Role Playing(59)

Only now Kit was gone—and despite her big attitude, she knew, practically, that she was a five-foot-tall biracial Asian woman in the middle of fucking nowhere. Maybe Deb was right: she ought to have gotten a dog.

Gritting her teeth, she went to the hall closet, grabbing an aluminum bat. Whoever was there came up to the door, knocking. She peered through the peephole. Then she opened the door, slowly. “Aiden?”

He grinned. His light-auburn hair was tamed a bit, suggesting he’d had a shower since seeing her that morning. He was bearing a pizza box and a bag. “Hey there,” he said, before taking in her holding her bat. “Bad time?”

“No, no. I just . . . I didn’t know who you were.”

Now his cheeks pinkened a little. “Shit. I should’ve thought of that,” he said, sounding sheepish. “I would’ve called, but I wanted to surprise you. I know you said that pizza doesn’t deliver out here, so I figured I’d bring you some. We’ll probably need to heat it up, though. And I got some ice cream too.”

She felt relief pour through her like cool water. She leaned the bat against the wall and took the pizza and the bag of ice cream. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t have to babysit me and help me out with my foot, but you were awesome, and I wanted to say thank you.”

“You don’t have to say thank you either,” she said, that embarrassment squirming through her insides as she tucked the ice cream in the freezer and checked the pizza, trying to figure out how best to heat it back up. She preheated the oven, getting out a large cookie sheet and placing the whole thing on it.

“I wanted to.”

She glanced over to find him smiling at her, a warm, almost amused smile. “It was no problem at all.”

He glanced around. “Did you have plans for tonight, or anything? Damn. I thought . . . I probably should’ve thought this through more, I guess.”

She barked out a laugh. “Dude, what plans would I possibly have? I am the least social person you know.”

“Other than me,” he said, chuckling in response. “I love that about you, actually.”

She blinked. He looked startled.

“I mean . . . you’re an introvert, like me. I don’t feel exhausted with you.”

“That’s a ringing endorsement,” she said.

“I’m sorry! I mean . . .”

“No, I wasn’t being facetious,” she quickly added. “Trust me, I get it. Most people drain me like an old cell phone battery. You don’t exhaust me either. I feel better after I hang out with you.”

She frowned. She hadn’t meant to say that. She hadn’t realized she actually thought that, come to it. But it was true.

She cleared her throat, busying herself with the pizza. “You’re sharing this with me, right?”

“If that’s okay?”

She rolled her eyes, feeling bristly and vulnerable. “Sure, sure. Maybe pick something to watch on Netflix, huh?”

He fiddled with her remote, and she felt her heart beating funny again. It was similar to fear, but she wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was residual adrenaline.

Yeah. She’d go with that.

They settled on her couch. He’d decided to choose Arcane, and she found herself swept up in the story and the gorgeous art style. Just like they always did, they chattered back and forth as they demolished the pizza, making comments about the show and the characters. When she’d gotten them both bowls of ice cream, they’d debated the pros and cons of different flavors, letting the series roll from one episode to another.

She wasn’t sure when she fell asleep. Between the heat from the fireplace and the heat from Aiden at her side, she found her eyes going low lidded, felt herself yawning. Now, she snuggled a little against the hard pillow under her cheek. Bleary, she looked up.

Aiden was looking down at her, his smile gentle, his gray eyes bright. He was stroking her hair, petting her as soothingly as he’d petted Duchess.

Which was when she realized her head was in his lap.

She sat up so fast she got a head rush. “I’m sorry!”

“For what?” He grinned. “For falling asleep through Arcane? Because I’ll probably make you watch those episodes, not gonna lie. You need to see them to get the full story line.”

“That I . . . that my head was . . .” A blush heated her cheeks, and she felt like a complete idiot. “That I used you as a pillow,” she eventually landed on. Which sounded not-great but was better than sorry I had my cheek really close to your dick there.

The blush intensified. She could feel it heating her cheeks like the woodstove.

He chuckled, squirming. “You must be tired,” he said sheepishly. “And I guess I should probably go. But I had a good time tonight.”

“I did too. I wasn’t sure if I’d get to see you again.” Goddamn it. She wasn’t fully awake. Why else would she admit something like that?

“Why wouldn’t you see me again?”

She covered her face with her hands, feeling like an idiot. “No reason. I am an antisocial hedgehog. I don’t leave the house if I don’t have to. That’s all.”

He tugged her hands from her face—which showed her how close his face was to hers. He was staring at her like a very sweet interrogator. “Did you think we weren’t going to hang out anymore because I didn’t need your help?”