For Crying Out Loud: The laugh out loud romantic comedy that everyone's talking about! (The False Start Book 1)

by J. Preston

  “Oh,” I reply cleverly, because, you know, I’m basically a member of MENSA. They’d never say ‘no’ if they’d heard my conversational skills.

  “Well,” he says, pushing a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. “Almost everything is okay, but I’m planning to make sure it will be. We’ve got two and a half weeks for that.”

  I’m lost. I’m not sure what he’s talking about anymore… Me or Jason? But I really hope he’s talking about me, and I plan to use the next two weeks wisely. I’ll either avoid him like the plague or I’ll… I’m not sure, but it will definitely involve fewer clothes than he’s currently wearing. My lips form a smile at the thought and I catch myself in the daydream, realizing that I’m actually daydreaming about Aiden in front of Aiden…

  I clear my throat, taking a step away from him. Jake’s head whips from me to Aiden, and his tail taps the hardwood floor a few times.

  “Okay then,” I say, confirming my status as a woman of few words. There’s a first for everything.

  “Hellooooooo!” Carter sing-songs from the living room.

  “When will we learn to lock the front door?” Aiden mutters, shaking his head. I take another step back while Jake runs to the living room to greet his favourite human. Second favorite, actually.

  I turn on my heel and stomp into Jason’s room, leaving Sully behind. Sucker can make its own way to the airport. Okay, I’m hoping Aiden will lug it for me. Seeing as he’s got all the pretty-looking muscles, he might as well use them.

  “What the hell?” I huff, putting my hands on my hips.

  “Good morning, grumpy,” Jason replies unimpressed by my show of displeasure.

  “You punched Aiden!” I say accusingly.

  “Yeah, well, we had a minor disagreement. We talked after and it’s all good now,” he replies lazily.

  “It is?” I narrow my eyes. Could this mean that there’s a slight chance my brother might be ok with Aiden and me dating?

  “Yes!” he says, exasperated.

  “Oh, okay then,” I say, backing out of his room. “We leave in fifteen. I hope you’re ready.”

  We’re not leaving in fifteen minutes. In fact, we have another forty minutes before we need to start rushing, but my brother is that person. You know the one, the one who’s always late to everything. That boy would be late to his own funeral, honestly…

  With a bounce in my step, I walk to the living room. I’m excited for our trip, excited to see Dad. I’ve started to really miss him in the past couple of months. Phone calls a few times a week are just not enough. My scheming ways of convincing him he misses all the American ways better pay off!

  When I enter the room, Carter and Aiden talk in hushed voices.

  “What the hell were you thinking, man? Staying over at hers last night?” Carter’s quiet voice makes me freeze mid step.

  “I was obviously hammered, thanks to you, so I wasn’t thinking,” Aiden replies before Carter notices me and stops him, nodding in my direction.

  I unfreeze myself and pretend I didn’t hear any of their conversation, but as I walk, smiling, towards the two guys, my head is spinning. So Aiden stayed over at Chloe’s. There’s not really any other option or any other ‘her’ Carter could be referring to.

  “Morning, grasshopper.” Carter gives me a side hug.

  “Corky,” I reply, nodding at him. “What were you guys talking about?” I ask, deciding that beating around the bush will not help the situation in any way.

  “Uhh, I got pretty wasted last night.” Aiden says sheepishly. “We were just talking about how tequila and I are no longer friends.”

  Aiden outright omitting the truth hurts more than I thought possible. As awkwardness dawns upon us, I turn around, my eyes stinging, and busy myself with straightening up the skewed cushions on the sofa. I’m not going to cry, but I wish Aiden was man enough to admit to me he stayed over at Chloe’s. I mean, it’s not like he belongs to me, as much as I’d want him to. He’s got every right to sleep wherever he wants. I just wish he wanted to sleep in my bed.

  Carter leaves with Jake and, to my dismay, Aiden puts a shirt on. Rude. Once Jason finally emerges from his room, we pile into a taxi and drive to the airport. In silence. The ride is awkward as I sit in the backseat next to Aiden, who keeps throwing sideway glances my way. I’m determined not to react and stubbornly fixate on the scenery outside my window until we get to the airport. I shoot Hayley one last text and switch my phone off.

