I wanted a healthy body, but I was pretty sure Aiden would only offer his own. “No, thanks,” I answered with my eyes closed.
He ran his finger gently over my cheek before grabbing his car keys off the coffee table. I listened as he walked through the kitchen to the front door.
After the screen door slammed closed, I lay there with only the hum of the refrigerator to keep me company. Regretting not asking for an aspirin, I let my headache pulsate until I drifted off.
“Tess?”
My eyes fluttered. My mother was standing above me, her graying brown hair frizzy around her face. Her lips were pursed as she pressed her cool hand to my forehead.
“Honey, you have a fever.” The wrinkles around her brown eyes deepened as she furrowed her brow.
“I’m sick. Where were you?”
“I just got back from setting up at the club for tonight. Daddy dropped me off, so he still has the car, but I can drive yours if you want to go to urgent care.”
“No, Mom. I think I just want to go to bed.”
Her face was filled with concern. It was rare that I was this dull. She pulled me up and held my arm as she led me through the house to my bedroom. I lay down on my bed, uniform and all, and snuggled into my white comforter. Once I was comfortable, my mother came back with a glass of water and some Tylenol. Soon, I drifted off again.
Several times my cell phone rang, but I never moved. My mother checked in one last time before she left for the show, but my fever hadn’t broken. After I gave her a halfhearted wave, she finally left me alone to suffer in peace.
I tossed and turned all night, dreaming of Aiden and then dreaming of Chloe and her short skirts. I even had an uncomfortably intimate nightmare about being locked in the computer lab with Christian. My forehead was covered in sweat when I woke up.
My body tingled. I looked around my darkened room, trying to get my bearings. It took me a minute to recognize my rosewood dresser, the half open closet door, and my hanging pom-pom collection. The clock on my nightstand read that it was nearly midnight. Too late to call Aiden.
Even though I tried to relax, I couldn’t help but wonder what it was about Christian’s sister that made me so uneasy. She certainly wasn’t the first girl to eye Aiden. I mean, the boy attracted attention everywhere we went. No. What was bugging me was the way she’d dismissed me. Like I didn’t matter. Like I didn’t matter to Aiden.
Dang it. I looked back at my phone. I picked it up and scrolled through the missed calls. Kira, Leona, Izzie, my mom—nothing from Aiden. I twitched my nose.
I dialed his number, and as Aiden’s house line rang, I chewed on my lip. Please don’t let his mother answer. She wouldn’t—
“Hello?”
Jiminy Crickets! His mother. “Um, hi. Is Aiden there?”
“Tessa?” She sounded irritated.
“How are you?” I tried to be as sweet as possible, but I knew it didn’t matter. She hadn’t liked me since that first day Aiden brought me home in uniform.
She tsked. “It’s late. He’s sleeping.”
“I’m sorry. I was sick and I missed his call….” I stopped. She didn’t care. “Never mind. I’m sorry I called so late.”
“Good night, Tessa,” she said abruptly and hung up.
My chest ached as I set the phone back on my table. I didn’t like not being liked. Especially when I knew it was so undeserved. I loved her son. I loved Aiden more than anything—
The phone rang. I smiled as I reached out to pick it up. “Hi, sweetie,” I said, lying back and cradling the phone to my face.
“Tessa?”
My stomach flipped, and I bolted upright, darting my gaze around my room. It wasn’t Aiden. But it was a guy. “Um, yeah. Who is this?”
“I didn’t mean to call so late.”
“I’m sorry, who is this?” I looked again at the clock; it was midnight! None of my friends would ever dream of calling me this late. A Kitten needed her beauty sleep.
“It’s Christian …”
Oh, my.
“… from history class.”
I swallowed hard. Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Why was he calling me? First he was in my dreams and now he was on my phone? “How did you get my number?” That might have been a little rude. Guilt crept over me.
“I went to the attendance office and told them that I needed to bring you your assignments, so they gave it to me. I hope you’re not mad,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
He sounded really embarrassed. He should be! New boys weren’t allowed to find my number and then use it without asking me first!
“You really didn’t need to call,” I said, closing my eyes and trying to get my agitation under control. Being irritable was hardly becoming of a Smitten Kitten.
“I also wanted to ask you about your notes,” he said.
My pulse began to calm. Sure, it was midnight and that was an odd time to study, but if it was school-related, he could be forgiven.
“What about them?” I asked.
“They were great. Thanks for letting me borrow them.”
“You’re welcome.” Aw. That was really nice of him to say. I appreciated polite people.
“I was thinking I could come by and drop them off to you.”
Sticker shock! What was he thinking? “It’s … super-late.” I threw my legs over the side of the bed and eased them onto my carpet, confused and wondering if I’d missed something. Why in the world would he think he could come to my house at any time, let alone in the middle of the night? The tension from my neck seemed to crawl up to my face and rest between my eyes.
“Right. You’re right, I’m sorry. Stupid idea. I’ll just see you at school tomorrow.”
I rubbed at my temple, calming down. “I think that’s probably better. Besides, I doubt your parents would appreciate you sneaking out this late.” Aiden’s mother always hated when he did that.
“Yeah, I doubt my father would even notice if I was gone,” he mumbled.
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to say to that. It sounded tragic. “Well, maybe your mom … ?”
“Nope,” Christian said briskly. “Parents divorced. I live with my dad now. That’s why we moved.”
Suddenly, I felt awful for being so mean. Divorce! That was something I could understand. “I’m so sorry to hear that. If you want to talk about—”
“Not really,” he snapped, cutting me off. “I’ll let you get some rest. Good night, Tessa. I hope you feel better.”