Gorgeous and powerful, Aaron looked irresistible. His tanned arms shined in the late afternoon sun and I wanted them wrapped around me. Instead, I had to tell him goodbye.
With Dylan glaring at Aaron, impending violence was thick in the air. However, I refused to have anyone hurt over me.
“What’s up?” Aaron asked.
“I can’t see you anymore.”
“Why the hell not?” he asked, frowning in the direction of Dylan before returning his gaze to me.
“I need to finish school. Once I do, I won’t have to live in that house and I can do what I want. Until then, I need to do what I’m told.”
“Fuck that,” Aaron whispered, reaching out to touch my face. “I can handle your idiot brother.”
“It’s not him. It’s Larry and I need to behave or I can’t go to school.”
“I can…”
“No,” I said, leaning into his warm palm. “Please, I need to be smart and finish school. I’m sorry.”
“Lark…”
“Maybe when I’m done with school in a few years, if you’re not with someone else, we could try again.”
“You’re fucking kidding, right?” he said and I flinched.
Backing away, I panicked a little at his anger. “I guess that would be stupid to think you’d wait so long. You deserve to find someone.”
Aaron rubbed at the back of his neck and sighed loudly. His blue eyes flickered to Dylan then back to me.
“I’ll wait.”
“What?”
“If this is the way you need it to be, I’ll wait. I want you and I’m not settling for anyone else. When you’re rid of those fucks, I’ll be waiting for you.”
Staring at his perfect face, I couldn’t believe he would wait. For me. No one had ever thought I was special. Even Raven ditched me.
As I smiled in awe at his gesture, he reached out to caress my cheek again. I wished to find the words to make him understand, but I wasn’t an articulate person and Dylan was moving towards us anyway.
“Hands off, fucker!” Dylan hollered.
Aaron’s expression changed and I thought they would fight.
“Please, don’t,” I whispered.
Exhaling hard, Aaron stepped back. I could see how much it killed him to leave Dylan unbloodied. If I thought beating the crap out of Dylan would fix everything, I would step aside and watch Aaron flex his muscles.
Nothing would change with them bleeding though. Yet, something had changed inside me when Aaron said he would wait. For the first time since Raven ditched me, I felt like Thunder Kitten. I would pace myself and play nice, but I wasn’t making Aaron wait. I would find a way to be with him. Larry’s rules be damned.
Chapter Fourteen - Aaron
Restless in a way no amount of painting could fix, I called Cooper to get a few beers. I wanted him to make me believe Lark would return to me. I needed Cooper to tell me I wasn’t a fool to wait for her. Craving a voice of reason against the dreamer in my head, I knew my friend wouldn’t sugarcoat shit.
“What if I’m wrong?” I said, finishing my beer as we sat at the bar. “What if the things I see in Lark are lies like with Kristen?”
“Lark isn’t Kristen. She’s a sweet girl with a shitty family. Kristen was a shitty girl with a sweet family. It happens.”
“What if I wait and she never comes back? What if she just hooks up with another guy and I’m the dumb fuck waiting around for a lie?”
“Do you want to fuck someone else?”
“No.”
“Have you fucked anyone since you got hung up on Lark at the wedding?”
“No.”
“You haven’t fucked anyone in months?” Vaughn barked from farther down the bar. “No wonder you’re such a whiny bitch.”
Cooper glared at Vaughn who shook his head. “What’s the difference really? If I fuck that brunette over there or I go home and fuck that blonde over there, what difference does it make? They have the same damn parts and I get off either way. I think you two are over thinking this shit.”
“It’s different,” Cooper growled. “My girl isn’t like any other girl. Fucking her isn’t like fucking any other girl. If you ever had a woman claim your heart and make it her bitch, you’d fucking know that. Instead, you fuck random chicks and pretend you don’t need more. You’re full of shit though. Judd might not have needed more until he had more, but you’re a man looking to give his balls away. You’d give it to Bailey or Lark or anyone else if they were the right one. I know that and you know that, so shut the fuck up.”
Vaughn shrugged off Cooper’s comment then stared into the mirror behind the bar. I ignored the two of them and nursed my beer. When I glanced at Cooper, he was glaring hard at Vaughn.
“If you break it, you own it,” he said.
Vaughn just stared at the mirror and held the bottle in his hand like he might throw it. Instead, he shrugged again.
“No harm, boss,” Vaughn said, getting up. “You can save your Valentine’s Day speeches though. A man with a contract on him wouldn’t be smart to hand his heart or balls over to a woman who wouldn’t have him around long. Still, enjoy suburbia.”