Page 109 of Collide
I shoot him an irritated look. The last thing I need is Kilner in my business. Though, he is happily married with four kids, so he must know a whole lot more than I do.
Coach eyes me. “Shower girl?”
“Summer,” I supply.
His brows knit, and his small smile is almost undetectable. “Only a matter of time with you two,” he mutters. “You know her better than anyone else does. But I know she’s got a good head on her shoulders and she thinks hard before committing to something—orsomeone. Still, you gotta let people come to their own decisions, even if you think you know what’s best.”
I consider his words. While I want to stop Summer from going on that date, I know I was right in what I said to her.But that doesn't mean I’ll let her forget my existence in her life.
36 | SUMMER
THE SMELL OF bitter liquor and fried food wafts through Porter’s. It's Friday night, and ever since I told Amara and Cassie about my talk with Aiden, they’ve been hell bent on taking me out. Apparently, they think telling him we should see other people means I should actually go out and see other people. I don’t know how to break it to them, but I can’t even look at another guy without comparing him to Aiden. Turns out they’re all pretty lackluster after him.
“Uh-oh.” Cassie halts to a stop and chuckles nervously. “I forgot to mention a very tiny inconsequential detail.”
Nothing from that sentence sounds tiny or inconsequential. When I turn the bar is swarming with Dalton’s hockey roster.
“They won tonight.”
I knew that because I watched the game on TV. Aiden dominated the ice, and my heart did little flutters every time the cameras focused on him. He hasn’t texted me to hang out after our talk, so I’m taking the newfound space to do what I want.
My only option is to leave the bar, but Cassie stops me. “The old Summer would never let hockey stand in the way of anything. Come on, we’re here to have fun, and there are plenty of other people here. We can avoid them.”
I haven’t seen Aiden yet, so I guess that’s a good sign.
“Sunny!”
As soon as I hear that voice, I squeeze my eyes shut.
“Worth a shot,” mumbles Cassie as she and Amara head to the bar.
Kian’s smiling wide, and he’s definitely drunk, judging by how he sways. His suffocating bear hug envelops me in the smell of beer. “I’ve missed you around the house. How have you been, stranger?”
“I saw you in class the other day.”
“Oh right, Aiden had me reporting ba—want a drink?” he diverts.
“I’m good for now, thanks. Congrats on the win by the way.”
“Thanks, but it was all Aiden tonight. He was electric. I don’t know what has gotten into him lately.”
I raise a brow. “Practicing more material for your best man's speech?”
“Yup. You’ll have to hear it twice.”
I’m barely paying attention to his slurred words as I try to find an escape. He doesn’t let me go even as our conversation dwindles, so I nudge him. “Go back to your friends.”
“But you’re so much prettier than them.”
I roll my eyes. Finally, he saunters back, but not before giving me a sloppy kiss on the cheek. I don’t watch his retreat because I’m a coward, too afraid to see Aiden back there. But when an electric tingle flutters down my spine, and my heartbeat slows to little thumps, I know he’s got me like a spotlight.
On shaky legs, I head to the bar. Knowing that Aiden is here makes me highly sensitive to flirting, so much so that my stomach flips anytime a guy looks my way.
Like clockwork, I feel a warm presence hover over me. The way my heart starts to palpitate you’d think I’m going into cardiac arrest, but then I smell the cheap cologne rubbing off on my skin.
It’s not him.
“Pretty girl like you must not have come here alone.” The man is too close for my liking, and his breath is worse than the cologne. But his smile slows the uneasy feeling jittering through me.
