Page 3 of Stuck with You

“But, Mom...”

The phone disconnected, and I lowered it from my ear as annoyance flickered through me. “Just great,” I muttered. Mom barely even gave me a chance to convince her to reconsider.

The doorbell rang again. Apparently, Jade was in a rush this morning. “I’m coming!” I yelled as I ran to answer it. I yanked the door open and felt the blood rush from my skin.

Jade was nowhere in sight, and instead, I found just over six feet of male perfection standing in my doorway.Aiden Moore. His lips curved in a smile as he looked at me, and I tried to ignore the tingles that prickled across my skin in reaction. I’d been at school with the guy for years, but all that time hadn’t diminished how the air around me seemed to crackle whenever he was close. I often wondered if he too felt the sparks of irritation that sizzled between us. He was probably too busy thinking about how amazing he was to notice though.

I rubbed my arms as I stared at him, trying to get rid of the static. It had only been a week since I’d last seen him at school, but even in that short span of time, it felt like I’d forgotten just how good-looking the guy standing before me was.

Aiden’s greenish-blue eyes reminded me of the clear ocean waters Mom was admiring in Mexico right now. They were so light you couldn’t help but stare at them, and if it weren’t for the hints of green, I would have suspected he was partly related to the White Walkers fromGame of Thrones. His dirty-blond hair was always slightly messy because he was constantly running his hand through it—just like he was doing now. His jaw might have looked like it was carved from stone, but his chiseled features were softened by full lips and thick eyelashes. He was a combination of strong but beautiful, and he was far too aware of how to work those good looks in his favor.

It wasn’t hard to see why every girl at school was in love with Aiden. He was tall with a muscular body built from years of hard work and dedication in the gym and on the football field. He also had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks. But, below the surface level, anything appealing was quickly stripped away. Aiden’s external beauty just wasn’t reflected on the inside. He took nothing seriously in life and flirted with anything that moved. He was a total player, and because I refused to be affected by his charms, he seemed to take great pleasure in annoying me instead.

My life would have been so much simpler if I could have avoided him at school. But since a lot of my girlfriends were dating his friends, I couldn’t seem to get rid of the guy. It felt like he was always there, and now he was invading my home life as well. I couldn’t help but hate him a little more for that.

“Good morning, Clary.” His voice was deep and held the amused and somewhat patronizing tone it always did when he was talking with me. Thankfully, his words seemed to bring me to my senses and stopped me from staring at him.

“Where’s your mom?” My answer was sharp and slightly rude. I would have been completely embarrassed if I’d found myself snapping at anyone else like that, but it was easier to keep my conversations with Aiden blunt. Our interactions always felt like a contest. If I were even slightly pleasant to him, he’d smile at me like he’d just won our unspoken battle. To be honest, his smile only became bigger when I was rude back to him. Either way, I always seemed to lose. It was far simpler to try to avoid talking with him at all.

I looked past Aiden in the hopes of seeing Dr. Moore. She wasn’t coming up the front sidewalk behind him though, and his truck was parked in the street. I had a bad feeling it was just the two of us.

He didn’t seem to notice I’d asked about his mom. Instead, he appeared to be more interested in my pajamas. They definitely weren’t my cutest pair, and they weren’t even matching. The bottoms had pictures of puppies all over them, while I was also wearing a ratty oversized T-shirt that had a zombie survival plan printed across the front of it. The shirt was my dad’s, and I’d commandeered it the moment a pandemic was declared. It had seemed kind of funny at the time. Now, not so much.

The corner of Aiden’s lips lifted in a half-smirk as he studied the T-shirt. I hoped it was because he found the survival plan amusing rather than the fact I wasn’t wearing a bra.Crap.I wasn’t wearing a bra. I quickly crossed my arms over my chest.

“Aiden, where’s your mom?” I repeated. It felt like if I didn’t say anything he was just going to stand there smirking at me all day. Yes, I was aware I was in my pajamas. And, yes, I knew my hair was messy and I didn’t have any makeup on. Did I care though? Not really. Not for Aiden Moore. If any other guy were standing across from me, it might have been a different story.

He lifted his gaze to my face.Finally. “She got called into the hospital and asked me to come pick you up. I hear we’re about to become lockdown buddies.”

Why did his eyes have to sparkle at the thought? I didn’t need him turning his weapons of mass flirtation on me at this hour of the morning.

“It’s only until my parents are home,” I grunted. “And that shouldn’t be more than a couple of days.”

“I thought you’d be more excited about the idea. I’ll make a great lockdown buddy.”

“Who says I’m not excited? Clearly, I’m ecstatic.”

A low chuckle rumbled from Aiden’s chest at the dry tone of my voice. “This is going to be fun.”

“Sure, it is.” I rolled my eyes. Nothing about this situation was fun. “Well, anyway, thanks for coming to get me. I just need to pack a few things.”

“You’re not packed?”

“No, I only got the call from my parents just before you arrived. You’re going to have to wait while I grab some clothes.”

He let out a sigh and leaned against the doorway. “Fine, you have two minutes.”

“Two minutes?”

A slow, devious smile pulled at his lips as he checked the time on his phone. “You better hurry. You’ve just wasted five seconds…”

“Ugh!” I turned and raced for my room, not trusting that Aiden was only joking. I couldn’t believe my parents wanted me to go live with this guy.

I dragged a bag out of my wardrobe and started randomly throwing clothes into it. Not that it even mattered what clothes I picked. I was only going to be gone for a couple of days, and thanks to the current quarantine measures, I’d be spending almost every minute of my stay at the Moores’ house stuck inside. I might have been rushing as I packed, but I made certain to include my laptop and all my chargers. I wouldn’t last an hour in Aiden’s house if my phone or laptop ran out of battery.

“You’re packing all the wrong things…” I glanced up and found Aiden leaning against my doorway. “There are far too many sweatpants and fluffy socks in that bag and not nearly enough sexy silk pajamas.”

“Oh my God. Aiden, I told you to wait out front.”

---