Chapter 18 - Vol. 1: Haru To Aiden - 18

Haru

“You okay?” I heard Aiden’s voice come my way, followed by a warm hand gently cupping the side of my face.

I opened my eyes and saw Aiden inches from me. He was watching me closely, and my heart skipped at the sight of him. Suddenly, everything that had happened last night came rushing back to me: Aiden kissing me wildly and passionately, Aiden touching and tasting every inch of me, and Aiden fucking me.

Holy Mother, Jesus Christ! We made love last night, Aiden and me.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I desperately wanted to hide in embarrassment.

“Maybe I overdid it,” Aiden said. “Are you in pain?”

I felt flustered. I still couldn’t get the fact that Aiden and I had made love last night out of my mind.

“It’s…it’s not that bad,” I said, avoiding making eye contact with him.

“Maybe you should take a day off today,” he suggested. “If you can’t walk properly.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m fine. I really am. I can’t afford to miss classes. Besides, I don’t have one until this afternoon, so I’ll be fine.”

Suddenly, I realized just how odd it was that Aiden was acting so normal and having this casual conversation with me. Didn’t he feel awkward? Then again, why would he? Aiden was a grown adult. Why should he act like an antsy kid like me after a night of hot passion?

I noticed he was already in his suit, and looking damned handsome, too.

This scenario, it felt like we were already in an intimate relationship, with him sitting on the side of the bed and paying me his undivided attention. I wondered why I hadn’t run off to my room and hidden from him for all eternity already?

Aiden leaned down and gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead, and I involuntarily sucked in my breath.

He said, “Sorry, I was a bit rough.”

I honestly didn’t know how to react to that, and found myself simply nodding my head, my cheeks feeling hot.

He must have noticed my embarrassment because he chuckled as he stroked the side of my cheek with the backs of his fingers. “Your face is burning hot.”

Flustered, I brushed his hand away. “Aren’t you going to be late for work?” I changed the topic.

Shit, but I couldn’t stand this anymore. I wanted him to leave so I could be alone. I wanted to reflect on my stupid actions last night and nurse my embarrassment.

Aiden glanced at his wristwatch. “You’re right. Then I’ll be heading off.”

I nodded.

Fuck, what the hell was this? This setup was weird.

“Are you sure you’re okay going to classes?”

“I’ll be fine, Aiden,” I said.

“Okay.” He leaned down again, which took me by surprise. Then he gave me a light kiss on the lips, which made me ache for his touch again. When he lifted his head, his hazel-green eyes were twinkling, and I felt my breath catch at the back of my throat.

“See you later, Haru.” Then he headed out the door.

Alone, I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, feeling dazed. This was completely different from what I had expected after a night full of passion with Aiden. I would have thought he’d be gone way before I was awake, since he probably didn’t want to see me after what we had done together.

It was nearly eleven by the time I decided to get up and get ready for the day. I purposely waited until everyone left the house, including Jess, who had been the second person out the door after Aiden. Of course, the noise had been loud, as expected, with my brothers and their friends rushing about, hunting for food in the kitchen, cooking up a storm, and having a cheerful morning meal. By the time they were gone, with Reo being the last one out, my stomach grumbled, demanding food.

After showering and dressing in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, I headed into the kitchen to make myself something to eat. There was food left over from last night’s party, but I didn’t want any of that. I ended up making myself an omelet. It was nice, and I enjoyed my meal. Once I’d finished cleaning up after myself, I picked up my bag, locked up the apartment, and headed over to the bus stop.

I had Accounting 101 this afternoon, and it was boring as hell. I managed to endure the lecture though, and by the time it was over, I sighed in relief. I was just heading over to my next class, Economics, when a ding echoed from my cell phone, telling me I had a message.

I took out my phone and scrolled through the message app. My heart skipped when I saw that it was from Aiden. It said: Haru, are you at the uni? Are you feeling all right? Do you want me to pick you up after classes?

I sighed. Fuck! What the hell was I supposed to do? Did I want him to pick me up? Did I want to see his face again so soon? Especially after last night?

I didn’t know. Fact was, I didn’t want to think about what had happened last night. Nor did I want to think about Aiden right now.

I slid the phone back into my back jeans pocket and hurried toward my next lecture. This class wasn’t any better compared to the last one, and as the professor monotonously talked like a bloody robot on low power, my mind kept straying to the subject of Aiden, despite my determination not to think about him.

I rested my chin on my palm as I gazed into the void, and just like that, I saw Aiden’s face in my mind’s eye again. The dark, passionate eyes. The sensual lips kissing me zealously, which took my breath away and made my heart ache for more. The firm hands that had touched and stroked my skin.

Shit! But I wanted more. I wanted Aiden to touch me again. I wanted him to touch me more. And I wanted to kiss and touch him, too.

I wanted him. I loved him. And I knew right there and then that I was in deep shit, that what had happened last night only made me love and want Aiden even more.

Jesus! I just realized I had made a stupid mistake, and I knew if I were to see him again tonight, I’d probably break down and beg him to make love to me again. I knew I couldn’t let that happen. Last night had been enough already. I decided then that I needed to avoid Aiden at all costs.

It was five that afternoon when Jess appeared before me in the library.

“Hello,” she said, grinning cheekily. “I was looking for you. Did you get my text?”

“Hey, Jess,” I said. “Sorry, I switched my phone off.”

Because I didn’t want to get another text from Aiden, and if I did, it meant I’d have to reply to him, which I didn’t want to.

