Page 132 of Collide
I nod, and his face lights up so dramatically you’d think he won the Stanley Cup again. “Do you want to finish dinner?”
“I think I want to be alone with Aiden.”
He gives me an understanding nod, but I don’t miss the hint of disappointment in his eyes. He stands. “You love that boy?”
“A lot,” I say, shocking myself. But I really, really do love him. I think I’ve known it for a while, too. My heart feels so full it might burst.
“Captain of the hockey team, huh?”
“Don’t even say it.”
He holds back a laugh, and I roll my eyes, suppressing a smile.
We find Aiden and my mom out on the deck. She’s laughing as he tells her something, but I only notice how handsome he looks in his suit. It’s such a contrast from the usual tight T-shirts and hockey gear that I find myself entangled in wisps of heat just from the sweet look he gives me.
His hand intertwines with mine. My eyes might still be puffy, but the tears are long gone. Now, all I can think of is the question my dad asked, and how easily I gave him the answer.
But those words feel like weights on my tongue now that I’m standing next to Aiden.
His lips press against my temple. “How are you feeling?”
“Better now.” I lean against his arm.
He searches my face to reassure himself. Before we leave, he promises my mom another dinner, and I snicker at his naivety. When we’re in the car, he turns on his music and drives us home with one hand on my thigh, his thumb making soothing movements on my skin. He hasn’t said anything the entire ride, and I know he’s trying to give me space, but I can’t help but feel embarrassed.
“If you run now, I won’t blame you,” I say, breaking the silence.
Aiden glances over at me, then back to the road with a tick of his jaw. “Why do you say that?”
“Because you just saw that shit show back there. No one wants to be attached to that.”
He shakes his head but doesn’t speak until we pull into his driveway. He turns off the car and faces me. “Telling you about my parents was the first time I’ve talked about them in years.”
I hesitate. “Why?”
“I was afraid to feel the emotions that would hit me if I did. But with you, it felt almost therapeutic, like I don’t need to carry the weight alone. I can share my memories so it doesn’t feel like my parents are completely gone.”
“Because they’re not gone, Aiden. Your memories keep them alive, and when you share them with me, I want to keep them alive for you too.”
His bright smile surfaces. “Can’t you see how lucky I am to have you?”
A burst of fireworks explodes in my chest. When he looks at me like this, I forget about all my problems, and I wish I could see myself through his eyes. Then maybe I could become that version of me.
He captures my hand. “As much as I love your body, your mind trumps everything. I can’t understand how someone so fucking amazing is bound up into one human being. You make everything so much brighter, Summer, and it drives me crazy that you can’t see that.”
I drop my gaze to our intertwined hands. “You make it sound like I’m perfect.”
“To me you are. You’re beautiful, strong, kind, and so deserving of love that I hope I can prove it to you in this lifetime. Because that’s how overwhelmingly perfect you are to me.”
Every word he says is one I want to say right back to him. His perfection has made me speechless time and time again. The feeling is so massive it weighs me down.
“How can you be so sure?” My chest fills with a raw emotion that scratches my throat.
“Because I love you,” he says, and I freeze. “Anyone would know it. They only need one look at me when you walk into a room to see it. I love you, Summer.” His thumb strokes my cheek, and when he touches me, I feel like one of those lava cakes that oozes warm chocolate from its center. “I want to do everything with you, and I want you to do everything with me.”
I blink away the tears. “Sounds possessive.”
“It is.” He pulls me by my jacket and claims my lips. “You and me, Preston. That’s the only way I want it.”
