Page 32 of Not in My Book

The waitress brought out the dessert soon enough. When Aiden dove in for a piece of cake, my spoon clanked against his, stealing it. He paused at this, but when I did it a second time his gaze flew up to mine.

I popped the spoon in my mouth, giving him a cheeky smile. Something flashed in his eyes and then he stole the next bite from me.We continued to battle it out and when Aiden shoved my napkin off my lap to distract me while he snatched the next bite, I gasped.

“Cheater.”

He stuck the spoon in his mouth and said, as close to playful as Aiden got, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

When the waitress came with our check, I put up a valiant fight to pay. “Let me,” I said, reaching for the black book.

Aiden was unamused, not even looking up from the check. “We’ve already discussed this.”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“No.”

“Please, I want to—”

“Fine.” Aiden snapped the black book closed and slid it over to me. “Go for it.”

I slowly flipped it open, my eyes widening at the number at the bottom of the receipt. “You know, I was thinking about it and maybe it’s best—”

He rolled his eyes once again and snatched it back from me.

Later, as we walked home, the same silence that had haunted us for most of the night reappeared. It wove around us, between skyscrapers and city lights, to wrap us fully in discomfort.

“Tonight was …” I paused, trying to find the right word. I looked up into the night sky, trying to find the politest way to say disaster.

“We’ll make it better in the chapter,” he said as we stopped in front of my apartment building. “Writing’s in the revisions, yeah?”

To fully meet his gaze, I had to crane my neck. I tried not to let the atmosphere get to me, but God he was handsome in this surprisingly rugged way. In the way his eyebrows stayed furrowed and complemented the darkness of his hair but contrasted the lightness of his eyes. His nose was slightly crooked but it only made him look even moreperfect.Sometimes when I looked at him I was sure somebody just like him had been the inspiration for Clark Kent.

We stood there, our breaths visible in the cold, the white puffs as prominent as the silence we were entrenched in. I believed anything could be romantic if you looked at it in the right light. Butthiswas not romantic. We waited for the other to say something that gave us an escape. He shifted his weight, looking toward my building, andI pulled my coat around me, looking at the ground. Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore and shoved my hands in my coat pockets.

“Well, I’ll see you next week.” I awkwardly turned around and rushed into the building.

“¿Por quéestás aquí?” Alexa demanded when I entered the apartment. “You should be at his place. Naked.”

“We already did that,” I said sarcastically, walking to the kitchen. I pulled a glass out from the cabinet and ran it under the tap.

“Ha ha, very funny. How was it?”

“Exactly what I expected.” I gulped down the water. “Horrible, awkward, painful.” Sure, there were afewmoments that didn’t make me want to die. But how was I supposed to write those moments knowing Aiden would read it? “I can’t imagine it helping to inspire anything for our chapter.”

She smiled. “I’m sure something will come through.”

After I took off my makeup and threw on some sweats, I checked my phone and scrolled through the millions of texts from the group chat.

Logan:i’m telling you guys she’s at his place

Jess:or dead

Logan:don’t say that!!!!

Jess:it’s a real possibility. we don’t really know aiden

Tyler:To be fair, none of us really try to talk to him.

Logan:oh pls, that’s bc he scares us

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