“You sure you’ve never played this before?” Aiden asked as I blew up another one of our opponents.
“Never,” I said. “I’ve always stuck with city-building games.”
“Well, you missed your calling.” He laughed. “You are putting a lot of fourteen-year-old boys to shame with your mad skills.”
I giggled and blew up another opponent.
It was evening by the time we quit for dinner. Along with sandwiches, we ate the stew Aiden had made in the crockpot. He placed a bunch of fruit out for dessert.
“You really are a great cook,” I told him.
“Thanks,” he said.
“Who taught you?”
He looked away and licked his lips before responding.
“Um, this girl I used to see,” he said quietly.
“She cooked a lot?”
“Yeah, at first,” he said. “I think she taught me so she wouldn’t have to do it anymore.”
He laughed humorlessly, and awkward silence ensued.
When he didn’t say anything else, I wanted to ask him more about her, but ex-girlfriends were always a bit of a taboo subject. I certainly didn’t want to dive into a conversation about Zach. I wondered if the woman he was talking about might have been the same girl Lo had mentioned, but I’d pried into Aiden’s life enough for one day.
Maybe she was Cayden’s mother?
I hadn’t really put two and two together on that. If Aiden had a child, there also had to be a mother in the picture somewhere. Where was she? I could only assume the child was with her, but I couldn’t ask him about that. If I did, he’d know what I’d been doing.
“I’m going to clean up,” Aiden announced suddenly. He picked up our dishes and took them to the sink.
“Do you want some help?” I asked.
“No, that’s okay—it’s not much. Do you want to watch a movie or something?”
“That would be good.”
“There are a bunch of them in one of the boxes on the couch,” he said. “Pick one.”
I opened up the first box and found a collection of Blu-ray disks. Action and horror movies seemed to be Aiden’s preference, and I was good with that. He had Fifth Element, one of my favorites. I hadn’t watched it for a long time, so I pulled it from the box and sat it on top of the Blu-ray player. I thought about going ahead and loading it so it would be ready, but something about messing with a man’s electronics felt taboo to me.
Aiden started the movie, gathered a couple of pillows from the bedroom, and we sat in front of the couch with the pillows propped behind us. Aiden tossed his arm on the seat cushions of the couch, right behind my shoulders. We had both seen Fifth Element enough times to be able to recite our favorite parts, and halfway through it, we were laughing hysterically.
“Bada boom!” Aiden called out as he tossed one of the pillows at me.
I giggled and threw it back.
“Boom!” I yelled out. “Big boom!”
“Multipass!” he cried as he threw it back, hitting me right in the face.
I toppled over, laughing and grabbing for the pillow. The next thing I knew, Aiden was scrambling over my legs, trying to reach the pillow first. I grabbed on and held tight, not wanting to relinquish my only weapon.
We struggled, but I was no match for him. All of a sudden, he was on top of me, and I was pinned to the floor by his body. He grabbed the pillow and dropped it on my head a couple of times before pulling it back and looking down at me as we both caught our breath.
For a moment, there was nothing else in the room—no rain pattering on the roof, no movie sounds in the background, not even any air in the room around us. It was just Aiden’s body pressed on top of mine and the beating of our hearts.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and he moistened his lips with his tongue. I couldn’t breathe—partially because he was lying on my diaphragm but mostly in anticipation. I’d been here for days, and nothing had happened aside from unintentional morning wood.
I looked up, just waiting. Aiden kept his eyes on mine but didn’t move. I felt my thighs tense and wondered if he could feel it, too. My heart was beating so fast, he had to be able to hear it, but he stayed still—his gaze dancing from my eyes to my lips.
He smiled that big, boyish grin that lit up his greenish-brown eyes.
“Bada big boom,” he said before rolling off of me.
I sat up, flushed and flustered. I wasn’t sure what had just happened.
Aiden fixed the pillows at the base of the couch and leaned back against them. I scooted over next to him, and we watched the rest of the movie in near silence. I glanced at him a few times, but he kept his eyes on the television.
He didn’t even put his arm back around me.
What went wrong? I was sure he was about to kiss me, but something stopped him. Had I done something to tick him off? Did I have stew-breath? Had he somehow figured out that I’d gone poking my nose where it didn’t belong?
The movie ended. Aiden suggested watching another one, and I agreed with whatever he picked out without really hearing the title right before excusing myself to the bathroom. I nearly raced down the hall, shut and locked the door behind me, and stared at my reflection.
And with that, I started to fall apart.
TEN
“This is not going well,” I whispered to myself.
I couldn’t help wondering if Aiden had just decided he wasn’t interested in me and was now just being polite as he waited for the week to end so he could send me home. I was keeping him from work—whatever the hell that was—and probably cramping his style with my goodie-two-shoes ways. I’d enjoyed our activities together but was still far from being the adventurous person Aiden obviously was.
I had never really even smoked weed—only tried to inhale once—let alone done any other illicit drugs. On the other hand, he was probably selling to all the college students in the tri-county area.
