Page 57 of Not in My Book

“You didn’t know,” I said quietly. “I mean, it sucks that youdidsay it. But you haven’t since we started being friends. And besides, I make fun of literary fiction all the time.”

His face screwed up. “That’s different.”

“It’s not.”

“I didn’t knowotherpeople were making fun of you for romance. God, you must’ve thought I was exactly like that asshole this whole time.”

I frowned. “We were mean to each other. But we’re done with that now. I like hanging out with you too much.”

Aiden smiled, and my breath caught in my chest. “I like hanging out with you, too.”

I was theworstversion of myself when I had a crush on someone. I couldn’t control my words or actions, both of which ended up coming off too strong and too cringey. It was like my mind became its own person with one goal in mind.

So, really, I couldn’t be blamed when I couldn’t stop talking about him.

“Aiden really liked that line, though,” I said to Ida as I sat in her office. I had rewritten a recent chapter and wanted to get Ida’s opinion on it.

“Okay, keep it then if you both like it,” she murmured, continuing to read on her screen. “You know, maybe Hunter’s best friend could also be into Maxine? Create some tension there.”

I frowned. “There’s no way Aiden would be open to introducing a love triangle. He’s already hesitant about the main romance as it is.”

Ida pushed her laptop screen down and glared at me. “Stop talking about Aiden. This is your book, too.”

“I know that,” I said defensively, crossing my arms across my chest.

“You’ve used his name in every single sentence since you walked in here.”

“Not true.” Ida gave me a deadpan, until I relented and said, “It’syourfault! You wanted the two of us to be friends!”

“Because I thought it would bring peace to my daily life but turns out you’re just as bad as friends.” She paused, studying me. “Is there something going on between you two?”

“No!” I nearly shouted. I cleared my throat and regrouped. “No. Nothing. We’re just … friends. We’ve been getting to know each other and spending a little bit more time together.”

“Uh-huh.” Ida bit back a smile, pushing her screen up.

“It’s true,” I insisted.

“I’m sure.”

I rolled my eyes, settling back in my seat. “Are you done antagonizing me or can we go over the chapter?”

“I think it’s looking good. Are you two ready to submit your pages for the midterm?”

“Nearly. The last chapter Aiden wrote kinda of screwed up my plan, so I need to fix that, but we’re close to done with our first half.”

“Perfect. And the fellowship piece? It’s due early January,” she reminded me.

“It’s going well,” I said excitedly. “I keep rereading it, and I think I’m almost ready to submit it, but something still feels a little off about it to me.”

“Well, you already know I think it’s great. But maybe a different set of eyes would serve you well?”

There was one obvious person to be that second set of eyes. Aiden knew my voice better than anyone by now, and I was sure his feedback would help me take the piece to the next level. I just had to work up the courage to ask.

“I missed you,” Maxine said, walking further into the room. My heart was pounding, a loud rush in my ears, but I hung onto her every word like she hung the moon.

“You missed me?”

“Don’t act so surprised. We’re friends now. Honestly, you might be my best friend.”

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