Page 6 of Stuck with You

I stared at him for several long moments before I burst out laughing. “That’s your amazing pickup line?”

He grinned widely and stepped back, holding out his arms as if he was ready to be showered in praise. “Yep.”

“It’s even worse than Elliot’s. You really think a girl would go out with you if you said that to her?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t my best,” he agreed. “But it made you laugh, and I just wanted to hear that sound again.”

I frowned in response. He was giving me a soft smile, and I couldn’t tell if Aiden was being sweet or just trying another line on me. If it was the latter, then it was certainly an improvement. Any other girl would have fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

He chuckled as he noticed my confusion. “And that’s why I’m different from Elliot,” he said. “I don’t expect one lame pickup line to convince a girl to go out with me. Making her laugh just might though.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course, it was just another line. “Well, it must not work that well because I don’t want to go out with you.”

“Don’t you?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure?”

I stared at Aiden, wondering for a moment if he’d lost his mind. How could he even consider the idea of us going out? He was most likely joking, but I couldn’t bring myself to laugh about it. He’d asked me out as a prank a few years back, and I still didn’t trust him. Thankfully, I’d been dating someone else, so I hadn’t fallen for the prank at the time. Nothing had changed between us since, and I certainly didn’t want to date him now.

“You’re hesitating, so I feel like maybe you’re considering it…”

“Ugh, of course, I’m sure,” I quickly replied. “I wouldn’t go out with you if you were the last guy on the planet.”

“Ouch, Clary.” His face portrayed pain, but his eyes twinkled like he was enjoying every second. “Given our current situation, that could happen, you know…”

“That’s not funny,” I said. “Thankfully, we’re not there yet, and don’t pretend you’re offended. You’re far more interested in irritating me than going out with me.”

“Who says I don’t want both?”

The blood rushed from my skin as I stared at him. “What?”

He flashed me a grin and picked up my bag again before he continued down the corridor like nothing had happened.

“So, this is my room.” He pointed to a door on the left of the hallway. His voice was chipper, like he didn’t have a care in the world, but all I could do was stare at him. “And the bathroom is in here.”

I was distracted as he talked, still trying to process what he’d said about wanting to both irritate me and go out with me. It felt like my brain was malfunctioning. He couldn’t actually want that, could he? There was no way. Why had he said it though? Surely, he was just messing with me.

“Then this is your room, right across from mine.” Aiden stopped by one of the doors and pushed it open. The room beyond was beautiful and bright with soft gray walls and dappled light flooding in through the window. I could see the leafy trees of the backyard from where I stood, and the large bed looked so inviting I was tempted to run over and jump on it. The walls were decorated with pretty floral artwork, and a matching teal throw lay over the end of the white bedspread. It was such a pretty room, until you caught sight of the exercise equipment in the corner.

“It’s our guest room and home gym,” Aiden explained. “Sorry about the weights and equipment. I didn’t have a chance to move them out of here before I picked you up.”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. I won’t be here for long, so there’s probably no point moving it all.”

He nodded, placing my bag down inside the entrance before tucking his hands into his pockets. “I’ll leave you to get settled. I’m just across the hall if you get bored. I’m sure I can think of a way we can keep ourselves busy.”

My jaw slackened, and my hands itched to slap his grinning face, but he winked at me and darted out of the room before I could respond. I’d been too shocked to react immediately, but as soon as he left, I reached for the door and slammed it shut after him.

“Ugh!” I glared at the door. Did my parents really expect me to live with this guy for the next few days? I already couldn’t wait to get out of here.

I took my phone out my back pocket and sent a text to my parents.

Me:I’m at the Moores’ house. Any luck with the flight home?!?! XX

I chose to keep the text short and simple, deciding to keep my serious concerns about living with Aiden to myself. Mom and Dad had enough to worry about right now without adding my sleazy new housemate to the list.

I tapped my phone against my hand as I waited for Mom’s response. Somewhat surprisingly, it came in a matter of seconds.

---