Page 34 of Stuck with You

I walked over to his bed and climbed onto it. The mattress dipped as I crawled over to Aiden and lightly pressed my hands onto his chest. I was trembling a little, and I hoped he wouldn’t notice.

“Aiden?” I murmured.

He slowly blinked his eyes open and gave me a dopey smile. His gaze remained dazed, and he looked like he was still half asleep.

“This has to be a dream,” he murmured.

I smiled and fluttered my eyelashes at him. I was absolutely useless at flirting. I should have gotten some pointers from Zoey first. “It’s not a dream,” I replied softly.

“No, I’m pretty sure it is. I’ve had this dream before.”

I almost spluttered out a laugh. Was he being serious? He still looked like he was waking up, so I wasn’t sure if he knew what he was saying. I quickly refocused though and forged forward with my plan. I leaned closer to him and lightly brushed a hand across his cheek. My fingers tingled as I touched him, and I tried to ignore the way my stomach clenched at how close we were.

“Aiden… I want you.”

His eyes widened, and he blinked several times, as though he was finally waking up. “What?”

“I’ve always wanted you, and my feelings have only grown stronger since I started living here. I don’t want to deny it anymore.”

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and his eyes were troubled, as though he wasn’t sure whether to believe me. I hoped he couldn’t feel how much I was shaking with nerves; otherwise, he might start to see through my little act.

His eyes dipped toward my lips. He stared at them for a long, drawn-out moment before he finally lifted his gaze to meet mine once more. The corner of his mouth lifted in a sweet smile, and the light flickering across his eyes seemed to dance. “You do?”

There was almost a sense of hope in his gaze, and I had to remind myself who I was looking at. Aiden was a player. He would have reacted the same way to any girl who got into his bed and uttered those words to him. I couldn’t quite bring myself to repeat them though, so I simply nodded in reply.

His smile widened in response. “Well, stop talking about it and kiss me already.”

I froze. I hadn’t really thought through the mechanics of the prank in detail, but this was not how I saw it going. I thought I’d just flirt with him a little and give him a taste of his own medicine before finally laughing it off as my April Fools’ revenge. I definitely didn’t plan on kissing the guy. I wasn’t going to back down so quickly though.

I smiled and lifted myself up so I could crawl on top of him, my legs straddling either side of his body. His eyes grew even wider, and his breath caught in his throat. My body was buzzing with adrenaline. Was I going too far? Probably. But as I looked down at Aiden, I saw a flash of lust in his eyes, and I felt a matching pulse of excitement flow through me. I was playing with something dangerous, and it was fun.

I draped my hair over one shoulder and placed my hands down on the pillow, one on each side of his head.. Then I slowly lowered my lips toward him. The room was silent, and Aiden seemed to have stopped breathing entirely. His body had gone completely still.

It would be so easy to kiss him, and for a crazy second, I considered going through with it. Being this close to him was intoxicating in a way I never imagined, and my body urged me closer still. I hated him, but right now, my body seemed to be overriding my mind, and I wanted him too.

My lips were just about to brush against his when I looked into his eyes. There was an emotion there I couldn’t place. A sense of adoration I never would have expected. Seeing him look at me that way seemed to wake me up from the heady fog I’d disappeared into, and I jerked back slightly.

What the hell was I doing?

I’d nearly kissed Aiden. I needed to get away from him before I forgot myself again. Even now, my hands itched to touch him, and my lips wanted nothing more than to erase the distance between us. I had to get out of this room fast.

“April Fools’, Aiden.” I tried to drag up a confident smile, and I hoped he couldn’t see the confusion in my eyes. My voice was shaky though, and the elation I expected to feel upon tricking him was sorely missing. This was supposed to be a trick on him, but I felt I’d only pranked myself.

He didn’t move as he stared back at me. A flicker of hurt seemed to flash in his eyes, but it was gone before I could be certain it was even there. Slowly, he started to smile though, and a chuckle escaped his lips. “It’s after midday, Clary. Pranks don’t count anymore.”

“That’s not a rule.”

“It’s the only rule. And you just broke it. I think that means you’re the fool. Either that or this isn’t a prank and you really do want me.”

“It’s definitely a prank,” I quickly assured him, my voice holding almost a little too much conviction. “And it’s still April first, so it still counts.”

“I mean, I would love to agree with you. But the rules are the rules. Nice try though. I especially love how you look in my jersey.”

“Ugh.” I pushed myself off him, and he laughed as I climbed from the bed. He didn’t seem at all bothered that I’d just seduced him before rejecting him at the last moment. If anything, he seemed to find it hilarious.

I started toward the door, feeling defeated.

“Feel free to try this prank again anytime,” he said. “Seriously, I won’t mind.”

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