Something Gained (USC Series Book #1)

chapter twenty-four

SOMETHING GAINED
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AIDAN

My hoodie eats up Brooklynn's frame. I tried my best to find the smallest one I had, but even then, the hoodie still reaches her knees. Her brown hair swings from her ponytail with every step she takes down the stairs.

I enter the living room and find all three of my roommates plus my sister sitting on the couch. All have different expressions on their faces when they notice Brooklynn. Holden just smiles in a good-morning kind of smile. Malachi couldn't look more disinterested if he tried. Tyson... well, he has the most victorious smile on his face and eyebrows raised higher than heaven. He winks at me when he realises I'm staring right at him.

Simply, I just roll my eyes and guide Brooklynn into the kitchen. She plants herself down on the stool and stares blankly out the kitchen window.

"Two options for lunch: chicken schnitzel or mac and cheese. Two very healthy choices if you ask me," I tell her. Unfortunately, it looks like no one has done the weekly shopping trip, so that's all we are left with.She removes her hazel eyes away from the window and gazes back at me.

"Definitely mac and cheese."

I nod and empty the contents of the package into the pan. I pretend to know what I'm doing—and considering this is pretty easy to make—I should be able to make it with my limited skills in the kitchen.

After what seems too long, I have managed to successfully make the mac and cheese without screwing up somehow. I assemble our bowls of food and settle down beside her on a stool.

She groans. "This is so good. I haven't had mac and cheese in ages."

I nod, shovelling a mouthful into my mouth. "Same. I probably shouldn't be eating this right now, but Coach doesn't have to know."

Coach Warner has hired a nutritionist and all his players are on a strict diet during the season. And I know if he saw me eating this mac and cheese right now, he and our nutritionist would not be too happy.

In my periphery, I see Brooklynn's body shake with laughter. "It always reminds me of my childhood every time I eat it. I remember this one Halloween—I was about seven—and it was raining. My mother refused to let me go trick-or-treating, so my dad, in an attempt to cheer me up, made a big bowl of mac and cheese. The rest of the night, we ate almost the whole bowl while watching all the Harry Potter movies. Well, until Charlie came and ate right out of the bowl and I refused to eat dog slobber."

I turn to face her and a smile I recognise from last night lives on her gorgeous face. "Your dad seems like a great guy."

Sharply, she inhales and nods. "He is."

I lift my hand and rest it on her shoulder, trying my best to comfort her.

My past relationship never felt anything like this. So saying I do not know what to do would be an understatement. Not that this is a relationship. We remain in a comfortable silence until we both finish and I place the dishes in the dishwasher.

Holden calls out from the living room, inviting Brooklynn and me to watch a movie with the rest of my roommates. I look towards Brooklynn and raise an eyebrow.

Simply, she nods and we sit in the living room beside each other. I try my best to maintain some distance, wary not to cross any lines regarding her comfort. The last thing I would want to do was make her uncomfortable in any way by my presence.

I feel a gaze burning into the side of my face and I swivel my head to face the culprit. Brooklynn is staring right at me. Those tempting hazel eyes send a rush of something familiar through my body. Those same lips I distinctively remember kissing a couple of hours ago are tugged into a tight-lipped smile.