The Naughty List (The Naughty List #1)(33)

“You can’t always be good, right?”

I squeaked. Did he just tell me to break up with Aiden? Ew, did he just ask to wrestle with me? Without another word, I scrambled into the driver’s seat and slammed the door.

Leona got in too, adjusting her glasses and turning to me with a smirk. “He’s still staring,” she sang. “He’s, like, obsessed with you or something.”

“Shoot. This was a really bad idea. We’ll have to reschedule this mission for tomorrow night.”

“Wait. Do you think he knows we’re SOS?” Her face was worried.

“Let’s hope not.”

Ignoring Christian, still standing outside my window, I started my car and pulled quickly out of the parking lot, squealing my tires.

I dropped Leona off at her grandmother’s, and when I got home, the house was dark. My parents must still be at the club.

I felt lonely. I’d been hoping to sit down and talk with my dad while we had milk and cookies, but he wasn’t here. I needed advice. I wanted him to tell me that I had nothing to worry about.

At 2 a.m., my cell rang. I reached over to pluck it off my side table, but I didn’t recognize the number. I squashed my panic and answered.

“Hello?” Please don’t be Christian.

“Hi, baby,” Aiden said in a deep, tender voice.

I exhaled, pulling the phone into my sheets as I curled up with it, comforted by Aiden’s sound. I’d missed the snot out of him.

“Where are you?” I asked, bringing my blankets up under my chin. My chest was aching. I was so confused by our recent lack of cuddle time.

He chuckled. “I’m at your front door.”

I smiled, my stomach knotting with excitement. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. Now come let me in.”

I squealed and then clicked off the call. Throwing back my sheets, I jumped out of bed and tossed my cell on it before dashing through the house barefoot.

I paused in front of my wood front door and then took a deep breath and swung it open. My face immediately brightened. There he was, leaning his long body against my door frame, his hair a mess of blond tangles. He was in a pair of jeans with a dark green sweater, making his eyes more noticeable than usual. He looked … fantastic.

“Hi,” he said in that low, sexy voice.

“Hi.”

We stood for a minute, staring at each other. My body was tingling, wanting him, but I knew that we should probably talk first. A breeze blew past him from outside. I twitched my nose.

“Are … are you wearing cologne?” I asked.

He grinned. “Uh, yeah. Why?”

“You don’t wear cologne.”

“I do sometimes.”

“No. You don’t.”

Aiden furrowed his brow, pushing off the door to step inside the house, his dress shoes making a different noise on the tile than his sneakers normally did. He paused in front of me and looked down.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, studying my face.

“Where were you?”

Aiden turned and shut the door, then came back and reached out to push my hair over my shoulder before resting his hand there.

“Darren was dealing with some shit. I went over to help him out.”

“Wearing cologne?”

Aiden stepped back from me, looking a little annoyed. “Tess, are you pissed at me or something? What’s with the cologne? Do you not like it?”

My fingers trembled. Aiden never got annoyed with me. I was … losing it a little. It was SOS. It was making me suspicious of my sweetie. But I knew better. Aiden would never hurt me. He wasn’t like those other guys.

“I’m sorry,” I said, swallowing hard and walking up to slide my arms around his waist. I laid my head against his chest but felt uneasy when he didn’t squeeze me the way I’d expected him to. “Whose phone do you have?” I asked.

“Borrowed Darren’s.” Aiden’s fingers slowly traced up my spine, feeling it through my silk pajama top. But when he got to my shoulders, he braced me and held me back to look at my face. He stared at me for a minute, his eyes uneasy. Then he pulled me gently into a hug and rested his chin on top of my head. “I missed you, baby,” he murmured. “Didn’t you miss me?”

Did he feel it too? The strangeness of us? “I always miss you,” I breathed.

He shifted, pressing closer to me, clearly liking my answer. “I can’t stay tonight,” he said.

My stomach turned. “Oh.”

“But I’ll give you a foot rub before I leave,” he whispered seductively.

Was that it? Was he just here to hook up? I pulled back from him, my eyes beginning to tear.

“What?” he asked, looking alarmed.

“You came here for that?”

“For what? Tessa, what is going on? You’re seriously freaking me out.” Aiden put his palms on my cheeks, watching as a few tears trickled down them. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

But I couldn’t. How could I tell him that SOS had trained me to scout out cheaters, and now he was showing the classic signs? How could I say that to the guy I loved?

“It’s nothing,” I said, sniffling. “Just tuck me in, okay?”

I thought Aiden might cry too. He looked so frustrated. Helpless. So I just took his hand, kissed it, and then held it in my own as I pulled him toward my bedroom.