Page 10 of The Road to Finding Us

He finally lets me pass him and I get halfway across the living room before I notice that he’s following me.

“Thanks for the welcome back—asshole.” I watch the corners of his mouth lift up, shooting him the evil eye as I slowly back up toward the bedroom.

“Did you want a welcome party?” His hand raises to rub at the short strands of his buzzed hair. It’s something he’s constantly doing, and it annoys the hell out of me. I’ve told him on numerous occasions.

“A simple hello would’ve been nice.” There’s a solid thump when the backs of my legs run into an end table. In my attempt to get away from him, I didn’t pay any attention to where I was going.

“Hello,” he retorts with his normal arrogant tone. His hands find his pockets as he stops a few feet away from me.

I roll my eyes and let out a long breath. I’ve been in his presence for less than five minutes and he’s already grinding my gears. “Oh, don’t pretend now,” I fire back, bracing myself against the end table. My fingers almost knock over a framed picture of Maverick and Selma at our senior prom.

Aspen’s hands stay in his pockets as he takes a step closer to me. We’re close at this point—too fucking close for my liking. The look on his face is unreadable, and part of me wants to question why he’s gone from hot to cold. I actually enjoyed talking to him—getting to know him. Now all I want to do is knee him in his favorite appendage.

“Why are you here, Lily Bear?” He cocks his head, waiting for my response. With his proximity, I’m able to see the faint freckles that scatter over his face. They were darker when he came back from summer break in August, but even though summer is long gone and the winter chill is still in the air, they’re still barely there.

“My brother lives here, dumbass,” I snap at him.

I spy the humor in his green eyes. He runs a hand over his mouth, trying to hide his smile, the perfect dimple on his chin making an appearance. “I’m well aware,” he rasps.

“Then why are you asking a stupid question?” I cross my arms over my chest.

His eyes follow my movements before he looks up at me. “I was asking a simple question.”

“I already told you, I’m waiting on Selma to find her shoes.” I carefully walk around him and plop down on the soft gray couch, leaving him standing by the end table alone.

“Would you like company?” he asks.

My gaze snaps to him. I can feel my eyebrows pull together on my forehead in confusion. “Over my dead body.” I look at the space between his eyes, unwavering under his stare.

Aspen shakes his head, and the confident smirk that’s basically permanently attached to his face makes an appearance.

“Found them!” Selma exclaims, bounding out of the room she shares with my brother. She braces herself against the couch and slips one shoe on at a time.

“Oh, hi, Aspen,” she says cheerily.

He gives her a warm smile and hello—a way warmer greeting than he’s ever given me.

“Ready?” Selma asks me, once both tennis shoes are secured on her feet.

I groan. Now that I’ve sat here on the couch, getting up to go work out is the very last thing I want to do. I’m thinking about telling her I’ll just wait for her here, but then my eyes meet Aspen’s. The thought of being alone with him here has me flying off the couch so fast. “Yep!” I say, purposely bumping my shoulder against Aspen’s on my way to the door.

With no warning, he reaches out and grabs me by the elbow. The unexpected touch jolts me, his warm fingers digging deep into my skin. “See you tonight, Lily Bear.” He makes sure to emphasize the nickname he gave me a year ago. One I despise with every part of me.

I pull my elbow from his grip, not bothering to give him a response—or the satisfaction of seeing the look on my face.

All I do is follow Selma out the front door, trying my best to ignore the way I can still feel his fingers against my skin.

6

Aspen

Present

“Are four bags really necessary?” After I pull the sunglasses off my face, I get a better look at the pile of bags Lily is gathering at the top of her apartment stairs.

She gives me a dirty look, resting her elbow against the railing. “Shut up,” she says with sass, quickly reaching out to stop the bag on top of the pile from falling all the way down the stairs.

I climb the steps two at a time to reach the one in front of her. “How long are you planning on being gone?” I question, as I move the lighter bags from the top. Once the small bags are out of the way, I grab the handles for the two large suitcases and walk them down the stairs.

---