“Fine.” She grunted, but instead of sounding like an eighty-year-old man, she reminded me of a goddamn puppy.
“There’s this great hole-in-the-wall. Shitty building. Shitty neighborhood, but the best food in the world. It’s cheap, so I won’t be an expensive date.”
“Food will probably make me feel human again.”
“One can hope.” I grinned quickly. “Want to borrow a shirt so you don’t have to wear Zane’s ripped-up muscle tee?”
“I’m not wearing some one-night-stand’s leftover, but if you have one small enough that’ll fit me, I’ll try it.”
“Hmm, I think I have a frat tank top.” I shuffled through the drawer until I found it.
“A bro tank? I hate them, but it’ll do. I can tie it at the waist.” She threw it on over her other shirt and pulled the other one out the neck hole. Impressive.
I was so distracted by how my shirt looked on her, I had to ask her to repeat what she said.
“I said I need to get my other shirt from Alex’s room. I liked that one.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I said firmly enough to cause her to give me a weird look. “I need to apologize to him anyway.”
“Okay, but don’t come across all stalker-y, like that look you have right now. It’s scary.”
“Yes, boss lady.”
She grinned, and an odd sensation overtook my body. I didn’t like it. “Come on. Let’s go.”
As we pulled in a short time later, her eyes widened at the sight of the restaurant I’d chosen, unsure if the holes in the walls were from bullets or wear and tear.
I chuckled. “I’ll protect you. Don’t worry.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just, uh…Well, let’s see if they’re here. If they are, I can’t go in. Hmm, I need to look.” She darted from under my arm.
I had no idea what the hell she was talking about. “Jenna, what are you doing?”
She peeked over the windowpane like a peeping Tom, balancing on a rock. “I just need to check something really quick. What time is it?”
She had a weird look in her eyes, seconds away from slipping off the rock, but I looked at my watch. “It’s after nine. You look like a weirdo.”
“Oh, it’s after nine. We’re good.” She let go of the windowpane and fell, but I reacted and caught her in time. My hands grabbed her tiny waist, and her palms rested on my chest. It was the closest we’d ever been. I could smell her vanilla lotion. I would’ve kissed her and she would’ve let me, but fate decided against it.
“Jenna! Oh, is that you? You peeping in my window?”
She jumped back and shook her head. “Jerry! Hey, you old grump! Good to see you.”
She walked over to the guy dressed in a cook’s uniform and gave him a huge hug. He looked down at her endearingly and patted her head. “You look good. Heard from your pa how school’s goin’ real well for ya. We’re all real proud of you, girlie. Don’t go so long without stopping by. Go on in. Your fella’s already left, so you don’t have to explain the giant you have with ya.”
As if she forgot I was there, she turned around and blushed. “This is Aiden. Aiden, this is a family friend, Jerry. He’s one of the owners of this shithole.”
I stuck out my hand. “Great to meet you. This place is my favorite breakfast spot in all of Phoenix.”
He grabbed my hand and eyed me up and down for a second before responding. “I’ve seen you in here before. This is the first time you brought a girl. Couldn’t’ve picked a better one than Jenna here.”
“I couldn’t agree more, sir. She’s one of my good friends.” I could feel her eye roll at my use of the word good.
“Whatever y’all say. Well, go get some grub. I need my smoke.”
Jenna turned to look at me, slightly embarrassed. “I grew up in this place.”
“Gonna expand on that?”
“Not even a little bit. I need eggs and coffee. Let’s go.” She walked in, and I had no choice but to follow.
“Full of mysteries.”
Chapter 13
Never Judge a Book by Its Abs—Cover, I Mean Cover-Jenna
“THE Pit. Good name for this place, isn’t it?” I asked as we picked a booth in the corner, the one with the least cigarette burns.
“I think it suits it. Kind of cozy, with a little smell. Not completely sanitary, but still some of the best food for the prices.”
“I can’t believe you come here.” My words slipped out before I could stop them.
