Page 133 of Just My Type of wrong guy

“Really?” I ask, and he nods, still confused. “Because I’m sure there’s another one that you’ve already fulfilled.”

A.J. watches me for a few moments, and the smile on my face makes him smile back, even though he doesn’t understand where I’m going with this.

“I remember very well, I had the dream of falling in love,” I say slowly, and the words hits my double-door fridge hard. “My mom always said it was worth it, so I put it on the list.” I give a silly, enchanted smile to a still-shocked A.J. in front of me.

“Are you in love?” he asks awkwardly, his eyes wide and his breath slow.

“Am I not?” I return the question because A.J. has been around me long enough to know this. Plus, I’ve already confessed to him with all my heart.

“I don’t know... I thought we... I’m in love with you, Alexandra. But you don’t fall in love, right?” he asks, almost lamenting.

“I spilled my heart to you, man, at the parking lot!” I say, wanting to strangle him because it’s just not possible.

“You said you like me, and being in love is a little more than...”

“It’s just that I thought it was pretty clear when I kissed you at the hotel, crying and all... it was kind of embarrassing, I can’t believe you didn’t get the message.” I huff, hands on my hips, and rest my body on the island. “But that’s okay, my man needs more than a cheesy Instagram post.”

“Yes, he does.” A.J. jumps off the stool and moves it aside, facing me.

“To be honest, I don’t know when I fell in love with you, Anthony Fortin,” I say, squinting, and he smiles, staring at me. “I don’t know if it was because of your care or your affection, if it was because I could be myself and beat you at video games, a guy who doesn’t have fragile masculinity and likes to watch romcoms and animations with me...”

“I don’t have fragile masculinity, but you’re too good, that bruises my ego,” he whines, hair falling in front of his face, and I get on tiptoe to tie it up in a bun and kiss A.J. in the process. “Keep going, woman...”

“I don’t know if it was between our performances ofMaybeor because you’ve been my safe haven on this tour. What I know is that I panicked when I woke up with you in our living room and thought we had ... Because you’re my favorite person in the world. Not just because you’re my friend, but because I’m completely in love with the human being that you are...” I swallow hard, feeling that same anguish I felt when I sat on a toilet lid, phone in hand, crying to Thalia, trying to find a reason not to feel what I already knew I was feeling. “And I didn’t want to lose that. I couldn’t afford to ruin the best thing I had,” I say, caressing his neck, and A.J.’s face turns red before he places his hands on my waist and kisses me. “Then there was Disney, and realizing how much I liked you, how much I wanted you... It was too much. But deep down... I think I was already in love with you. Maybe I locked myself in that room for days not knowing how to handle this feeling because I couldn’t see a future for myself in a relationship...”

“And now you can?”

“With the guy who made all my most beautiful dreams come true?” I ask, getting on tiptoe to kiss him. “Of course, I can.”

“Do I have your word?” A.J. asks, slipping his pinky between us.

I laugh before sliding mine in there.

“Oh, Golden Boy, you have my heart!” I reply, interlocking our fingers.

“God, Alexandra, I thought I’d let you go, you know?” he asks, almost embarrassed. He scratches the curve of his neck, eyes misty. “I’d convinced myself that your friendship was allI’d ever have—and I was happy with that. I’ve been so in love with you that I couldn’t bear doing anything to push you away. I treasure every moment with you—singing with you, living with you—it was all I needed, so I tried to bury these feelings. But I’m so glad you feel the same, because I’ve been completely in love with you for ages now…” A.J.’s voice is hushed and confessional as he lifts me onto the kitchen island and leans in to kiss me.

While A.J.’s hands run down my back, his touch burns me, and his tongue seeks mine like it needs it, I can only thank him for not giving up, for Tereza giving me a list of dreams for the guy I like to fulfill, and for us being here, in our home, doing things our way and in our time, without anyone knowing.

A.J. pulls away to look me in the eyes, caresses my face, and smiles at me. And, in this embrace, catching my breath after that kiss, I weigh our relationship, how much I like this man, and I know how much he deserves to be happy, and I realize Daniele was right to pull me off that stage earlier today.

My labrador’s birthday this year is going to be different.

I’ll make sure of it.

“I think you’re right, you know?” A.J. breaks the silence. I raise my right eyebrow so he can continue. “There’s nothing wrong with you.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “And I don’t want you to think there is.”

“And what does that mean?” I keep my hands caressing his neck, because the intense, dark look he gives me now tells me we’re heading down a path I don’t know yet.

“That tonight you’re spending the night in my room.” His hoarse voice makes me swallow hard, but I want to make sure I heard correctly.

“So, I’m sleeping with you?”

A.J.’s response is a laugh, and the look he gives me would make my legs wobble — thank God I’m sitting.

“The plan is… no sleep, Miss Petulant.” His hoarse voice cuts through me, and when he leans in for another kiss, I don’t move, I just close my eyes and let him kiss me. Because, this time, I want everything that kiss promises, without fear.

Chapter Forty – A.J.

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