Unexpected Chance (6 page)

“Max, there’s a rusted brown Chevy sitting across the street from Savvy’s condo. There’s a guy sitting in the driver’s seat, and he was watching Savvy’s house. I didn’t get a good look, but I’m not taking Savvy back to her condo. She’s coming home with me,” he says.

“On it,” Max says, and disconnects.

What in the hell is going on? Reno must have smoked too much crack and his last brain cell has been fried. Who the hell would mess with Max, Jax, and the rest of the Wellington clan? Chloe even scares me. The thing is, I know what Reno is capable of doing. I have a mix of emotions running through my head. I just got done telling myself that I’m not like these people, yet I’m going back to Aiden’s house, again. I don’t want anyone to know it, but I am scared to go back to my condo by myself. Maybe I’ll just clean Aiden’s bathroom or something to show my gratitude.

We pull into his garage, and he closes the door behind his car. He plugs his car in and I still think it’s kind of funny he has an electric sports car. He walks around to my side and opens the door. He takes my bags from me before I get a chance to tell him that I’ve got them, and we go inside. He sets my things down by the couch, and then checks the front windows. Oh my God, does he think that Reno would follow us back here? He closes the curtains, then walks back over to me with a smile.

“I’m going to go check the battery in your car. You want to come and watch?” he asks.

I can think about a million things I’d like to watch him do and about nine hundred, ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine are pretty dirty and involve him naked. Luckily, watching him look at my car is the millionth thing. A girl can still dream, right?

“Sure, maybe you can show me a thing or two,” I say, and follow him out into the garage.

He unhooks some cables from the battery and tosses me the keys. “Go ahead and get in, and try to start her up,” he says.

I get in and pat a kiss on the steering wheel. Come on girl, I know you have some fight in you. I turn the key and nothing, not even a sputter.

“Looks like I’ll be making that trip to the auto parts store tomorrow after work,” he says.

I get out of the car, lean against the front fender and pretend to pick dirt from under my nails, and tell him, “I, uh, can’t afford to pay for a new battery right now. It will have to wait until my next paycheck.” It’s the honest truth. It’s embarrassing, but the honest truth.

“I never asked you to pay for it, and I don’t want to hear another word about it,” he says, brushing his finger down my nose. Shit, I’ll be cleaning his toilets and his kitchen for a month now. “I have about an hour’s worth of work I need to do for tomorrow. Are you all done studying?” he asks.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be done studying,” I tell him, rolling my eyes. And that’s the God’s honest truth. I was never good in school and this is so freaking hard, but I’m determined to do something good with my life.

He takes my hand and leads me back inside the house. He grabs his briefcase from the kitchen counter and sets it on the coffee table. He takes up half of the coffee table and leaves the other half open. He looks up at me, then back at the coffee table, then back at me. I grab my messenger bag and place it on the other half of the coffee table. He opens his briefcase and takes out some files and a note pad. From one of the pockets on the inside, he takes out his glasses and puts them on. He just went from hot and sexy as sin, to I’m in overload and I think I need to go and change my panties sexy as hell. I absolutely love it when he wears his glasses.

I quickly grab my book and set it in my lap, but I cannot for the life of me take my eyes off of Aiden. His black, heavy rimmed glasses sit perfectly on his nose, and they set off his out-of-this-world chiseled cheekbones. As he works, he rubs his hand over his rough stubble, then taps his pen to his lips. Oh, to be that pen on his lips. His brows knit together as he reads a file, then his lip quirks to the side like he’s trying to make a hard decision. He reaches forward into his briefcase and takes out a laptop, opens it, and turns it on. When he sits back, his eyes come to mine. I quickly dart my eyes to my book and start reading.

“Are you alright?” he asks, studying my face.

“Sure, right as rain, I’m just studying,” I say.

“Your book is upside down,” he says with a smirk.

“Well, that’s a relief. No wonder it all sounded like Chinese to me. I thought I was in big trouble, because I totally don’t understand this section,” I say, and turn the book right side up.

He smiles, then turns his attention back to his laptop, and I go back to studying Aiden’s gorgeous features. I wasn’t joking though; the current section I’m supposed to be studying is so hard it’s like Chinese to me.