“Why?” He tilted his head in curiosity.
“This really isn’t your scene. It’s a hangout for blue-collar workers.” I made a face, thinking it was an obvious answer.
His hands stilled in picking up the napkin, and a shadow of annoyance crossed his face.
I felt bad and tried to backpedal. “Not saying it’s not okay you’re here, just I wouldn’t have expected someone like you to come here.”
His mouth was set in irritation when he replied, “I thought we were over you judging and assuming things about me.”
“You’re right.” A cold knot formed in my stomach, and for the first time in a while, I was truly ashamed of myself. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”
He looked up and held my gaze for a minute before he let out a breath. “Thank you for apologizing. You’re not only buying today’s breakfast, but next week’s, too.”
“Next week?” My eyebrows rose.
“Why not? Let’s come here every Thursday morning. Make it a thing. Friends do that.”
I shrugged. “Okay. We’ll meet here Thursdays at nine.”
He smiled, and I was shocked at the tenderness on his face. His strong jawline and intense gray eyes didn’t appear so intimidating when they softened.
I placed my hand on his and looked into his eyes. “Aiden, I’m really sorry I said those things. Obviously, I have my own issues I’m projecting onto you.”
He squeezed my hand back and waved off my apology. “No need to apologize again. The first time was enough. You’re no pain in the ass, but you are a piece of work. You speak your mind about so many things and don’t hold back unless it pertains to your life. I get it. We all have our past, but there’s a lot about me you don’t know too.”
“Fair enough. I don’t really do…‘feelings’ well, so I’m awkward about my life sometimes.” I even put air quotes around the word.
“Yeah, I sensed a vibe from you. Oh, hey, I have to introduce you to somebody.” He put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. I felt his touch all the way to my toes, and I had no fucking clue what to do with it.
“Okay?” I turned around and saw an older gentleman with a cane slowly walking toward our booth. Aiden stood to give him a hug.
“Jenna, this living fossil is Mike. Mike, this is one of my beautiful friends, Jenna.”
The white-haired Mike held out his shaking hand, and I stood to take it. “Nice to meet you, Mike.”
“You, too, dear. She is something else, Aiden. Quite the looker. I think I’ve seen you here before with a bunch of rowdy guys.”
I blushed and followed Aiden’s lead by sitting back down in the booth. This time he scooted me over and pushed himself right against me so Mike could have the other side. I gave him a questioning look, but he ignored me and put his arm on the back of the seat.
“Yeah. I come here every once in a while with some family,” I answered, knowing it would probably trigger more questions.
“Those men your family?” Mike asked.
“Every single one of them.”
“That’s nice you got such a big one. By the looks of you, I’m sure you can handle them. They seem like they’re all right.”
“I’ll keep them.” Pride poured from me whenever I spoke about them. They were my heroes and backbone.
He chuckled, and Aiden used the pause in conversation to introduce his friend.
“So Mike here is a former Sig. But back in his day, the
y didn’t have beer pong; they had slap pong.”
“Slap pong. What’s that?” I asked.
“Ah, you youngin’s. Where do you think this infamous beer pong came from? It certainly wasn’t your generation of thugs and cell phones. We had paddles, which we used for hazin’ freshmen as well, but we played ping pong, hitting the ball in the cup.”
“Sounds harder. Now all we do is bozo toss the balls.” I thought about it. Definitely harder.
“Shit’s way too easy. Pardon my French.” Mike held up a hand in apology.
“Oh, Mike. Jenna has a fouler mouth than me. You cuss away,” Aiden replied in a light tone.
I glared at him and mouthed, Fuck off, without Mike seeing. Success.
“Is that right, dear? Back in my day, women would’ve never cussed. It wasn’t ladylike. It wasn’t how they found husbands. Now you place an ad in the newspaper and you get yourself a wife. Beats the hell outta me how it works.”
I laughed, and Aiden nudged me with his side. “I would have to agree, Mike. But I bet you had no problem with the ladies. I bet you still get offers.”
