Chapter 6 I Knew I Was Screwed

• AIDEN
• The first thing I reached for that morning was water.
• My head felt like someone had packed it full of cotton and left it sitting in the sun. Every sound seemed louder than it should have been, and every movement demanded more effort than usual. A long night always came with consequences, and I had given myself plenty of those.
• I stood at the kitchen counter, gripping a glass as I drained half of it in one go. The cold water helped a little. A second glass followed immediately after. Still not enough.
• The familiar creak of the kitchen door sounded behind me. I did not bother turning around.
• Bryan.
• Nobody else walked into a room with that level of confidence while looking half dead.
• My roommate wandered over to the sink, grabbed a glass, filled it, and copied exactly what I had just done. He emptied the whole thing before setting it down.
• Silence settled between us for several seconds.
• That alone told me he was about to start something.
• “You planning on telling me what happened last night?”
• I stared at the countertop.
• “What happened?”
• Bryan let out a laugh that held absolutely no amusement.
• “The seven minutes in heaven thing.”
• My expression remained blank.
• “What about it?”
• “Fuck off.”
• His hand landed against my shoulder.
• The impact barely registered, but the message did.
• “You know exactly what I am talking about.”
• A grin threatened to appear. I fought it down.
• “Maybe I forgot.”
• “Convenient.”
• Bryan leaned back against the counter and folded his arms.
• “What happened between you and Sarah's sister?”
• There it was.
• The question everybody eventually got around to asking.My fingers slipped through my messy hair as memories pushed their way forward whether I wanted them or not.
• Olivia.The scent of her shampoo.
• The nervous way she looked at me before everything changed.
• The feel of her lips.
• The way she slowly stopped hesitating.
• The way she responded once she realized she did not have to be afraid.
• Every detail sat fresh in my mind.
• Sleep had done absolutely nothing to erase it.
• A part of me hated that the game had ended when it did.
• Seven minutes felt criminally short.
• For the first time in my life, I actually wished somebody had forgotten to keep track of time.
• Bryan smacked my shoulder again.
• Harder this time.
• “What the hell is wrong with you?”
• I blinked.
• “What?”
• “You disappeared into another universe.”
• I rubbed my face.
• “Nothing happened.”
• “Bullshit.”
• “We kissed.”
• Bryan stared.
• I stared back.
• Several seconds passed. Then he barked out a laugh.
• “That girl walked out of that room looking like she had survived a natural disaster.”
• I bit back another smile.
• “Still just a kiss.”
• “Sure.”
• His sarcasm could have filled the entire kitchen.
• “Believe whatever you want.”
• “Oh, I do.”
• He pointed at me.
• “I know you.”
• “Unfortunately.”
• “You should hear yourself.”
• “You should mind your business.”
• “You should stop making bad decisions.”
• I laughed.
• “That ship sailed years ago.”
• Bryan shook his head.
• The amusement gradually disappeared from his face.
• “Do you realize who you kissed?”
• The question landed differently.
• I looked away.
• “Olivia Campbell.”
• “Exactly.”
• The reminder sat heavily between us.
• Sarah's younger sister. My best friend. The same best friend who had already been furious with me once before.
• “You know she is going to lose her mind.”
• “Yeah.”
• “You should have left Olivia alone.”
• “Yeah.”
• “You remember what happened at their house.”
• I groaned.
• Bryan kept going anyway.
• “You told me Sarah nearly killed you for almost kissing her sister.”
• “I remember.”
• “She stopped talking to you afterward.”
• “I remember that too.”
• His eyes narrowed.
• “Then explain why you did it.”
• A laugh escaped me. “Because I am an idiot?”
• “That is probably the most honest thing you have said all morning.”
• I grabbed the empty glass and spun it on the counter.
• “Sarah already hates me.”
• “She does not hate you.”
• “She ignored my texts for two days.”
• “You deserved it.”
• “Thanks for the support.”
• “You are welcome.”
• Bryan pushed away from the counter and set his glass in the sink.
• “Figure it out before she finds out from somebody else.”
• “That sounds like future Aiden's problem.”
• “That attitude is why current Aiden keeps creating disasters.”
• I rolled my eyes.
• “Look who is talking.”
• His eyebrows lifted.
• “You slept with a sophomore last night.”
• His expression immediately darkened.
• “That is different.”
• “Is it?”
• “Yes.”
• “She probably wants more than a one night thing.”
• Bryan pointed toward the hallway.
• “Mind your business.”
• I pointed right back.
• “You first, dickhead.”
• “Asshole.”
• “Cry about it.”
• He muttered something under his breath before heading for the door.
• A second later it slammed behind him.
• The kitchen fell silent again.
• I stood there for another minute before heading toward my room. The moment I stepped inside, I reached for my phone on the bedside table.
• Notifications covered the screen. Most of them came from girls I had been involved with before. I scrolled through the messages with zero interest. A few wanted to meet up. Some wanted attention. Some of them wanted something that looked suspiciously like commitment.
• That had always been the problem.
• People kept expecting more. I had never promised more. A relationship sounded exhausting. Normally I would have answered somebody. Today I could not bring myself to care. My mind kept returning to one person.
• Olivia.
• Every road somehow led back to her, even while sleeping, even while drunk, even while trying to focus on literally anything else. The memory of last night refused to leave me alone. I dropped backward onto the mattress and stared at the ceiling. This was getting ridiculous. One kiss should not have this much power over me. One kiss definitely should not have me thinking about her every five minutes. Yet here I was. Completely distracted. I knew I was screwed. A groan escaped me as I dragged a hand across my face. Nothing good could come from this. Olivia was off limits. She had always been off limits. Sarah had made that very clear. The problem was that logic seemed far less convincing after actually kissing her. I forced myself to focus on my phone again. More messages. More notifications. Then I spotted a name that immediately caught my attention.
• Sarah.
• My stomach dropped.
• Two days.
• That was how long she had ignored me. I opened the conversation. Four unread texts waited for me.
• Sarah: You are a male whore. Also an asshole.
• Sarah: I am still angry with you.
• Sarah: Trying to kiss my sister was disgusting. I seriously hated that.
• Sarah: Come hang out with me today. I miss you.
• I stared at the screen. A laugh escaped before I could stop it.
• Sarah thought she was angry because I had almost kissed Olivia. The truth was so much worse.
• My head fell back against the headboard.
• Guilt settled in...A little... Maybe... Fine...Not enough.
• Because despite everything, part of me kept replaying last night. Sarah had called me a male whore.
• Looking at the mess I had created, she was probably right.