Page 34 of Clichés & Curses

‘Aiden, hey,’ I greeted back, closing my book. ‘How’ve you been?’

He just shrugged. ‘Surviving. Midterms have been kicking my ass.’

I groaned in agreement. ‘Tell me about it. I still have one more tomorrow and then I’m sleeping through the weekend.’ My sleeping schedule had been all over the place that week, and I couldn’t wait to sleep in on Saturday without the sound of an alarm waking me up.

Aiden just chuckled.

‘Do you want to sit?’ I asked him, standing up to offer him the chair across from me on which my bag sat.

‘It’s okay. I was just about to head to class anyway. Just thought I would say hello,’ he explained.

‘Well, it’s nice seeing you. Hopefully, we’ll get to catch up when the track team decides to go out for dinner again.’

Aiden paused for a beat, seeming like he was contemplating something when he said, ‘Or we could see each other before then.’

I raised a brow at him, puzzled at what he meant by that. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, other than sleeping in, do you have any other plans for Saturday?’ he asked me.

I shook my head. ‘None so far.’

‘Well then, how about going on a date with me.’ Before adding, ‘If you want to.’

I widened my eyes in surprise, slightly taken aback by what he just said.Aiden is asking me out on a date?

We had never really hung out alone, and this was only the third time we ever saw each other. But apart from those twooccasions, Aiden seemed like a fun guy to be around, and isn’t the point of going on a date with someone to get to know them?

But what about Colton?My traitorous heart couldn’t help but point out, catching me completely off guard.

What about Colton? He has nothing to do with this.My brain replied harshly, stamping on whatever brought on that thought in the first place.

Besides, Colton was just a friend that I, unfortunately, had a crush on. And I wouldn’t be betraying him by agreeing to go on a date with someone else. Plus, it might have just been what I needed to help myself get over my crush on him: to go out there and see what else the world had to offer that wasn’t Colton Reed.

My inner turmoil must have been longer than expected, when I heard Aiden call my name again as I went over my decision in silence.

‘Um, Clara?’ Aiden waved his hand in front of me.

‘Oh, sorry. Um, sure. I would love to go on a date with you,’ I finally answered him.

A look of glee appeared on Aiden’s face. ‘Great!’ he exclaimed. ‘I’ll see you on Saturday then.’

We exchanged numbers before he headed towards the door and went his way.

After he left, I went back to reading my book.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t help getting distracted by what I had just agreed to.

Was it wrong of me to say yes to a date with Aiden, when I clearly liked someone else? I didn’t think so. And while a part of me did feel guilty for agreeing only in hopes it would help me overcome my infatuation with Colton, it didn’t mean I wouldn’t treat that as an actual date. No, Aiden doesn’t deserve that. But it did mean that I needed some help from Nina to figure out what to wear for the date.

Glancing up at the clock in the coffee shop, I saw that I had around ten minutes before my next class. Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to get any reading done, I packed my stuff and started heading to class, hoping that the walk would help me clear the mess in my head.

I knew that going on a date with Aiden was the right decision if I wanted to salvage my friendship with Colton, by allowing myself to like someone else.

But even with all these rationalizations, I couldn’t fully shake off the feeling of sadness and betrayal my heart had been feeling, no matter how hard I tried.

Out of courtesy for Nina and her midterms, I decided not to tell her about the date until Friday night, when she was finally done with her training for the day. To celebrate both of us surviving that week, we decided to have dinner at our favourite Chinese restaurant a few streets away from our apartment.

Even though we lived together, we had been missing each other the whole week. With Nina’s dual athletic and academic obligations, I had decided to cook dinner for us throughout the week, but ate alone and left Nina her portion before locking myself in my room as I prepared myself for whatever test was coming up the next day. Whenever Nina returned to the apartment, she would come knocking on my door to let me know she was home, before having her dinner and locking herself in her room as well.

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