Dump and Chase (Nashville Assassins Next Generation 1)

“More? What’s more?”

“I don’t know yet,” I admit with a smile. “But I’m going to find out.”

He rolls his green eyes, every bit annoyed with me. I know he wants me to stay so he can get me to fall in love with him, but that won’t happen. Not when my sights have always been set on one guy in particular.

The stairs into the lobby are endless, it seems, but when I see the elevator, my heart stops. I clear my throat. “So, he’s here? Aiden?”

Chris chuckles. “Yes. Why would we be going to a party at his house if he weren’t here?”

I shrug as he pulls out a card, sliding it into the slot before the doors open. “You have a card?”

Chris flashes me a grin. “Aiden and I are good friends.”

I know this. Ever since Chris found out I had a thing for the Rangers’ center, he likes to rub it in my face that he knows Aiden. It’s crazy that in the two years I’ve known Chris, this is the first party he’s taking me to. I don’t know if it’s because I’m leaving or if he really thought he was going to get in my pants and make me fall for him so I’d forget Aiden.

If it’s the latter, he’s so very, very wrong.

“Do you want another hit?”

I glance over to where Chris is lighting up his blunt. I shake my head. “No, I’m good.”

I should have taken a bigger hit before, but what the hell. I do take the bottle of tequila, though, and swallow one more gulp as the elevator takes us up to the top floor that is apparently Aiden’s penthouse. My heart rises into my throat with each floor we ascend. Chris takes the bottle from me as I pull up on my belt loops. The pants I’m wearing are a bit too tight, squeezing my waist and cutting off circulation to my legs, but they make my ass look really thick and big. I almost didn’t wear the crop top I stole from my cousin, but I want to impress him. Problem is, Amelia, my cousin, is a small, though she wears a medium so her breasts don’t show underneath. Because I’m a solid large on top, it’s easy to say my breasts are peeking out the bottom in a way that would make my mom cringe.

But my mom isn’t here. Aiden is, and I want him to notice me.

I’ve known Aiden my whole life. There are pictures of him holding me when I was a baby and from every year at my birthday. He was such a big part of my life; he even babysat my little brothers when my sister Posey and I had hockey tournaments. Our families have always been so close, and I’ve been infatuated with him forever. I still remember the moment I knew I’d never want anyone else but him.

He came to the house in a badass Willie Nelson tee. I was learning the chords to “Georgia on My Mind,” and I wanted to gush to him that I was learning to play Willie Nelson’s version, but I was nervous he wouldn’t think I was as cool as he was. He was letting his hair grow long, and he had a faint mustache on his lip. He was downright gorgeous—unfairly gorgeous—so much older than me. He never even noticed me. I was just one of those Adler kids. Even when I begged my mom for a Willie tee because I wanted him to see me, to see that I loved Willie too, he didn’t.

He never noticed. It was like I was invisible to him.

In his defense, though, he was older and so busy keeping up with his grades and his skills on the ice. He never dated much—yes, that may make me a stalker for knowing that, but his mom always bragged about how he was so driven. He graduated early, went to college, and didn’t even finish the year before the NHL wanted him. He is absolutely amazing, and all I want is for him to see me.

To want me.

When I moved to New York, I was convinced our paths would cross. Surely, right? Nope. Never. Even when our moms tried to set us up for a group dinner, we were just too busy. It annoyed me so much because all I wanted was a chance. Once I was eighteen, I knew he couldn’t see me as a little girl anymore. But I never got the chance.

Until now.

When the doors open, my heart is in my throat as I take in what’s before me. The party is in full swing, but I can’t ignore the spectacularness of the penthouse. It’s all glass. There are absolutely no walls, just glass looking out over the New York skyline. I wonder if Aiden walks around naked in here? Not that anyone would be able to see him; we’re so high up. The black furniture is sleek, modern, and ostentatious art hangs on the walls. A piano sits in the corner, the bench being used right now as a chair for a few girls, and I’m curious if Aiden plays.