“I should really get my things inside,” I said, all too eager to get as far away from Aiden as possible. I jumped from the truck, and Aiden grabbed my duffel bag from the back seat.
“I can take that,” I said as he came around the truck with my bag in his hand.
He slung it over his shoulder though and smiled at me. “It’s fine. I’ve got it.”
“Right, okay.” I turned and hurried into the house.
I wasn’t sure why Aiden’s presence was making me feel so out of sorts. He still irritated the crap out of me. That certainly hadn’t changed. But it felt like the lines between us had blurred recently. I was starting to like the way he flirted with me, and his silly jokes made me smile. The more time I spent with him, the more I could see the kindness in his heart. Yes, he was still an arrogant player, but there was more to him than that, and I hated that he made me so confused.
Aiden followed me to my room and placed my bag inside the doorway.
“So, I’ve decided on the second part of my favor,” he said.
I folded my arms over my chest as he lifted his gaze to me. “You said bringing the dress here was your favor.”
“No, I said it was part of my favor.”
My stomach tensed with concern. There was a sense of eagerness in his eyes that had me worried. “That sounds like two favors.”
“No, it’s definitely one. Just like taking you to your house and bringing you home was one favor even though it had two parts.” His smile was cheeky, and I got the feeling there was no arguing my way out of this. He was clearly up to something, and normally, I would have felt suspicious about his intentions for me. Instead, I felt intrigued.
My eyes narrowed on him as I replied. “Okay, your reasoning might be totally flawed, but I’ll bite. What is the rest of this supposed two-part favor?”
His eyes lit with triumph. “I’m going to need you to put your prom dress back on.”
“What? Why would I do that?”
“Because I asked and it’s the second part of the favor.”
I’d only just taken the dress off. Why did I need to put it on again? “This is ridiculous,” I muttered.
“Just put it on and meet me downstairs in the living room once you’re ready.”
He disappeared out the door before I could question him further. He was making no sense, and his two-part favor seemed like a total waste. He was getting me to do something I’d already done earlier.
I blew out a breath and closed my bedroom door before I went to put the dress back on. If this was all he wanted for a favor, I might as well go through with it. If anything, it felt like I was getting off lightly.
As I put my prom dress back on, I smiled at myself in the mirror. I’d been so uncertain about wearing red for prom, but my mom had insisted the color was amazing on me. Looking at it now, I had to agree. I wished she could see me wearing it, with all my makeup done. Even my current hairstyle seemed to match. It was up in a ponytail, which showed off the low-cut back of the dress.
I strapped my feet back into my heels before making my way downstairs. I was hesitant to show Aiden the dress again. His reaction at my house had left me unsettled. His eyes had widened when he saw me, and there had been heat in his gaze as he’d slowly looked over the dress. When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse, and his words made my heart race.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever forget the way he told me I was the most beautiful girl in the world. I wanted to deny it, but a part of me also wanted to believe him. I might have scrubbed up okay, but I knew what he’d said was far from the truth. My only explanation was that perhaps lockdown had addled his brain. He hadn’t seen any other girls in weeks, and maybe it was affecting his judgment.
I walked into the living room, but Aiden was nowhere to be seen. I stood by the open door for several minutes waiting for him before I gave up and took a seat on the sofa. I had no idea what he was doing, but if he didn’t come find me soon, I was going to march back up to my room and take off the dress—favor or not. As time dragged on, I felt more and more ridiculous sitting on the couch like I’d been stood up by my date on the night of prom.
A whistle drew my attention to the doorway, and I jumped from my seat when I saw Elliot staring at me with large eyes.
“Damn, MJ, you look banging.”
I really wished he wouldn’t say stuff like that, but I smiled because it was probably the closest Elliot could get to saying I looked pretty. “Thanks, Mini Moore.”
He shook his head, like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The longer he looked at me though, the more embarrassed I felt. Yes, my makeup was done and I was dressed up, but I was still the same girl he’d played video games with a couple of days ago.
I cleared my throat. “Any chance you know what your brother is up to?”
“No idea. He told me to stay in my room.”
I laughed. “And you clearly didn’t listen.”
“Clearly.” His smile was full of mischief, causing cute dimples to form in his cheeks. I bet all the girls in his year at school were crushing on him badly. I remembered they had all been obsessing with Aiden at a similar age. They still were.
“I thought I told you to stay in your room.” I turned to find Aiden descending the staircase. He was dressed in a tux, and my mouth went dry at the sight. Aiden was heartbreakingly handsome on an average day, but when he wore a tux, I could finally see why the girls at school all thought he was a god. He looked powerful, almost too attractive to look at directly. His chest filled out his suit in all the right places, and the loose collar at his neck gave him a slightly disheveled look.
I was speechless as he came toward us, only finding my voice as he stopped in front of me. “What are you wearing?” My voice croaked the words out, and my heart fluttered rapidly. I normally managed to overlook how handsome Aiden was, but right now, I could barely breathe. For once, his flirtatious smile was slightly nervous and his eyes were hesitant. He looked like a prince who had stepped right out of a fairy tale.