“I like her, Aiden. Bring her again.”
“So if you don’t mind me asking, Mike, how did you and Aiden meet?” They seemed to have the comfort of a lifelong friendship yet gave each other so much shit, you wouldn’t know they cared for each other.
“Let’s see. A couple years ago, he was volunteering at this nursing home. I thought it was just some punk, because you shoulda seen some of these thugs we had doing time there. But I catch this little punk eating some chocolate pudding in the staff kitchen. I was peeved because we always ran out before it got to my room, so I told on him like the mature man I am. Little did I know he was doing community service for some unknown crime, which he still hasn’t told me.”
“Taking it to my grave, Mike. I’ll never tell,” he teased, winking at me. “The story gets better, so hurry up, old man.”
“Always in a damn hurry. I’m getting to it. Food ain’t even here yet. Anyways, I find the volunteer coordinator and I tell her what this punk was doing, and I find out his community service hours ended two months before. So I knew I was going to have to take care of it myself. So the next time I knew he was comin’, I convinced some of the women there this kid was going to school to do ladies’ nails and he needed some volunteers.”
Mike held up his hand with tears of laughter coming out of his eyes. “So he comes in, and I’m sitting there while fifteen old women run up to him with nail polish and questions. It was the funniest shit.”
“So what did you do about the ladies? Did you paint their nails?” I asked.
“I had no choice. I knew this was a test. This asshole sat there smiling, showing all his fake teeth, watching for a weakness. I painted every one of their hands. It took three hours, and they downright sucked.”
“Holy shit. That’s adorable,” I blurted and made a sound between a snort and a laugh.
“You hear that, Aidey? She thinks you’re adorable,” Mike said in a baby voice. “That’s the kiss of death.”
“Aidey?” I snuck a side glance at him, biting back a smile.
“I call him a living fossil behind his back, so it’s all right. I’ve been called worse.”
“So he proved himself and then what?”
Aiden answered, and when he talked, his entire face reflected how much he cared about this man. “We battled back and forth for a good six months, and then it turned into something more one day. I don’t remember why, but suddenly, we were sitting down having lunch, talking about me coming to college the next year, and I found out he was a Sig. He’s actually the reason I joined Sigma.”
“Not for all the partying or girls?”
“All that’s great, but I could’ve gone to any of the houses. I chose Sigma because of what it meant to Mike here. My dad takes credit for it because he’s an alum, but he used the letters for networking and progression in his career. Mike used it as a brotherhood and to help the community. That’s what it should be for.”
“You’ve done a damn good job so far, Aiden.” Mike beamed. “He’s too modest to admit it, but he started the volunteer committee at the house two years ago and has gotten a lot of the guys involved at the nursing home. You wouldn’t believe how much the ladies look forward to a bunch of hunks coming in, and the men have sports to talk about.”
“I’m utterly impressed, hotshot. I knew there was something behind this pretty face of yours.” I pinched his cheek. “But I’ll have to disagree with the modesty comment.”
Mike roared at my comment.
I couldn’t remember having such a fun breakfast before. Mike talked about his days in college and made fun of Aiden.
When I said goodbye, Mike pulled me in for a hug. “Take care of Aidey. He might not know he’s a softie, but he is. He needs taking care of, too.”
“I’m on it. Don’t worry. And stay out of trouble.”
“Next time Aiden stops by the joint, you should come with him. The place needs a pretty face.”
I blushed, but I nodded. “I would love to.”
“You guys go attend a class or something. Hell, it’s Thursday.”
“Pipe down, old man. I’ll see you next week. You good for a ride?” Aiden hugged him with a hard pat on the back.
“Yup. The shuttle’s on its way. You take the pretty girl home.”
“Yes, sir.”
After we walked outside, I realized I didn’t pay for the meal. I went to run back inside, but Aiden stopped me. “Don’t worry. He paid for it.”
