“Wait.” I stare between them with a dumbfounded expression. “You were joking?”
“You looked fucking adorable.” Aiden smiles.
“Uh.. go back.” Ronan stares at Aiden as if he grew an additional head. “Did you just say ‘adorable’?”
Aiden’s poker face returns.
“No, no, no… don’t close off. Come on, King.” He retrieves his phone. “Say it again, I need to get it on camera.”
Aiden stares at Ronan’s camera and mouths. “Fuck. You.”
Ronan flips him off as he tucks his phone in his pocket. Then he leans in to whisper. “I’ll give you one hundred if you record footage of when he says shit like that.”
“What?”
“Five hundred.”
I continue staring at him, too shocked to say anything.
“Okay, final offer. Nash and Knight will also pay five hundred each. That’s one point five thousand.”
Aiden barges between us, cutting off Ronan’s one-sided negotiation.
“Don’t you have some place to go to?” Aiden asks.
“Mais non. I’m good right here.” Ronan gives a Cheshire cat-like grin.
“Come eat with us, Ellie.”
“Ellie?” Aiden snaps.
“What? Kimmy calls you that, doesn’t she?”
“Don’t you call me Frozen?”
He lifts a shoulder. “I like Ellie better. Come on, let’s eat.”
“Pass.” I turn to leave.
A strong hand wraps around my arm and Aiden all but drags me to his side. “You’ll eat.”
He keeps a possessive arm around my waist as the three of us walk to the cafeteria.
If he thinks that he won this round, then he has another thing coming. The cafeteria doesn’t have my food and I won’t eat like I said.
My phone vibrates. I reach into my jacket.
Uncle J:I don’t think we’ll make it to the game this weekend. I’m buried with work. So sorry, Pumpkin.
My chest squeezes, but I manage to reply.
Elsa:It’s okay. I have to study anyway. You’ll miss me when I’m in Cambridge *fireworks emoji*
Uncle J:Don’t make me all emotional now. You’ll beat our records. Teamwork.
Elsa:Teamwork!
I’m not feeling the words as I type them.
Uncle J:Lock up tonight. We might come home late. There are vegetables in the fridge and your aunt says no ice cream.
Uncle J:We love you, Pumpkin.
Another lonely night.
Elsa:No problem! Take care of yourselves. I love you guys, too *heart emoji*
When I shove the phone back in my pocket, I feel eyes on me. I lift my head and Aiden is watching me intently with a tilted head. Did he read the texts?
Ronan is speculating about the next game’s line-up, but Aiden isn’t paying him the slightest attention. His thumb grazes the small of my back. A shiver blooms over my skin at the intimacy of the gesture.
Why do people say that physical contact doesn’t matter? Why do they assume that emotions grow in some alien place?
Physical touch always plays a part.
I know better because Aiden’s touch has been screwing me over since that day he broke the invisible ‘no-touching’ rule.
We head straight to the football team’s table — of course. Aiden removes his hand so he can sit me beside him.
Xander grins at me, both his dimples on display. It seems genuine enough, so I return a tentative smile.
Aiden cuts us a glare so harsh, I decide to focus on my backpack. Xander’s grin just widens. Aiden places both hands on my shoulders. “From today onwards, Elsa will be eating with us.”
Hell no.
I move to stand up, but he leans over to whisper, “Stay still or I’ll tell them how many times I took you last night.”
“You didn’t take me,” I hiss so only he can hear.
He raises an eyebrow. “They don’t know that.”
I bite my lower lip to stop myself from screaming.
Why does he have this ability to royally piss me off?
None of the team members says anything about the new eating arrangement. I don’t expect them to. He’s King after all. His word is a royal decree.
Ronan waggles his eyebrows. “Welcome aboard, Ellie.”
“I’m hurt, Frozen.” Xander scoots closer. “Aren’t we a couple?”
Aiden’s grip on my shoulders tightens, but I don’t have to look back to see his pissed off face.
I don’t know why Xander keeps provoking Aiden. He must know how much of a crazed devil he can be.
“Hey, Knight…” Aiden’s voice drifts in clear menace. “If you say things like that again, I’ll be saying things you won’t like.”
The dimples disappear from Xander’s face and he narrows his eyes before throwing his fork on his pasta plate. “Fuck you, King.”
“Wait. What things?” Ronan stares between them. “Seriously, I’m tired of being left in the dark. Why doesn’t anyone tell me anything around here?”
“Because you have a big mouth?” Cole says.
“No, I don’t.”
“Yeah, you do.” Everyone at the table agrees.
Ronan launches into a long argument about all the secrets he kept for them — by spilling them.
It’s amusing to watch him being a bit of a drama queen with Xander provoking him and Cole trying to shut him up.
With one last squeeze to my shoulder, Aiden strides to where they serve the food.