Page 92 of Friend Zoned

“No,” he says, cupping my face. “They are not, but if I had to do it all over again to get us here, I would.”

We stare at each other, neither one of us saying a word. It’s a stalemate, and I don’t know how to respond. Then his phone vibrates in his pocket, and he answers it. It’s a work call, and I leave to go upstairs, unsure of what to do next.

My mind goes back to the morning after the wedding. I remember looking him up and spending about two hours watching clips of his old games. There were press conferences when he became head coach for the Mischiefs. There were even pictures of him and old girlfriends. I know I typed Aiden Walsh siblings in the search, but I can’t remember why I didn’t finish that search. Either way, it’s my fault. I should have done my due diligence instead of going into this blind.

And then what? Were you better off in your lonely existence?

The bedroom’s still the same as when we left this afternoon. The bed’s a mess, and since the housekeeper doesn’t come in on the weekends, the bathroom is a bit of a mess too. His shaving kit is open, and my makeup is everywhere. I take my time and clean it up. Just as I finish, I get a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. I run a hand through my hair. It’s grown a bit in the past few weeks.

I stare at my reflection. My cheeks look full and my eyes vibrant. This time last year, they were vacant, and I was on the verge of depression. I pulled myself out before I met Aiden, but he’s enhanced my life in so many ways. He’s let me into every aspect of his life. We share everything and being with him is so easy. Even though he’s away a lot, he’s more present in my life than Quintin ever was. He’s also more complicated than I realized.

I eye the corner of the bathroom and notice our dirty clothes from this morning. I stuff them in a tote bag and decide to do a load of laundry while I clear my head. I almost collide with him when I get to the bottom of the stairs. He eyes the bag in my hand before he takes it from me and throws it across the room. It makes a dull thud several feet away.

“Are you about to leave over this bullshit?” he hisses. Unsure of what he’s talking about, I try to go around him, but he blocks me with his body. “This is ridiculous. One argument and you pack a bag to go home without an adult conversation?”

I try to go around him, but he blocks me again. I look into his eyes. I’ve seen him angry before, but never at me.

“I was going to wash those clothes, jerk, not leave, but this aggressive side of you is really starting to get on my nerves. Can you move?” I shove his chest and he rolls his eyes at my effort to push him, but his expression softens and he wraps an arm around my wrist.

“I don’t want to lose you. I won’t.” He kisses the inside of my wrist.

“God, you’re a dummy. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I hate this. I hate fighting with you, and I hate the idea of you being mad at me. That’s not how I want this relationship to be. My parents bickered a lot, and I don’t want that for myself. Forgive me, please. I could have handled today better.” He leans down and rests his forehead on mine. I wrap my arms around him and feel him exhale with relief.

“I forgive you. Part of this is my own insecurities.” He takes my hands in his and waits. “I told you that Quintin always thought he was better than me. He was never shy about saying it, even when we weren’t fighting. Even when things were good, he would make it into a joke. It’s silly because you’ve never once made me feel that way, and I promised I wouldn’t bring him into this, and I’ve failed. These are my issues, not yours.”

He makes a noise between a grunt and a snort. “Quintin is an insecure little cockroach, and one day, I’m going to squish him like the bug he is. Look at you.” He cups my face. “You’re beautiful. You’re sweet. You have so much passion, and that’s just for me, by the way.” I feel unshed tears start to fill my eyes. “You’re smart and have made a career for yourself with the credentials to prove it. He should have worshipped the ground you walk on. I’m the one who’s honored you’d give me the time of day. I don’t even have a college degree, and you have two of them.”

I wrap my arms around him, and he squeezes me tight. I press my face to his chest and kiss it.

“I love you, baby,” he tells me. “I need you too. You forgive me?”

“I do, and I love and need you too,” I reassure him.

“Okay, good. Now hit me,” he orders. He lowers his voice, and it’s now laced with a touch of danger. I feel goosebumps take over my body. “Go ahead. Try to hit me. I told you I’d fuck it out of you, remember? Do—”

I lift my hand to slap him across his face, but his hand wraps around my wrist before I can make contact. He slams me into him. I can feel my heart beating against my ribcage. He runs his nose along the side of my neck.

He lets me go and locks eyes with me. With no warning, he rips my shirt in half, and buttons go scattering everywhere.

“Aiden!” I scream, but there’s a rush of excitement that goes through my body like lightening.

One of his incredibly large hands cups my face. “Aiden what?” All I can do is pant while I lock eyes with him. He wraps an arm around me, carries me to the staircase and puts me down. “I’ll give you a five second head start.” I try to go around him, but he blocks me. He does it again when I try to go around the other side. “One,” he says while he slowly unbuttons his shirt. I stand there like a deer in headlights. The only place for me to go to is upstairs. “Two,” he says as if he has no care in the world.

I turn and sprint up the stairs, screaming the entire time. “Three,” I hear him say behind me. He’s taking his time, and when I get to the middle of the upstairs hallway, he still hasn’t made an appearance. There’s a closet, and I run in there and close the door behind me. He’s whistling by the time he gets upstairs. “Four.” He stands outside the closet door, and I brace myself. I expect him to yank it open and drag me out, but he doesn’t. After about ten seconds, he walks away.

He doesn’t come back, and after counting to sixty, I figure this is my chance to leave the closet and run downstairs. Of course, I’ll make a lot of noise so he can hear and chase me. Maybe he’ll rip the rest of my clothes off and have his way with me downstairs. After I put up the fakest fight of my life. My panties are soaked just thinking about it.

I slowly open the door, but before I can look down the hall to make sure the coast is clear, it’s yanked open. Aiden stands in front of me naked and holding a tie. I scream and start to run down the hall, but he wraps an arm around my waist, lifting me off my feet as if I’m nothing more than a rag doll. All my attempts to get free go in vain, and before I know it, he’s dragging me into the bedroom.

He drops me on the bed and unbuttons my jeans. He pulls my soaked panties off and puts them to his face. He inhales and says, “Mmhmm.”

I throw a kick toward his abdomen, but he must have anticipated that. He grabs my ankle and pushes my leg to the side, spreading me wide open. “What do we have here? A wet pussy that I’m going to eat then fuck.” I bite my bottom lip and throw my head back on his pillow. “I was going to blindfold you with this tie, but I want you to see. Because you’re such a hellion, I’m going to tie your hands.” He drops my ankle, grabs my hands and binds them with the tie before I can get away.

“You’re not eating or fucking anything,” I say. I wiggle my wrists, doing my best to get free.

“You don’t deserve to have your pussy eaten,” he says. Then he rests his big, heavy body on top of mine, knocking the breath out of me. “But eating your pussy is really more for me, isn’t it, pretty?” He captures my mouth and kisses me roughly, bruising my lips. I kiss him right back, and I curse the fact that I can’t touch him.

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