Page 65 of The Midseason Fakeout

“I wouldn’t lie. I think she also said she wishes she had a guy like me. Better at football. I think those were the exact words she used. Oh, and more handsome. Mature.”

Aidan playfully shoves him out of the way. “Now I know you’re bullshittin’. My girl only has eyes for me.”

The way the butterflies erupt inside is insane. It’s like hope and excitement exploding in a glitter bomb. He wraps his arms around me, reminding me of the way he greeted me after the game, then he leans down. “You want to get out of here?”

I hug him back, holding him to me. “You sure? Everyone wants a piece of you right now.”

He chuckles, the warmth of it making me sink deeper into his embrace. Aidan gives the best hugs. His long arms surround me like a cocoon. “I’m sure.”

I nod into his chest. First, we’d gone out to have a celebratory ice cream with his parents. They barely got to see him because everyone at Scoops had arrived from the game, and it was a madhouse. After that, we came out with the whole team to celebrate at a bar in town. Half the population of college students are in attendance.

Aidan releases me, and then tucks me into his side. “We’re out. Check you guys later.”

“What?” the group near us cries. “Come on.” I distinctly hear Darrin’s voice among them, but he’s been wrapped up in a girl.

Aidan shrugs. “I’ve got plans.”

I peer up at him, wondering if I’m included in those plans as the crowd parts for him. We meander our way to the front entrance and then out to his Charger. More people call his name, and he waves politely.

“You’re a stud tonight,” I tease when he gets in on the other side.

“I’m a stud every night, Angel.”

“In your own mind.”

He grins, backing out of the space. “So, do you want to hear about my plans?”

“If you want to tell me.”

“You’ll love it.”

“Again with the modesty.”

He barks out a laugh. “I promise you, you’ll love it.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to celebrate your win some more?” I feel bad that we left his celebratory party. Most of the team was still there.

“I will be celebrating my win. Just with fewer people.”

Aidan pulls out onto the main road, and I sit back in the car, watching the moon through the trees. “Your parents were so happy,” I tell him. “Your mom especially. She gets so nervous when you’re out there. Every time someone tackled you, I thought she was going to have a heart attack.”

Aidan chuckles. “She’s been like that since peewee.”

“How lucky that your parents put you in something that turned out to be the exact right thing. Look at how it’s shaped you.”

He nods. “I never thought about it like that.” The green glow from the dash lights gives him a mysterious look. “But you’re right. I guess you could say there are a lot of what-ifs.”

“Oh, I think about that a lot,” I confess. “Like, what if my parents had let me go to public school my whole life?”

“You wouldn’t be who you are right now.”

“True,” I muse.

I turn my head to peer at him. “What if I had told my brother’s best friend that I thought he was cute?”

Aidan reaches over, dropping his hand on my knee and giving it a squeeze. “You mean instead of making him pretend to be your boyfriend?”

I chuckle. “Yeah, that.”

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