14. ATTRACTION

14

ATTRACTION

C harlotte pushed the door closed as the last of what she assumed was a forensics team left her home carrying trash bags filled with her broken possessions.

They stayed longer than she expected; but what she hadn't expected was how two of the women offered to help her clean the mess.

Did she look that pathetic?

It took effort not to break down when she and Aiden returned from their shopping trip and early dinner to find people combing through the mess in her apartment.

It was hard to pretend everything was okay when it wasn't.

Warmth met her back, and she sank into the feeling as two muscular arms enclosed her at her shoulders.

The support Aiden gave her through all this helped more than she believed he realized. In less than two days' time, he made her laugh and smile in ways that made her forget what kept happening to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, turning her in his arms, not separating them.

"As good as I can be."

She propped her chin on his body to look up at him; he didn't give her an inch to do much else. Her arms dangled at her sides. She didn't want to loop them around his body. Well, she did , but she shouldn't. Her emotions were frazzled, and allowing herself to get too comfortable with Aiden when they always kept a platonic distance might not end so well.

She already told herself he was out of her league. She didn't need to complicate things by reading too much into his protective nature. He was protective of everyone.

She wasn't special. He was simply a good man.

She broke eye contact and pressed her forehead against his chest.

Aiden sighed. "It's okay to not be fine, you know."

Was it really? It didn't feel like it.

If she were back home with her mothers, maybe she would fall apart, but this was a new chapter in her life. The Independent and Strong Charlotte chapter. The shadows would not give her a reprieve to fall apart.

Aiden continued, like he knew what she was thinking. "I'm not leaving until this is sorted."

She appreciated the reiteration; she kept expecting him to change his mind at any moment and say her drama was too much.

"I'll protect you," he whispered against the top of her head as he lowered his to press his nose into her curls. She heard his slow inhale, like he was breathing her in—smelling her. Maybe he liked her shampoo.

"You don't have to," she said, lifting her head to look up at him again. "Stay, I mean." His grip on her tightened. "This isn't your problem, and I could already tell the cops made you uncomfortable." At least one of them, that is. It seemed so weird how they both sized one another up. Did the officer think Aiden was a bad guy? Surely not.

"I know I don't have to stay. I want to stay." He smiled down at her. "And the cops were fine," he added, but his smile fell as he said the words. Big fat lie.

"Officer Brooks acted like he had a stick up the rock he calls a butt," she said to lighten the mood.

Aiden snorted a laugh and raised a brow. "Rock?"

"He had muscles on muscles."

"You like that sort of thing?"

Her cringe made him laugh. "I like muscles, but that is overkill."

"Fair."

She started to pull away from his hug that had gone on far too long. "You, on the other hand…" She paused when his grip on her tightened. Her eyes moved up to his.

"What about me?"

His eyes were doing the same lowered lid, stern expression he did when she put on her new outfit.

"Um. What?" She forgot what they were talking about.

"Me, on the other hand?"

"Oh, uh. You have the right amount of muscle," she said, her face burning.

It wasn't like someone couldn't tell he looked muscular, but she saw an up close and personal view when he lay on her bed, eyes closed in rest. Never again would she get such an unobstructed, lingering view like that. Not that she needed to see it again, but she wouldn't deny the man looked gorgeous.

She also wouldn't deny that the image might star in some of her fantasies to use when she spent time with her B.O.B. in the future. If she did. With Aiden staying here for the foreseeable future, she doubted she would get much alone time.

"Charlotte?"

"Hm?"

"I asked you a question. You're just sort of… staring at me."

Oh, crap. "Um. Can you repeat that?" The man and his muscles were a distraction. She wiggled out of his grip. Space. Yes, space would help.

"I asked if you were looking at me. My muscles," he added with a chuckle.

"Don't be cocky." Her fists went to her hips. "You know you look nice."

"Nice?"

"Yes, nice."

Before he could say anything else, a knock behind them at the door startled them both.

Aiden moved her to the side and around him in a protective gesture before looking through the peephole she had never looked through. She wasn't tall enough.

The growl that came from Aiden's throat made her jump.

"What? What's wrong?" As much as she tried, she couldn't keep the fear from her voice.

Fear wasn't an emotion she experienced often, but since leaving Rosebrook Valley, it followed her around like a reaper, tearing at her soul a little piece at a time. Maybe one day it would destroy her completely.

He glanced over his shoulder, and his features softened. "It's Noah," he said, voice tight.

"Noah?" What was he doing here? How'd he know where she lived? In the weeks since they met, they did all their project work at Rachel's place .

