“I will be.”
“I’m so sorry this happened.” My heart hurt for him because I knew how much he cared about his brothers.
He squeezed me tighter against him and pressed a light kiss to my ear. “I have to say having you in my arms makes me less worried for what tomorrow’s going to bring.”
“That was cute.”
“It’s true. My girlfriend is an awesome listener and awesome in bed. I’m a happy guy.”
“Well, I’m not going to deny it. I am pretty awesome.”
“You are.” He yawned. “We should get some sleep. It’s super-late.”
I turned so our faces were almost touching. “Okay.” I kissed him lightly, trying to convey without words how much I loved him. It kind of worked, but I felt him ready to go again. “Really? Already?”
“It’s what you do to me. I lose all sense of reason and nothing seems impossible.”
“God, you’re on fire tonight. Keep saying things like that, and you’ll continue to get very lucky.”
“Yeah? You’re going to experience something that will make your top five.” He teased. “You ready?”
“Absolutely.”
“That’s my girl.”
Epilogue
Four Months Later…-Jenna
“IT’S officially our last summer as college students. It pains me to say that this time next year, I will be in the adult working world, somehow making a contribution to this beautiful planet. What will I be doing? Undecided. How will I afford it? No idea. So in conclusion, gents and ladies, this will be the best damn summer vacation any of us will ever have. Are you with me?”
“Yeah! We’re with you, Nate!”
“Hold up those glasses! Cheers to our last summer! Cheers to spending a glorious week in Mexico, where Jenna can pretend to know six words in Spanish! We got to Cali, and now we broke her Mexico cherry. Now let’s do some shots, bitches!”
I watched my and Aiden’s friends all hold up shots of whiskey. I clinked my glass with Aiden’s, and he winked. He gave me a heated stare as we both downed our drinks. Then he leaned in and ran his lips over my neck. “Why am I so obsessed with your mouth?”
I giggled. I fucking giggled. It’s what I did now. I hung out with my amazing boyfriend, and I giggled at the attention.
Kennedy and Maya joined Zeke, Nate, and Jon in a game of flippy cup while Aiden and I grilled hot dogs. He’d shown me how to grill, and I became a pro.
“You have to flip them every once in a while to make sure they’re done.” His arms were on each side, like a weird porno where they taught people how to cook. I liked it, though. I liked anything involving his touch.
“Well, I could’ve figured it out myself, you know.” I nudged his arm.
“Uh-huh. And then all of us would be eating black dogs.”
“And you would’ve enjoyed them,” I quipped.
“You’re hilarious, shorty.”
In my best comedic impression, I mimicked him. “Is the mic on? I’ll be here all night.”
“Such a loser.” His laugh was deep, a sound I’d grown to love. “But you’re my loser.”
I ignored his comment and grabbed the tongs out of his hands. “How do you like your wieners, Jon?” I yelled across the beach. Our beach house had a pretty sweet grilling area and enough room for all of us. We got a hell of a deal on it.
“Hot. Long. With a bit of sauce.” Jon threw his hands up in the air after winning the round of flippy cup and added, “Wait. Were we talking about hot dogs or the other thing?”
“You’re funny,” I replied sarcastically. Aiden helped me bun the dogs and tried his best to look down my shirt. “Stop.”
“It’s difficult. Your boobs are calling my name.”
“Really? I doubt that.”
“I swear. I can hear them. Aiden, touch me.” He cupped them from behind and sighed. “Ah, see, we all win.”
“Sure, sure.” We finished plating the dogs and looked over at the keg we’d brought. “I’m impressed with how our beer turned out. I think they like it, too.”
“Hell yeah, it turned out good. We’re basically beer pros now.” He used his koozie I’d picked out for him months ago and flipped me off with the bottom.
“Those koozies turned out to be useful. We may have to get new ones soon. Maybe for a birthday.” My face paled, and I felt smaller than hell. “Holy balls. Aiden, when is your birthday?”
“You don’t know my birthday? My girlfriend doesn’t know my birthday? Unacceptable.” He shook his head.
I panicked and set down the food. “I feel like such an asshole. How did I not know? When is it?”
He wrapped his arms around me and lightly kissed me. “Don’t worry, babe. You didn’t miss it. It’s the last day in July.”
I relaxed into his arms, sighing. “Thank God. I still have a couple weeks to plan something. And hey, that’s Harry Potter’s birthday. How cool!”
“You’re such a nerd. Also, you really don’t have to plan anything. I just want to spend it with you.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Maybe we’ve been together too long, because your lines are starting to sound real smooth now.”
“I’ve always been smooth, shorty.”
“Psh. Whatever. But after what you did for me for my birthday, I have to make it up to you.”
He laughed and continued to hold me in his arms as I thought about my birthday celebration. It was fucking great. He got us a room at the hotel we’d broken into on our non-Valentine’s date. We didn’t leave the room for the whole weekend.
“Yeah, that was a great ass weekend.”
