Page 48 of Not in My Book

He stood closely to me on the sidewalk even though the block was empty. My shoulders nearly brushed his arm with every step. “You’re just like everyone else. You have some superiority complex over vanilla.”

“That’s not true!” I paused, considering it. “It may be a little true, but what I said still stands.”

“Ask my father—I do anything but play it safe,” he muttered. He jutted his chin toward my cone. “What’s yours say about you?”

“You tell me.”

“Hmm.” He slipped his spoon in his mouth again, speaking against it. “Birthday cake flavor is a pretty bold choice.”

“Yeah, if your usual is vanilla.” I snorted.

Aiden studied me a moment. “I think it means you probably had a childhood with fun birthdays.”

“What’s in a cone? That which we call birthday cake ice cream would taste as sweet?”

“Not Shakespeare,” he groaned.

“What do you have against Shakespeare?” I gasped. “He was like the ultimate sad boy; shouldn’t he be, like, your God?”

He gave me a flat look. “Maybe yours, you romantic. I prefer other writers.”

“Okay, like who?”

“I love Hemingway—”

“Ugh.”

“I also like Austen.” He nudged my shoulder.

“You were able to stomach a romance? Where did you find the bravery to do it?”

“Shut up,Pride and Prejudiceis a classic.” He smiled warmly down at me, though. I was becoming addicted to his smiles, and I was willing to do whatever I needed to do to earn another one. “And who could resist Mr. Darcy?”

I laughed in delight. When we started walking down the residential blocks toward my apartment, the streets emptied out until we were practically alone. The sirens echoed off the buildings around us. Once or twice, a loud group stumbled past, but for the most part it was justus, and neither of us seemed to want to change that. Sometimes we stopped at the crosswalks even if there were no cars, making our walk unnecessarily longer. But whenever we crossed the street, Aiden would silently move to stand on the side of the oncoming traffic so I wouldn’t be in harm’s way. And when we walked down the street, he’d maneuver us so I stood closer to the buildings. It was truly the first time we’d enjoyed each other’s company as just Rosie and Aiden, without hiding anything in our written words.

“Hey,” he said, knocking my shoulder with his. “Thanks for tonight. Really.”

I bumped his shoulder right back. “What’re coauthors for?”

“I rarely ever see my dad even though he lives in the city. But when I do, it usually goes a lot worse than that.” He rubbed his jaw, turning away from me.

“Why is he so hard on you? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Aiden hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “He was the founder of a tech startup that got pretty popular in the financial world. He decided when I was younger that I would follow in his footsteps and is upset that I’m refusing to do so.”

He tossed his cup in a nearby trashcan while I lifted the bottom tip of my cone to my mouth.

“How’d he react when you told him you wanted to be a writer?”

“Poorly.” He gave me a deadpan look, as if that were obvious. “How did your parents react?”

“I think they knew from the start.” I took another bite of the tip of my cone. “I always loved to read. I wouldn’t even go to parties in high school without a book in my bag. I studied English during undergrad, too. I think it was inevitable.”

“Do you miss them?” His hands were tucked in the pockets of his peacoat, his head once again tilted toward me. From the corner of my eye, I admired his profile. How had I been able to resist him for so long? How could he have been sitting across from me all of this time, and all I noticed was his peacoat?

It was so unfair that someone so annoying got to bethisattractive. I was trying with all my might not to be turned on by him, but I knew the more time I spent with him the harder it would become. I couldn’t force myself to stop, though.

“Every day,” I said. “Leaving was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I had to do it. I haven’t seen them since I left.” I shrugged, feeling another wave of homesickness. “SometimesallI do is miss them.”

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