Page 18 of Stuck with You

“Evidence.”

“And why would you need that?”

“So I can send it to my parents and explain why I need to be living anywhere but here.”

His frown deepened slightly, like he was put out by the idea. “Surely you don’t want to leave so soon.”

“I just woke up to a teenage boy half-naked in my room.”

“Which is something most girls your age would dream about,” he pointed out.

“I’m not like most girls.”

“Clearly,” he grumbled. “Did you at least get a good picture?”

“Aiden.” I pointed to the door once again. “Get out of here.”

He grinned wickedly and winked at me before leaving the room. I threw a pillow at him, but it slammed against the door as he pulled it shut. My breath was coming in short, and my body still quaked with anger. How was I going to survive another day with that boy?

I looked down at my phone, hoping to see news from my parents. There were no missed calls or messages from them though. I could only assume that meant they were still trying to sort themselves out of the mess they were in.

I was tempted to message them yet again, but instead, I opened the photo album to look at the picture of Aiden. It was actually a good shot. Then again, I imagined he could make even the most average photos look amazing. The corner of his mouth was lifted in that sly smile of his as he looked at the camera, and the golden glow of early morning light highlighted his chest. He looked like something out of a catalog.

“Stupid sexy jerk,” I muttered. “Zoey’s never going to believe this.”

I knew I might regret it, but I pulled up my last message to her and forwarded her the picture, adding the captionlook what I woke up to this morning…

My phone rang immediately.

“Are you kidding me!” Zoey screamed down the line as I answered. I jerked my ear away from the phone and quickly lowered the volume. My eyes darted nervously toward the door. I hoped Aiden wasn’t loitering out there because she’d been loud enough he totally could have heard her.

“I’m dying,” Zoey continued. “I’m actually dying.”

“You’re not dying.”

“Did you evenseethat picture?”

“Yes, I saw it. I took it, so I saw even worse…”

“Worse?Worse?” Zoey might not have been dying, but she sure did sound like she was hyperventilating. “You’ve clearly come down with the virus. You must have a fever addling your brain, because seeing Aiden Moore in all his topless glory—in real life—could not be worse than anything.”

“I don’t have a fever,” I replied. “And it really was bad. I woke up to him working out in my room like that. Who does he think he is?”

She didn’t respond immediately, and I wondered if we’d been cut off. “Zo, you there?”

The sound of Zoey clearing her throat came over the line. “Sorry, I was just trying to picture it. And, yep, you are crazy because there cannot be anything more hot than what I just imagined.”

My best friend’s judgment was clearly clouded by Aiden’s six-pack. Yeah, he looked good, but it took more than that to make a guy appealing. Why couldn’t Zoey see Aiden the way I did? How did she fail to notice how self-absorbed he was?

I threw my head back on the pillow and let an irritated breath escape my lips. “He’s so annoying. He loves getting in my personal space and winding me up. He’s always saying stuff that puts me on edge.”

“I would love Aiden to put me on edge.”

I rolled my eyes. “You should have seen him while I was cooking dinner last night. He kept talking about how much he loved my cooking and how he was going to keep me here forever. It’s totally creepy.”

“Yeah, that sounds horrible. A hot guy who can’t stop complimenting you and wants to lock you up in his sex dungeon…”

“He did not say he wanted to lock me up in his sex dungeon!”

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