“Yeah, I guess I am.” His chest rose and fell as he took in a deep breath. “Maybe the next time I’m in town?”
“When will that be?” Was I seriously considering this? No, no I wasn’t. I was just being polite.
“Not sure,” he said. “A few weeks maybe.”
It sounded like plenty of time for both of us to forget the whole night, which was fine by me. I was pretty sure he would find someone more like him in the meantime, and it wasn’t like I was going to offer him my phone number. I’d likely never see him again.
Then I remembered something.
“I need to give you your pants back,” I reminded him.
“Well, I have an appointment at noon I really shouldn’t miss,” Aiden said, “but how about I stop by and pick them up later?”
“What? Come by my condo?”
“Yeah,” he said with a shrug. “Why not?”
“You don’t know where I live.” I didn’t add that I wanted to keep it that way, but he must have sensed it.
“Do you remember where I live?”
“Yes.”
“Bring them by after four this afternoon,
” he suggested. “I have to pack up a few things, and I have an early flight tomorrow.”
“I have…” I hesitated and took a deep breath. “I have things to do.”
“What?” Aiden laughed. “Groceries?”
I scowled at him but didn’t have any kind of snappy comeback. The fact was he had me pegged. I didn’t have any plans other than a movie at home—predictable and alone.
But going back to his place? Again? Intentionally? I had no idea what he expected, let alone what I might expect from another encounter. Yes, he had apparently been nothing but gentlemanly toward me thus far, but would that continue? Was this some kind of trap?
Why would he feel the need to trap me? If he was going to hurt me, he’d already had plenty of opportunity. Was I still judging him just because of the tattoos? How wrong was that?
Besides, I couldn’t deny my attraction to him. He was so different from those I’d dated in the past, and the excitement of seeing him again tingled through my fingers where they still touched his arm.
“All right,” I finally said. “I’ll drop them by later.”
“Yeah? Cool!” Aiden beamed. “I’ll see you later, then.”
He folded himself into his tiny car and drove off as I stood there with my keys in my hands and watched him disappear.
And with that, I wondered if I should just forget the whole encounter.
FOUR
I stood at the door to Aiden’s apartment, holding his sweatpants—freshly washed—in a plastic bag on my arm. I had been there for at least four minutes but hadn’t knocked yet.
I had spent all morning telling myself to leave his pants on his doorstep, ring the bell, and run away. I had spent the entire afternoon arguing with myself.
Everything about my encounter with Aiden Hunter was wrong. I didn’t know him. None of my friends knew him. And I had made out with him both in a drunken stupor out in the parking lot and also while stone-cold sober the next day.
I had gone through all the known pros and cons.
The pros were easy: he was really, really attractive and a great kisser. Just being close to him seemed to make my body react in ways I hadn’t felt in a long time, maybe ever. Yes, I’d been physically attracted to Zach and other past boyfriends, but the draw to Aiden was different—more tangible. It was also completely inexplicable.