This was why I didn’t do things without thinking them through first. If I had spent just a little bit of time considering all the possible outcomes of this trip¸ I could have saved us both a lot of trouble. If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t have agreed to join him.
I’d be at home right now, staring at the television by myself and talking to my action figure dolls.
I swallowed past the lump that had formed in my throat. It had been ridiculous for me to think this was a good idea. I should be home. Yes, I’d be by myself, but I’d be safely by myself. I wouldn’t be worrying about what I had done wrong. I wouldn’t be wondering if the guy I was with was a criminal.
What do criminals do when their date doesn’t work out? Would he think I’d learned too much? Would he consider me a threat to him?
Oh, shit.
I closed my eyes for a moment, convincing myself I was not trying to hold back tears. I was way out of my comfort zone, not to mention far away from my home and friends and possibly in danger. I hadn’t even told Mare where I was going or with whom.
If I disappeared, she’d have no idea where I went.
A sudden wave of panic came over me. My eyes burned as my attempt to hold back tears failed. I quickly pulled out my phone and turned it on. It beeped immediately, letting me know I had missed texts from both Gabe and Mare. Gabe wanted to know if I could wait until next week to go car shopping, which was perfect. Mare was asking about heading out after work to check out florists.
I sent Mare a text.
Hey there! I just wanted you to know I can’t do flowers this week. I’m in Florida with a friend. I should be back next weekend.
Her reply was immediate.
Damn, girl! What friend? You didn’t say anything about taking a trip!
I sat down on the toilet.
His name is Aiden Hunter.
I hit send.
Clo are you okay? I’ve never heard of this guy. Where are you exactly?
I wasn’t sure if I was okay or not.
I met him after you guys left the bar. I’m
in Miami. Golden Beach.
I wiped a stray tear from my cheek and waited for her to reply.
You met him Friday? And you are in Miami with him now? Alone? JFC
I couldn’t argue with that sentiment.
I know. I’m not sure what I’m doing here.
Another instant response from Mare.
Do you want to talk?
I shook my head as if she could see me.
Can’t now. He’d hear me.
Are you safe?
Now there was a damn good question.
I think so. I mean, he’s been really nice.
A few seconds went by.
Did you fuck him?
Leave it to Mare to be so blunt.
No.
Are you going to?
I took a deep breath.
I don’t know. I’m not really even sure if he wants to.
What guy doesn’t want to???
Well, that was a good question. However, I’d been pretty much alone with Aiden for the past four days, and he hadn’t even kissed me again. He’d been inches away and hadn’t closed the gap.
What if he’d changed his mind? What if he wasn’t just being polite when he said he’d take the couch the first night but just didn’t want to be that close to me? He could have decided that I was just too boring to bother with at all.
“Hey, are you okay in there?” Aiden called through the door.
I hadn’t realized how long I’d been gone.
“I’m fine!” I replied. “Be out in a sec.”
My phone beeped.
Call me!
I shook my head again.
I have to go. I’ll try to call you tomorrow.
You better! You have me worried!
I will.
I shoved the phone back into the pocket of my shorts along with the business card Lo had given me the previous night. After splashing water on my face, I checked myself in the mirror to make sure I looked more composed than I felt.
I didn’t.
Something about texting with Mare had me even more on edge. What guy didn’t want sex, indeed? If stereotypes were to be believed, men weren’t all that picky as long as they were getting laid. If Aiden wasn’t interested, what did that mean? Why did he bring me here?
Alarm!
My mind whirled. Could he have brought me here for some other reason? If he really was a drug dealer, what would he want with me?
Or was that too simple—too obvious? Maybe he wasn’t a drug dealer but some other sort of criminal. Perhaps he really was in some kind of organized crime ring and planned on using me for…for…for what? He’d had days alone with me. He could have done anything he wanted—raped me, killed me, or sold me off to some arms dealer in trade for weapons of mass destruction.
Aiden was right about me—I had led a sheltered life. I had no notion of the activities of criminals. Aside from a tour of Alcatraz when I visited my mother, I had no knowledge of what sort of illicit dealings people in the underworld might be involved in. He could be planning anything. He could be biding his time, placating me into trusting him so he could lure me into some insane life of crime.
Wouldn’t that count as a thrill? Was he testing me with the skydiving to see if I might be enticed into that kind of life? Could he be planning to use me as some kind of patsy for a crime he intended to commit?
Too many questions.
No answers.
Words spoken by both my mother and my father started to fill my head.
Don’t trust strangers.
Never get yourself into a situation you can’t control.
Think before you act.
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
A free trip to Miami with a gorgeous man—what was that if not too good to be true? I had trusted Aiden enough to come to Miami with him, leaving myself in a situation I couldn’t control. I hadn’t thought about the consequences, and now I was trapped.
“Chloe?”
Shit!
“Coming!”
When I opened the door, Aiden was standing in the hallway, shirtless. I startled and tried to get myself together while simultaneously letting my eyes drop to his waistline and the deep V shape along with the ink that disappeared into his shorts.
