Page 78 of Spin The Bottle
“Yeah,” she offers with a small smile.
“Do you regret it?” My heart beats with anticipation. “Do you regret us?”
She shakes her head, her smile slipping. “No.”
I lift off the couch, crouching down to where she’s sat and grasp her face in my hands, wiping away the tears with my thumb. “I don’t want you to hide yourself from me,” I tell her, my heart bursting at the seams when she smiles at me. It’s my favorite sight in the world. “You are the most beautiful girl I have ever had the privilege of being with, Leila. There is nothing about you that I don’t like.” She drops her head, but I lift her chin, wanting those green eyes on me. “You hear me? Nothing.” She nods and I lean in, pressing my lips to hers for a quick kiss. “I wish you could see yourself how I see you,” I tell her, staring into her eyes. “You’re so beautiful, sexy as hell,” I punctuate my sentence with a kiss. “And you’ve quickly become my favorite person to be around.”
Her eyes widen and I can tell she’s a little scared by my statement. Maybe I’m moving too fast. Fuck. I clear my throat. “We need to celebrate.”
“What?” she asks, when I pull back, her brows knitted together.
“Your birthday,” I clarify. “You can’t be with your family today, but let me do something for you.”
She shakes her head. “You don’t need to do that. The girls and I already planned a movie night.”
There’s no way I’m going to let her do nothing on her birthday. “You do that every weekend. Let me take you out.”
I can see the panic starting to kick in. “Aiden.”
“Please.” I grab onto her hand, pressing my lips against her knuckles. “Just let me do this for you, Leila.” She frowns, looking down at me. “I never had a birthday,” I tell her. “Never had a cake, no balloons, no presents.” Her shoulders slump, her lips pursed together. “I grew up knowing no one cared about me and that no one even bothered to make that day special. But I’m not going to let that happen to you.” I lift her off the chair, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Let me do this for you.”
Her lips part but instead of saying yes, she sighs. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
She untangles herself from me and breaks my heart by saying, “Because it sounds too much like a date.”
Well, if I wanted to know her feelings on the matter, I do now. I scratch my jaw, staring at this beautiful girl in front of me who acts like going on a date with me would be the end of the world. “Would that be so bad?”
“We have rules,” is the response she gives me.
“No, you have rules.” I take a step closer to her. “I just went along with them.”
Her throat bobs. “You said you didn’t want a relationship.”
“I didn’t,” I tell her with a lift of my shoulder.
“And now you do?”
I exhale, harshly. I just want… her. “I don’t know,” I tell her honestly. “All I know is I want more than this, Leila.” Her chest rises and falls rapidly as she struggles to catch her breath, processing what I’ve just told her. I reach for her hand, interlocking it with mine. She’s so soft against me. “I want to hold your hand in public,” I tell her, lifting her chin with my thumb. “I want to kiss you whenever I feel like it instead of having to sneak around and wait until it’s dark to have you.” Her tongue darts out to lick her lips. “I want to sleep over and wake up with you. I want more.”
I wait for what seems like forever, time ticking before she pulls away and turns around completely. “I don’t know.”
I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. I pushed her too hard. “You don’t need to make any rash decisions right now, Leila. I don’t want to ruin your birthday.” She turns back around, her arms dropping to her sides. “Just let me take you out. Just tonight.” I watch as her shoulders slump but before she can tell me no, I whisper, “Please.” I’m not above begging. I’ll crawl on the ground and beg for that girl if that’s what it takes.
“Okay.”
My heart stops. “Really?”
She nods, biting on her bottom lip. “Just for tonight.” It’s a start.
I erase the distance between us and brush her hair from her face, kissing her cheek. “Get ready,” I whisper. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Where are you taking me?”
I have no clue, all I know is that she deserves everything. “It’s a surprise,” I tell her instead. “Let me plan everything. All you have to worry about is looking pretty for me.”
A low laugh rumbles out of her and without even thinking I pull her into me, getting lost in her lips, my hands running down her body, pulling at her waist until she moans into my mouth, which wakes my dick up. “Fuck. I should go before I take you back to bed.” And I still need to figure out what I’m going to do for her birthday.