“He shouldn’t have done that! That was so kind.”
“That’s Mike for you. He hasn’t let me pay for a single breakfast in the past four years. Not one. So I have to sneak money or little things here and there when he’s not paying attention.”
“I’m sure that’s tough. Those old eyes don’t miss a trick.”
“Not a one.” He put his hands on my shoulders when we reached the car. “Hey, how’s your head?”
I thought about it and realized my headache was gone. “It’s a lot better. The coffee definitely helped, and the conversation was great. Thank you…so much. Did you know he was going to be here today?”
Aiden shook his head. “I didn’t know for sure because our days are usually Friday mornings, but I hoped. He comes here three times a week to meet with his old buddies. Other Sigs in the area.”
“That’s so cool. That right there, the friendship and comradery, is really what a fraternity should be about.”
“Glad you approve, shorty.”
I gave him a side glance. “You going to say what your crime was? I’m curious about that.”
“How did I know you’d remember that part? No way. The secret’s worth something real good. I’m going to wait until the right moment to cash it in.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Lies. I am bundles.”
He opened the door for me, and I hopped in. I needed time to process this other side of Aiden no one knew about.
“So big plans for the day?” he casually asked, like I wasn’t having an entire moral battle inside me.
“No. Just studying and then work tonight. I’m going to be in the library all weekend, hours and hours of my head buried in notes.”
He hissed through his teeth. “Yikes. Sounds miserable. Let me know if you need a study buddy.”
“Thanks. Will do.”
We drove in silence for a minute or two before I word vomited. “I’m really impressed. There’s another side to you I didn’t care to acknowledge. You lose a hundred d-bag points and gain more respect.”
“D-bag points?” He slid a questioning look at me.
I nodded. “Yeah. Like when you say something stupid, you gain points.”
“If I have d-bag points, then you get asshole points.”
“Fair enough. I have to say, though, Aidey, this breakfast was great. Thank you.”
; “You are absolutely welcome.”
Chapter 14
When Your Chick Repellant Is a Dude Magnet-Aiden
AIDEN: I need a favor.
Jenna: Depends on what.
Aiden: This will make me sound more like douche.
Jenna: You already have a ton of d-bag points.
Aiden: Really? Still? I thought I lost a lot.
Jenna: Yeah, two weeks ago. Since then, you’ve been caught quoting Old School, literally owning a selfie stick, using Instagram hashtags, and bro tanks.
Aiden: Okay. Beside the point. My favor involves you coming to a pool party.
Jenna: Keep talking.
Aiden: It’s this weekend. It’s a beer Olympics, so free drinks
Jenna: That’s just expected. Quit being a bitch and stalling.
Aiden: I need you there to help keep chicks away.
Jenna: You need chick repellent?
Aiden: Yes. Exactly.
Jenna: Oh God, you are such a douche. You can tell them no, you know.
Aiden: Please. I’ll buy next time at The Pit.
Jenna: The next month’s breakfast.
Aiden: THANK YOU. You’re the best.
Jenna: What time?
Aiden: 10:00a.m. Sat.
Jenna: Fine.
“She’s in!” I threw my fist in the air while Jon smirked at me. “Why are you smiling?”
“You’re such an idiot sometimes, but I’m enjoying it, so I don’t want to ruin it.”
“Why do all my friends just talk shit to me? You and Jenna. Yesterday, Zeke called me pretty. I need new friends.” I fake pouted.
“Aw, feeling sensitive, Mr. President?”
“Fuck off.” I stood and noticed a huge game of beer pong going on in the back. “Are we having a mixer?”
“Yeah, Zeke said something about new recruits for the Kappas. Wanted to show them what being Greek is like.”
“Sweet. Good turnout. So glad Zeke has to deal with Cheyenne now and not me.”
“You really weren’t the best social chair, because once you slept with them, they hated you. Not the best track record.”
“It’s getting old. That’s why I want Jenna there.”
Let Life Happen Page 9