My body warmed, and I took a shuddering breath.
“Everything all right?” Aiden asked. “I hope switching to a horror flick was okay with you. If you don’t like horror, we can watch something else.”
“I’m fine. The movie is fine.” I didn’t even know what he had selected, but I couldn’t look at that gorgeous, inked, distracting body any longer. I’d made a huge mistake, possibly the worst mistake of my life.
“You don’t look fine.”
I glanced back at him, trying not to stare at his naked torso but unable to tear my eyes away from the swirling designs and rippling muscles. Angel’s wings and a halo touched the center of his chest. Ocean waves crashed around his shoulder, and a long, tattooed necklace wrapped around his neck and trailed down to his navel.
“Where’s your shirt?” I asked. I wasn’t even sure where the words came from, but it was my voice.
“I spilled my drink on it,” he said quickly. “Stop deflecting. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“You’ve been crying,” he stated. “Did I piss you off?”
“No. I think I’m just a little tired.” I needed to get away from him. I needed to figure out how I was going to regain control of the situation and get myself the hell out of there. “Maybe I’ll just head to bed.”
His bed. Oh yeah, that was the perfect solution.
I ducked around him and walked quickly to the bedroom. If I could get away from him for a while, maybe I could figure out what I should do next.
Aiden followed me into the room and leaned against the doorjamb.
“What’s wrong, Chloe?”
“I’m fine!” I snapped. I dropped to my knees and started digging through my suitcase like I was looking for something, but I didn’t have anything in mind. I just didn’t want to meet his eyes.
“Very convincing.” He didn’t try to hide the sarcasm.
“So, does everyone usually call you Hunter, not Aiden?” I asked in a futile attempt to change the subject.
“What?”
“Your friends,” I clarified, “Lo and Mo—they called you Hunter. Is that what people usually call you?”
“Yeah,” he replied quickly. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong? Did Lo say something to you when you were on the beach last night? I know those guys can be a little intense when you aren’t used to them.”
“They were fine. Lo didn’t say anything.”
“What is it then?”
I stopped digging and stood back up, still unsure of what the hell I was doing. All of this had been a bad idea from the get-go, and I felt trapped. My mind was racing so frantically, I didn’t even know what direction it was trying to go in.
“Chloe—talk to me,” Aiden said.
I made the mistake of looking at him. His expressive eyes were full of concern, and the look caught me off guard. He’d done all these wonderful things for me—the cooking, the kayak trip, the walks on the beach—why was I so mistrustful?
Because he was built. He was tattooed. He was shifty about his occupation. He had strange conversations late at night. He might have a child he didn’t want me to know about.
That’s not it.
I swallowed hard, and my shoulders slumped. All my previous thoughts of criminal activity disappeared at the revelation that I didn’t really think he was dangerous. I was mad because he didn’t seem interested in me, and I wanted him to be.
He hasn’t done anything wrong.
“Please, Chloe. I’m really confused here.”
He was a nice guy. He was fun and exciting. We had a lot of interests in common. The week had been wonderful, but he hadn’t even tried to kiss me since we got here. I didn’t want to confirm my suspicions
that he had decided I was a waste of time.
He wasn’t planning to kidnap me or use me for some nefarious plan. He just wasn’t interested, and I needed to buck up and get it all out in the open.
“I’m just…just trying to figure out what all this is about.” I waved one hand back and forth between us.
“What do you mean?”
I bit down on my lip, not wanting to come straight out and say the words, but I was out of options. Fear and sadness boiled into anger, and I started yelling.
“I don’t even know why I’m here!” I cried. “I don’t do this kind of thing!”
I covered my face and tried to hold back the tears. After a long pause, he spoke again.
“Do you want me to take you to the airport?” Aiden asked slowly. “I can get you on the next flight if that’s what you want to do.”
Suspicions confirmed. He wanted to get rid of me. At least I knew it now.
“If that’s what you want,” I said quietly. I looked down at my suitcase and blinked back tears. I hadn’t brought much with me, and it wouldn’t take long to pack. I wondered if I should leave behind the red cocktail dress he’d selected for dinner.
“No.” Aiden shook his head. “It’s not what I want.”
“It isn’t?”
“No! Jesus, Chloe—I asked you to come here! Why would I want you to leave? What did I do to piss you off so much?”
“You didn’t piss me off,” I whispered.
“Well, what is it then?” His voice rose and he crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes looked hard, and I took a little step back.
“It’s just…I…I don’t know what…” I stammered.
His look softened.
“Shit, Chloe—just say it,” he pleaded. “Seriously, I don’t know what’s going on here.”
“Well, neither do I!” I cried. “I have no idea what this is all about!”
“What what is about?”
“You…me…here…” I couldn’t seem to make a sentence in my head, let alone one with my tongue. Too many thoughts were trying to occupy my head at once, and every time I looked at him, I just wanted to know how far down those tattoos really went, driving any linear thinking straight out of my mind and leaving me disoriented.