Page 76 of Firestorm
…It kind of was.
I shivered.
Aiden’s warmth left my back, and I jolted, whirling around to look at him.
He looked confused, and it physically hurt me to see him look so unsure. I didn’t want him ignoring me anymore. I missed him, as annoying as he could be. I wanted him following me and sitting next to me and yelling after me in the hall even though it drew too much attention to me.
Okay, well, maybe not that last part. But I missed him.
As Aiden took another step away from me, looking like he was about to bolt at any moment, I panicked. I didn’t want him to leave. This was my opportunity. He’d just defended me. He had no reason to run from me.
I took a risk.
I threw my arms around Aiden’s waist and rested my chin on his chest so that I was looking straight up at him.
Aiden’s eyes widened in fear and he blinked several times as if he couldn’t believe what was happening.
I couldn’t either.
Something inside me felt like I was going to die if he walked away from me. If he ran from me like Wyatt had…
But he didn’t.
He didn’t even try to struggle and twist away from me. Slowly, tentatively, Aiden’s arms moved to circle me, and then he was squeezing me against him, hunching over to press his cheek against mine. His smokey scent mixed with whatever cologne he wore washedover me, and the warmth from his cheek against mine had me shivering.
“Where have you been?” I whispered right in his ear.
There was silence for a moment before he breathed back, “Scared.”
I almost whooped with joy.
That was the sweet boy I knew.
“Of what?” I hedged, still holding him tight.
“How I feel,” he replied. “How…h-how you make me feel.”
That…was a really good response.
I believed him.
Reluctantly, we pulled apart as more students entered the auditorium. We were right in front of the door, but we only got glares. No one dared talk shit to Aiden’s face. Or mine, for that matter. Everyone had heard the story of what I’d done to Landon.
We stared at each other for a few moments, but when he didn’t say anything more, I awkwardly moved away from him, ready to sit down. My heart pounded slightly, the sting of rejection growing by the second.
“Wait,” Aiden called after me. “Skye?” I paused, raising my eyebrows as he drew closer. “Can I…” He fiddled nervously with the hem of his sweatshirt. “Can I sit with you?” he asked in a small voice.
I blinked.
What thefuckwas that voice? He sounded…so sweet andshy. I didn’t know if I wanted to pull him to my side to protect him from the world or climb him like a tree right here in front of everyone. And that was a really fucking weird combination of thoughts for me to have.
“Of course,” I replied evenly, grabbing one of his rough hands and pulling him after me to our usual seats.
Aiden plopped down in the chair next to me, his eyes never leaving my face.
Seriously. The entire class, he just stared at me while I took my usual notes, ending with my usual doodling session.
When I packed up my things after class, Aiden followed me out. He sat with me and the besties at lunch, politely ignoring how Mia tried tofreeze him solid with her glare. He walked me back to my dorm and then left after a long, lingering hug.
