We took the stairs to the basement. Aiden was right, the music mellowed. There were a couple of pool tables. The crowd became sparser, but still more than I was used to.
Looking at the couch, I saw the woman who considered me her arch nemesis.
“Hey, Aiden. You brought your friend.” The sneer was evident on Stacy’s face.
With the way Stacy eyed me and the way Aiden held me, I don’t think she could say I came from the gutter this time. Even though Brooklyn had insisted that I was beautiful the way I was, I knew I looked better with my more up-to-date-look. I felt better.
Aiden was stern as he spoke and I felt the pressure of his hands intensify on my hip. “No, I brought my girlfriend.”
Stacy looked taken aback as if someone had slapped her. In the few confrontations with Stacy, she’d stressed Aiden was hers. I remained quiet. The relationship between Stacy and Aiden still didn’t make sense because they weren’t together. Briskly, she passed us and gave me a look that was trouble.
Someone came up and handed Aiden a beer. “Hey, man. Do you want to play a game?”
“Sure, Levi.” Aiden turned his focus to me. “Do you want to play some pool?”
Never having seen a game a pool, I thought it wise to watch at first. “I’ll watch you play and cheer you on. I’ve never played before.”
Speaking to Levi, Aiden said, “Rackem’ up.”
As we walked, Aiden leaned down to my ear. “I’ll teach you sometime.”
A shiver ran along my back. “I’d like that.”
There were stools around the perimeter that other girls were sitting on. Aiden took a swig of his beer as his friends all acknowledged him.
He introduced me, “Hey guys, this is Kenzie, my girlfriend.” There was pride in his words.
I liked the sound of being Aiden’s girlfriend and he seemed to enjoy it too. We belonged to each other in a sense. Some whoops and hollers proceeded and I turned toward Aiden, trying not to blush.
A shorter guy, about my height who Aiden had called Levi, commented, “Maybe she’ll break your concentration tonight. I see some easy cash in our future, boys.”
Aiden gave me a quick kiss and I tried not to be too embarrassed of the act in front of people. Intimate contact was part of dating, but still an adjustment for me.
“I’d say the chances of that are pretty good.” Aiden said back to the guy as he gave me a playful wink.
Guiding me to the stool, I took a seat, before Aiden grabbed a long stick. Standing at the end of the table, he hit a white ball into a triangle of colored ones that had numbers on them.
“I call stripes.” Aiden announced as he stepped away from the table. That made sense considering he knocked two stripes and one solid ball into the pockets of the table.
The next guy got one solid in and missed his next shot. Aiden lined up his shot from across the table. As he drew back the stick, he looked at me and winked as he hit the ball. It shot straight into the hole.
Things were definitely heating up as I imagined him touching me more than he had already. What would it feel like to have his hands accidentally touch me in places that yearned for him? I needed to slow my thoughts.
When Aiden was with me, parts came alive that I never knew existed and I was beginning to crave more. These new feelings were strong and affected me in ways I had never imagined. I wanted Aiden like I’d never wanted anyone else . . . including Matthew.
WE WERE SITTING on the couches. Brooklyn and Mike had joined us. She sat on his lap. Aiden had his arm around my shoulders while I leaned into him.
“It was about time you guys got together.” Brooklyn eyed Aiden.
I looked to his face as he watched me, but spoke to his sister, “I couldn’t agree more.”
When we gazed into each other’s eyes, I got lost in the way he looked at me. There seemed to be so much more he was trying to communicate.
Brooklyn’s excited tone had us breaking our dopey-eyed stare. “You should take Kenzie up to Mount Kessler in a couple of weekends when the leaves change. It’s beautiful up there with the rocks.” Brooklyn swung her legs as she pitched date ideas to us.
Aiden watched me as I answered his raised eyebrow. “I’m good with whatever.”
“I think you’d like it up there.” Aiden was an outdoors guy for sure. It didn’t bother me since I spent most of my days when I wasn’t cleaning or cooking, helping with outside tasks.