Kiss List (Book I of the List Series)

Chapter 29 - Another Cadwell

No, wait, that wasn't right. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me but then I began noticing subtle differences. The boy in the doorway looked astonishingly like Aaron but he seemed younger. His abs were still looked rock-hard and his eyes were identical to Aaron's but his facial features seemed slightly different. It was as if someone had tried to build an exact replica of what Aaron might have looked a couple years ago and ended up with something 95% like the original.

"Who are you?" I demanded, still freaked out by the close resemblance. I felt like I was in some sort of alternate universe.

"Who am I?" the boy parroted in amusement. "I think the better question is who are you? You're the one snooping around in my room."

"You're not Aaron," I said accusingly. How dare this boy try to put me on the defensive? Maybe I was snooping around but I was snooping around on Aaron, not this kid. He could just take his cute face, beautiful eyes, and amazing abs and toddle back to where he came from. I was not going to feel bad about this. It was not possible that I had screwed up with yet another boy.

"Hell no," the boy said. "Thank goodness for that. I'm far too smart and good-looking to be Aaron. My name is Nate Caldwell. I'd shake your hand but it's holding my towel and you're going to at least need to buy me a drink before I take that off. Aaron's my older brother. Older, dumber, fatter – you get the idea. This is my room. His room is that one." Nate pointed at the wall to his left.

"Aaron doesn't have a brother. I would have known. And if this is your room why are there newspaper articles about Aaron in here?" I challenged him. I was grasping around for any indication that I had not just made a total fool of myself.

"I'm something of the black sheep of the family," the boy said. "Our parents shipped me off to live at a military boarding school. I'm just back for the Thanksgiving holiday." Then his smile grew as understanding dawned on him. "You thought this was Aaron's room," he said, "which means that you thought you were going through his stuff. I get it, you have a crush on him, don't you? That's why you're in here. That's creepy."

My face felt like it was on fire. I rapidly searched for some sort of explanation or excuse but it was impossible to think with him staring at me, judging me.

Nate took a few steps closer. "You know," he said, "there are a lot of girls that like my bro. Seriously, whenever he wants a girl he just needs to smile and she throws herself at him. I mean, you're really cute and everything, but if you want to snag him you're going to have to go in with your A game. Maybe you should think about practicing up with another Caldwell first."

I looked at him incredulously. "Are you trying to hit on me?" I asked. "Seriously, how old are you?"

"I'm 16," Nate said, "but don't worry. I'm into older girls. Who knows? Maybe you can teach me a few things."

I nearly gagged. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The boy had Aaron's looks but the words he was saying could never have come out of Aaron's mouth. In my opinion, Aaron was the sexiest guy alive but he had always treated me and other girls with respect, at least in public. In my imagination, his boy scout-like manners disappeared as soon as he and I got into a bedroom and...

"Hello?" Nate called to me, waving a hand as if trying to get my attention. "You sort of zoned out there for a moment. Were you thinking of us together? If so, perhaps we can do something right now to bring those dreams to life."

I shoved the thoughts of Aaron and me alone in bedroom out of my mind and focused on the nearly naked boy in front of me. Why did he have to be so darn cute? It wasn't fair. Younger boys should never get to look hot. I had discovered the hard way with Sam that emotional maturity did not always accompany physical maturity. There should be a law that younger boys had to stay ugly until they were capable of treating girls right. Ah! He was just too gorgeous. Focus, Sadie. "That's not going to happen," I got out with some difficulty. "I apologize for snooping around in your bedroom. It won't happen again."