He turns to me, but I can’t see his face in the darkened car. However, I can hear his voice clearly. “How the fuck do you think I am? I just told you I love you, and you basically just told your family that we’re friends with benefits.”
I cringe because basically that’s exactly what happened. He doesn’t realize how much I want to believe him, but I don’t know If I can. “Why are you still here?”
He’s holding on to the steering wheel tightly. “I’m going to follow you home to make sure you’re okay. You should have told me that you had someone bothering you.”
Damn, if I didn’t feel guilty before, I do now. He acts as if I’ve broken his heart. “It's okay, Aiden. I can I get home on my own.”
He turns and faces the windshield. “I’m still following you.”
I wait for him to say something else, but he doesn't. “I’m fine, I promise.”
He doesn't say anything. He just rolls up the window and sits there. I take a deep breath and push on the gas. I drive through town, and the whole time I have a heart-to-heart with myself. Could he really love me? Could his days of being a player really be over? I look in the rearview mirror, and he's still following closely behind me. Do I believe him that he hasn't been with anyone else in two years? Can I even imagine my life without him in it? I get to the intersection in downtown Whiskey Run. I can turn left and go to my house. Or I can turn right and go toward Aiden's house. I know what I need to do. Before I can talk myself out of it, I turn right and try not to question if I'm doing the right thing. I'm just going with my gut on this. I just hope that I’m making the right decision. I keep going and turn off the road to his house. I pull up into the driveway, get out, and walk up to his porch to wait for him. He's next to me in mere seconds. As he walks up the steps of his porch, I ask him, “Is it okay if I'm here?”
He unlocks his front door and opens it, gesturing for me to go inside. “You're always welcome here, May.”
I walk through the door, and as soon as he shuts it behind us, I turn, not able to hold it in any longer. “I love you, Aiden. I've loved you for a long time... since the very beginning, but I I’m scared to death that you’re going to change your mind, and I’m telling you right now, it will probably kill me. I need this to be for real, Aiden and if it’s not, you need to tell me now.”
He walks up to me and put his hands on each side of my face, pulling me up to where I have to look into his eyes. “This is as real as it gets, May.”
7
AIDEN
I press my lips to her and kiss her for all she’s worth. We’ve done this at least a thousand times in the last couple of years, but it feels brand new. I pull back and search her eyes. “You just told me you loved me.”
She laughs, and her arms go around my neck as she smiles. “Yeah, but you said it first.”
I lean my forehead against hers. “Damn straight I did, and I meant it, too. There's nobody else for me, May. You're the one.”
She wants to believe me. I can see it in her face how much she wants to, but there’s still insecurity in her eyes. She keeps one arm looped around my neck, and the other one comes down and pats me on the chest. “I want to believe that, Aiden. I want to believe it more than anything. But if you change your mind...”
I stop her right there. “I won't change my mind, May. I'm in love with you. I want it all with you.” She’s searching my eyes, and I know she's trying to see if I'm sincere. There's no doubt that there's love shining from my eyes as I stare back at her.
Something must click for her because finally she nods. “So what's next?” she asks.
I smirk. “Well, it's been way too long since I've been inside you.”
She steps back and reaches for my hand. “We should probably do something about that then, don't you think?”
“Definitely,” I answer her as I pull her through the house and into the bedroom. We barely make it to the side of the bed and I pick her up, and her legs go around my waist. I sit down on the edge of the bed with her in my lap and kiss her while I’m undressing her at the same time. I can't get enough. I kiss her face and her lips. I trail kisses down her neck and across her shoulders. She leans back, but I know she trusts that there's no way I’ll let her fall. As she arches her back, I lean down to suckle her breasts, moving from one to the other.