  “Mr. Vaughn,” a suited man in his late thirties says, addressing Jason. Jason raises his eyebrow at the man and looks over at Aiden, who’s busy trying to pull Sully out of the taxi, nodding in his direction. The man clears his throat curtly and turns to Aiden. “Mr. Vaughn, please let me help,” he says to Aiden this time. Aiden doesn’t even look in his direction, he just grunts at him. The man moves to the trunk of the taxi, and the two of them successfully move Sully onto a cart. “Is the whole of your party here?” the man inquires.

  “Who are you?” Aiden rudely asks the man who so kindly helped him just a second ago move the world’s heaviest suitcase. Jason and I silently watch the exchange.

  “Oh.” The man clears his throat. “I do apologize. My name is Simon and I work for your father. He has asked me to ensure you have a pleasant send off this side of the Atlantic,” he says and, I kid you not, clicks his heels. Dorothy. I shall name him Dorothy.

  “You can tell my father that I don’t need a glorified babysitter. We’re fine on our own,” Aiden barks. Disappointed, I start walking toward the trolley and consider just sitting on top of the suitcases and convincing one of the boys to drive me around the airport.

  “I’m afraid I have to do this,” Dorothy Simon replies. “Unless you’re happy for me to lose my job…”

  Aiden sighs and growls a curt, “Fine.”

  Dorothy Simon takes the trolley before I have a chance to put my plan into action and guides us through the express check-in and security checks, straight into the First Class lounge. I look around at the abundance of unnecessary things: the cushy sofas, the amount of food that’s on display, the alcohol on tap and in decanters. Aiden’s jaw is tight, and his leg twitches while we wait for our departure. Dorothy Simon settles himself on the sofa opposite us and sits up straight and unmoving, like a statue or one of the vampires from Twilight. I bump Jason’s shoulder and motion my head towards him, chuckling. My brother, as if on cue, throws a grape at Simon. He misses miserably, but it still makes me laugh uncontrollably. The awkwardness from before, gone.

  I look over at Aiden, his eyes laughing as he’s trying his hardest to keep his lips from smiling. When it’s time to get on the plane, I’m no longer mad at him. There’s no point. The only thing I can do is to try to convince him that it’s me he wants, not Chloe. I’ve got two and a half weeks to do that.

  My luck has no limit when I discover that I’m sitting right next to Aiden while Jason is in a different section altogether, way behind us. He grumbles for a bit, of course. But since, somehow, we’ve all been magically upgraded to First Class, he soon quiets down and settles himself in his comfy seat.

  I do the same and thank whomever was in charge of random upgrades for sitting me right next to Aiden.

  In First Class.

  Where food is free.

  Because, with all the excitement of the day, I forgot to eat breakfast, and when I’m starving my brain forgets to function. It makes me do stupid things.

  Like pretend that I’m scared of flying just so that Aiden holds my hand.

  27 You

  I don’t expect everything to be handed to me. Just set it down wherever.

  - Carter

  Aiden

  I look down, trying hard to believe my eyes. Jenny is squeezing my hand frantically. My eyes trace back up to her face, searching. Hers are shut tight and her lips tremble.

  “Are you scared of flying?” I ask quietly, looking over my shoulder. Jason is snoring quietly, his seat reclined fully.

  Could
have something to do with the Benadryl I slipped into his juice when we were in the lounge…

  I know what you’re thinking: Oh My God, did he just drug his best friend?!

  Please, hugs not drugs!

  But well…

  Yes and No.

  It’s best if I explain.

  Jason hates flying—that’s not right. He’s okay once we’re up in the air, but at take off? A whole different story. Some sort of instinct kicks in and he outright panics, a trait I pray his sister does not possess. And, looking at her white knuckles wrapped tightly around my fingers, one can only hope. Ever since we started flying together, Jason and I have had a deal. This has a lot to do with a certain incident following one of said panic attacks. I slip something into his drink that will make him fall asleep. He sleeps happily throughout the flight. We don’t get kicked off the plane. We don’t get thrown into a small holding cell for suspicious behaviour. He doesn’t get strip-searched. I don’t get strip-searched. Simple.

