mini-skirt and short white top, with my red push-up bra and high heels. I could see an old man in the corner of the store staring at me, his eyes moving up and down my body as if I were a fine piece of art that was to be looked over microscopically so that he didn’t miss any tiny details.
I sipped on my now-cold latte and stared at the screen on my phone, hoping that Liv would just hurry up and text me. Already I was regretting the lies I was going to be telling Aiden when I arrived back home. I wasn’t even sure he’d believe me. I mean, who goes for a date in a black mini skirt and arrives back home at 7:30 p.m.? I knew that when I arrived back home, he was either going to think I was a whore or a liar, and I wasn’t exactly pleased with either of those options.
“Good evening, ma’am.” A deep voice sounded next to me, and I looked up to see the old man standing beside me. I tried not to cringe as I smelled him and looked into his wrinkly face. He looked even older than I’d thought before. He was in his late sixties and had scraggly grey hair and a missing tooth.
“Hello,” I said lightly, my voice coming out as a squeak.
“How much, then?” He sat down in the chair across from me and winked.
“Sorry?” I frowned and turned my face slightly to the right. He really did smell bad, like rotten eggs.
“How much?” he said again and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. “What does twenty get me?”
“What does twenty get you?” I repeated dumbly. Yes, I just might be the dumbest and most immature twenty-two-year-old in the world.
“A blowjob or some titty action as well?” His voice lowered and I gasped.
“What?” I stood up, feeling enraged. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”
“Uhm?” He looked around with a somewhat frightened face, which I thought was ironic. Wasn’t I the one who should look frightened? He was the one coming up to me and acting as if I were a prostitute.
“Get out of here, you dirty old man!” I said more loudly, and I could see a young couple in the corner looking at us with big eyes and awkward smiles. Ugh! I was so annoyed that I grabbed my coffee and left the store. I was mad at myself for having gone along with Liv’s idea. It was stupid and I didn’t even think that Aiden would care if he thought I’d been on a date. On what sort of date would I be going out looking like a hooker, but making it home before 8 p.m.? Only a lame date, and what was there to be jealous of if the date sucked?
I got into my car and drove home feeling bummed. I turned on the radio and smiled as I heard “I’m Not the Only One” playing. I sang along with Sam Smith and tried to keep my mind off of how much my life was sucking. I wasn’t sure why I was so bad in relationships. I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t approach Aiden and just be normal. I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t just flirt and be honest. I think it had to do with my childhood, which seemed to be everyone’s story.
My father had left my mother and me when I was two. I couldn’t really even remember him, if I was honest. My mother had remarried when I was four and my stepfather had adopted me. He even treated me as if I were his kid, and I loved him and called him dad. However, I always wondered about my real dad. I hadn’t seen him since I was two. When he’d left, he’d never looked back. It hadn’t really hit me until I was fifteen. When I was fifteen, I decided I wanted to find him, so I looked him up online and was able to locate him. I’d called him and found out that he had a new family and two more children. He’d said he was going to call me back and we would go to dinner. He never called, but I didn’t give up. I called him back and he said he’d have me over for Sunday lunch to meet the family. He’d said to call him back in a few days to get the address. I’d called and the number had been disconnected and I’d never heard from him again. I hadn’t tried to make contact with him again either. I knew that deep inside of me there was pain that emanated from my father’s rejection, but I tried not to dwell on it. Instead, I tried to look at the bright side of life, the fun side of life. I tried to be goofy and to laugh and to just ignore the things that made me feel bad. However, now it wasn’t so easy.
My heart felt heavy as I pulled into a parking space and turned the ign
ition off. I think that being in a situation where you think you love someone and they don’t love you is most probably one of the hardest things in life. While I still had hope (for what are we without hope?), I didn’t necessarily think I had a good shot, no matter how much Liv tried to convince us both otherwise. Part of me felt like a fool with all the plans and tricks. I didn’t think they would work on Aiden. Not given our history. I didn’t think they would work, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t still going to try. Aiden had been a part of my heart since I could remember. He most probably didn’t even know how much he meant to me. He most probably didn’t realize that he was the reason why my heart had healed after my father’s rejection.
