Porter nudges my foot with his shoe, careful not to let his giant boot crush my bare toes. “Thank you for letting me crash here. I know your message wasn’t an invite to barge into your life, but I’m glad I came.”
“I’m glad you did too.” I give him an awkward hug. “Although I’m sure the biggest reason you’re glad you came was because of the boy crush you have on my boyfriend.”
The second it’s out there, my face blossoms with heat. I feel at least three different sets of eyes on me—my brother’s amused ones, Mrs. Griffith’s knowing ones, and Aiden’s. His burn the hottest on my face, but I do what I can to avoid them.
My brother gives me an out. “He was a bonus, but I think we needed this. I wasn’t sure what I’d say, but your boyfriend—” His lips twitch into a little grin. “—has a way of convincing people that it’s not so much about the words that count.”
Swallowing, I nod slowly.
It’s the actions.
Letting out a tiny breath, I give him another hug, this one tighter, before waving at my parents as they open the front door.
When they leave and it’s just Aiden and I left in the living room, I turn and look up to see a smirk on his face. “Don’t say it.”
“Boyfriend, huh?”
I blush. “It just came out.”
His parents are back in the kitchen finishing the meal preparations, so he leads me to the couch. “I didn’t mind it.”
“But we haven’t—”
“It’s always been you, Ivy,” he cuts me off confidently. “Why shouldn’t we label it? We’re always going to be friends, but we’re also more than that. I don’t want to see some other guy with his hands on you, so I might as well make my claim now.”
Attention darting to the kitchen where something falls, I sink into the cushion. “I think you already made that claim a while ago,” I inform him in no more than a murmur.
“So don’t question me.”
“Does this mean I’m your girlfriend?” He gives me a look like that’s a stupid question, making me laugh. “I don’t think I want to stay here.”
His brows pinch over the sudden topic change. “Where? The house?”
“In Lindon.”
Slowly, he blinks. Once, twice… “Where do you want to go then?”
“Remember when you used to follow me into the woods knowing I’d wind up at that dilapidated fort? I never asked you to, but you’d do it anyway. Or when I’d walk to the ice cream shop on the other side of town alone when it was open during the summers to get their pistachio cones and you’d wind up there annoyed I’d walked by myself?”
“Because you needed me so you didn’t get abducted,” he replies dryly, his hand moving hair away from my face. His voice softens. “And because I wanted to be there with you.”
“Exactly.” I tug on the shirt he’s wearing, picking a piece of hair off it, and peeking at him through my lashes. “I want to be with you. Let’s be real, Aiden, I never liked school anyway. I’m not any good at it. But what I am good at is baking, and I can do that anywhere. And this isn’t me saying I expect you to take care of me because you know I won’t allow it. I’ll get a job. I enjoy working at Bea’s, and there’s got to be other places like it wherever you go.”
“Ivy, you can’t—”
“I can,” I inform him, leaning into him. “Because I want to. Remember what I asked before? Let me have some control. Let me make my own decisions.”
He sighs in defeat. “Are you sure?”
“Out of your head, Griffith,” I tease him, tugging on his shirt until he meets me halfway for a kiss. “Overthinking won’t get you anywhere.”
A sly, knowing smirk stretches his lips as he pecks me again. “Turning the tables, I see.”
I simply shrug, waiting for the line.
When he realizes that, he chuckles. “My head is always in the game, Underwood.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Aiden
Rachel Holloway congratulates me on finishing the semester with straight A’s, passes me my final transcript in case I’ll ever need it to reenroll in the future, and sends me on my way. I notice the way she quickly grabs her phone and blushes at whatever is on the screen, and I have an ugly feeling I know what it is considering it went off multiple times during our ten-minute meeting.
When I walk out of her office, I see Matt walking toward it. He smacks the hand I lift and bumps our shoulders together. “I bet you’re happy to be done with this place. I’m jealous, man. I’m over it.”
My brows raise as I gesture toward the athletic adviser’s office he’s obviously heading toward. “Word of advice, if you want to get out of here unscathed you’ll end whatever the hell that is. You know you’re a good player. Train, focus, and you’ll be invited to the next combine.”
My teammate, who’s usually the class clown with DJ, shoots me a displeased expression at the advice he’d be stupid to ignore. “No offense, but not all of us want to be miserable like you. Some of us go after what we want the second we know we want it.”
“What do you want more?” I press. “Do you want football? A career out of it? Or do you want to risk everything for something that may not last. Be honest with yourself, Matt. You’re a thrill seeker. You’ve always done dumb, risky shit because the idea of getting caught excites you for some damn reason.”
His nostrils twitch before he eyes the office door that’s wide open for a moment before turning back to me. “Mind your business. You got the life you wanted. I’m getting mine.”
My hands raise in surrender. It’s not my problem and I’ve said my piece. That’s the best I can do. “Fine man. I’ll see you at the house.”
I start walking away when he sighs. “You and your girl sticking around? I heard DJ saying something about you guys hanging out while you train with Pearce in his free time now that the season is over. What else are you going to do? The combine isn’t until February.”
Coach Pearce knows some trainers who are going to push me to my limits to get me ready for the combine. I’m on a strict diet that Ivy has been helping with even though half the shit I eat now is something a goddamn rabbit would consume, but I’ve already noticed results in my energy alone that the dietician said will get me prepared for when my training exercises begin after the New Year.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I nod. “We plan to stay at the house for a while and then spend some time in our hometown.”
His brows go up. “Shit, yeah. Forgot that’s how you know each other. Shouldn’t surprise me I guess. Not just anyone was going to catch your eye. Don’t know if you know this, but you’ve got serious trust issues.”
I snort. “You a therapist now?”
He smirks, the tension between us gone like that. “Nah, just hella observant. DJ always said you would have had to have known Ivy for you to get all territorial over her. Plus, who the fuck hangs out at a bakery instead of sleeping in on the one day off a week we get?”