Page 105 of Collide
“It’s not? Don’t you think I would know what you look like when you’re into someone?”
My annoyance bubbles to the surface. “No, because you don’t know me anymore.”
“Wow.” His expression makes me feel smaller than the pebble by my foot. “This entire time I thought you were busy with the one thing you sacrificed so much for, but turns out you were just fucking around.”
An unexpected shameful itch covers my neck. “How can you say that? You’ve seen the hours I’ve put in. My personal life has nothing to do with you or any of this.”
“Once upon a time, it did have something to do with me. You can’t blame me for looking out for you.”
Irritation skewers my chest. “No need to look out for me. Aiden and I aren’t together, not that it's any of your business.”
He pauses, eyes trying to detect a lie. “You’re not?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Let me guess, the captain doesn’t do relationships? He’s probably never had a girlfriend either.” Despite his words having a bite, I can’t deny the truth. “You would have never made a stupid decision like this if I was looking out for you.”
“I don’t need your constant judgment. I’d be better off if I’d never met you.”
His face tightens. “Don’t come running to me when he swaps you out for someone less emotionally wrecked. Though, if you want him to stick around, tell him who your dad is. That’ll make your baggage a lot easier to digest.”
His words are like scalding water to my face, but I feel frozen, almost paralyzed when he walks away.
TRYING TO STAY under the radar isn’t easy when you have snitches for friends. Amara let Aiden into our dorm, so when I came back from my exam he was waiting for me.
Now, I’m in the kitchen pretending to clean as he drinks a glass of water I poured him.
“Sorry I couldn’t come to your game,” I finally say when he’s rinsing the glass in the sink. He’s apparently decided to go mute until I break the silence.
Aiden dries his hands, and when he leans in, I panic, turning so his kiss hits my cheek.
He stares for a long minute. “I just assumed your lab ran late.”
I busy myself with cleaning the countertops, which are already spotless thanks to last night's anxiety-driven deep clean. It’s more for my sanity because after Donny spilled his poison into my thoughts, I’ve been on an infinite merry-go-round.
“Is there a reason you’re trying to wear down the countertop?”
His words make me pause my aggressive movements. The surface does look like it's beginning to erode. “Just some pre-spring cleaning.”
He steps in front of me. “You didn’t answer my texts. Not one in the past two days.” He pulls the rag from my hand. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
“I’m just worried about my application.”
“You shouldn’t be. You did great. Müller even said so.” He takes another step and my resolve crumbles. “It’s something to do with us, isn’t it?”
When I swallow, instead of answering, he knows he’s on the money. It feels like I have a rat infestation in my brain, and I’m left with sparking chewed up wiring. Last night's thoughts form into half-baked words and slide to the tip of my tongue. “We should see other people,” I blurt.
There. It’s done. Like ripping duct tape off a hairy arm.
Aiden doesn’t move a muscle. He doesn’t even blink, and if I hadn’t seen the rise of his chest, I would have thought he stopped breathing too.
“Why do you say that?” The words are calm and drawn out in a voice that is so unlike his heated expression it gives me whiplash.
“Because we’re not exclusive,” I say matter-of-factly.
His eyes cloud like thunder. “You’re right, we’re not, but that’s because you don’t want to be.”
My throat tightens. “That’s not fair. We haven’t been exclusive because that’s what we agreed on. We’re supposed to see other people, too.”
