“Ugh, my head,” I groaned. Last night's decisions were a huge mistake, I never should have drunk that much or moved around so much without a drop of water. I blinked my eyes open and was met with the familiar ceiling of Aiden’s room and looked around at the familiar décor.
“How did I end up here?” I muttered.
I looked around for my phone and spotted the bottle of Advil and a glass of water on the nightstand. A smile spread on my face as I thought of Aiden and how he must have been the one to bring me up here and even made sure I drank something and had painkillers for my hangover.
‘Why does he make it so hard to not like him?’
I took this opportunity to steal more of Aiden’s clothes and searched for a pair of jogging pants to change out of my leggings that had been soaked with sweat after sleeping in clothes all night. Once changed I headed downstairs where Aiden was once again cooking breakfast and Avery was passed out on the couch.
“I’m starting to enjoy these weekend morning routines,” I joked.
“Did you sleep well?” Aiden asked and placed a plate of food before me.
“It would’ve been a lot better if I didn’t wake up drenched in sweat, I could really use a shower so the sooner I get home,” I hinted.
Aiden pointed upstairs. “Just take a shower in my room. You’re already borrowing my clothes, so you have a fresh change.” He smiled teasingly.
“Who said anything about borrowing? I’m not giving these back.” I was mostly joking but I waited to see his reaction.
He shrugged and laughed. “Be my guest, you can take a shirt to change into if you need one.”
My heart hammered once again in my chest. It’s moments like this that gave me the confusion that I’ve carried for years. I’ve convinced myself that Aiden has no feelings toward me but then he goes and makes me doubt myself with shit like this.
‘Now he wants me to take a shower, using his shampoo and soap so I’ll smell like him all day. Is he trying to torment me?’
My phone went off in my pocket and I took it out to see a message from Jake. A small smile stretched across my face as I read his good morning text.
I felt Aiden’s eyes on me but thankfully he said nothing and continued eating in silence. Once I was done I ran upstairs to take a shower and made sure to use a hefty amount of shampoo before I got out and grabbed another shirt from his drawer.
“Ready to go?” Aiden asked as I bounced down the stairs.
In the truck, I got another text from Jake that asked if I was busy over the weekend and if dinner and a movie were a good date idea. Although I’ve dated people in the past, none of them ever took me on an actual date like this, so anything was better than nothing.
I couldn’t keep myself from smiling the entire time we texted back and forth. I haven’t felt this way about anyone since I first realized I had developed a crush on Aiden, and it grew from there. Maybe this was my chance to finally get over him by trying with someone else.
“I don’t know what you see in that guy. Everyone I’ve met from that school is trash,” Aiden muttered.
“I don’t know why you care so much. You’ve never cared this much about anyone I’ve dated before, and I’ve already talked to Avery about it. He doesn’t like it, but he agreed to shut up about it, you should do the same.”
He rolled his eyes. “That’s because your brother will do anything you say, and you know it.”
“Whatever, this is finally my time to be free and experience things I never got to in high school because I was too busy making sure I had perfect grades. I have a lot of things I want to check off my bucket list this year.”
Aiden frowned and looked like he wanted to continue lecturing me, so I quickly unbuckled myself and hopped out.
“Thanks for the ride, I’ll see you later!” I called over my shoulder and ran into the dorms.
Isabelle all but threw herself at me once I walked through the door.
“Has he texted you yet?” she asked.
“Who are you talking about?”
She rolled her eyes and hit my arm. “Jake Porter, who else? Have you guys set a day for your date yet?”
“He wants to take me out for dinner and a movie this weekend, and we have another home game this Wednesday with them and it will be my first time cheering on the field, so I’ll get to see him then, too.”
“Which also means we have to make sure you are looking your best on that field,” Isabelle clapped, and I could already imagine what she had planned.
~*~
It’s Wednesday evening just before the game and Isabelle has gone above and beyond to make me look as amazing as possible, even did my hair and make-up in a similar way to the rest of the cheer squad but still different enough to stand out. My usual straight blonde hair was done up in beach-style curls that made my face look a lot less round.
“Oh, wow. You’ve almost changed me into a different person,” I said in awe as I gazed in the mirror.
“It is my finest work yet, I must say. Now, let’s go show you off and get some concession stand popcorn!”
“I hope you enjoy that, save some for me.” I grabbed my gym bag and headed off to the field to get ready.
While everyone was warming up on the side of the field, I kept my eyes open for Jake and his teammates, hoping he would be able to notice me before the game began and the sweat stripped my makeup.
Instead, it was Aiden who spotted me.
“What’s with all the makeup? I barely recognized you,” he said. His tone suggested he wasn’t impressed with it, and that was a dagger to the heart despite how much I tried to tell myself I didn’t care what he thought.