***
“I’m back from my date,” I squealed as I opened the door to the apartment, with a wide fake smile on my face. “He got me roses,” I called out giddily. If I was going to lie, I might as well play it up. Silence met my lies, and I frowned as I hurried through the corridor to the living room. “Liv?” I said in a confused voice, surprised that she wasn’t responding as planned. “Liv,” I said again as I entered the living room.
“She’s gone out,” Aiden said smoothly with a short smile from the couch. He was sitting there stiffly with an amused look on his face. “She asked me to wait as she had tried to call and text you, but you weren’t picking up.”
“Oh?” I frowned and looked at my phone. “I don’t have any missed calls.” I made a face and checked the screen again.
“I was there as she called you.” He shrugged and I sighed.
“I bet my service went out again.” I shook my head. “I’m going to change carriers, I’m so fed up of this crap. I’m always missing calls.”
“I thought maybe you were just ignoring her because of your hot date,” he said as he glanced at me curiously. My face was red with shame as I looked away from him. “So where are they, then?”
“Where are what?” I frowned as I looked back at him.
“The roses?”
“The roses?” I repeated dumbly, but I knew exactly what he was talking about. Me and my big mouth had remembered to pretend my date had given me flowers, but I’d forgotten to buy them at the grocery store on the way home.
“That your date gave you. What was his name again?”
“His name?” I squeaked.
“Yes, his name.” Aiden frowned. “Or you don’t want to tell me?”
“I, uh …” I swallowed hard, my mind going blank.
“Were you out with Scott?”
“Scott?” I made a face. “No, of course not.”
“Henry?”
“Henry, Xander’s brother?” I asked in surprise.
“Yes, the one and only. The guy you were flirting with all day at flag football.”
“I was not flirting with him.” I rolled my eyes and made a face at him.
“Don’t tell me you plan to slip into his bed as well.”
“How rude!” My jaw dropped. “I can’t believe that you would say that.” I peered into his azure blue eyes, and I could see remorse in his gaze.
“That was a low blow,” he said finally. “Sorry.”
“Yeah.” I stood there awkwardly. This was not going as planned at all. “Why are you still here?” I said curiously. “Liv is gone.”
“She figured we could still watch the movie together when you got in.”
“But you didn’t know when I’d be back.”
“I was willing to wait,” he said simply, and my stomach started flittering.
“Oh?” My heart jumped.
“Yeah, I wanted to watch this movie, and Elizabeth doesn’t do horror movies.”
“Oh,” I said and this time my heart dropped.
“I thought Liv and I would watch it, but you’ll do as well.”
“Oh, wow, how flattering.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll do, huh?”
“Yeah, you’ll do.” He laughed. “You going to sit or do you want to change first?”
“Change?” I raised an eyebrow at him as I caught him checking out my long expanse of leg.
“Yeah, change.” He raised an eyebrow back at me. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself otherwise.”
“Oh.” I blushed, but all I was thinking inside was, You don’t need to keep your hands to yourself.
“That’s an interesting outfit that you’re wearing to a first date.” He looked up to my heaving bosom. “A bit revealing, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” I said with a grin. “I had a guy ask me if I was a prostitute.”
“What?” He laughed.
“Well, he asked me what twenty dollars would get him.”
“Oh no!” He laughed again and then paused. “This wasn’t your date, was it?”
“Technically yes, it was the guy I met tonight,” I said and burst out laughing. It was true. The guy in the coffee shop was the only guy I had met tonight. He was as close to a date as I’d come.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He bit his lower lip to stop from laughing even more. “So maybe it wasn’t really a perfect date?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t a perfect date.” I sighed. “And there were no roses. I was just saying that so Liv wouldn’t feel bad for me.” I felt bad about lying, but I didn’t want him to know that I knew Liv wasn’t going to be there.
“I kinda figured that part out.” He grinned. “Go and change and let’s watch this movie and maybe we can change this night around.”
“Can we order pizza as well?” I asked hopefully, as my stomach grumbled.
“I think that can be arranged.” He nodded.
