B I T T E R

C H A P T E R ELEVEN

"Charlotte!" Aidan's little sister, Nina, ran up to me after the game.

"Nina!" I smiled. We hugged each other. She was like my own little sister. She helped Aidan sneak out to see me and covered for us a lot. Sometimes, her and I would go to the mall together and she'd tell me about her struggles at school. I missed her a lot.

"Are you coming with us to lunch?" she asked.

"No, Nina. Charlotte and I are going to do our own thing." Aidan chimed in.

"Oh, alright. Have fun!" she smiled, but I could tell she forced it. She wanted to spend time with me too.

"Maybe in the summer, the three of us can meet up at the beach or something?" I said to make her feel better.

She nodded graciously, loving the idea.

"Nina, I need to talk to you." Aidan took her aside. I couldn't hear their conversation, but it wasn't anything bad. He returned to me smiling and Nina went to find her parents.

"She's going to stall Mom and Dad so we can spend a lot of time together." He took hold of my hand.

"Okay, you want to go this pizza shop I passed on the way here?" I asked. He agreed and we walked to my car.

"My girl is whipping! I like the wheels." He complimented when we got in my car.

"It's nothing special." I blushed. He always hyped me up.

"Remember our first kiss?" he asked as I was pulling out the spot.

How could I forget it? It was one of the best moments of my life.

Aidan, Dana, and I were playing mini golf one Saturday. When it was time to go, we were being the usual love-struck couple.

"I don't want you to go." I said sadly.

He pulled me into his arms, "I'll see you later on. Don't worry."

"I'll miss you." I sighed.

"I'll miss you too." He smiled.

We stood there holding each other's hands and looking in each other's eyes.

"Kiss her already!" Dana shouted. I laughed, not expecting him too.

But, he did. He pushed me against the wall, cupped my cheek, and kissed me. I knew had to have him in my future in that moment. Our kiss lasted a minute or two.

"Damn, girl! You're a good kisser." Aidan exclaimed.

I was speechless. I couldn't believe I'd just kissed the boy I liked. I blushed, unsure of what to say.

"I'll see you later." He kissed me one last time and left.

"Thank me later." Dana said when he was gone.

"I fucking love you!" I hugged her. We celebrated my accomplishment.

"Oh, god. I was so fazed afterwards that I couldn't speak." I laughed.

"I loved that kiss." He nodded.

"Would you have kissed me if it weren't for her?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. There was no way I would've let that go."

Aidan was the only boy that could make me lose my words. Everyone who knew me, knew I talked a lot!

We arrived at the pizza place and went inside. It was after lunch time so we were the only people in there. I loved family-owned restaurants. They made the best food in my opinion.

We split a medium pizza and a basket of fries. We talked about the moments we shared before he moved and brainstormed ideas to see each other. Aidan didn't have his license yet. His parents were cautious to let him drive because he used to be a wild child. They believe I whipped him into shape, but I disagreed. I just pushed him to do better in school and he did the rest on his own.

"You want to go back to my hotel? My parents and Nina are heading to the mall." He asked.

"Sure. I want to spend as much time with you as possible." I nodded.

Aidan insisted on paying the bill even though I offered to cover it.

He directed me to his hotel which was pretty fancy. His parents had a lot of money.

"They got a suite, babe. There's a hot tub in my room." He sounded excited about it. He was telling me all about the other extravagant extras he had in the room.

The room was just as marvelous as he described. I hadn't stayed anywhere nearly as nice.

"Whoa!" was all I could say.

"What would you like to do?" he asked. There was the hot tub, a pool table, and a ping pong table on the balcony.

"I don't have my bathing suit so no hot tub." I frowned. I really want to go in the hot tub.

"It's not like I haven't seen you naked before." He raised an eyebrow, flirtatiously.

"Are you suggesting that we skinny dip?" I smirked.

"I mean if you're down."

I didn't reply. Instead, I took my sweater off and thrust it at him. He caught it and draped it over the back of the couch. He took his shirt off too.

I walked over to him, eyeing his torso.

"I haven't touched these in so long." I ran my hand over them. Aidan kissed my forehead and picked me up. My legs wrapped around his waist and my arms around his neck.

"Let's skip the hot tub." He winked. He carried me to a room that I assumed was his. He lay me on the bed carefully. He always took his time with me and I appreciated it.

"Come here." I pulled on his neck, bringing his lips to mine.

"Charlotte, do you want to?" he asked.

Did I want to? Was I ready? If I did this, I wouldn't be able to see him again for him a long time and I'd miss him even more than before.

We promised we'd be each other first times. I loved him with my whole heart and I trusted him with my life. Even though we weren't together now, we would be eventually.

"Yes," I whispered.

"I love you."

I made the right choice...I think.