“I might.”
“Oh, boy.”
I threw my hands in the air. “Fine. I give up. I hate sports.”
Aiden grinned. “That’s not going to win my affection, but you definitely have my attention. I’m gonna change your mind. Come with me to the baseball game this weekend.”
I pulled at my collar and winced. “There’s another one?”
He nodded, slinging his arm over my shoulders. “Yep! We’ll have our own date.”
“You’re asking me on a date? I mean…like a research date?” I amended quickly.
“Yeah. For the cause. You can take notes while I spout a bunch of smart dating shit and explain the game. The bonus is that the data you’re going over for me will make a little more sense…and you may catch a few new things.”
Hmm.
His reasoning was sound, but this was not a good idea.
“Okay,” someone who sounded like me agreed.
Aiden grinned. “Excellent. We’ll make a great team.”
“How do you figure? We both admitted that we don’t know what we’re doing.”
“Touché.” He raised his empty bottle in a toast, then set it on the ground and opened his hand, palm up. “Hey, we might learn a few tricks ourselves. Like I said, I’m experiencing a dry spell. Thank God my right hand hasn’t given out, ’cause I haven’t had actual sex in a few months. And the last person I kissed was a dude.”
I snickered at his faux put-upon tone, untying my cape when it threatened to choke me. I let it fall behind me before resting my elbows on my knees.
“You loved it.”
Aiden twisted slightly, drifting his gaze from my eyes to my mouth. He looked pensive and curious and something I couldn’t quite read.
“I did,” he said with a lopsided smile. “I liked it a lot.”
I returned the gesture with a goofier-looking version and tried to think of something clever to say. Nothing came. So I opened my mouth, thinking I’d wing it…just as Aiden closed the distance and pressed his lips to mine.
Was I surprised? Absolutely.
Did I hesitate? No way.
I tilted my chin, moaning my approval when he pushed inside, twisting his tongue around mine. We made out with soft sighs and teasing nips. The sexy give and take was the perfect balance of rough yet sweet. Aiden’s beard scraped my jaw, but his lips were so damn soft. I would have happily kissed him all night long.
When we finally broke for air, I was too dazed to push the panic button. And when the fog cleared, a subtle sense of rightness set in. Maybe that sounded vague, but it was as if something clicked into place. Something good.
“That wasn’t beer, was it?” I whispered.
“No. That was…” Aiden grinned, his face partially hidden in shadow as he inclined his head toward the container behind us on the stoop. “Meatballs.”
We burst into laughter that ended with wide smiles and contented sighs. Then Aiden slipped his arm over my shoulders and rested his head against mine. We sat like that for a minute or two until voices from inside the house floated through the kitchen side door, pulling us back to reality.
“I have some studying to do, I should go,” I said.
“Me too. I’ve lost the light. I’ll move the tools into the garage and tidy up. You don’t have to wait. Holden gave me the code to close the door.” Aiden stood, offered his hand, and yanked me to my feet. “We’re good, right?”
“Me and you?” I nodded like a puppet. “Oh, yeah. Sure. Definitely.”
“Goodnight, Murphy.” He smiled then wandered to the front of my Bronco.
He slipped on the plaid shirt he’d draped over the hood, and pulled the handle on the cart piled high with tools.
“Need help?”
“Sure. If you wheel this inside, I’ll fold the tarp.”
“Deal.”
We worked in charged silence for a few minutes. I should have left. He knew what he was doing, and I most definitely didn’t. But something kept me there. Like there was something I had to say or do or—
“G, you don’t have to take the cart to Siberia. It’s fine up here by the door. I got the rest.” He turned off the back lights and wandered toward me. “You okay?”
I licked my lips and wiped my sweaty palms on my shirt. “Yes. No.”
“Which one?”
“I’m fine. I just…want to climb you like a tree right now,” I blurted.
Aiden’s slow smile spread across his handsome face. “What kind of tree?”
“An oak tree? Does it matter? I’m having inappropriate thoughts about you…and admitting them.” I widened my eyes and covered my mouth. “You know what that means? It means my crazy is showing. I’ve exhausted my social quota for the day, and the real me is bubbling to the surface. Not good. Not good at all. I will make my escape now, and you will not remember this.”
I fluttered my arms around like a nutty sorcerer and stepped backward.