Page 21 of Not in My Book

I could basically see him dragging his hand down the side of his face as he groaned. It was strange how well I knew Aiden, even though I hated him. I’d spent so long sitting across from him I could picture him so clearly now. “They were short one chaperone, and she said if they didn’t get another they’d have to cancel.”

“Aww. And you volunteered? That’s so—”

“Please don’t say romantic.”

“Romantic,” I sighed. I fell back onto my bed, the springs creaking. “Who knew Aiden Huntington was such a romantic?”

“Don’t say that.” I bet he was scowling. “My hands were tied.”

“So, like a valiant romance hero, you stepped forward and defended your cousin’s honor and saved her middle school dance.”

“Or I sacrificed a few hours of my life to stand with a bunch of sweaty preteens in a gym listening to Taylor Swift.”

“Hey, take out the preteens and gym, and that’s my kind of night.”

A laugh, that shouldn’t really count as a laugh but instead was a harsh exhale, surprised me. Since when did Aiden Huntington laugh? It made him seem sohuman, and I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to know more about him. I sat up to inspect the polish on my toes, testing to see if they were dry. “Do you really take your mom’s calls?” I asked casually.

“I did,” he said softly. He cleared his throat and said, “Why are you working on our pages on Thanksgiving weekend?”

My throat tightened as unexpected tears sprung in my eyes. Thanksgiving had been this past Thursday, and I hadn’t been able to swing a flight. I was still holding out hope for Christmas, though.

“Do you have siblings?” I blurted out, ignoring his question. Despite working together on our manuscript for nearly two months, I felt like I didn’t know anything about him.

“Rosalinda,” he warned. I knew what he was thinking. He didn’t want to give me ammo for my next chapter.

“I’m not trying to use it against you. I just don’t know anything about you,” I confessed. I picked at a stray string in my white comforter. “Isn’t that weird? I hate you, but I don’t know anything about your life.”

“Hate, huh?”

“Dislike,” I conceded. “I didn’t know you saved middle school dances. You’ve been promoted from hate to dislike, congratulations.”

He laughed fully this time and warmth blossomed in my chest. The last thing I ever expected was for Aiden’s laugh to make me feel like the drive home after a long day. I hated the part of me that wanted to see the smile paired with this laugh. Did he tip his head back? Shake his head?

“No siblings,” he said softly. “Just me. What about you?”

“I’ve got a sister,” I said. “A year and a half younger than me.” I was tempted to tell him how homesick I was. How she was my best friend in the entire world, and I had felt so lost these past two years without her.

“What made—” He was cut off by sounds of children’s laughter. “Hey! Is that a vape? Get over here.” His authoritative tone was enough to scaremeover the phone. “I’ve got to go, Rosalinda. I’ll write the next chapter soon.”

He hung up without another word, and I ignored the small part of me that wanted to call him again just to hear his laugh.

I’d been avoiding Ida’s office hours ever since The Incident ™, worried I had forever ruined my relationship with her.

I stood in front of her office door, trying to gain the courage to go in. Usually, I entered without preamble and got right to it, but I was so nervous now that I did something I hadn’t ever done before: I knocked on her door.

After her soft “Come in,” I opened the door and stepped into her office. She looked up from her papers, eyebrows raised.

“Rosie, I’m surprised to see you. You haven’t stopped by in a long time.”

I hesitantly took a seat in the chair opposite her desk, running my hands against my skirt to wipe the sweat off.

“I know. I just … I want to say I’m sorry for what happened. With Aiden. I swear we’re being nice to each other now.”

“Rosie,” she said softly. “I’m not mad at you. I just have to set boundaries within the workshop so you two don’t set a precedent for what’s acceptable. But you and I are fine, okay?”

I nodded. “Thank you. Because Ididhave a lot of questions for you.”

She smiled. “I’d expect nothing less. Do you have the chapter you’re going to workshop for next class? Let me see what we’re working with.”

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