“One of the best. Ever. But I won’t plan anything too much. Just something for us.”
“Sounds good, babe, but I don’t need anything.”
I cupped his face in my hands, which was hard because I was short. He smiled and helped me out by bending down. “I love you, Aiden Chad.”
“I love you, too.”
He would never admit it, but I knew he cherished hearing those words more than I did. I heard them from my family and friends. He didn’t. I tried to remember to say it as often as I could. Each and every time, his eyes softened and his dimples came out.
I was admiring those dimples when he smacked my ass. “I love your ass, too.”
“Always such a dog.” I teased him as we passed out the hot dogs and chips. We all had food shoved in our mouths when an uninvited guest showed up.
“Kam.” Aiden stood so fast his chair fell over. I grabbed his arm, unsure how he felt about the intrusion. We hadn’t heard from Kam in months…Nate had filled us in about his stint in rehab, but that was it. After drugs were found in his room, his mom shipped him off to a center, and he was removed from the fraternity. My stomach tightened at his surprise visit.
“Hey, everyone.” He looked around into all our faces. He appeared better. His face was thinner, his hair pulled back into a man bun. He cleared his throat. “Uh, can I talk to you, Aiden?”
“Sure.” Aiden squeezed my shoulder before motioning with his head for Kam to follow him to the deck.
“Wow.” Kennedy held her glass to her face and repeated herself. “Wow…I can’t believe—How did he know we were here?”
“I talked to him a couple weeks ago. I told him about it. I didn’t fucking know he would come.” Nate propped his head on his hand. “He’s doing better. He’s been clean for four months.”
“He looked healthier.”
I listened to everyone talk back and forth. It was all I could do to remain in the conversation. My heart ached for Aiden. I knew this had been bothering him. He carried around the guilt ever since it happened. I just hoped he and Kam could somehow reconnect.
“Jenna, how do you feel about this?” Jon asked between bites. “I know you never got closure on what went down.”
I sighed and thought about it. “I’m over it. I don’t understand the hows and whys, but I don’t need answers.
We’re past it. It’s ridiculous that it happened.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. Aiden wouldn’t ever make you feel uncomfortable.”
“I know. I would never stand in their way. I hope they can work it out.” I’d barely finished my sentence when they both walked onto the grilling area. I immediately looked to Aiden’s eyes and jaw. He appeared to be relaxed. A shadow of a smile was actually still there.
“Hey, guys, Kam’s going to stay with us for a couple nights. What room is open?”
“The one next to mine is free. Stay there,” Nate said.
Zeke still stared at him but nodded. “Good to see you, man.”
Relief filled Kam’s eyes, and he ran to grab his bag from his car.
Aiden sat down, and everyone turned to him with questions, myself included. He ignored me, but he slid his hand under the table to squeeze my knee. I knew he was okay then.
“We’re brothers. The fraternity means something to all of us. I made the decision to forgive him. I know it was fucked up, but what’s the point of the vows and brotherhood if we abandon brothers at their lowest moments? It does none of us any good to hold on to old shit. I miss him.”
“I’m proud of you, dude.” Jon clinked beers with him. “Should we remove all the alcohol for the night?”
“No. I asked him, and he said he can control it. He won’t stay more than a night or two.” His fingers pressed down on me again, before slowly going up my inner thigh.
“I’m impressed, man. You handled that well,” Zeke said, everyone nodding in agreement.
“What else could I do?” Aiden shrugged. I mouthed, I love you, and he smiled.
The night was awkward at first, until we found a rhythm. After an hour or so, things finally seemed to turn to a new sense of normal.
Aiden and I fell asleep after making love to each other, slowly and passionately. I awoke the next day with a flower on my pillow. No one was up yet, and I walked out to see Kam and Aiden talking on the steps. I didn’t mean to listen, but I also didn’t really try to walk away.
“You and Jenna look happy,” Kam said.
“Thank you. Best thing in my life. Hands down.” Aiden laughed and mumbled something I couldn’t make out. Then I heard, “I’m going to marry that girl one day.”
My heart stopped, and I froze. There was no panic, just shock and utter happiness.
I didn’t want him to know I heard. I snuck back into the beach house to make coffee. The next time I saw him, I ran up to him and didn’t want to let go. It didn’t scare me. The mere thought of marriage should have me running far away, but I didn’t. It warmed me.
Later that night, everyone was drinking by the bonfire, with the exception of Kam.
Aiden pulled me into his lap and began rubbing my feet. “You having a good time, shorty?”
I snuggled deeper and nodded. “Best trip ever. And it’s not even halfway done.”
“Are you okay with Kam being here? I know we talked last night, but I don’t want you upset at all.”
“I’m happy you and him are okay. You needed that.”
“I guess you’re right. He asked if he could talk to you alone, and I said not yet. I know he needs to apologize to you, but I want me and him to be fine first. Is that okay?”
“Yes. Perfectly fine. This is about you and him, not me and him. You guys are totally fine now?”