“This is my prom outfit,” he replied. “It seemed appropriate seeing as tonight is our iso-prom.”
“Iso-prom?”
“Yeah, prom in isolation. I was hoping you’d be my date…”
I’d only ever seen him look this insecure and apprehensive once before. It was the day he’d asked me out freshman year. I hadn’t been able to say yes because I was dating someone else. There was no boyfriend holding me back this time though. And, for once, I didn’t think he was joking.
“So, what do you say?” he asked. He slowly pulled a hand out from behind his back and revealed a corsage. The flower was a slightly lopsided daisy that looked like it had been plucked from the garden and tied together with some string. It was obviously a last-minute job, but it was just about the most beautiful thing anyone had ever given me.
I smiled warmly at him and reached out to take the flower. “I’d love to.” It was far too easy to say yes to him, and I was surprised by how much I wanted to say it.
He grinned widely and moved closer so he could tie the corsage around my wrist. Once Aiden was standing close to me, I could smell the heady scent of his aftershave. His hands were warm and slightly unsteady as he lightly linked the string to my wrist and moved the flower into place.
“There,” he murmured.
I smiled and looked up at him. The static energy that always seemed to zap between us had gone into overdrive, and my whole body buzzed at his proximity. I didn’t totally hate the feeling.
“I get to come to iso-prom too, right?”
I’d almost forgotten Elliot was in the room with us, and at the sound of his voice, I quickly stepped back from Aiden. Elliot didn’t seem to have noticed the moment I’d just shared with his brother. Instead, he was staring at Aiden with hope in his eyes. He seemed so eager to be a part of this, and I knew I’d feel bad if we didn’t let him join.
Aiden chuckled. “Sure, you can join us. But first, I’m going to need you to take a photo of me
with my date.”
Aiden threw his phone to Elliot before he moved in closer and lightly placed one of his hands on my back. My dress was backless, so his fingers brushed against my skin, making it tingle.
“Smile for the camera,” Aiden whispered in my ear. I shivered as I felt his breath against my neck but somehow managed to ignore the feeling and compose myself as I smiled.
Elliot pointed the camera lens in our direction. “Say Elliot is the best!”
“Elliot’s got no chest,” Aiden replied happily.
I laughed and glanced up at him. Even when Aiden was dressed impeccably and posing seriously for a picture, he couldn’t help but misbehave.
He grinned as he caught my eye. “What? It’s the truth.”
I shook my head before turning to his brother once more. “Did you get the picture?”
“Oh, I got it,” Elliot replied, with a grin, before he turned the phone toward me. He’d snapped the picture when I was looking up at Aiden and laughing, and he was grinning down at me. The photo was fun and natural, and anyone who didn’t know us would have thought we were a couple. It showed how deceptive pictures could be. Still, it was a really cute photo.
“I’m going to get changed,” Elliot said, passing the phone back to Aiden. “Don’t start iso-prom without me!” He bolted from the room before either of us could respond.
Aiden had his eyes locked on his phone and wasn’t paying attention.
“Can you send that to me?” I asked, nodding at the picture that was still displayed on the screen. “I think my mom would like to see us all dressed up for iso-prom.”
“Sure.” His fingers flashed across the screen before he looked up at me. “Done,” he replied. “Now, for stage two of iso-prom. It wouldn’t be prom if we didn’t sneak a little alcohol.”
He opened his jacket and pulled out a hipflask. He knocked back a sip before offering it to me.
“I guess one shot won’t hurt.” I took the flask and sniffed it. A sweet, tangy smell greeted me. “Do I even want to know what’s in here?”
Aiden laughed at the expression on my face. “All I could find in Mom’s cupboard was peach schnapps, so it’s really not too bad.”
I nodded and took a small sip from the flask. The peach flavor was nice, but the liquid still burned as it went down my throat. I passed the flask straight back to Aiden. “Okay, stage two is complete. Now what?”
“Now, my lady, if you would like to come with me…” He held out an elbow, and I linked my hand through it. It was a little old-fashioned, but I kind of liked how seriously he was taking it.
“Where are we going?”
“The grand ballroom,” he replied.
“Oh, of course, I should have known.”
Aiden shot me a smirk before he started down the corridor that led past the stairs. He guided me toward the back of the house, which was an area I hadn’t ventured into yet. I just thought it led to his mom’s bedroom, so I hadn’t bothered to explore it. But, as Aiden opened the door ahead of us, I jerked to a stop.
The room before me was large and completely dominated by a projector screen that took up one entire wall. Thick curtains covered the windows, and a huge sofa sat in the middle of the room. There was even a small bar area across the back wall. I couldn’t believe I didn’t know this was in the house.
I glanced up at Aiden. “You have a home theatre?”
He laughed as he took in my surprised expression. “And I thought you’d be more impressed with the decorations than the projector screen.”
As I looked back at the room, I noticed the decorations he was talking about. They consisted of three sad-looking balloons that had “iso-prom” scrawled across them in black marker.
“Well, the decorations are pretty impressive,” I replied.
“I definitely thought so.”