Aiden stepped away from the door and moved over to the wall, leaning against it. His arms crossed over his chest as he watched her open the door with undisguised frustration.

She wondered what his problem was. He acted the same way when he met Noah yesterday.

Pausing with her hand on the doorknob, she looked back at Aiden again. "Be nice."

His expression went blank, and he squinted at her. "What?"

"Don't know what the deal is, but you two acted like someone stuffed a porcupine in your boxers when you met."

"A porcupine?" he deadpanned.

"A porcupine."

Before he could respond, she pulled the door open. She could still hear his snickering in the background as she faced Noah.

"Hey, Noah. How'd you know where I live?"

His hand brushed his curls back from his face, and he gave her a broad smile. His face looked better. The bruising didn't appear as prominent around his eye; less swollen. His lip still appeared split and scabbed, though. Probably because he kept smiling and opening the wound. He always smiled.

Still, it looked a lot better than she would have looked so soon after a fight.

"Rachel. She told me you moved to the same hall she lived on before. Gave me the address."

That sounded weird. Was it common for people up here? Give out private information like that? She sure wouldn't. Rachel had told her to be careful with Noah, and yet she gave him her address. Or had she given Noah her address herself? They didn't know each other in April when she moved in and Rachel moved out of the building.

"Is that a problem?" he asked, his smile dropping to be replaced with uncertainty.

"No, it's fine. Um. Come on in." She stepped back. "Want something to drink?"

"No, I'm good. I'm only here for a minute," he said, stepping into the apartment, his eyes scanning the space. Fortunately, he had never seen her apartment before. Without the framed photos, plants, throw pillows, and some of her knick-knacks lying around, he might ask questions. She didn't want to drag him into her mess. "I wanted to ask…" His words died off in his throat as he caught sight of Aiden standing against the wall like a silent sentinel. Noah spun to face her.

He looked between the two of them before raising a brow at her as if to ask a silent question.

They met yesterday. Aiden was supposed to come hang out at her place for the day. He was still here today. In the same clothes from yesterday.

Her head dropped back between her shoulders as she looked up at the ceiling for guidance. She knew the question without having to ask. It wasn't hard to put two and two together and know Aiden stayed the night. Noah knew he was from out of town.

Ignoring the question in his eyes—if he wanted to know, he could be a big boy and ask—she asked, "So what brings you to my place?" He could have called if he just wanted to ask her something.

Shaking his head, Noah said, "It's about the project."

"The project. What about it?" He'd responded to the group text, so he knew they didn't have to do anything with it until Friday.

"I wanted to see if you had an extra copy of the script Rachel gave us for the presentation. I lost mine, and if I asked her for a new copy, I'd never hear the end of it."

He wasn't wrong. Rachel was the least responsible of their group, so if Noah slipped up, she would never let him live it down. If they had to make the presentation today, he'd have had to face Rachel's wrath.

"Yeah, I can email you a copy to print." She slipped off the sandals she still wore from when they were out and crossed the floor toward the bedroom area where her computer was. She thanked her lucky stars whoever broke in didn't destroy that. "Why didn't you just text?"

She stopped before she reached her desk and looked back when he said nothing.

Aiden and Noah now stood in front of each other, speaking too low for her to hear. Aiden shook his head and narrowed his eyes at something Noah said. Noah threw his hands up and turned, jerking back at seeing her staring at them.

"Sent that email?"

"No," she said, drawing out the word. "I asked you a question. What are y'all arguing about?" Her arms crossed beneath her chest. "Better yet, does anyone wanna tell me why y'all seem to hate each other? You just met."

Noah held his arms out to his side. "No argument." He stepped forward, smiling. "I don't hate him. I don't even know him."

Maybe she was reading too much into things. The paranoia that accompanied someone stalking her made her wary of every situation and interaction.

Aiden kept his eyes on Noah, but he didn't refute his statement. Which further backed her suspicion that paranoia fueled her reaction to the two of them together.

It probably was little more than Aiden being protective.

She needed to get the email sent to Noah and send him on his way.

The air felt too tense for her liking with both guys in her home. Besides, she and Aiden needed to unpack their shopping bags, discuss sleeping arrangements, her class schedule, and any other important things he might need to know for his stay with her.

Noah approached, putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her away from Aiden. "I wanted to ask you something. It's why I didn't text you about the paper," he said when they were at the edge of the kitchen tile.

"What's up?"

"I wanted to see if you'd go out to dinner with me tonight." His head tilted as he looked down at her. "Just us. No Rachel or the others."

"I thought you understood."