She cocked her head to one side as she looked at me closely. “What’s wrong? Did something happen last night?”

I couldn’t believe she could tell with just the expression on my face. I’d better pull myself together if I didn’t want Jess to think something was up between me and Aiden.

I shook my head. “No.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Haru, you know you’re shit at lying, right? You’re paler than usual, and your eyes are red. What the hell happened?”

I unconsciously rubbed my eyes. “How’re my eyes red?”

“Have you been crying?” she asked, looking more than a little shocked. “What happened?”

“I haven’t been crying,” I said. Fuck! When the hell had I been crying? After all, I was an adult now. If anything, I felt frustrated.

Jess looked at me for a moment and then asked, “Haru, do you want to come over to my place?”

I swallowed hard. An angel was offering me an escape route, and I took the opportunity without a second thought. I asked, “Can I?”

She nodded, a gentle smile playing across her face. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but it looks like you don’t want to go home, do you?”

Jess was always so good at reading me. Well, we had been best friends since we started middle school, so of course she’d know when I felt like shit.

I nodded. “You got that right.”

We took the bus to her shared apartment, and the moment we were inside her room, I threw my bag onto the floor and sat down on the chair behind the study desk.

Jess’ room was pleasantly neat and tidy, with stacks of textbooks, and of course, BL manga and light novels, sitting on the desk. On her single bed were a few soft toys. Naturally, they were of male characters who had strong gay undertones from famous anime such as Sebastian and Ceil from Black Butler, Yuu and Mika from Owari no Seraph, Eren and Levi from Attack on Titan, and Yuuri and Victor from Yuri on Ice. I knew the characters because I had to suffer countless hours watching the anime with her.

“Want some iced tea?” Jess asked.

I nodded. “Yes, thanks.”

She was about to head out when she asked, “Are you planning on going home tonight at all?”

I thought about this for a moment and then shook my head, my cheeks flushing hot. I didn’t want to see Aiden, after all.

She chuckled. “Then you’re lucky. My roommates are all out for the night. You can sleep on the couch in the living room.”

“Really?” I asked. “Thanks, Jess. I promise I won’t bother you tomorrow.”

She smiled. “Yeah. Yeah. But don’t forget to let Aiden know you’re here. He’s a worrywart where you’re concerned.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” I said quietly.

Once Jess was gone, I slipped my hand into my back jeans pocket and took out my cell phone. After turning it on, I stared long and hard at Aiden’s name on the messenger app, my heart pumping loud and fast in my chest. I passed the name and went down to Reo’s instead and then started texting. By the time the message was sent, Jess had returned with two glasses of iced green tea. She handed me one, and I gratefully took it, downing the lot in one go. It was hot, and I was thirsty as hell.

“It’s been a while since I’ve made you dinner,” she said, grinning. “What do you want to eat?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Whatever you have in the fridge is good enough.”

She rolled her eyes. “Gosh, Haru, it seems like the only person you ever make demands of is Aiden.” She turned on her heel and walked out the door again. “‘Aiden, I want pizza for dinner. Aiden, I want pasta. Aiden, I want this. Aiden, I want that.’”

Following behind her, I asked, an amused smile playing across my lips, “What are you implying, Jess?”

She tossed her long blond hair over her shoulder and turned to glare at me. “That you only want Aiden to pamper you and you don’t give a shit about me.” She stopped right there in the middle of the hallway and turned to look at me fully. “I’m your best friend, Haru, and you never, ever let me pamper you like you pamper me. I mean, seriously, you listen to me yapping on nonstop about my BL manga. You suffer hours watching anime with me because I asked you to, even though you don’t even like them. You make sure you get all the heavy workloads at work. You protect me from those crazy boys at school who come on to me.”

I grinned. “Isn’t that what best friends are for? And besides, I’m a guy. I don’t need to be pampered,” I said matter-of-factly.

And yet I wanted to be pampered by Aiden. Weird, eh?

Jess sighed. “You still don’t get it, do you? I mean, I seriously don’t know why you’re so…I don’t know, depressed today, even though you got to spend a precious night with your beloved Aiden last night, but since you’re super depressed, because I can totally tell, then I want to at least, you know, pamper you. So? What do you want to eat for dinner? I’ll cook, and if we don’t have the ingredients, then we’ll go shopping. The supermarket isn’t far.”

I smiled and then said, “Then spaghetti Bolognese. I’ll help.”

“You sure you want to eat that? And not just because it’s easy to make? And also, just because I totally suck at cooking?”

I chuckled. “Stepdad used to make that for me as a child when I got upset. I missed his spaghetti Bolognese.”

Jess closed the small distance between us and gave me a tight hug. “Mine won’t be as good as his, but I’ll do my best.”

I nodded.

Luckily, Jess had all the ingredients for the Bolognese sauce, and I found that I was enjoying myself helping her cook. Once done, we sat down to eat, chatting about our life at the university and eventually BL manga, all the new ones that just came out this month. It was pleasant, and it took my mind off of Aiden.

After dinner and then a quick shower, I lay on the couch and checked my cell phone. I received a reply from Reo, telling me he had informed everyone at home that I was staying the night at Jess’ place. I sighed in relief that I didn’t get any more texts from Aiden, and just as quickly, I felt my heart ache.

Had I pissed him off because I didn’t reply to his message today? Shit, I didn’t know, and soon my mind went off thinking about him again.