The Naughty List (The Naughty List #1)(65)

“Sorry,” Christian mumbled.

“Thanks for your apology,” I said. He met my eyes and grinned, a glimmer of hope sparkling there. “But.” I held up a finger at him. “I still think you’re a jerk, and I’m still not interested. Clear?”

His smile faltered. “Crystal.”

I sat and he stood, and we looked at each other. The sounds in the gym were relatively quiet. Our team was getting the stuffing beat out of them; that generally cramped school spirit. I could hear Kira’s voice shouting chants, but Christian took a step toward me. I felt immediate panic as I realized that he was going to embrace me. Wait. He wanted a hug? Had he lost his marbles?

A roar rose from the crowd behind him and I looked up into the stands. The fans were cheering and pointing toward the court. I turned slowly, wondering if Kira’s cheer had gone terribly wrong. Instead, I saw Aiden, stalking out of the locker room and crossing center court.

My eyebrows pulled together. What was he doing? Why wasn’t he involved in the coach’s halftime talk? As he got closer, Kira’s voice trailed off as she watched him stomp past the cheer squad.

Oh. My. Word. He was walking toward me. I was still cross-legged on the floor, with my lip-locking mistake hovering over me.

Aiden’s face was red. Holy snapdragon! The boy looked angry, He looked …

“Damn,” Christian mumbled.

I flipped my head back to look at him just as a fist connected with his jaw in a loud thwack. I screamed, my eyes following the length of the tan arm that was attached to Aiden’s body.

Christian stumbled backward, landing in the laps of a stunned front-row fan fest. The crowd erupted in cheers. Did they think this was a stunt? Part of the halftime show? Or were they just happy to watch Christian get hit?

Wait. Aiden just punched someone in the face. He totally just hit someone without provocation. I got to my knees, beginning to scramble up to sort out the situation.

Suddenly, Aiden took me by the elbow and pulled me to my feet.

“What—”

“Zip it, Tess,” Aiden said as he tugged me toward the locker room. And although I appreciated him defending my honor … or his, I was not about to be yanked across the court. I pulled my arm out of his grasp and swung to face him.

The Smitten Kittens parted around us, leaving Aiden and I sneaker to sneaker in center court. The crowd quieted. I was only mildly aware that we had become the halftime entertainment.

“You … punched someone back there,” I said to Aiden as he panted in front of me. It was all I could think of to say.

“I know.”

“Um … You’re supposed to be in the locker room. Your team is losing.”

“I know that too.” Aiden glanced back over to the bleachers, to where Christian was holding his jaw, watching us. “You want to go help your boyfriend?” he asked loudly.

I narrowed my eyes. “No. I’m glad you punched him,” I said back, motioning my hand to Christian. The crowd snickered. The acoustics in here were amazing. I hadn’t even been projecting.

“Really?” Aiden put his hands on his hips. “What? Did you two break up or something?”

“Sick! I was never with him in the first place. It was a mistake, Aiden. He tricked me. He told me you were cheating on me or at least implied it.” Okay, so I jumped to the conclusion on my own, but Christian had set the fur ball in motion.

Aiden seemed to consider this. He stepped closer to me, using the back of his palm to wipe the sweat off his forehead. “You weren’t dating him?”

I shook my head. “No. Never.”

Aiden adjusted the waistband of his basketball shorts as he looked over at the crowd. Then he turned back to me. “You should have told me everything,” he whispered. “Even about SOS.”

“I wish I had.”

“I would have told you to stop… .” he added with a smirk.

“I wouldn’t have listened.”

“Yeah. I know you wouldn’t have.” He smiled. “But I’m sure we would’ve worked it out somehow. An arm-wrestling match, maybe.”

I laughed. “Maybe.”

Aiden’s grin faded as he watched me. “You lied to me, Tess,” he said seriously. “You lied a lot.”

There were murmurings in the audience, and I wondered if they could hear everything, hear how sorry I was.

“I never meant to hurt you.” And I hadn’t. I would take it all back in a heartbeat.

He nodded, staring at me as I began to chew on my lip. At least he was talking to me. That was progress, and I should have been ecstatic. But I could smell his perspiration, and I felt the tingles that came along with being this close to him.

I still wanted him. I belonged with him. But I’d betrayed him, and I wasn’t sure I would ever forgive myself for that.

I looked over my shoulder into the bleachers. My mother was sitting there with the Wildcats sign in her lap and her hand over her mouth. My father leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he watched us. When he saw me notice him, he waved. Then I looked to Aiden’s mom, almost expecting her to be holding a “So Long, Tessa” sign, but she looked supportively down at us. Maybe things had changed.

Aiden touched my elbow, drawing me to him. “Tessa.” He paused. “I forgive you.” When I looked at him, his beautiful green eyes were glassy.