"No, I do. I'm not rushing you." He looked up as Aiden approached. "I just wanted to spend some time with you alone."

Aiden stopped, looking between them, before entering the bathroom and shutting the door harder than he probably intended. She flinched at the sound.

Noah met her gaze again. "Maybe if you get to know me better, you might find yourself open to the idea of more. If not, we enjoyed the time as friends. No expectations."

It seemed a little pushy for him to ask her out, knowing she wasn't open to dating anyone while sorting her life out. He didn't even know how much she needed to sort. Maybe that was the entire problem. He only saw her apprehension about her major and remaining in Athens as the hangup. The reality was much more complicated.

She crossed her arms and stepped around him to go to her computer. He followed, glancing over at the unmade bed behind her. She'd had more men in her room in the last twelve hours than her whole life. At least her underwear wasn't hanging on display like when the officers were here.

She focused on emailing as she responded. "I can't tonight."

"Tomorrow then? "

"Probably not." Her lips flattened, and she took a steadying breath as she pressed send on the email, turning to him. "Look, you're a nice guy. I like you, I do. Just… not like that."

"It's him, isn't it?" He rested a hand on her desk, leaning a little to the side. The stiffness in his posture gave away his thoughts on the matter, even if he appeared to try for a casual demeanor.

"Who? Aiden?" She shook her head. "It's more than that. I've told you."

"You're right. I apologize." He straightened. "I really like you, and I'm sorry if I came on too strong."

"Friends?"

"Of course," he said, but he failed to mask the disappointment in his voice. "If you've sent that, I'm gonna get out of here. See you in class tomorrow?"

"Yep." She stood and led him to the front door.

He turned to her, and his signature smile was back on his face as if nothing had happened. "I'll see you tomorrow." Turning before she could say anything, he disappeared down the hall.

She closed the door with a yawn. Even without classes, the day had exhausted her. The police at her home twice. A suspected break-in, and then an actual break-in. Pissy officers—or at least one in particular. Now friends who didn't seem to know when to say when.

The bathroom door opened, and Aiden stepped out, meeting her eyes with frustration marring his handsome face.

"So, a date, huh?"

Her expression pinched. "What? No?"

"Sounded like it to me," he said in a conversational tone, but there was a lingering bite to the sound she didn't understand.

"He asked." She crossed the kitchen to her room, where she had placed the shopping bags with his clothes and her new underwear. "I turned him down," she said as she passed him.

Aiden leaned against the corner of the wall where it ended and created an entrance to the space she used as a bedroom. "So, he is interested in you?"

"I don't know. I guess."

"How do you not know? He asked you out. Trust me, he's interested."

She shrugged, folding the delicate pieces she bought, her body blocking his view of them. "I mean, he's made it clear, so I guess I know now. But I didn't before recently." She carried the folded underwear across the room and began putting them away. "I've never really been able to tell when someone is interested unless they are being vulgar at the diner or flat out tell me. I didn't realize it for sure until he kissed me, even when Rachel thought he asked me on a date before." She shut the drawer and turned to find a very irritated-looking Aiden staring at her. "What's wrong?"

"He kissed you? When?" The deep timbre of his voice as he spoke the last word through gritted teeth made her shiver.

"Friday after our group meeting."

"You mean the same night you looked scared out of your mind when we talked on Discord?" He straightened and looked ready to turn and head for her door—presumably to chase after Noah.

"Whoa, wait. Wait a minute." She moved over to stand in front of him. "He didn't upset me."

Aiden ran his hand over the length of his hair and scratched the crown of his head. "Then you were okay with the kiss?"

"No." She grabbed his forearm when he tensed. "I mean, I didn't care for him kissing me. I let him know I wasn't looking for anything. He respected that."

Some of the tension drained from Aiden's body at those words. " Then why's he asking you out now?"

"I guess trying his luck? I don't get it much either." She turned and walked over to the closet, opening it and pushing her clothes to the side. "You can hang your new clothes in here. What are you gonna do about your mom's car?" She pulled down several hangers and brought them over to her computer chair, sitting them on it before moving to her bed to sit down next to the bags of his clothing.

"I called her while you were in the lingerie store," he said, rubbing a hand over the side of his neck and glancing to the side. "She told me to keep it while I'm here. She'll use the other car."

She moved the bags out of the way as he moved to take a seat next to her. "You told her about all this?"

"No. That's your business. I told her I was staying with a friend for the summer."

"And she didn't question it?"

That made no sense. From what Riley told her, Annie Easton helicopter parented with the best of them. Maybe she didn't do that with her sons, or either Riley being the youngest made her mother act differently.