But, of course, I still do.
“Shut up, you’re just jealous that I’m hitting on the other team.” I stuck my tongue out at him.
His lip twitched and he narrowed his eyes but walked off the sidelines without another word. “Honestly Ry, why can’t you just date someone from our team, or at least our school?”
“Why the hell does it matter to you so much? You seriously need to stop meddling with my business, it’s getting really annoying.” I stomped back toward the sidelines before he could lecture me further. Aiden glared at me, and I glared right back until he turned around and ran back onto the field.
‘Seriously, what is his problem?’
I wasn’t able to see Jake before the game began but I looked out for his number and made sure to give my best energy I could for our first cheer routine. I had caught him waving to me briefly as they ran back onto the field near the end of our cheer routine, and I couldn’t help the huge grin on my face.
“Oh, my god. Rylee, are you dating someone from the other team? Who is he?”
“Yeah, what’s his name? Is he cute?” I was instantly bombarded by the Coleman twins, Kendra and Kinsley, the number one gossip queens of our team.
“It’s nothing serious, we met before starting school and reunited at a frat party recently.”
“Awh,” they said together. “That is so cute,” Kendra said.
“Really cute,” Kinsley chimed in. I could see how this would get annoying.
“Who is number 24 on our team?” Leah walked up and asked. “Whoever he is, he has a serious vendetta against number 16 on the other team.”
‘Number 24…that’s Aiden!’
I turned to look at the field just in time to see Aiden rush Jake and tackled him hard to the ground. I looked for the person with the ball and noticed he was halfway across the field – nowhere near Jake.
“What in the hell is he doing?” I muttered.
Jake got up and ripped his helmet off his head to scream at Aiden, but he ignored him and walked back to position, acting like he had done nothing wrong. I could see Avery was giving him a look, but I couldn’t see his expression, though even I knew he was wondering the same.
I watched again as Avery received the ball and pitched it to the other forward opposite of him. Jake was center defence and was guarding another player when Aiden once again rushed him and tackled him so hard to the ground, that Jake’s helmet flew off this time.
“Reed, what the fuck are you doing? Get over here!” the coach yelled from the side.
Aiden slowly stood up and jogged over to the coach, who ripped his helmet off and angrily tossed it to the ground to scream in his face. It wasn’t long before Aiden was walking off the field looking pissed right off.
Since our cheer routine was over, I ran over to him before he reached the building and called out to him.
“What is going on with you? You attacked Jake for no reason!”
“Are you here to just yell at me too? If so, save it.” He tried to walk away from me, but I grabbed his arm and spun him around.
“Aiden, what the hell? Why are you acting like this?”
He shrugged my arm off of him. “It’s not my fault your boyfriend can’t keep up.”
“Is Jake coming to pick you up? What movie are you guys going to see?” Isabelle continued to ask question after question as I prepared for my date with Jake. “Would you like to come with us, Izzy?” I joked. She groaned. “I’m sorry, it’s been so long since I’ve gone out. I have to live it through someone, don’t I?” I just rolled my eyes and laughed. I was just as excited as she was but add on a ton of nerves to that as well. “We’re going to see some horror movie, I can’t remember the name of it, but we learned we’re both huge horror buffs, so this should be interesting.” My phone went off with a text from Jake that said he was out front, and I rushed out the door to see his car parked in the lot. “You look beautiful,” he said and kissed me on the cheek. “This is for you.” He pulled out a single rose. “That is so sweet, and the first flower I’ve received.” He placed a hand over his chest. “It is my honour to give you your first. Is it alright if we go to the movie first and then
I paused and waited as Aiden got out of his truck and stood next to it. I didn’t need to be able to see his face to know he was scowling. I heaved a heavy sigh and dragged my feet over to him. “Why did it take you so long to get back home? It’s almost midnight.” I rolled my eyes and groaned. “And I’m 19 and in University, and it’s a Saturday! I’ll ask again because you still haven’t given me an answer, but what in the fuck is going on with you?” I cried. “You’ve been acting like a super over-protective older brother and it’s really pissing me off.” “I’m just trying to make sure you don’t make some hasty mistake because you feel like you have so much to make up for. You’re the one who has been acting like a completely different person ever since you started here.” I gaped at him. “What are you talking about? I went on one date, Aiden! Just admit that the only problem you have with me dating Jake is because he beats your ass on the field every time!” The silence between us becomes
