Me:  I’m sorry about that. I’ve got so much on my mind and he just . . . I’m sorry, okay?

Hottie God:  Sorry you did it, or sorry I saw?

Me:  Both.

Hottie God:  Not sorry enough to stop kissing him.

Me:  I’m sorry!

Hottie God:  I don’t think it’s enough :)

Me:  Why the smiley face?

Hottie God:  You’re going to make it up to me. 

Me:  And how am I supposed to do that?

Hottie God:  The list is going to be long.

Me:  I can handle it.

Hottie God:  My demands: #1. Sit next to me on the ride home.

Me:  Fine.

Hottie God:  #2. Hang out with me tonight. Late.

Me:  Done.

Hottie God:  3. Don’t go to Riley’s.

Me:  I have to. It’s his birthday. 

Hottie God:  So that’s the only reason you’re going? Shit. Never mind. I don’t want to compare the relationship. Regardless of what’s going on with you and Dawson, we’re taking it slow and going at our own pace. 

Me:  We’re teenagers, aren’t we supposed to fall head over heels in love? 

Hottie God:  I did that 8 times last year. None of them worked. I’m trying a different approach.

Me:  Uh, okay. So any other demands?

Hottie God:  Yes. #4. Points for dances tonight. 

Me:  Deal :) And Aiden . . .  I have a demand.

Hottie God:  What? I’m in the position of power here, not you. You don’t get demands.

Me:  I’m not much for following rules ;)

Hottie God:  No shit. What’s your demand?

Me:  Naw, I guess you’re right, I should play fair.

Hottie God:  Tell me.

Me:  Naaaaaw. Never mind.

Hottie God:  Boots, NOW!

Me:  Don’t tell me what to do.

Hottie God:  Fine. Don’t tell me. Then I won’t have to do it. I didn’t want to anyway.

Shit. What just happened? He was supposed to beg me to know.

Me:  Okay, then I won’t tell you that my demand was that you score a lot of points. For me. Just for me. So you can dance with me. Hold me tight. But that’s okay. You don’t want to. Never mind.

Hottie God:  You are difficult to negotiate with, do you know that?

Me:  That depends. Are you giving in to my demand?

 

Hottie God:  Absolutely.  

Me:  I like getting my way :)

Hottie God:  Yeah, I know.  

Me:  I’m sending you a mental four-leaf clover. Good luck tonight, Aiden.

Hottie God:  I gotta go now. I have a pre-game ritual I need to follow. It helps me concentrate. See you after the game :)

Over and over again.

11:15pm

I’m sitting with Aiden in the very back of one of the buses. Since Dawson went home with his parents after the game, I didn’t have to worry about any drama. On the way to the games, the football team, band, cheerleaders, and spirit squad, all have to ride in different buses. Mostly because the football team always leaves before the rest of us, so they can warm up. After the game, we all leave at the same time, so it gets all mixed up.

“So, we need to talk about sex.” Aiden says.

“You wanna talk dirty?” I tease, hoping to avoid this subject. Because I know sex isn’t what he wants to talk about. He wants to talk about my sex with Dawson.

“Maybe later.”

“So, you had a good night,” I tell him. Please let him be distracted. Please.

“It doesn’t help the team when the quarterback won’t throw to a guy that’s wide open.”

“Do you think that was on purpose?”

“Hell, yeah, it was on purpose. Add to that his two interceptions. We’re lucky that we got down close enough for me to kick all those field goals.”

“Five goals. Fifteen points and a win. Although, that’s not very many dances.”

Aiden runs his finger across my palm.

I move to kiss him.

“Ow!” I say, as he reacts to my sudden movement by bumping his head hard into mine.

“Damn, Boots, I managed to get through the game without a scratch. Now you give me a concussion while I’m on the bus.”

I lean back, holding my eyebrow and studying him. “I’m sorry.”

He gently pulls my hand away from my eyebrow, leans in, and kisses it. Right on top of the big ugly bump I can feel forming.

I think he felt it with his lips because he moves his face away and gently runs his finger across the top of it. “I’m just teasing you. I’m fine, but your eyebrow is swelling up. Let me get something.”

He slides out of our seat, walks carefully up the aisle to the front of the bus, grabs a couple of water bottles out of a cooler, and walks back.

He holds the cold bottle against my eyebrow.

“I think the kiss worked better,” I murmur, holding my breath, and hoping he will kiss me.

He moves the bottle away and examines my brow. “You might be right.”

I breathe out right before he leans in and kisses me. Not on the eyebrow, but on my lips.

I don’t even remember anything else from the long bus ride back to school. There was nothing but feeling Aiden’s hand holding mine. Feeling his perfect lips touch mine. Over and over again.

By the time we get back to school, it’s past curfew, so he just tells me good night as Katie and I head to our dorm.

Katie sits on her bed, bouncing slightly. “I had so much fun tonight.”

“You sat by Bryce.”

“I know. He’s seriously the nicest boy I’ve ever met. We talked and talked and talked. I don’t even know what all we talked about, but there was never a lull. Or those awkward silences when you don’t know what to say. One time, he accidentally brushed my hand. And I got these goosebumps all the way up my arm. I really like him. We have to go to the party tonight.”

“The party? I didn’t know there was a party.”

“Sure there is. Aiden and Bryce’s rooms. Like always.”

“Oh.”

“Why do you seem upset? You like to party.”

I put on a fake smile. “I do, but Aiden didn’t mention a party.”

She frowns. “But you sat next to him the whole way home. Didn’t he ask you to come?”

“No,” I say.

We agreed to points for dances. And now he’s having a party? Did he change his mind?

“Are you going?”

“Probably not. I’m tired. I have rehearsal early and then I have to catch the train to go to Riley’s.”

Her phone buzzes with a text. She smiles. “It’s Bryce.”

I go in my closet, feeling like I want to cry.

Instead, I focus on my clothes. When I’m finished packing, Katie is going out the window.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m going to bed.”

I throw on my pajamas and lie down in bed.

My phone buzzes, but I ignore it. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to hear some lame excuse for why there’s a party in his room. Why he decided not to dance with me.

A few minutes later, there’s a knock on my window. I cover my head with my sheet and pretend not to hear.

My window opens and Aiden pulls the sheet off my face.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone or come to the window when I knocked?”

“Maybe I was asleep,” I reply coolly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I need to sleep and you should probably get back to your party.”

He sits on my bed, sighs, and runs his fingers through his hair.

I hate when he does that. It makes him look even cuter.

“I didn’t know about the party. Everyone just assumed.”

“Whatever.”

“I want to dance with you.”

“Not enough. I’m going to sleep. You can let yourself out.” I pull the sheet over my head.

He pulls the sheet back down. “Is there any reason why we can’t dance here?”

“I’m in my pajamas.”

“I’m okay with that. Did you notice that when I got your phone out of jail I put our 29-song playlist on it?”