He paused and thought for a second. “Yeah. I think. Brotherhood means more to me than screwing up and never moving on. If I didn’t let go of the resentment, we wouldn’t be as close as we are now. It’s deeper than that. I forgave him, as you know, but he’s handling it worse than I am.”
“Do you want to go talk to him again?” I loved his emotion, how he cared. His loyalty was one of his best traits.
“Nah, I’m with my girlfriend right now.” He kissed my neck, and his scruff tickled me. He’d grown the beard out after spring break, and I fucking loved it.
“Girlfriend. The label still seems absurd,” I teased.
“I agree. You mean the world to me, and that word doesn’t mean enough. It’s almost a year since we first met, you know that?”
“Ah, that glorious day. I’ll never forget.”
“Me either. I think I fell in love with you that very day.”
“I doubt it. I was a bitch to you and then slapped you. Not a healthy definition of love at first sight. More like love at first fight.” I chuckled at my own joke.
He ran his fingers through my hair, and I hummed in pleasure. “I fell in love with your attitude. You were ballsy and unafraid to speak your mind.”
“Is this a past-tense compliment?”
“Hell no. You’re still ballsy as hell and still speak your mind. I love it and hope you never change. I expect you to still be calling my ass out when we’re old and I say something stupid.”
I froze for a second but then relaxed. “I will. That’s for damn sure.”
“I told you before, Jenna. You are a once-in-a-lifetime girl. I plan on being with you forever. I know we’re both still in college, and we’ll be in school for a while longer, but it’s still going to be me and you. When the time is right, we’ll get married,” he announced.
I lifted my head to look him in the eyes. I pretended I had no idea he felt this way. “That’s presumptuous. Who’s to say I’ll say yes? Or that I even want to get married?”
“I’ll find ways to convince you.”
“Would you trade a secret for it?” The idea came to me suddenly. I couldn’t hide my smile. It was brilliant.
“What kind of secret?”
“What you did when you were seventeen to land that stint in community service.”
“In exchange for what?”
“That I agree to marry you…when the time is right. For the next couple of years, I won’t run from disagreements or doubt you. I will continue to love you and work through whatever happens. And we’ll still meet with Mike once a week no matter what and get our crazy fucked-up families together for holidays. And I’ll continue to be your best friend in and outside the bedroom.”
His eyes became watery, and I felt my heart grow even more for this amazingly strong man. “Wow. That was good.”
“I meant every word.” I kissed him softly, before deepening the kiss, but right before it was getting good I pulled back. “Now spill the crime.”
“Come for a walk on the beach with me first.”
“You are pushing your luck, Aiden, but okay. Don’t try to use your body to make me forget what you owe me. I know your tricks.”
He grabbed my hand and we walked along the beach, taking in the stars and sound of the ocean. I kept sneaking glances at him, hoping for him to begin talking but no luck. He just hummed and acted like he had all the time in the world.
“Here’s a nice spot, kind of secluded. Let’s sit down.”
“You’re being dramatic.” I sighed and anxiously waited for him to start talking.
“No, come on. They’ll be partying all night. We can catch up when we get back. I’m going to tell you about my crime.”
I rolled my eyes. “This is going to be anticlimactic. I know it.”
“Shut up, Jenna.”
I smiled and flipped him the bird. He grabbed my finger and put it in his mouth. That shut me up real quick.
“As you could probably imagine, I liked to party at high school football games. I also never backed down from a dare, and one night, they were getting out of hand. Instead of not following through or leaving, I pounded my chest and told them to give me their worst.”
“Of course you did.”
“Shh. Anyway, it was my junior year in high school, and our team was in the playoffs. I might’ve slipped on some UV blue before the game, and well, I took off my clothes and streaked the field. But I was fast. Really fast. I ran around the field for a solid fifteen minutes before they caught me. Then I fled, naked, and ran into traffic. Long story short, my nam
e was hidden because I was a minor, and I had to serve ten hours.”
“Holy shit. You were the streaker. I heard about you. Like my high school knew about you across the valley.”
He nodded, looking quite proud of himself. “I was pretty popular, I must say.”
“You were a legend.”
“Still am, baby. Wanna get naked and experience the legend?” He gave me a sideways look.
“You read my mind.”
“God, I love you.” He growled as he began unbuttoning my pants.
“Yeah, yeah, less talk, more action.”
“You got it, shorty.”
And then we didn’t talk for a good while.
The End
Publisher’s Note
Please help this author’s career by posting an honest review wherever you purchased this book.
About Jaqueline Snowe
Jaqueline Snowe lives in Arizona where the “dry heat” really isn’t that bad. She enjoys making lists with colorful Post-it notes and sipping coffee all day. She has been a custodian, waitress, landscaper, coach, and a teacher. Her life revolves around her two dogs who don’t realize they aren’t humans and her wonderful baseball-loving husband. If you want to stay up to date on projects, visit her website www.jaquelinesnowe.com
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