Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 129323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 647(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 647(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
When we were neighbors, I was just a small girl, barely a teen. I knew he was gorgeous, but he was more like a big protective brother to me. One I certainly had a schoolgirl crush on.
Still, he was too old for me, and I was way too young for him to see me as anything but a friend. Now though...there is nothing sisterly about the way I feel when looking at him.
My heart races in my chest, and my cheeks become warm. It’s the way my panties become damp that I know there has always been something special about Aiden Slate. He was the only person I ever felt safe with and now he awakens something inside me I rarely feel.
Want.
Desire.
Need.
I thought I was broken.
Apparently not.
I’m not a virgin, but my experience is limited. My pain-stained soul never allowed me to trust, but maybe this could be different.
He could be what I need.
Pushing my lust down for a minute because I need to see why he never came back, I wait for recognition to hit him. For him to look at me and smile, but there is nothing in his gaze. His expression is neutral. Almost bored.
Oh God…He doesn’t recognize me.
Pain radiates through my body, piercing my heart.
You do look different.
My hair is darker now. It’s a deep chestnut shade. Back when I lived at the trailer park, it was blonde. The same shade as my father’s. I changed that the moment I turned eighteen. Plus, the last time he saw me, I hadn’t hit puberty yet. I looked like a baby, a sickly skinny one at that. Now, I don’t. Yeah, maybe that’s it.
Despite my pep talk, my lungs feel tight.
It doesn’t matter that I look nothing like I did before. The only thing that matters is that I’m not worth a memory.
All this time, I’ve thought of him. I thought maybe it was my fault I didn’t get to see him again. That maybe since I changed my last name—no. That’s bullshit. He could have found me if he wanted to. I was in the same place he left me for five more years. He never searched.
I can feel moisture collecting in my eyes, but I push it back. If I cry, I won’t be able to talk to him. Maybe he doesn’t remember me, but I still want to see if he’s okay. Make sure he’s happy. Because despite the fact that he never thought of me, I never stopped thinking of him, and I need to know before we part ways that he’s happy. That way, I can finally leave my past behind me.
I debate what to do.
Do I tell him the truth?
Why should you?
If you’re not worthy of a memory, why should you put your heart on the table and tell him it’s you?
But I’m not ready to leave. I’m not ready to let him go. These feelings I have when he looks at me . . . I want it for a little longer.
A crazy idea pops into my brain. If he doesn’t recognize me and never plans to see me again, maybe I can take this for what it is—one crazy little adventure just for me. A scratch I needed to itch.
Just once.
An escape from my memories.
And despite my anger toward him forgetting me, I do feel safe. When else will I have an opportunity like this again? To feel free, untethered to my past.
For one night, I can be someone else. Someone who throws caution to the wind and has a one-night stand with a stranger…except in this case, he’s not a stranger.
But he doesn’t know this.
He doesn’t know it’s me, so I can be everything he wants. And then I can go home and live my life, keeping this memory with me forever.
Liar.
No. I have to tell him, right? I’m about to speak when his gruff voice cuts through the thick air.
“What’s your name?”
“Cassidy Baker.” It slips from me unbidden. My name is out there. No turning back now. Squaring my shoulders, I prepare for whatever will be thrown my way.
“Well, Cassidy Baker, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to sign?”
5
AIDEN
What am I doing?
The woman looks at me, her eyes wide. For a second, I wonder if Mike had it all wrong. She doesn’t look like the sort of girl who knows what she’s getting herself into. She’s a deer in headlights, and that won’t work. How the hell am I supposed to relax when this girl’s anxiety is peaking my own?
But then I remember that I told Mike that I needed to be in control.
This is an act. And a good one at that. There’s no mistaking the body language she’s throwing my way.
She might appear timid at first glance, but the signs are all there. The way she bites her full bottom lip.