Page 81 of Spin The Bottle
The frown on his face has my stomach in knots. He grabs my hand, looking at me and says, “I don’t want you to think I can’t take care of you, Leila. I will do anything it takes to make you happy. I don’t want you pitying me or thinking of me any differently because of my family.”
“I don’t pity you,” I tell him. “I just don’t want you to spend all your money on me. I don’t need fancy dinners or extravagant dates.” My throat constricts with the words that threaten to climb up and I blow out a breath. Just for tonight, right? We can pretend just for tonight. “I only want you.”
His eyes widen. “You mean that?”
There isn’t a hint of hesitation when I say, “All I want is you.”
His smile is one of the first things I noticed about Aiden. It was one of the things that annoyed me about him when we first met. He seemed to get anything he wanted by flashing a smile and it aggravated me, how everyone seemed to melt at the sight of it. But when I’m the source of that smile, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen. “I’m going to be so good to you, Leila,” he says, cupping my face with his hands. “You wait and see.”
I lick my lips, staring up into his eyes. I know he’s going to be the best boyfriend anyone could ever have. Too bad I’ll likely never find out.
He pulls back, pulling out something out of his pocket. “I almost forgot,” he says, placing the small rectangle box on the table. “Happy birthday, gorgeous.”
He got me a gift too? I lift my brows at him. “What is it?”
He laughs, running a hand through his hair. “Well, I didn’t have much time to get you something because I only found out it was your birthday this morning.” He slides the box over to me. “But I couldn’t come empty-handed.”
“This is too much.” First the restaurant, now this. I know he doesn’t want me to worry, but I can’t help it. Aiden needs the money. He works hard and gets almost nothing from what he makes. My stomach churns, making me feel guilty that he’s spending all of his hard-earned money on me when I know he needs it.
“Just open it, Leila. You might hate it.”
Not possible. I don’t even care what’s in here. Just knowing that Aiden went out of his way to get me something—anything—makes me want to cry and kiss him until I can’t remember why I can’t be with him.
I grab the small box in my hand, opening it up. Looking back at me is a small gold necklace with a small paw pendant. I press my lips together, staring down at the necklace, running my fingers over it. “It’s not much, but I thought you could look at it when you miss your dad. I know you got the tattoo for him, but you can’t really see it so…” I look up at him and he blows out a breath, shrugging. “It might be dumb, I just thought—”
“I love it,” I blurt out, my eyes brimming with tears. I didn’t even think he remembered what I told him about the tattoo, but once again, Aiden has proved me wrong.
“You do?” he asks, his brows lifting. A small grin appears on his face which makes me laugh.
I nod, closing up the box and wrapping my arms around him. “It’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
I hear his sharp exhale and he tightens his hold around me, pressing a kiss to my cheek. My stomach is twisting and turning and I never want this night to end.
When we pull back, the server is standing above us, holding up two plates. “Here you go,” she says, chuckling as she places the plates in front of us. “Enjoy.” She spins around, leaving us alone.
“This actually looks good.” Aiden grabs his fork, picks up the risotto, and shoves it in his mouth. He groans, looking at me with wide eyes.
I laugh. “Good?”
He nods, picking up another forkful. “You wanna try?”
I lean in, loving how he smiles when I accept the food from him. I close my lips around the fork, my eyes rolling back when I swallow the risotto. “Damn, I should have gone with that.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “Do you want to swap?”
“Really?”
He switches the plates, placing his risotto in front of me. “You should already know I’ll give you anything you want.” My heart races when he glances at me, a rush of emotions and warmth coat me, from my head to my toes. And when his thumb rubs against my cheek, looking at me with an admiration I can feel in my stomach, I know without a doubt that I’m falling in love with Aiden Pierce.
How did this happen? I promised I would never let myself fall for someone else. I told myself that no guy is worth the trouble and pain that is being in love. I thought I was in love with Jake, but what I felt for him was nothing close to what I feel for Aiden. It’s completely different with him. Being with Aiden fills a hole in my heart that feels like it was empty for so long, filling it with contentment and comfort. We could be sitting on my couch talking about absolutely nothing and I feel at peace with him.
He lifts my chin with his finger and brings his lips to mine. I get lost in him whenever we kiss. No one else exists, no one’s opinion matters and I imagine a world where I could be with Aiden. This kiss is soft and slow, like we have all night, and we do. We have the whole night to just pretend. Pretend that being his girlfriend is a possibility because when tomorrow comes, we’ll be in the real world, with other people and their opinions, and it won’t matter how well we fit together or how he makes me feel, I’ll know it was never a possibility.
He pulls back and when I look into his eyes, I have this overwhelming urge to just blurt it out and tell him I love him, but I know better. I press my lips together, giving him an inconspicuous smile and pick up my fork, eating some of the risotto.
His hand disappears under the table, his fingertips running over my thigh. My breathing stops and when his hand travels higher on my leg, I force myself to swallow the food in my mouth, and glance up at him. “What are you doing?” My eyes scan the room to see if anyone can tell his hand is dangerously close to my panties.
“What?” he asks innocently, smirking. “I’m not doing anything.” But his hands say something else as he trails his fingers higher and higher on my thighs, the tip of his middle finger bushing against my panties. I let out a heavy breath as the lightest brush of his fingers against my panties bring me pleasure.