**WARNING. This chapter includes scenes of attempted sexual assault and may be triggering to some readers. Readers are advised.***The first half of the party was amazing, I almost forgot that I was at a completely different house, and I wasn’t back at my brother’s. Jake was nice enough to ask what I drank and got me a case of twisted tea in advance, which allowed me to quickly let loose and forget all the drama between Aiden and me.We hit the dancefloor, and it was a breeze from there to get caught up in the music and intimate dancing with Jake. He didn’t comment on how awkward my dancing was and went with whatever tempo I went with. We laughed and had a great time, but another hour into the party and things were getting a little intense.Twice I had to politely swat Jake’s hand away as he tried to slip it up my shirt and once more when he grabbed my ass a little too hard. I could feel the shift in his attitude toward me as it had become more rough and demanding.“Are you okay?” he
“Please, don’t tell my brother…” I whispered.I felt him pause, and then he sighed. “I won’t tell him tonight, but I can’t keep this from him. I promise I won’t let him report it, but you should consider saying something to the school.”I nodded. I really just wanted to forget this ever happened, but my silence could end up allowing this to happen again. The best I could do is at least report it to the school and make them aware of the parties that went on right under their noses.Aiden shocked me further when he turned off the truck and carried me inside rather than putting me down once we got out. The front door was already opened as the last few partygoers trickled out and I buried my head in Aiden’s chest again so they wouldn’t recognize me.“Is that Rylee?” I heard Carter shout, but Aiden quickly shushed him, and I pretended to be asleep. “What happened, is she okay?” he asked quietly.“She’s fine, get away from her,” Aiden scolded.I heard Carter scuffle back and Aiden kept movi
I didn’t hear from Jake after that and blocked his number the second I remembered to make sure he never had the chance. If he was smart, he wouldn’t attempt to try and reach out to me or ever show his face before me at future games. I knew there was one more game before the winter break between San Marco and Jacksonville State, maybe that would be the one game I was ‘sick’ for.I had never missed a single day in high school before, whether it was classes or after-school activities, but I was more than willing to say to hell with all of that to avoid this man.Even though he didn’t go to our school, the past couple of weeks that led up to the next game I was practically guarded at all corners of campus. Everywhere I went, I spotted one or more of the guys, whereas before I had barely seen them in the halls or anywhere near my other classes.Aiden was also spending a lot more time with me, and I wasn’t sure if it was genuine, or out of guilt and protection. It was confusing me even more
“Well, with Leah here, the teams are uneven now,” Carter said, but Noah shook his head after counting everyone.“If we split into groups of 5, the teams will be even again.”We then split into two groups of 5 and I had no say over who went where. Noah seemed adamant about keeping me on his team, which meant Ryan joined their group with Leah and Carter, and I got the twins, Isabelle and Noah.“Oh yay, we’re on the same team,” Leah said and threw herself at Aiden.He smiled down at her and it tore at my heart. I don’t know what compelled me to speak after that. “I hope you can keep up.” I had meant for it to come off as a joke, but my tone was too serious.Aiden frowned but thankfully Leah brushed it off like it was nothing and turned her attention back to Aiden. We reset our boards and started our games, but I couldn’t help noticing how much of a distraction and poor player Leah was.I could tell it was taking everything in my brother not to freak out or scold her every time she rolled
**WARNING. This chapter contains sexual content not suitable for readers under 18. Readers' discretion is advised.** ~*~ It was incredibly awkward going back inside the bowling alley to tell everyone that we were ready to go home. Avery was still pissed off from losing so many games in a row he hardly paid attention, so we rushed to get a cab before he clued in or before anyone else decided to leave with us. Isabelle gave me a secret thumbs up as I grabbed my jacket and walked casually out of the building with Aiden. It wasn’t until we were out of view by his truck that he swept me into his arms and kissed me. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he whispered against my lips. “What took you so long?” He smirked. “Your brother.” Oh, yes. That was still a factor we needed to consider, but I was too drunk on his touch and kisses to care at the moment. The cab showed up quickly and we hopped in, our lips locked until we got back to the frat house. We stumbled into t
Over the next week after that fateful night, Aiden and I did our best to keep our relationship a secret, but in the early stages of a relationship, it was impossible to stay away from each other. When we weren’t hanging out at the frat house or secretly hooking up in my dorm room, we were texting each other constantly. We had even gone as far as to share a few photos when one couldn’t handle not seeing the other. This was something I had never done before but the thrill of it was exciting, and I trusted Aiden enough to feel comfortable with the idea. Besides, having hot as fuck photos like that to look back on was mouthwatering and a great mood booster. That didn’t take away the anxiety of knowing someone could get a hold of them, or I could accidentally send one to my brother instead of Aiden, the terrible possibilities are endless. But the responses I got in return were more than worth it. Never had I felt more attractive and wanted before, and it wasn’t just physical. Aiden had a