Chase and Company

Chapter Twenty: There's Heat and Then There's Getting Burned

        “Tell me a bedtime story.”

        “Once upon a time, there was an arrogant little princess—“

        “Never mind, you’re horrible at stories.”

        I lifted my head from Aiden’s chest, only to rest my chin on it so that I could look at him. With his eyes closed and his lips curved up into a slight smile, he looked very at peace.

        I then proceeded to elbow him in the ribs.

        Aiden grunted loudly, his eyes flying open. He glared at me as he rubbed the sore spot on his side. “Not nice,” he growled.

        “Neither are you,” I replied in the most sugary voice I could muster. I laid my head back down against my human pillow, subconsciously rubbing softly at the spot where I hit him. “I don’t even know why you’re asking for a story when it’s eight thirty in the morning.”

        A few days after our little “show”, even with our parents gone and I could finally walk again albeit very carefully, there still wasn’t much for me to do. So, while we spent dinner and the evenings with everyone, Aiden stayed back to entertain me during the day while the other four went about their vacation.

        Not that I was complaining. Aiden never once showed that he was tired of me. He was rather offended when I suggested he spent some of his vacation time doing something other than watching movies with me.

        Because the weather was mellow and Aiden had such a nice set up outside, we would just sleep on the balcony to talk and point out the stars. We were literally spending every waking—and sleeping—moment together.

        “Tell me a story about you,” Aiden said.

        “I can’t think of any on the spot,” I told him. “Ask for something more specific.”

               “Why are you afraid of public speaking?” Aiden asked and I felt my stomach drop like a dead bird in the sky. His brow furrowed even more. “And what was the whole prom situation you and Camille were talking about?”

               I shut my eyes. “Not now Aiden.”

               “But—“

               “I said not now,” I said fiercely, flying up from my position against him to glare at him. I felt the tension leave me when I saw how taken aback he was. “I’ll tell you when I’m ready, okay?” I said softly.

               The concern in his eyes was too much for me to handle, so I looked away. “Alright,” I heard him say.

               Easing back against him, I tried to laugh to ease some of the tension. “It’s a long story and not a great one at that.”

               “Well, the next time you tell it, to anyone, I’ll be listening,” he assured me.

               The silence afterwards slowly grew more comfortable, until we were at ease once more. That was the great thing about being with Aiden. No matter how mad or upset or heated we got, we could always rely on both of us cooling down.

        “So, I had an idea,” Aiden said. I could feel the words rumble through his chest and I giggled at how it tickled.

        “Okay, go for it,” I replied. Suddenly, I was flipped and with a squeal I found my back pressed against the sleeping bag as Aiden hovered over me with a smirk on his lips, his eyes flashing.