Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
I had to work to keep my jaw from dropping. “Did you seriously just tell me that?”
He laughed. “Yeah. I heard that girls hate that.”
“Gee, I wonder why.”
“So no, I wasn’t telling you that for real. Even if it’s true.”
I stared at him, unblinking. He grinned like he’d said something clever.
“What’s the deal with you and Aaron?”
“We’re watching a show,” I said pointedly.
“You’ve been hanging out a lot lately.”
“That’s because we’re friends.”
“Yeah, I saw how friendly you two were in your room the other day.”
The image of Aaron hovering over me on my mattress—when we tried to flip it—flashed in my head. My cheeks burned, but I kept my face neutral.
But he kept going.
“So is it his money?”
That made me blink in surprise. “His what?”
“Didn’t you know he’s loaded? He got adopted into the first family of Chattanooga.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“It’s not New York money, but around here? They’re a big deal.”
I turned my face back to the TV and grabbed the remote, knuckles tight. I didn’t want to be in this conversation.
It was only loyalty to Aaron that kept me from pressing play to drown out Raymond.
He laughed. “It’s all good. You do you. Now go in the kitchen and make me a sandwich.”
I willed my face not to react, pressed my lips together, and didn’t even look at him. I’d had plenty of experience with guys saying things to get a rise out of me.
“Really? Nothing to say to that? You’re no fun.”
Raymond and I had very different ideas of fun. He stood and sauntered away, shoulders bouncing with a smug sort of pride.
The smell of buttery popcorn arrived a second before Aaron did. He stepped back into the room, brows raised slightly as if trying to read the tension.
Aaron set the bowl on the coffee table. “What do you want to drink?”
“Nothing.”
“You can’t have popcorn without anything to drink.”
“Can we just watch TV?”
Something in my tone had Aaron pause, then nod once and sit down next to me again, closer this time.
Before I could press play, he asked, “Was Raymond bothering you?”
“No.” Which wasn’t entirely true, but I didn’t want to badmouth Raymond in front of his housemate.
There was an awkward pause.
“Was he flirting with you?” Aaron finally asked.
My jaw dropped as I thought it over. It hadn’t even occurred to me.
Aaron was watching me, waiting for an answer.
I took a handful of popcorn, my arm brushing against his as I did so. “I don’t think so, but if he was, then he was really, really bad at it.”
Aaron snorted, and we resumed watching the show.
We watched two episodes and then decided that was enough for one night. Aaron stood and stretched slowly, his arms wide to the side. He had an impressive wingspan.
Then he rolled his shoulders and smiled slightly. "Can I walk you to your room?” He laughed a little, showing that he knew it was ridiculous. My room was just one flight of stairs away, and just down the hall from his.
Still, I felt a little awkward—which was generally the case when I was around handsome men. “I need something from the kitchen. But this was fun. When do we watch episode three?”
“Whenever you’d like. Except Wednesday evenings. Student council meets then.”
I stared at him in surprise. “Student council? Like in high school?”
“We have much more power than high school councils.” He leaned in with a conspiratorial smile. “We’re allowed to print out flyers and post them all over campus.”
“With great power comes great responsibility,” I said, and Aaron grinned. “So, is this the first step toward becoming mayor?”
His cheeks flushed just a little, which was adorable. “Yes, but I’m so far from the finish line, I can’t even see it from here.”
“It’s that way.” I pointed confidently out the living room windows.
“I think that’s south.” He frowned, brows knit in thought.
Oops. “Which way is northwest?” I’d never been to Chattanooga, but I knew where it was. More or less.
He spun around like the needle of a compass. “Maybe that way?” He waved vaguely toward the kitchen.
I giggled, covering my mouth with the back of my hand. “We’d be terrible contestants on American Adventures.”
“We’d be even more lost than the blue team,” he agreed. “Good night, Mia.”
“Good night, Aaron.” At the last minute, I remembered my ruse about needing something from the kitchen. I waited there until I heard him jog upstairs. The hallway was empty when I went back to my room.
It was only ten, so I figured I could still get in an hour or two of studying. I looked at the small desk in my room and decided to take my stuff down to the dining room, which had been converted back to a study hall again after Tuesday’s group dinner. Evan was there at the far end of the table, his fingers flying over the keyboard, posture relaxed but focused.