And why wouldn’t anyone recognize him? He was the face of a professional NFO team in Texas. Even people who didn’t watch football knew who he was with the big-name endorsements he had.
I then reminded myself that Aiden was always well aware of the pros and cons to the decisions he made. Always. He was a big boy and he made his own choices, so screw it. If he wanted to tag along, who was I to say no? I kept my mouth closed and my advice to myself.
And so, hours after my invitation, we were at the coliseum where the university held their games. Finally getting a chance to watch my little brother play for the first time this season, I was pretty excited both to see the team’s starting point guard and to have The Wall of Winnipeg tagging along when he was usually content to stay home.
After picking up the tickets I’d bought on the way from will-call—I had originally only purchased one—we made it through security without any issues. In no time at all, we found our section and Aiden gestured me to go ahead of him down the stairs.
The stadium wasn’t anywhere near being packed. Considering it was the day after Thanksgiving, most of the North Texas’s students were probably with their families, doing things other than going to a basketball game. There were only a couple handfuls of Louisiana colors in the stands. It suddenly explained why we’d gotten such good seats at the last minute.
By the time we sat down, the game hadn’t started yet, but it was almost time for the players to come out. I smiled over at Aiden when he was seated next to me, the side of his denim-clad knee touching mine. I reached over and patted his thigh. I mean, I’d sat on his lap. He’d slept in the same bed as me. I’d given him a hug. What was a little pat in comparison? “Thank you for coming.”
His careful expression slowly melted into a flat one. His words were clear cut. “Shut up.”
I stared at him for all of two seconds before grinning and touching his thigh again with a snort. “What? I can tell you thank you as much as I want.”
“Don’t.”
I ignored his comment. “I’m glad you came. Doing things with someone else is a lot more fun than being alone, even if you’re telling me to shut up. I appreciate it. So sue me.”
Aiden made an exasperated sound. “I’m going to find the bathroom. I’ll be back.”
I gave him a thumbs-up before he got to his feet, which earned me an annoyed look, and then he disappeared up the stairs. I sat there drumming my fingers on my kneecaps waiting for the players to come out of the locker rooms. Someone tapped on my shoulder from behind, and I glanced back to see three guys in their early twenties sitting forward, eager expressions splashed all over their faces.
“Hi,” I said a little uncertainly, wondering what was going on.
One guy elbowed the other one, and the third cleared his throat as he scratched behind his ear. If there was one thing I knew, it was people who felt awkward, and these guys were it.
“Is that Graves?” the one in the middle who had gotten the elbow asked.
Shit.
“Who?” I smiled sweetly, using my best dumb-girl eyes along with it.
“Aiden Graves,” the friend said, like that would help if I really had no idea who that was.
Was I supposed to admit it was him? Or continue playing like I’d never heard of Aiden? A part of me wanted to go with the latter, but if someone caught a really good look of him and confirmed that it was him…
Well, Aiden wasn’t the type to run away from anything.
So I dropped the doe eyes and nodded. “Yeah. Our secret.”
From the way they reeled back, they were either shocked or they didn’t believe me. All three of them blinked for a second before suddenly snapping out of it.
“It’s really him?” One of them whispered.
The one in the middle muttered, “Holy fuck,” before going a little pale.
“He’s even bigger in person,” the one on the right muttered, turning in his seat to look around like Aiden would have magically reappeared in just a couple of minutes.
The guy was right though. Pictures didn’t do him justice. Hell, I was used to seeing Aiden up close and personal all the time, and I still hadn’t become desensitized to him.
“What is he doing here?” the one on the left asked.
It was a fair question. Aiden had gone to college in Wisconsin. “My brother plays for Louisiana,” I explained, deciding to go with the truth again. I mean, I couldn’t really pull off a lie well anyway.
“Are you his girlfriend?”
The guy in the middle hit his friend on the right with his forearm. “Don’t be a fucking idiot. Obviously she’s his girlfriend, dumbass.”
“You’re both dumbasses,” Lefty stated. “He got married. I saw it online.” A hesitant look came over his face as he glanced at me. “Didn’t you?”
Shit. Well, I did this to myself. In for a penny, in for a pound. My face got all red and hot even though I was trying to will it not to. “Yep.”
“I’m not surprised. I love your hair.” Righty smiled.
Yeah, my face went a little hotter and I shifted in my seat, conscious that I was two weeks past when I needed to do something with the fading teal color in my hair or just color over it. “Oh, thanks.”
“Dude, would you shut the fuck up? Graves can eat you if he doesn’t kill you,” his friend, the guy in the middle, whisper-hissed.
I took that as my cue to turn around and face forward. They kept arguing behind me in whispers. Should I have played dumb?
Sometime later, in the middle of a little girl singing the National Anthem, Aiden’s big-ass butt plopped down into the seat next to mine. I tucked my elbows in to give him more room just as he handed over a souvenir cup filled with what I had a feeling was going to be Dr. Pepper. He had a bottle of water in his other hand.
I leaned over and patted the top of his hand. “Thank you, big guy.”
He made sure to meet my eyes before leaning into me in return; his tongue poking at the inside of his cheek. “You don’t have to thank me all the time.”
“Shut up.” I used his line on him, earning me a head shake and a flash of a tiny grin in return from the man whose face was about four inches away from mine. Just as he started to pull away, I tugged on his hoodie sleeve so he could come closer.
He did. Aiden was so close the side of his bristly jaw brushed the tip of my nose. I didn’t jerk back, but I stayed in place, letting that wonderful clean scent coming off his skin fill my nostrils. “Those guys sitting behind us recognized you,” I whispered.
Aiden shifted his face just enough so that his mouth brushed my earlobe. “Did they say anything to you?” That gritty, deep voice seemed to go straight to the center of my chest.
It took everything in me not to shiver as his breath hit the sensitive spot on my neck. “They asked if you were you and I said yes.” I had to swallow as another soft puff of breath hit my neck. “And they know we’re… you know… together.”
He didn’t react.
“I didn’t know what to say. Sorry,” I whispered.
That had him pulling back just enough to give me a dry look. “Vanessa—”
I beat him to it. “Shut up.”
“I was going to tell you to stop saying sorry, but that works too.”
Did he just smile at me? Did he just smile smugly at me? I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure, but I was going to take it as a yes. Yes, he had just smiled at me playfully.
And that had me blinking once. My heart beating twice. “In that case…”
“Shut up,” he finished for me.
I burst out laughing as I reached into my purse and pulled out a red apple I had hidden under my scarf to get it through security, and handed it over. “What a good boy. If you behave, I might have a smashed up Vega bar in my pocket for you.”
I didn’t know what it said about me that I carried snacks around for him, but whatever. He was like my puppy I had to make sure ate enough. You know, a massive puppy that made my insides feel discombobulated from time to time. Yeah, discombobulated. It was that bad.