“Yay!” I felt like I was soaring as I stared at Aiden. This was going better than planned, and I had kinda extricated myself from my lie about my date. I knew I hadn’t come completely clean, but I figured I had admitted enough. “Pepperoni and—”
“Pepperoni and ham with onions,” he said, interrupting me and giving me a wink. “I know, Alice, trust me, I know.”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d remember,” I said with a shrug, though of course I was deliriously happy inside.
“You and Liv ordered pizza almost every weekend.” He rolled his eyes. “And you were both brats about not letting me choose what went on half of the pizza, so of course I remember.”
“Are you calling me a brat?” I asked, with my hand on my hip.
“What do you think?” he asked with a grin.
“I think you’re calling me a brat.” I wrinkled my nose at him and took a step forward.
“You got smarter in your old age.” He laughed and my eyes narrowed.
“I’m going to make you pay for that.” I took another step forward and raised my fists at him.
“Is this your way of trying to touch me, old lady?” He raised an eyebrow and I gasped. How had he known that I was hoping to cop a quick feel? Could he see from my expression that I was practically salivating at how sexy he looked?
“Haha, very funny. I’m not an old lady, and I don’t care about touching you.”
“Is that right?” He grabbed my arms and pulled me towards him. “That’s a pity.”
“What’s a pity?”
“That you don’t care about touching me,” he said lightly as his hands ran down my arm.
“Oh, why?” I breathed out, my heart about to jump out of my chest.
“Because I very much like being touched.” He winked and then stepped back. “Now go and change, and I’ll order the pizza. We don’t want to be up all night.”
“I don’t mind,” I whispered under my breath as I hurried out of the room. And I didn’t mind. Not at all. He could keep me up for twenty-four hours straight if he wanted to. Shit, thirty-six hours if he begged. I could picture him now, kissing my neck and pleading with me to stay awake so that he could have me one more time. How delicious would it feel to have his body against mine, on top of me, sliding himself inside of me? It would feel like heaven.
“Alice?”
“Uh, yes.” I looked around, my f
ace bright red.
“You okay? You were walking and then just stopped.”
“Oh, I’m fine.” I nodded. “Thanks.” I gulped and hurried out of the room to my bedroom. I needed to stop fantasizing about being with Aiden. I needed for us to either get together or not. I was acting like a fool because all I could think about was the sexual tension between us. I opened my closet and pulled out some tank tops and T-shirts. I didn’t know what to wear. I didn’t want to wear my Mickey Mouse T-shirt as that was too childish and unsexy, but I also didn’t want to wear a tight tank top and make him think that I was trying to turn him on. I also wasn’t sure whether to go braless or not. If it was just Liv and me, I wouldn’t have thought about it twice. My bra would have been off in seconds, but then I also wouldn’t have thought twice about putting on a T-shirt with cartoon characters on it when I was with Liv. I finally settled on a black wife-beater with a pushup bra (your breasts can never look too high and luscious) and a pair of black boy-shorts. Hey—I have long legs; I have to show them off. I did have to make a quick trip to the bathroom to give myself a quick dry shave because I could see the beginnings of hair stubble on my legs and I didn’t want Aiden running his hands over my calves and thinking he was touching bristle or something.
“Hey,” I said casually as I sauntered back into the living room and frowned as he said “Hey” back without even looking up at me. I’d just spent fifteen minutes applying makeup in order to look subtly beautiful and he wasn’t even going to look at me? Grr!
“Did you order the pizza?” I asked, standing in front of him.
“Yup,” he said as he played with his phone. I could feel my face growing hot as I stood there, feeling like a fool.
“Cool,” I said, not knowing what else to say. It’s not like I could say, Hey, Aiden, look at me. I look pretty right now and I want you to take in my hot body as I stand in the pose that I know elongates my neck and makes my stomach look flat. Of course I didn’t say that. I just stood there for a few more seconds before plopping down on the couch next to him and sitting back.
“Ready for the movie?” Aiden finally glanced at me before turning the TV on. He didn’t even look at me for five seconds. I was positive he hadn’t even noticed how blue my eyes looked with my new Lancome mascara.
