Save the Date (Modern Arrangements, #1)

It was like a recon mission. I looked around corners before continuing down hallways and staircases. I was a pathetic coward. When I reached the workout room, I shut the door and leaned against it, trying to calm my nerves. Like I said – pathetic.

My nerves had settled from the workout and I wasn’t mentally playing the ‘mission impossible’ theme. There was still no sign of Aidan along the way to the library. I grabbed the book I’d left on the table and picked up where I’d left off. On the last chapter of the book, Aidan appeared in the doorway.

"There you are." He walked into the room. "I should’ve known." He smiled. Sitting on the lounge with me, he lifted my feet and placed them on his lap.

"What’s up?"

"It’s almost one and I wanted to let you know we’ll be leaving around four for the evening."

"The whole evening?"

"Well, we’ll return home tonight, if that’s what you are asking." He placed his head back on the couch and closed his eyes, mindlessly rubbing my foot.

"Okay. Um…where are we going?"

"It’s a surprise" He rolled his head over and winked.

"How am I going to know how to dress if you don’t tell me –"

"I don’t care how you dress." He shrugged and smiled.

"Aidan…"

"Okay, okay…we’re going to dinner. It’s a nice place, so just dress for a fancy restaurant. Happy now?" He grumbled.

"Not particularly, but if you insist on us going out to some fancy place –"

"Do you not want to go tonight?" He lifted his head up with a look of concern

"Of course I want to go," he relaxed at my words. "I’m just saying I can eat at McDonalds and be fine with it. I don’t need some fancy restaurant and –"

"I want to take you though, if you don’t mind?" Again, he looked nervous. Like he was a high school boy terrified of the girl he just asked to the prom.

Pulling my feet from his lap and putting myself into a straight sitting position, I reached over and patted his shoulder.

"It’s fine," I smiled and turned back to my book.

"Lilli?" He leaned in close.

"Hmm?" I kept my eyes on the book, knowing if I looked at him we would once again be naked in the library.

"Are you going to get ready?" He was so close his breath warmed my shoulder.

"It’s only one o’clock." I turned my head to roll my eyes, but his gaze captivated me. "I-I…I think I can spare an hour before getting dressed." Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm down. "It won’t even take me two hours to get ready." I shrugged and quickly turned back to my book.

"So…" His fingers ran along my thigh "You would agree that we have time to kill?" The innuendo was obvious. I shifted a little, trying not to let him get to me. "Hmmm?" He hummed so close to my ear the vibrations of his words ticked.

I was hoping we could have this conversation later, but realized we were going to have to do this now.

"Aidan…" I used a warning tone. His lips grazed the edge of my ear. Then his body shifted closer and his tongue flicked against my lobe. "Aidan." Reluctantly, I pulled away, my vagina screaming in protest.

"What?" He looked confused and rejected. "What’s wrong?"

"I think we need to slow down." I placed the book back in my lap with a sigh.

"Slow down?"

I removed his hand.

"Look, I know I started this, but I mean…it’s just –"

He tensed.

"Don’t tell me it’s wrong or was a mistake, Lilli, because I don’t believe that."

"Not a mistake, just…it’s just a little too much too quickly. Ya know?"

"So, you aren’t opposed to us having sex, just how often we’re having it?" He raised one eyebrow, a small smile on his lips.

I groaned. "Sort of, it’s just that we agreed not to get this involved, at least not until we had discussed it. Now that it’s happened, it just complicates everything so much more."

"Stop. There’s nothing complicated about this. We’re married and –"

"I know we’re married. I was there." My words were harsher than I’d meant them to be. "However, it’s an arranged marriage of convenience for both of us. Not because we knew we were meant to be together and wanted to get married."

He sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I don’t know what the big deal is." He looked back up at me. "You’re on the pill right?" I nodded. "So, we don’t have to worry about a baby, though we do need to talk about that sooner than later, it’s just a physical release. Are we supposed to set up some damn schedule or something?"

I looked at him – annoyed.

"Of course not," I rolled my eyes.

"Then what? Because I don’t think I’m getting what you’re saying." He crossed his arms over his chest with a pout.

"I’m saying we need to slow this down."

"Why?"

"Because we’d agreed to no sex, yet here we are going at it at almost every free moment."

"I was against the no sex rule."

I pursed my lips at him.

"Hey, I just want to throw that out there."

"You don’t think we should slow down the physical aspect and maybe learn more about each other?"

"We know each other."

"If there wasn’t the necessity for marriage, would you be married to me right now?"

"I doubt it, but –"

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