Page 97 of The Enemy of My Enemy Is… My Fake Boyfriend?

"Oh, God. Knowing Chase, he must have hated that."

"He fuckingdespisedit."

"And that was just the beginning. Our English teacher, Mr. Reynolds, started playing favorites, for some reason taking a liking to me while barely acknowledging Chase."

She shivered, and I squeezed her tight to me. "Wow, I can only imagine how that must have gone over."

"Exactly," I agreed. "And then the worst part was when I got into this stupid little secret club and he didn't. That night was when... well, that's when all hell broke loose."

"What happened?"

I swallowed hard against the awful memory, something I'd never told another soul until now. "Chase came over to my room and lost his fucking mind. He was so damn pissed that they accepted me and not him. And that's when he grabbed my mix tape—he knew where I kept it—and he shattered it, stomped on it, tore it all to pieces right in front of me.It was like he was destroying the last piece of my parents I had left."

"I'm so sorry, Ethan. So, so sorry," Aria said softly, her sweet empathy warming the harsh edges of my past.

"It's okay," I said, actually meaning it. I took her hand and held tightly to her. "Despite everything, I wouldn't change a thing. Because now I have you. And you've helped me heal in ways I never thought possible."

I felt moisture against my shoulder, and I didn't think it was saliva. And then there was a telltale sniffle.

Pulling away, I tried to study her face to get a read on her emotions, but it was impossible. "Are you crying?" I asked.

She sniffed again, wiping at her face. "Nope. Not crying. That was drool."

I laughed, feeling lighter than I had in years. "So you'd rather admit to drooling on me than confess to crying?" I teased.

"Yep. It was drool."

With a smile on my face, I held her for a long time, so long I wondered if she'd fallen asleep. I kept quiet though because this moment was pure magic, the feeling of bonding so deeply with another soul.

"And I'm still waiting to see if you're going to challenge me to a third orgasm," she said.

"Third? What do you think I am? Superman?" I bounced her again. "But seriously, three is no problem, babe. I was thinking ten might be a good number for our first night together."

"Ten?" she said in a breathless gasp. "Are you joking?"

"I'm dead serious."

"Here? Right now? I have to admit I'd kind of like to actually be able to see you..." She wiggled her hips suggestively. "And meet this guy up close."

Oh, fuck. What did that mean exactly? I couldn't wait to find out.

"You didn't mean for us to spend the night out here in the middle of nowhere, did you?" she prodded.

"Hell no. I had much better plans. I just got derailed by my horniness for you."

She laughed. "What are these better plans? I don't like surprises."

Why did that not surprise me? "Well, how about this? There's a cute little bed and breakfast up the road and they happen to make homemade chocolate croissants every morning."

"Homemade chocolate croissants?" she repeated with awe. "That's too good to be true. I'm sure they're all booked up."

"Yep. By me."

"But you couldn't have known we'd be going there tonight..."

I jostled her again, chuckling as she squealed and held on. "Would you just let a man surprise you without knowing all the details, woman?"

"Fine," she huffed. "Let's go to this mythical B&B."

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