Page 44 of The Midseason Fakeout

I shake my head, use the bathroom, and then throw some water on my face. A knock comes, and it must be Aidan because I doubt anyone else knocks on a public restroom door.

Opening it, I reveal Aidan standing there with his shower caddy and some dry clothes. “Hey, bad news. West is sleeping in his bed.”

I close my eyes. Of course he is. Because the universe loves fucking with me. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Like you would be the one sleeping on the floor,” Aidan interrupts.

“You have football tomorrow.”

He shoves the clothes and shower caddy into my hands. “We’ll both sleep in my bed. For appearances, right?”

My stomach tumbles over, but I guess we really don’t have a choice. “If you’re okay with that.”

He nods down at the shower caddy. “I thought maybe you’d want to get the river water off you. That green toothbrush is new. Feel free to use it.”

“Um, thanks. I’ll be out in a few.”

It would be nice to stay under the water and soak, but the dorm showers are less than desirable and there’s some sort of phantom wind billowing out the shower curtain. I end up rushing through my routine, using Aidan’s soap to wash up and only rinsing my hair under the hot spray as I wrangle the curtain with my feet.

Afterward, I get dressed into Aidan’s Bulldog T-shirt that’s way too big for me and brush my teeth. Steeling myself in the mirror, I take a deep breath and peer at my reflection. Did I try to rush into Aidan taking my virginity? I don’t think so… I wanted him to. There’s a point when a girl just wants it gone already. Like, there’s this special group everyone else is a part of, and I’m not even invited.

Although, thinking about it now, it was nice that Aidan wants me to have a good first experience. Though I don’t see how that could’ve been a bad one, but I guess it doesn’t matter.

I blow out a breath. He better not snore. I might not get any sleep tonight if he does.

Yanking open the door, I stop when I find Aidan waiting for me.

He sends me a wary smile. “Ready?”

I nod. “You didn’t have to wait.”

“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t wait for my girl?”

I peer up, assessing him. He’s trying to get things back to normal, and if so, I can do that, too. I can forgive him for what he said. And I can forget about what we did. Maybe…

“Thanks,” I answer. The truth is, I’m the one who imposed on Aidan. He didn’t want any of this. I should stop being weird about it and do my part. “For taking me to do the cliff dive, too. It was fun, regardless of… It was great.” My face heats, and I look away.

“I’m glad you had a good time. Now you can tick two things off your list.”

Confused, I glance at him again. “Two?”

“Skinny dipping and cliff diving.”

“Oh, right.”

“How quickly she forgets.”

He’s wrong about that. I’ll never forget the picture of him standing there.

Never.

I hope whoever does end up taking my V-card is as perfect as Aidan.

Right before we get to his room, he brings his finger up to his lips to remind me that West is in there. When I nod, he takes the clothes and the shower caddy from me before opening the door.

Sure enough, West is in his bed, facing the wall, fast asleep. Aidan and I tiptoe inside. I hear him put away the shower caddy, and when I look back, he places my clothes on his desk chair before tugging his own shirt off.

It takes me a moment to figure out that he’s already changed for bed. He’s wearing a pair of loose athletic shorts, a matching pair to the loaners he gave me.

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