  Why would I need to slip him something? You see, Jason doesn’t like to swallow pills. Seriously. He makes a massive deal out of it, like someone should build a shrine to him when he manages to get one of the little things down his throat. I kid you not, his eyes are watering, arms flailing, weird animal noises come out of his throat, and he does this thing with his neck, throwing it back and forth violently. I call it the ‘chicken dance’, which he doesn’t appreciate. I stand by my opinion that that is exactly what it looks like.

  So since we want to avoid the show every time we fly, we have a deal. I slip him something when he isn’t looking. He unknowingly takes it, then falls asleep. Everyone is happy and everyone stays dressed and retains their dignity.

  I look back at kitten. Her breathing is shallow and the hand that’s not gripping mine is digging into her armrest.

  “Jenny,” I soothe, pulling her small frame towards me. “Don’t be scared. I’m here. I would never let anything happen to you.”

  Her head whips in my direction, her whole body shifting to angle towards me. She lets go of the armrest and her free hand shoots towards my chest, fisting my shirt. Her huge eyes look desperate.

  “How can you say that, how can you promise me such a thing?” she whispers. Her voice is shaky, and I wonder if she means more than just the flight.

  “I promise,” I reply. “I will keep you safe. I’ll never let anyone hurt you.” My words carry so much weight behind them. I, for sure, am making a much larger promise altogether, one that I will fight hard not to break.

  “What about you?” she whispers, her breathing steadying a little. That’s it, kitten, stop thinking about the flight and relax, I think as the plane rolls down the runway.

  I take a deep breath. I’ve already hurt her so many times. “Kitten…” I start, my voice coming out needy and pleading at the same time. “I’ve already hurt you so much…” I drop my eyes. “Last night I—I—”

  “Last night was a mistake, the whole thing was a mistake,” she interrupts me quickly. “You did something stupid. Things happened.” Her words are rushed. “It’s not like you belong to me.”

  You belong to me… How I want her to say those words instead…

  “I saw you kissing that guy and I went crazy,” I try to explain as best as I can. “I didn’t realise how drunk I got… And when I woke up this morning….”

  “You woke up in Chloe’s bed. I know,” she finishes quietly. “Wait, kissing what guy? I didn’t kiss anyone.”

  “I saw you…” I start and play the scene I saw the night before once again in my head. Could I have imagined it all? “He leaned down to kiss you…” I say tentatively.

  “And I pushed him away. I didn’t want him to kiss me,” she says as hope makes a happy dance in my chest. “I don’t ever want to kiss anyone…” Her voice is back to a low whisper. My breath hitches in my throat as my heart breaks in half. I’m the cause of that. I’m the reason behind her words. Me and the awful kiss I subjected her to when we were younger.

  “I’m so sorry.” I hang my head. “It seems all I do is hurt you…”

  Jenny’s soft fingers touch my chin, and she pushes my face up until our eyes connect.

  “True, but—” she says, her lips forming a half smile.

  “All this dancing around…” I shake my head, interrupting her. “I screwed up, didn’t I? You’ll never be mine.”

  “Yours,” Jenny says the word slowly, and my heart flutters at the sound. “So do you like Chloe?” she asks out of nowhere.

  “What? No, it was a drunken mistake! Kitten, if I could, I’d erase it all. All I want is—” I stop. Am I really doing this, putting my balls and my ego on a plate and handing it over to her so she could just stomp all over it? I am. “You,” I finish without hesitation.

  Her eyes don’t waiver from mine and her breath doesn’t hitch. She’s silent for what seems like eons. Her one hand is still gripping mine while the other drops from my chin and rests on her lap. I notice we’re in the air already. At least I’m a good distraction. Jenny takes a breath, and I ready myself for the blow. Here we go, she’s going to say I’m just not the person she wants or needs, that I’ve screwed up over and over, and that, frankly, I’m just embarrassing myself with my confessions.