After about an hour of working side by side, Aiden puts everything back into his briefcase except his glasses. Yippee! I love the glasses.

“I could use a beer. Can I open you a bottle of wine?” he asks.

“Actually, I’m good with a beer,” I say.

“Really?” he asks.

“Really. I prefer beer over wine, but don’t tell that to your sisters,” I say.

He smiles at me, puts his hand on my knee, then goes into the kitchen. He comes back with a beer bottle and a beer poured in a frosty mug. He takes a swig from the bottle and holds out the mug for me.

I stand, give him a sly smile, and take the bottle from him bringing it to my lips, and taking a long pull. His eyes instantly fill with lust and he swallows hard in his throat. I know how to read a man’s thoughts from years of working in a bar. Next comes the hand in the front pocket, or the pick at their crotch to readjust a growing hard on. Most of the time, men don’t even realize that they’re doing it. Aiden didn’t do that though. Not because I didn’t notice his growing hard on, because I certainly see that. But because he takes the bottle out of my hand, sets it and his mug on the coffee table, then his hand comes up and goes behind my head. He pulls me to him and plants his lips on mine. I kiss him back. I’m still in the, ‘
I can dream, can’t I’
mode, so I go with it. He runs his hand through my hair, then his thumb comes to my temple and continues down my cheek to my neck, and then to my shoulder. His lips are hot on mine and I kiss him back with the same passion he’s kissing me with. He pulls my shoulders into his body, and then wraps his arm around my waist. His hand comes up my shirt, and that’s where the ‘
I can dream, can’t I’
mode needs to end, and I pull away.

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” I tell him, putting my forehead on his chin. “Good night,” I say, and head to the guest bedroom.

I’ve never stopped a man before from kissing me. I’ve never liked a man to kiss me as much as I like the way Aiden kissed me. I’d give my left arm to keep kissing Aiden and for what would have ultimately come next. Men who gave me any kind of attention or kiss me, I was glad to give them what they wanted. It wasn’t about them. It didn’t matter that I was trash, and what I was giving them was trash. Aiden is different, this family is different. He deserves so much better than me.

I strip out of my pants and panties and unhook my bra under my shirt. I pull the straps through the arm holes and crawl into bed in my t-shirt. If I were someone, anyone other than me and the way I was raised and the way I’ve lived my life, I could picture myself with a man like Aiden. I’m doing him a huge favor by not letting him get close to me. I wish someone would tell that to my heart, though. My heart wants what I can’t have. I eventually fall asleep crying.

In the middle of the night, I wake up and get out of bed. I walk to Aiden’s open bedroom door and stand in the doorway. He’s facing me, lying on his side, and he looks so peaceful and handsome. The trees in the window dance shadows on his bare chest and arms. Have you ever been jealous of a tree’s shadow before? I wish it were me, caressing his skin. A sheet covers him from the waist down. His left knee is raised and his hand is resting in front of his face. I can’t help it, I sigh. I look down to my feet at the four-week-old chipped nail polish on my toes, and it reminds me of just who I am. I’m not a spa mani/pedi’s kind of girl. I’m lucky if I can afford cheap nail polish from the dollar store. I look up to take one more look at him before I go back to my own bed, but when I do, Aiden’s blue eyes are staring back at me. Without a word, he pulls the sheet back as an invitation to join him. I don’t hesitate. In my head, I see myself hop, skipping, and jumping, all the way there. But in reality, it was only a few steps. I slip into his bed and he pulls me into his warm body. He covers me with the sheet, and then he wraps his arm around my waist. This time when I fall asleep, it isn’t with tears of sadness, but tears of joy. I can live in denial of who I really am for the moment. I also realize that the, ‘
I can dream, can’t I’
moments, are becoming something I can no longer control.

The next morning, I’m woken up by the lightest touch of Aiden’s finger on my skin as he pulls the hair out of my face. He’s sitting on the bed next to me. He smells amazing and he’s clean shaven, wearing an expensive suit and a killer smile. Waking up in the morning to a sight like this should be illegal. Like, seriously someone needs to take me to jail, save me from myself, because I’m not a strong woman.

“What time is it?” I ask, disoriented. Crapola, am I going to be late for class?

