No Kissing Allowed (No Kissing Allowed #1)(30)

“Wait,” he said.

I pushed him toward the hallway. “You have to go. She could see you.”

He stared at the door, then back at me. “Come with me, then.”

“To your apartment?”

“Yes.” He took a step toward me. “No roommates. Just you and me.”

Voices carried from the other side of the door, pushing my already-jumpy heart to a near heart-attack state. “I can’t right now. They’ll know something’s up.”

“Lauren and Grace already know, right?”

“Yes, but I’m not worried about them.”

He sighed heavily. “You’re staying.”

“I have to.”

“All right.” He reached for my hand and tugged me closer, kissing my lips easily before pulling away. “Then stay with me tomorrow night. We can do whatever you want. Takeout. Movie. Whatever. But stay with me.”

A thousand thoughts swarmed through my mind all at once—worries and doubts, excitement and intrigue. Could I keep to the rules if we spent time together alone? But despite my uncertainty, only one word managed to break free.

“Okay.”





Chapter Fifteen


Aidan texted me his address the next day after I refused to allow him to take a cab over to pick me up. The day was intense enough without my having to worry about cleaning up or explaining why Lauren was still in her PJs at five. And normally on a dreary day like today, I’d be right there with her, but instead, I was walking into Aidan’s apartment building, nervousness and excitement coursing through me in even turns.

I adjusted my overnight bag on my shoulder and peered around for the stairs when my gaze caught on the man leaning against the wall beside the stairwell door. A smile stretched across my face.

Aidan.

He wore loose jeans, an old University of Tennessee T-shirt, and the UT hat from the first time we met. His hair stuck out from below the hat in a disheveled mess, and he clearly hadn’t shaven since Friday morning for work, but damn if this look wasn’t the sexiest thing I’d ever seen on him.

“Did you adopt my phobia?” I asked as I neared. “Or are you being intentionally sweet?”

He pushed away from the wall and grabbed my bag off my shoulder. “I’ve adopted a few terrible habits since you threw yourself at me at that bar. It’s starting to become a problem.”

“Hey,” I said, pushing his chest, but then I felt the tightness of his pectoral muscle, and suddenly my thoughts were no longer so light. Aidan’s gaze locked on me as he took my hand and ran his fingers easily through mine, causing the fire in my stomach to roar to life. Oh my, this was going to be a very, very dangerous night. I reminded myself to stick to our rules. Everything would be okay so long as I stuck to the rules.

“What are those?” Aidan asked as we started up the steps.

“Brownies.”

His eyebrows lifted. “You bake?”

“Only Southern food and baked goods. You can call me Paula Deen if you’d like.”

He smirked that sexy grin I loved. “I have a few other names in mind right now, but we’ll save those for later.”

Later? Oh, my, my, my.

The stairs continued up forever, and guilt worked through my stomach at Aidan suffering on my account. I had just decided to tell him to take the next floor’s elevator, I’d see him up there eventually, when he opened the door to level twelve and held it open for me. “After you.”

“You just walked up twelve flights of stairs for me.”

“I find myself willing to do a lot of things for you.”

“You said no romance.”

He flashed me a grin. “I’m not being romantic. I’m just trying to get in your pants.”

“Is that right?” I asked with a laugh.

The stairwell door closed, and I took his hand, stopping him from walking. I wanted to say something, but my thoughts were muddled with emotions too complicated to express. Too against the rules. Then realizing I didn’t want to say something, I wanted to do something, I leaned in and pressed my lips to his.

The kiss started out so innocent, a little thank-you for rocking my world, but then his free hand slid into my hair and my hands clutched his shirt and suddenly we were pressed against the stairwell door, our bodies flush, every bit of restraint tossed back down the stairs. I had just risen onto my toes for better access to his amazing mouth when a gasp, followed by whispering, sent us flying apart.

My chest heaved as I peered around. A pair of older women scurried down the hall away from us, both their heads shaking in complete disgust. Aidan and I burst out laughing as soon as they rounded the corner, and then he took my hand and led me three doors down to his apartment.

As soon as we stepped inside, I could tell the place was 100 percent Aidan. Dark hardwood floors stretched out from the entryway into a large living room with a fireplace and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city. The leather couch and dark end tables and art on the wall were all very modern, but then I spied a worn UT blanket folded on the back of the couch.

“We haven’t talked about the UT thing. What made you choose to go there?”

“I grew up in Tennessee, so it was in-state or no education at all.”

I twisted around to look at him. “You grew up there? But you don’t have an accent.”