Page 92 of Not in My Book

I could barely see him. Alexa had thin curtains covering her windows, but they weren’t closed all the way and the light from a nearby apartment building seeped through. Some of the light landed above his face, but the room was still clouded in darkness.

He clicked his tongue, grinning. “You know, ever since your family arrived, you’ve developed a southern accent.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“No, I haven’t,” he repeated in an exaggerated southern accent. “You’ve said ‘y’all’ at least a million times.”

“It’s a common term.”

“It’s cute.” He hesitantly reached forward and brushed my hair away from my face, then pushed it behind my shoulder. His hand trailed down the length of my arm softly, goosebumps rising in its wake. “I can see why you like romance so much,” he whispered. “If I had parents that in love, I probably would too.”

I smiled. “They’ve always been my proof that true love exists. They’re not perfect, trust me, but they really do love each other. They found each other despite growing up in completely different cultures and countries.”

“I like them.”

“They like you, too. I can tell.” I was quiet for a moment. “This has been the best Christmas of my life,” I said honestly.

“Me too, Rosie,” he said into the darkness. “The absolute best.”

The next morning, my pillow was stiff. I frowned and, with my eyes still closed, started to slap it to fluff it up.

“Ow.”

I froze. Slowly, I pried my eyes open to discover my pillow was not a pillow, but Aiden’s chest. His arm was slung around my body, with his hand dangerously close to my ass. My arm wrapped around his waist, snuggling into him.

“Oh my God,” I said when I saw the drool that had gotten on Aiden’s shirt.

“What?” he murmured. His eyes opened to meet mine, then widened. “Oh.”

I disentangled our legs and pushed myself out of the bed. “Jesus,” I said. “Oh my God. I’m sorry. I’msosorry, I don’t know—”

“It’s okay, Rosie.”

“Idrooledon you,” I said, wincing. “I’m so sorry. I’ll wash your shirt.” My face flamed with mortification. Typical me to drool on someone I had a crush on. Even worse, it wasmewho’d been snuggling with Aiden, not the other way around. He was on his side of the bed, but I was all over him.

“It’s not a big deal, Rosie, I promise.” He rolled onto his back, his forearm resting on his forehead. His lips were pressed together, trying to suppress a laugh. A new wave of embarrassment washed over me.

Panic began to set in my chest, so I moved toward the bedroom door, falling over myself.

“I’m going to take a shower,” I said abruptly, grabbing my clothes.

“Rosie, c’mon, it’s okay,” he called after me, but I was already halfway out the door.

Once I had taken the world’s longest and coldest shower, I pressed my ear against my bathroom door to hear if anyone was up. I reached for the doorknob but paused at the sound of Aiden’s laughter.

I opened the door just a crack and heard my mom and Aiden chattering away. I couldn’t see them, but I could clearly make out each word.

“This was Rosie’s first ballet recital,” my mom said.

“I didn’t know she danced.”

“She doesn’t.” My mom laughed. “When she was a little, I tried to teach her the marinera, but she couldn’t ever do it. And you know Rosie, she’s stubborn, so now she flat out refuses to dance.”

I could hear the smile in Aiden’s voice. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She must’ve been showing him old pictures of me on her phone. I leaned next to the door, my head resting on the wall. It was calming to hear Aiden talking like this, like he wasn’t on guard.

“Can I ask you something?” he said.

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