“Almost eight, I need to be in the office at nine. What time do you have class this morning? I can drop you off?” he says.

“My first class is at nine,” I tell him.

“Good, that works out perfectly. You can shower in here,” he says, and leaves the room.

Sitting on the chair in the corner of his room is my bag of clothes I packed yesterday. When did he bring those in here? I smile and stretch my limbs. I look out the door to make sure he’s gone, then grab his pillow and give it a smell. I need to register it in my memory banks, because being in Aiden’s bed can’t happen again. Then I peel the sheet off, grab my bag and head into his shower. You can bet your sweet ass I smelled all of his products in the shower, too. I may or may not have used some of his body wash somewhere on my body.

When I walk into the kitchen, Aiden has two travel mugs filled with coffee. He smiles and hands me one. I feel like I need to pinch myself or something. Did I get hit by a car and I’m in a coma, dreaming about the perfect life that in reality, I’ll never have? He grabs my school bag and I follow him out to his car. It did not pass my keen sense for details that my clothes bag is still in his bedroom. On the way to school, he asks, “What time are you done with school?”

“I’m done at three, then I usually study in the library until around five. I have a shift at the bar at six, but I can take the bus,” I tell him.

“I’ll pick you up here at five,” he says. He comes to a stop, leans in and kisses me, which temporarily sends my brain cells scattering, because I nod in agreement. I get out of his car and walk to my first class with my bag and a cup of coffee.

True to his word, at five o’clock he’s sitting in the exact same spot where he dropped me off this morning. I slip in his car; he offers a smile and asks, “How was school?”

“Great, how was work?” I ask. Alright, someone needs to extract me from the Twilight Zone.

“Great,” he replies, putting his hand on my knee.

Seeing his black suit clad arm with an expensive white dress shirt, a black cuff link, and an expensive watch on his wrist on my bare knee just below the ripped hem of my jeans skirt, sends all the wrong signals to my brain. What the hell am I doing? Stop living in fairytale land, and get back into the land of, ‘it ain’t going to happen for you, honey,’ land.

Aiden doesn’t drive me straight to the bar. He drives to Jax’s restaurant where a table is already waiting, and food is brought out almost immediately after we sit down. He arranged all of this, for me. I’m a little off at dinner. I think I need to have a sit down with Aiden and tell him to open his eyes. Run! Get as far away from me as you can. But the words just don’t come out. The little devil on my shoulder keeps telling me to dream. After dinner, he drives me to the bar. He doesn’t just drop me off. He parks the car, takes my hand, and walks me into the bar and takes a seat on one of the open stools.

“You don’t have to babysit me,” I tell him. “Gary is here, and he won’t let anything happen.”

“I’m not babysitting you. I’m going to enjoy a cold beer after a hard day at work before I head to the auto parts store.”

My heart sinks at the mention of the parts store. I give him the evil eye, but don’t have time to argue with him. I put on my apron and get to work. Aiden watches from the end of the bar, and passes quite a few angry looks at the men who take a little too long of a look at me. I just roll my eyes and ignore him; the way I look is how I get the bigger tips. The bigger the tips, the faster I can pay Aiden back for the parts for Ruby.

About a half an hour into my shift, Willow, Shay, Amelia, Ava, and Chloe walk into the bar. I could think of about a million jokes about that, but my eyes immediately go to Aiden. The girls take a seat at an open table. Aiden gets up from his stool and walks over to them.

Seriously, this is going way too far. I don’t need babysitters. I’ve taken care of myself since I was ten. I walk over to the table and stand there tapping my foot, looking from pairs of eyeballs to pairs of eyeballs.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be, Aiden?” Willow asks.

Funny. I was just thinking that about every single person sitting at this table, including Aiden, because Aiden is standing not sitting.

“Yeah, I have a parts store to get to and a car to tend to. Hey, Chloe. Do you think I can borrow a defibrillator from you?” he says, with a chuckle.

That is so not funny. Ruby does not need a defibrillator!

“See you later. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out,” Amelia teases.

“Sit down,” Shay demands, pointing to the one empty chair.

“I really can’t. I just started my shift,” I tell them. “What can I bring you ladies to drink?” I can get them a drink, then hopefully they’ll all leave.