“Well, I admit you traded up.” She ran a finger along her bottom lip. “You wouldn’t care if I tried talking to Jacob, would you?”
Maybe I’d misread her. She actually seemed sincere.
Aidan’s breath caught as if he were afraid of my response.
“It’s fine.” It weirded me out, giving someone else permission to date the guy I’d spent the last two years with, but we didn’t have the same instant connection as I had with Aidan. Granted, he couldn’t bond with her since she was a human, but still. Even if he dated another wolf, it wouldn’t bother me. “He’s free to date whomever he chooses.”
I tugged on Aidan’s hand and headed for the door. I wanted time with him without anyone distracting us.
His body was still tense as he followed me, and as soon as we walked outside and the door shut behind us, he turned to me. “If she was a wolf, would it bother you?”
“Nope, not at all,” I said.
I’d moved to head toward the parking lot when he tugged me back toward him. Aidan’s eyes hinted of his wolf as a faint glow appeared. “Weren’t you with him for two years?”
“I was going through the motions.” It sounded really bad when I said it out loud.
“You went through the motions with him?” His eyes glowed brighter. “I’m going to kill him.”
“What?” It took a second for what he’d said to click. “No. We didn’t have sex.”
His body relaxed. “Really?”
“You’d know if I was lying.” But that brought up a good point. “Have you?” I had a feeling his answer would hurt. If we’d never met, it would’ve been one thing, but to hear he’d slept with someone after us bonding at fourteen would wreck my soul. “You know what? Forget I asked.” I turned around to head to the parking lot again, needing some distance.
“Emma.” He kept his hold on my hand and moved to keep up. “Wait.”
“Look, I don’t want to know the answer.” I was acting like a crazy person. I’d asked and taken it back like I was a fucking middle schooler. “Let’s just …”
“No, I haven’t had sex either.” A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “So you can stop freaking out.”
“Really?” Jacob had always complained about a man having needs. He’d never pushed me to have sex, but he’d wanted other things.
“No one could hold a candle to you.” He stepped into my space and cupped my cheek.
Now I understood how he’d felt when he’d learned I was still a virgin. “Thank God.”
He leaned his forehead against mine. “We’ve been a mess.”
“Yeah, we have been.” Everything about this moment felt right. We were off at college and finally together.
This time, I initiated a kiss. I raised my head, connecting my lips to his.
His response surprised me. Instead of taking it slow and gentle like the other times, his lips brushed against mine, his tongue begging for entrance. I opened my mouth gladly, wound my arms around his neck, and plunged my hands into his hair.
The buzzing of my skin was on overdrive. Our chests touched, and his hands were tangled in my hair as well.
The door opened, and Beth’s voice filled my ears. “Are you kidding me right now?”
A laugh bubbled out of me, and I pulled back from him.
“I thought you two were going out for dinner.” Beth walked over and stopped. “Or is this what you consider dinner? I’m not sure you can live off each other’s slobber.”
“When you say it like that, it sounds really gross.” My face hurt from smiling so much.
“No, it doesn’t.” He pulled me against him again. “Don’t listen.”
“Hey, you’re still not on my good list.” Beth wagged her finger at him. “So let’s not push it.”
“Do I have to be nice to her?” Aidan beamed as he waited for my response.
“Yes, you do.” I smacked him on his arm. “That’s my best friend.”
Beth placed a hand on her waist and jutted her hip out.
“Fine,” he growled.
“Let’s go eat before we get in trouble.” I intertwined our fingers and nodded at Beth. “See you in a couple of hours.”
Aidan and I strolled toward the parking lot next to the girls’ dorm. I was scanning the cars when I realized I had no clue what he drove.
“We’re over here.” He pointed to a new, black, Jeep Renegade. The car suited him perfectly.
It had a sunroof in the front and the back and black leather inside. He opened the passenger door, and I slid in. The car smelled new and like him.
He shut the door, hurried to the driver’s side, and got in. He started the vehicle, and we were pulling out within seconds.
We sat in silence as he drove through the gate, and soon, he reached over the center console to take my hand.
It was strange. So much time had passed, but it was almost as if nothing had changed. When we were fourteen, we’d sit at the territory line in complete silence, enjoying each other’s company. We were doing the same thing now.
We pulled into the parking lot of a small Mexican restaurant and parked near the front. The parking lot was full, and several college students were already here.
“It’s a popular place, but they have the best fajitas around.” He climbed out of the Jeep and hurried over to open my door.
When I stepped out, he pulled me into his chest and brushed his lips against mine. He whispered, “It’s amazing and about damn time we got to be like this.”
I nodded and kissed him one more time.
“Come on. I don’t want people getting the wrong idea.” He pulled away and smiled. “I want them to know I love all of you, inside and out.”
The word love stopped me short, but I didn’t want to say anything and ruin the moment by overanalyzing everything. We’d done that enough to last a lifetime.
We entered the restaurant, and the hostess smiled at us. “How many?” Her stand was against the wall, and a small hallway stretched left and right.
Aidan didn’t take his eyes off me as he lifted two fingers in the air.
“Please follow me,” she said and waved at us.
We turned down the right hallway and stepped into an open room with about six booths along the wall and ten tables. A large group occupied the corner that had several tables joined, but I didn’t pay them any attention.
The hostess stopped at the fourth booth and laid two menus down. “Here you go.” She turned and walked away.
I glanced at the designs on the booths. They were bright colors of red, blue, and green. Right as I was about to slide into one side of the booth, an all too familiar voice called out, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
That’s when I noticed Jacob with all his team members. Shit, he was supposed to be home. It figured our first date would end in catastrophe.
Chapter Fourteen
Aidan took a protective step in front of me, which would only piss Jacob off more.
“I thought you’d gone home?” I cringed as soon as the words had left my mouth. That sounded like I was trying to sneak around, and Aidan must have thought the same thing because his shoulders stiffened.