Bad Boys Aren't Romantic

34: Take Off That Dumb Jacket

Aaron smells of detergent. It's a sort of sweet and fresh smell that makes me feel warm anytime I'm around him. He has a small mole on his face, barely noticeable unless you're close. His eyes are lighter than I remember, or maybe I didn't really pay much attention before; a light hazel shade that are so clear when in the sun. His brown hair has grown and he often struggles with styling it up, even when he puts gel in it. When he's nervous, although I never knew before that the Aaron Reeves would get nervous, the top of his ears go bright pink. His smiles are lopsided and his laugh is contagious. In the mornings, when he's just woken up, his voice is rough and deep and at times I wonder if that's what he'll sound like when we're older. Although, I would never tell him, his singing is quite bad and I laugh at times when he's so into the song and he goes off key; I don't mind it though, I love hearing him sing. He's also funny, mostly when he doesn't realize it and when I laugh his eyebrows furrow and he squints his eyes because he's confused as to what it is that I find so funny. His skin is soft and at times I have to force myself not to touch him all the time, although maybe I should ask him what his secret to soft skin like his is. And even though I wouldn't admit it to his face-or else he'd never let it go-he's incredibly good looking from head to toe and at times I find myself looking at him, I try not to, I just can't help it.

"Leave the door open." The words came from his dad. We were at his house eating dinner and Aaron and I were going upstairs to his room. It was only a month after Aaron and I started dating. I remember being nervous the first time I met his parents, but after bonding with his sister, Gaby, my nerves settled down. His parents are nice, his dad reminding me a bit of mine. At the dinner table, while we eat his dad likes to talk about his day at work, cracking jokes here and there. He's also a baseball fan, always mentioning the next game that will be aired, at times even inviting me to watch it with him. His mom is sweet, I often help her carry the dishes to the sink. She enjoys watching murder-mystery shows and at times, when we are all in the living room watching one of her shows, she comes up with some on-point theories which amaze me.

Aaron groans. "Okay dad," he replies whilst rolling his eyes. He's holding my hand as he guides to me his now-so-familiar room. He always tends to clean it when I'm around and his mom once thanked me for that. But this one day I came at the request of Gaby, she wanted to vent about her friends when she had the idea of showing me, and I quote, "What the real Aaron Reeves is like". His room was messy to say the least but I wasn't really all that surprised. When Aaron got home and saw me standing in front of his door he got so mad at Gaby and ate the chocolate pudding she had been keeping in the fridge.

In Aaron's room he turns on some music, his speaker vibrating a low-beat, calming song and I sit on his bed as I watch him do so. He walks toward me and lets his body fall on his bed and he sighs tiredly.

"That was some good food," he says and I laugh as he rubs his belly. At the sound of my laughter Aaron pulls me down with him so that we're both laying on his bed. My head is on his arm and he stares at me with a goofy smile.