I nodded. “Yeah, and you tried copying off my quizzes for the first two weeks until you talked me into helping you study.” What he hadn’t known was that I didn’t give away my hard work for free, but he’d learned that quickly after I shot him down time after time.
“I can’t believe you’re Aiden’s Vanessa.” Cain glanced at the big guy, who was standing just slightly behind me and to the right.
I wished.
“That’s me,” I said, taking a step back, the side of my hip and butt bumping into Aiden. Almost instinctively, a wrist and then an elbow climbed over my shoulder and the heavy weight of his arm draped over me. I had to tip my head back to find his gaze. Why did he look so serious?
“Where’s Zac?” Drew, Aiden’s friend, asked.
The big guy seemed to shift next to me, his side pressing into mine. “He’s at the gym, isn’t he?”
He was and I was so happy he was taking it seriously enough to keep training even though the season was over and most players were taking a small break—hence, the four of them standing in the living room. Well, at least I knew Chris and Drew played professionally; I wasn’t sure what Cain did now. “Yeah. He’s usually back by four.” We always went for a run afterward, but I wasn’t sure if we were going to go since Aiden’s friends were in town. Then again, they were Aiden’s friends, Zac just happened to get along with them; he got along with everyone.
“Well, I’m hungry, who wants to go out to eat?” Drew asked.
“Me,” the other two that didn’t live with me replied.
The arm around me tightened. On the rare occasion he went out to eat, there were only a couple places he liked. “I’ll choose the place.”
I snorted. “I need to finish two covers by tonight, so I’m going to get back to work. You want me to keep Leo?”
Aiden shook his head. “It isn’t that cold. We’ll take him. I want him to get used to riding around in a car more.”
“Well, you guys have fun. I’ll see you later.”
With a wave to all of them and an extra smile thrown in Cain’s direction, I ran back upstairs. The two covers I was working on were going to be hand-drawn designs, so I set up my brand new tablet and quickly got to work. I’d already jotted down ideas I had, so I quickly set forth drawing the bones for one of them so I could send it off before going any further.
One hour bled into two, and at some point, I heard the door open and a handful of male voices float up the stairs. The low hum of the television reached the office, but I kept on working.
It wasn’t until the garage door opened once more and the voices got louder that I sat up and listened. Sure enough, a few minutes later, someone pounded up the stairs and “Van!” reached me.
“In the office,” I yelled back, already saving my work.
Zac peeked his head into the doorway and grinned. “We goin’？”
“Sure. Let me get dressed.”
He nodded, disappearing in the direction of his room. Sneaking into my bedroom, I grabbed my running clothes—leggings, a long-sleeved thermal shirt, sports bra, socks, and shoes—and darted into Aiden’s room to change. I had just finished pulling up my leggings when the door to the bedroom opened and Aiden came in, shutting it behind him.
I smiled as I sat on the edge of the bed, my heel on the mattress. “How was lunch?”
He lifted a shoulder and eyed me, leaning against the door. “Good.”
“What restaurant did you go to? The Chinese place, that café you like, or Thai?” I asked playfully, slipping my sock on.
“We went to eat Chinese.”
“Where’s Leo?” I asked.
“Downstairs,” was his curt reply before going with, “Did you and Cain date?”
My sock fell out of my hand. “What?”
Aiden straightened his upper back as he pushed off the door he’d been leaning against. His face was so remote, I had no idea what the hell that was supposed to mean. “Were you and Cain together?” he repeated himself.
I kept my gaze on him as I reached down and picked up the sock. “Ahh, no.”
His cheek twitched.
“No.” I blinked. “The only reason he started talking to me back then was because he wanted to copy off my work.”
Why was he making that face?
“I’m serious. That was the only reason we became friends.”
He was still making that damn face.
“What? Okay, maybe I thought he was cute, but that’s all.” I shrugged. “Guys like that don’t like girls like me, big guy.” Honestly, while it was the truth, I had no idea why the hell I’d said it.
His nostrils flared and his shoulders drew back. “Guys like what?”
Damn it. There went me feeling awkward as hell. “You know…” I made myself look down as I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Like that.”
“Like me?” he asked in a low voice.
“Not you-you, necessarily. I just mean… look, it doesn’t matter. I know what I have to work with.” I was all right looking. Every so often, I got hit on. But I wasn’t a major bitch, I worked hard, my crazy was usually under control, and I thought that mattered more than a face that would eventually get wrinkled. “When you can pretty much date whoever you want, and most of you guys can, I’m not going to be at the top of anybody’s list—”
“Shut up, Vanessa,” he snapped.
I scoffed. “You shut up.”
“Van!” Zac exclaimed, banging on the bedroom door. “Chop, chop!”
Getting to my feet, I quickly slipped my shoes on and shot Aiden a frown. “Look, we never did anything more than eat dinner a few times and study for tests together. I never had any dreams of being his girlfriend or any crap like that, and he never gave me the impression he was interested. I’m not going to do or say anything to jeopardize this between us, okay? You’re the guy I signed paperwork with.”
He didn’t move away from the door even as I approached it. What did happen was that he seemed to be grinding his teeth together.
I touched the middle of his chest; the big, perfectly developed slabs of his six-pack hardened under my fingers. “I promise, big guy. I would never break my promise to you. You know that.” When he didn’t say anything, I used my chin to gesture toward the door. “I need to go. When I get back, I’ll make a few casseroles or something so you don’t have to go out to eat again. Okay?”
Grudgingly, Aiden nodded and moved aside to let me open the door. Zac stood at the bottom of the stairs. “Come on, darlin’。 We’re on a tight schedule.”
* * *
Five hours later, my legs were all noodle-like and I felt sick. It went passed exhaustion and dehydration—we’d started carrying water reservoirs on packs around our back. I felt like I had the flu. We had taken it easy after our long run two days ago, and our day off had been yesterday. But a puny seven miles with a negative split had damn near killed me. My knees. My ankles. My shoulders. Every single thing ached. Pounding back water hadn’t made me feel any better, drinking coconut water hadn’t helped, sitting down to rest didn’t make a difference, and neither did taking a shower and putting on pajamas.