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“It’s a five-minute drive…”

“And I’m a busy man. I’ll be missing out on valuable Netflix time if I have to take you…”

“Surely, you want a break. We spent all of yesterday watching Netflix.”

“And it was great,” he replied. “How about you forget the clothes and spend the day in bed with me again today?”

“Aiden,” I groaned. “We didn’t spend the day in bed together!”

“I mean, we kind of did…” His eyes were practically sparkling with delight, and I struggled to ignore the way his words affected me. This is exactly what I wanted, for things between us to go back to normal, but I couldn’t understand why my heart seemed to flutter as we talked. I wasn’t supposed to be enjoying his banter.

I forged on, trying to act like nothing was bothering me. “Look, it won’t take long, I promise.”

“You say that, but who knows how long you’ll take, especially if I don’t give you a time limit this time.” He slowly started to smile. “I tell you what. I’ll take you, but you’re going to owe me a favor of your own.”

“What kind of favor?” My senses tingled with suspicion. He was definitely up to something, but I had no idea what. It couldn’t be anything good.

“The kind I get to decide in the future.”

“Why can’t you just ask me for something now?”

He shrugged. “There’s nothing I want from you right now. Unless you’d like to change into my jersey again?”

My cheeks heated with embarrassment. “That’s not going to happen.”

“I suppose you’re not going to reconsider testing out the kiss-a-day theory with me either then…” His grin was wide and alluring. I could easily see why the girls at school fell for it. I refused to be one of them though.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“So, we’re left with a mystery favor then.” He looked far too pleased by the thought.

“Fine. But the favor can’t involve any football jerseys or kisses.” I quickly added the condition to our agreement.

“You’re no fun,” he grumbled. “But I think we have a deal.”

“Yep, it’s a deal.”

“Should we seal it with a kiss?”

I rolled my eyes before turning to walk back to my room. “I’ll get my shoes and see you by your truck in five minutes.”

“See you there,” he agreed.

Aiden’s devious smile had returned with full force, and I had to wonder what had I just agreed to? And why was a part of me excited to find out?

14

Aiden

Iwas really struggling to keep my eyes on the road as I drove Clary to her house. I had barely pulled out of the driveway, and already I was finding it highly distracting to have her sitting in the truck next to me. It had to be because of the makeup. She was the most beautiful girl at school on an average day, but when she did her makeup like this, she looked like she didn’t belong in school at all.

I think it was the eyelashes most of all. They were thick and dark, highlighting her bright blue eyes and making them less innocent and more seductive. I quickly diverted my attention back to the road, scolding myself as I did. Clary wasn’t her normal self right now. She was still struggling with her parents being gone, so I really shouldn’t be checking her out. I was only human though—a very weak human who was infatuated with the girl beside me.

When I saw her this morning, it had been nearly impossible to resist the urge to pull her into my arms. She was so beautiful and fragile, and all I wanted to do was make her feel better. There was a determined look in her eyes though when she came knocking on my door, and I knew she wouldn’t let me be close with her like I had been the day before. She didn’t want people looking at her with sad eyes and comforting voices, so I’d just treated her as I did every other day.

Watching Netflix with Clary and actually being able to support and comfort her had meant so much to me. I wanted nothing more than to do it over and over again. It wasn’t what Clary needed right now though. She needed me to return to my usual ways so she could return to hers. That was why I’d asked for the stupid favor. I doubted I’d ever ask her for anything, but I wanted her to feel like everything was normal.

It sucked her parents were gone, but she needed distracting not babying. And distracting Clary was something I happened to be very good at—even if it did have the side effect of also driving her crazy.