  “I want you. I want to be with you. I always have. I always will, Jenny. You’re the one for me.” Words spill out. I guess, somewhere along the way, I decided more embarrassing confessions are needed, and I might just add my heart to the mix on that plate above which her foot is currently hovering.

  “You never answered my question…” Jenny says, completely off the subject, startling me. What question? I guess I should be happy she didn’t just outright reject me; although, isn’t deflection basically a rejection?

  “Question?” I ask.

  “Will you hurt me?” she says quietly, blushing and dropping her gaze. It’s my turn to lift her chin up to force her to look at me. I want her to see the sincerity of what I’m about to say.

  “Never,” I say, all the conviction I can muster behind my words. “And if you’ll let me…I’ll show you. I’ll do everything in my power to never hurt you again. Ever.” She’s quiet once again, and I count my heartbeats, willing my aching heart to keep on beating.

  “When I said I don’t want anyone to ever kiss me again,” she says, and I wince involuntarily, looking away from her as the world crumbles around me. “No, wait, let me finish,” she rushes, seeing my expression. I force my head to face her again. She’s so beautiful it hurts to even look at her. Especially knowing that she’ll never be with me. I squeeze my eyes. I can feel her shift in her seat; she’s much closer to me now. “Aiden,” she sighs, her breath tickling my cheek just to the left of my lips. Her strawberry scent fills my nostrils, and I try not to inhale too deeply. I try not to think that this could very well be the last time we’re this close to each other.

  Why would someone do this to me? Create my ideal woman, parade her in front of me, then pull her away from me with one quick movement. “Aiden. Stop being stubborn and look at me.” Her hand connects with my cheek. I open my eyes to see her smiling down at me. She’s kneeling in her seat, facing me completely. Her hips within easy reach and her body radiating heat that warms me on the inside. “There, not too hard, was it? Now can I please finish what I started saying?” I nod for fear that if I open my mouth, I’ll say something even more embarrassing.

  “When I said that I don’t want anyone to ever kiss me again,” she says as my heart stops beating, waiting for her to just slide a dagger straight into it. I’ll welcome the pain, I deserve it. “I meant, I don’t want anyone to ever kiss me…but you.” Her voice is barely audible, and I have to focus, replay her words in my head, process what I’ve just heard.

  Thump.

  My heart starts up again slowly, tentative but conscious of itself.

  Thump, thump.

  She said ‘anyone but you’.

  Thump, Thump. Thump, Thump.

  Blood rushes
around my veins freely, happily, because I think what kitten just said was exactly the opposite of what I was expecting.

  “You mean,” I say, my voice hoarse, staring at her. The corners of my mouth slowly lift into a small smile.

  “I want…you,” she replies simply, shrugging her shoulders.

  I grin then, dimples and all, and pull her to me, hugging her.

  “Kitten…” I murmur into her hair. She pushes me away and runs a hand through her hair, which I messed up with my exuberant show of affection.

  “We need to get things straight first,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. I nod. I’d agree to anything she’d ask of me right now because she wants me.

  She wants…me!

  “Go on,” I grin.

  “This,” she motions between us, “starts from the beginning, and properly this time. No dancing around, no playing hot and cold.”

  I nod eagerly. “I’ll take you out on dates. And all the misunderstandings from before…” I hold my breath.

  “We start from a clean slate,” she says. “But that also means I need to trust you again. You can’t keep things from me. We’re friends first and foremost.”

  “Of course.” I reach out my hand and touch her shoulder, giddy with the thought that this whole thing is happening. She puts her hand on top of mine.

  “Great.” She smiles. “Now, I’ve got the rest of Star Wars on my laptop. Want to watch them all?” I grin at the perfect woman in front of me and nod, leaning over to kiss her on the lips, because I can.

  The kiss is chaste and sweet, maybe a few seconds too short. When I pull away, kitten is beaming at me. I pull her onto my lap and cover us with a blanket as we settle to watch the best movies ever made. The rest of the flight is too short for my liking. We talk, we sleep, we watch a movie and fall asleep again.

  When a jolt wakes me up, I realise we’ve touched down, arriving in London. I pull Jenny closer to my chest, inhaling her scent, one that I’ll hopefully get to smell every day If I play this right.