I feel his gaze on my face. “Yes. It’s the truth—this car makes you look like a douche. You should have gotten a truck.”
For fuck’s sake. “Aiden,” I warn, and he laughs.
“Yeah, of course. What’s up?”
I bite my lip, pulling in a breath through my nose. “I’ve always found Ally to be gorgeous.”
“She is.”
“And I’ve always had a little bit of a crush on her.”
“Yeah, I see that.”
“But lately, and I don’t know if it’s because I’m home and she’s in my face, but it’s been stronger than usual.”
“Sure, that makes sense.”
I look over at him. “It does?”
“Yeah,” he says with a shrug. “When you’re around someone you’ve always been attracted to, it’s hard to ignore. I see the way y’all are together, and I know you’ve been fighting it, for obvious reasons. You guys are great friends. But what if you can be more than friends, and your relationship be even greater?”
I slowly nod. “I know her, and I don’t think she feels the same.”
He exhales. “Okay, that could pose a problem.”
“So, I should just keep it moving, right? Like, no sense in messing up a good friendship?”
He doesn’t answer me right away. “I think you need to decide if your friendship with her is enough, or could the possibility that your forever has been right beside you all these years urge you to see what happens.” I swallow hard. “Either way, you can’t go wrong. Take a risk or stay complacent.”
“What would you do?” I find myself asking, and he grins.
“I’m marrying the girl who has loved me her whole life. I wasn’t with her on that because she was always Shea and Elli’s little girl to me. But then she made it really hard to resist her. And when I fell, I fell hard. I risked my career and relationships with our extended family because I realized she was right and she was the one for me. But the thing is, Ash, we’re two different dudes. I love the thrill of fighting for what I want. You like everything planned out for you and easy, which is why you ignored for so long that your fiancée was a lesbian.”
“I didn’t know,” I try, but he shakes his head.
“You knew, but she was low drama. And with Ally, she’s that constant comfortable person. No matter what, she has your back. And why would you risk that for a relationship that could end?” I meet his gaze, and he gives me a knowing look. “The thing is, I know you. You’ll wait to see if she makes a move, and if she doesn’t, you’ll continue wondering if she could possibly be the one.”
His words scare the shit out of me because they’re so true. As I pull onto campus, I don’t answer him. I need to analyze this a bit before I am able to put into words what I am feeling, how his words affect me, and what the hell I want to do.
When we get to Ally’s dorm building, I’m glad to see her car parked in her spot. But what I don’t expect to see is Ally screaming at Taco, her own face clearly red even in the dark and her eyes wild.
“Holy hell, is that the NachoFuck guy?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Ally is about to kick his ass.”
“My thoughts exactly,” I say as I pull to the curb, not even worried about parking in a space.
I throw my door open just as Taco yells, “Get the fuck out of my face! You ain’t shit.”
“Who the hell is he talking to?” Aiden asks, getting out before me. “I know he isn’t talking to Ally like that.”
Heat burns my skin as I get out of the car. I know what Ally is about to do before she does it. Her palms come up, slamming into his chest, and he falls to the ground. I would cheer her on, but this can’t be good. Not with the way he is looking at her. He gets up quickly since a crowd has gathered. I push through them, Aiden behind me, just in time to see that motherfucking asshole grab Ally by the neck.
My whole body goes taut, I am stunned to silence, and I don’t even hear Aiden yell. I know what is happening. I see it. I see everyone around me, but something isn’t clicking. Did this dude just grab Ally by the neck? It’s like I have tunnel vision, and Taco is at the end of it. If I were Darth Vader, I would choke this bitch-ass dick with the Force. Unfortunately, I’m not, so I do the next best thing.
I slam my fist into his jaw.