He let go of my arm as we entered the room and went over to a laptop sitting on a table near the projector. He fiddled around with it for several moments before soft music started playing through the speakers. Hearing the music made me suddenly nervous. Prom wasn’t just about dressing up for the night. There was so much more to it than that. And as I stared at Aiden, I realized that when it came to dancing there wasn’t much choice in partners.
The projector screen flickered to life, pulling my attention away from Aiden. I walked farther into the room to get a better look at it and gasped when I saw a video call was displayed on the screen. There were little boxes all over the screen, and within each box were friends from school. They were all dressed in their prom dresses and suits.
“Say hello to everyone,” Aiden said, facing his laptop toward me.
I laughed and waved at the camera. “Hey, everyone!”
A series of greetings all echoed out of the speakers, along with a squeal that could only belong to Zoey. I grinned when I finally found her face on the screen. She still had her prom makeup on from her tutorial this morning and was wearing her hot pink prom dress. She looked gorgeous. I continued looking over the screen, searching for the rest of my friends. Most of my girlfriends were there, and so were almost all the guys Aiden was friends with as well as other seniors.
It felt like more than half our class was on the call. I walked over to the laptop and pressed the mute button so I could talk to Aiden. “Who exactly did you invite to this?” I asked. “And when on Earth did you put this together?”
“Well, I invited everyone at school. And I put this together while you were packing up your room.”
“You rounded up all these people for an iso-prom in one afternoon?”
He laughed. “You say that like it’s hard.”
“It is hard.”
“Not for me.”
I shook my head before focusing on the screen. I knew Aiden had influence at school, but this was something else. There wasn’t one other person in our class who could gather this many people in such a short space of time.
As I looked at the faces on the screen, I realized our friends weren’t alone. Some were with their siblings while others had gotten their parents involved. Aiden wasn’t the only one with sad-looking balloons and decorations. Zoey had covered her bedroom in so many streamers I couldn’t even see her bed.
“Right,” Aiden said, unmuting our end of the call once more. “I sent everyone the playlist. Don’t forget to put all your mics on mute, and let’s get this iso-prom started!”
I watched as everyone stepped away from their laptops and started dancing in front of their screens. Everyone was doing something different. One girl was dancing with her dad, and the boy in the box next to her was practically tripping over his younger siblings as they spun around. There was a girl who had a life-size cardboard cutout of Shawn Mendes, and I noticed Zoey was dancing with her cat. I quickly looked away when I spotted one of Aiden’s friends dancing with a blow-up doll, which I really wished I hadn’t seen.
The moment felt bittersweet. This was the only prom we were going to get, and it could never compare to the real thing. People were laughing as they danced with their families though. Some had their phones out and seemed to be talking with their friends. While this was different from the prom we’d all been looking forward to, it wasn’t bad.
As I looked over at Aiden, he smiled. His hair had fallen across his eyes, and, in the suit he was wearing, he looked like a wicked Prince Charming. This definitely wasn’t the prom I imagined. Never in my wildest dreams would I have pictured going with Aiden or dancing with him. I certainly couldn’t have imagined him looking at me the way he was right now.
“Will you dance with me?” Aiden asked, offering out a hand.
I nodded and slowly stepped toward him. His skin was warm as he took hold of me, and my fingers tingled in his grasp. My stomach tightened as he pulled me closer to him and lifted my arms so they were wrapped around his neck. My heart was racing as he rested his hands on my hips. We weren’t even dancing yet, and already it felt like too much.
We slowly started to move to the beat
of the music, but my heart was rapidly pulsing out of sync. I didn’t know where to look, so I settled my gaze straight ahead on the small sliver of skin peeking out of the collar of Aiden’s shirt. It seemed safer than looking up into his eyes.
“So, what do you think of iso-prom?” he asked.
The tightness in my chest eased at his words. Dancing together felt far too intimate. Talking made it all feel a little less surreal.
“It’s great. And I still can’t believe you organized this so fast.” I glanced up and found him smiling down at me.
“It would have been quicker if I hadn’t had to decorate.”
I laughed and eyed the sad-looking balloons. “Yes, well, I’m glad you took the time. The balloons are the best part.”
“Are they? I hoped dancing with me would be the highlight.”
I swallowed and tried to ignore the alluring tone in his voice and hint of playfulness in his eyes. Aiden was like a flirt machine whose basic programming always reverted to seduction mode. He couldn’t seem to help it.
I had to wonder if Aiden’s charm was starting to work its magic on me, because the more time I spent with him, the more I had to remind myself how much he annoyed me and how I wasn’t supposed to like him. Right now was one of those times, and I was really struggling to remember why I’d ever disliked him in the first place.
“You must think your dance moves are pretty good if you believe that,” I finally replied.
His lips lifted in a half-smile. “Never had any complaints about my moves before.”
I got the feeling he wasn’t just talking about his dancing.
The door to the room burst open, and I jumped out of Aiden’s arms as I turned toward the sound.
“I’m here, party people!” Elliot announced.
He was dressed in a bright blue suit that was covered in drawings of fluffy, white clouds. I let out a laugh. “What are you wearing?”
Stuck with You Page 14
