Dump and Chase: Nashville Assassins: Next Generation Read online

  He doesn’t say anything. He just turns to look around the room. “I’m not supposed to think it’s weird that you remember my place back in New York, right?”

  “Right. We are ignoring that.”

  He swallows hard again. “Okay.”

  “I unpacked all your bathroom stuff and put it away,” I say, moving my hand toward the bathroom, but then I start out the door. I feel as if I’m rambling, and if I am, it’s because he doesn’t seem very impressed by my amazing organization skills. My mom says I’m a genius, and I need Aiden to realize that before I start feeling like a weirdo. I bite the inside of my cheek and try to ignore the warning signs in my head that Aiden has decided I’m a freak. “I put away all your kitchen stuff, but I noticed you only had plastic plates—which, you’re almost thirty, you need real plates. I went to Pottery Barn and picked out this gorgeous set,” I say, going over to the bar and holding up one of the plates. “It’s a housewarming gift.” His brow is still furrowed, and his arms are now crossed over his chest. I lick my lips to keep from freaking out. “I made my mom’s famous fried chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch. I know you like her sweet tea, so I made some. I know it’s not very health conscious like your mom has been cooking, but I figured, why not?”

  “Thanks, I guess.”

  “You guess?”

  He shrugs as he looks around. “It’s just a lot.”

  “A lot?” I ask, breaking down each syllable.

  He meets my gaze and nods. “You unpacked my whole apartment, and you remembered what my other place looked like. That’s weird.”

  “I thought we weren’t discussing that.”

  “Shelli, it’s hard not to. I didn’t expect this. I thought you’d be waiting for me naked and we’d go at it some more. Not for you to completely unpack and cook for me. I didn’t ask you to do this.”

  I bite the inside of my cheek as my heart pounds in my chest. “I know. I did it to be nice.”

  “It’s weird.”

  “It is not!”

  “Shelli, you put away my underwear. Bought towels for my bathroom. It’s all very intimate.”

  I make a face. It is, but I’m not admitting that. “It’s not like we don’t know each other. We grew up together. It’s different for me. Maybe after a first date with a girl that you don’t know, yes, this would seem way out of line. But I helped pack you to move you to New York. I know you.”

  He holds his hands up, moving them around his head frantically. “Wait. What first date?”

  Now my brow is furrowed. “Last night.”

  “We had sex.”

  I am pretty sure there is steam coming out of my ears.

  “Shelli, come on. Don’t look at me like that.”

  “Like what?” I sneer.

  “Like you’re about to throw that plate at me.”

  I let go of the plate and take a step back. “Tell me something, Aiden. What are we doing?”

  “What are we doing?” he asks incredulously. “You said we didn’t have to know what we’re doing!”

  “That was when I thought you liked me.”

  “I do like you.”

  “Then why are you being weird?”

  “Shelli, we fucked last night, and I thought we would today. Thought we’d order in and then go at it some more. But I come home to this madness—”

  I blink back the tears. “Madness?”

  “Yeah, it’s a lot to digest. No one has ever done this for me.”

  “And if it were Stella or your mom who did this?”

  He makes a face. “They’re my family. You’re you.”

  “Which is?” I ask, and his mouth just opens, no words coming out. I see the panic in his eyes. I want to feel sorry for him, but the proof is in the pudding. “That’s right—just a fuck.”

  I blow out a breath and walk around the bar as he says, “Shelli, that is not true.”

  He tries to grab me, but I move out of his grip. “Fuck you, Aiden Brooks.”

  I need to get out of here. I grab my phone and my keys.

  “Shelli, please, stop. Calm down.”

  I whip around. “Do not tell me to calm down. You’ve hurt me twice now, Aiden. I’m done.”

  “I’m not trying to hurt you. Please, take this in from my point of view.”

  I shake my head and walk toward the door as he calls my name.

  “I don’t want you to leave. Let’s talk about it.”

  “Talk about what? I can open my legs for you, but I can’t help you with your place. Cool. I know where I stand, but I’m better than that—”

  “That’s not fucking true. Calm the hell down and talk to me!”

  I glare. “Go find someone else to open her legs for your uncool, man-bun self who’s scared of tattoos so you don’t even work in the cool, long-hair dude kind of look! Shave your stupid head to match your bare skin! Asshole!”

  His eyes widen as I slam the door shut, and I swallow back the tears. I rush down the hall and pray he doesn’t chase me.

  Thankfully, he doesn’t.

  And it hurts.

  When I get to my truck, I text Nico that I’ll meet him at Brooks House, even against my better judgment. Knowing me, since I’m butthurt right now, I’ll probably go to bed with him just to feel better. It’s pathetic and sleazy, but I feel shitty. Why doesn’t Aiden want me? His place looks amazing, and I cooked damn good food. I get that this would be weird if I were some new chick, but he’s known me since I was born. Surely he knows how I like stuff clean.

  But then, does he even care to know me?

  I’m about to pull out of the space when my phone starts ringing. I look down in the hope it’s Aiden, but of course, it’s not. It’s my mom.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  “Hey, can you do me a favor and pick up the boys at two thirty? I have a meeting.”

  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Why are boys stupid?”

  She pauses. “I don’t know, honey. I’m pretty sure it’s your father’s fault, but what did they do?”

  I let my head fall to the steering wheel. “No, I mean boys in general. Not Owen and Evan.”

  “Oh, that’s a relief,” she says on a sigh. “I don’t know, honey. I didn’t even know you were involved with anyone.”

  “I’m not anymore.”

  “Well, that doesn’t sound good.”

  “I just don’t get it,” I say, shaking my head. “I bought a beautiful plate set for his ass, and he basically called me weird.”

  She whistles. “Oh, honey. You don’t buy a guy plates. It always goes bad.”

  I make a face. “What? Why?”

  “I don’t know. I did the same for your father when we were dating, and he got all weird on me. Something about he liked his white plates. I don’t know, honey. Guys are strange when it comes to their stuff. It’s something to do with their bachelorhood. I don’t get it, but they want their things left alone. Now, when they fall in love, that’s when you swoop in and take over. That’s what I did. Now, Daddy loves anything I buy.”

  I know she said it to be funny, but I’m so mad. “He didn’t even have plates, Mom! He just moved in to a new place, and I remembered what his old place looked like, so I did it all while he was at work this morning. I thought he would be impressed by my awesomeness, but he was all freaked out.”

  “How long have you been dating him? Not too long, right?”

  “No, but I knew him in New York.”

  “Are you two in a relationship?”

  I make a face. “Nope. Guess not.”

  “Oh, well… I mean, I can understand why he’d be freaked out. It does seem like something you would do in a relationship.”

  I close my eyes. “You don’t know all the details.”

  “Tell them to me, then.”

  “I can’t, Mom. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  She pauses, and I know she’s annoyed. “Why did you do it?”

  I shrug, eve