"Oh, she questioned it, alright. But it's fine. She gave me the green light in the end." He sighed. "I can't believe you can't tell," he mumbled.

"Can't tell what?"

"If someone is into you."

She laughed. "It's not a foreign concept. Do you know every single person who is attracted to you?"

"Well, no." He at least looked somewhat chagrined by the realization. "But when we were at the beach, you kept up with that stupid drinking game just fine."

When they went to Tybee Island during spring break, they indulged in some silly high school games. During Never Have I Ever, she got tipsy, and she guessed Aiden was paying attention.

"Just because I have experience, doesn't mean I knew the guy was interested before I was in a relationship with him." She shrugged. "Like I said, I didn't even know Noah was interested until recently. Usually, Blaire was the one to point out if a guy was genuinely flirting with me and not being a lecherous creep."

Aiden leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs, clasping his hands. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What about me?"

Her brows bunched. "What about you?"

He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Can you tell what I think of you?" His voice had dropped, and her heart beat faster in response.

Toying with the hem of her white shorts for something to do, she said, "Well, until you asked that question, I thought I did."

"What did you think before?"

"That we were friends."

"We are," he said, sitting upright.

She relaxed at his statement. Aiden didn't need to know that she felt attracted to him more than a friendly appreciation. She knew to stay in her own league.

"Why did the question make you think otherwise?"

"Huh?"

"You said before I asked the question you thought you knew."

"Oh." So much for letting her guard down. "The way you sounded, it almost seemed like you thought more of me." She downplayed the embarrassment with a laugh. "See, this is why I can't tell if someone likes me." Her face burned, so she looked away, suddenly fascinated with the shoes in the bottom of her closet. The heat in her apartment did nothing to help .

"And if I do?"

Her shoulders inched up to her neck, and she froze. He did not just say that. Was she having another heatstroke? You can't blame a heatstroke anytime something unbelievable happens , she chastised herself.

She jumped when his hand slid over hers and tugged her to turn toward him.

Once he had her attention, he said, "I mean, I'm not going to lie and say I'm not attracted to you." Before her heart could keel over, he added, "But to act on that right now when you're going through what you are is an asshole move." He tilted his head to look deep into her eyes. "I've been attracted to you for a while, actually."

His large hand moved to cup the side of her face, and she couldn't stop the soft, barely audible, desperate sound that came out. Brushing his thumb across her cheek, he leaned in as if drawn to the sound.

He was going to kiss her.

Her eyes fluttered closed and she could smell her minty toothpaste on his breath fanning across her lips. He must have brushed his teeth when he went to the bathroom earlier after their dinner when Noah was here.

A weird vibrating noise came from Aiden, and she pulled back, looking down at his lap.

"I muted it earlier when the police were here," he said. "I can call back."

"No, it might be important. Go ahead."

The moment was gone anyway. Really, it was a good thing. Kissing Aiden would be a very bad thing. Even if it would feel so good in the moment.

His eyes showed how reluctant he was to get up, but his phone started vibrating again. He pulled it out of his pocket and groaned at the name on the screen .

"What is it, Riley?" he said, answering the call as he stood and walked to the kitchen. "Yes, I'm staying at Charlotte's for a bit." A pause. "No, you can't come too. There's no room." A longer pause. "Seth with you? Give him the phone." After a minute, Aiden sighed. "Hey, man. Listen, I'm dealing with some stuff up here and I won't be back for a bit. Yeah, everything is fine, but I'm gonna need you to keep Riley occupied. I'll reach out again soon." After a brief silence, he said, "Thanks man, I'll see you later."

She watched him while he stood in the kitchen for a moment, taking several deep breaths, clenching and unclenching his fists. Call it sixth sense, but she didn't think his frustration was with Riley. It felt like something else.

He turned and walked toward her again. "Sorry about that. Mom told Riley. I'm sure you know how that went."

She giggled. Riley was a handful. Hearing the one-sided phone conversation told Charlotte all she needed to know about what his little sister had likely demanded of him.

Smoothing her hands over her thighs, her gaze snagged on a shoebox on her nightstand she hadn't seen before.

"That's odd."

"What?"

She slid over to the corner of the nightstand and lifted the black box that had a dark red X painted on the top and set it in her lap. "Think the forensics team left it behind?"

"I don't think they'd keep supplies in a shoebox," he said, crossing his arms.

With a sinking feeling in her gut, she lifted the lid from the box and choked on the gasp that bubbled up her throat but never escaped.

Inside the black shoebox lay a dead bird and a single pink rose.