Spring Knight: Young Adult Romance Novella (A Seasons of Change Standalone) (7 page)

“What? He told you what?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you. It might get your hopes up.”

“I’m not a china doll, Elles. Just tell me.”

Ellie huffed. “He said that he’s noticed you for a while, but the only reason he never approached you was because he didn’t want to hurt you. He said he wasn’t ready for serious, but might be now.”

Kayleigh’s heart started to race, her eyes open wide with shock. She thought the words would’ve made her happy, but all she was doing was questioning why her, what made her special, and whether he was really being serious.

“You think I should go for it?”

Ellie shrugged, causing Kayleigh to let out a frustrated groan. She loved her friend, but she was being exceedingly unhelpful on purpose.

“Listen, Aiden’s not a bad guy. When he chooses to care about someone he’s all in. Let him prove it to you, don’t jump in head first and give your heart away.”

Ellie wasn’t stating anything new, she’d been in Aiden’s presence enough from their friendship, but it was a nice reassurance. Kayleigh was about to say more when Ellie’s phone buzzed. Pulling it from her pocket the bright screen illuminated her face in the dimly lit room as she glanced up guiltily.

“Do you mind if I go? It’s just Justin has been visiting with his sister and he’s always in a foul mood when he gets back.”

Kayleigh didn’t understand what Ellie wasn’t telling her in that sentence, but there seemed to be something deeper going on. “Yeah, no worries. I’ll just go to sleep, these rehearsals are killing me.”

“Thanks.” Ellie leaned over to hug her quickly before she jumped up and was out of the room in a flash. Alone again, Kayleigh pulled a book from her bedside table and curled on to her side, trying not to overanalyse what Ellie had told her.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

 

Standing out in the hallway, Aiden stared at the row of doors. A small sigh escaped his lips as he frowned, wondering what the best approach was: knock on every door? Text Ellie? Ask someone if they knew? His mind went over the possibilities with confusion as one of the doors opened.

Aiden braced himself. He’d already had one girl come up to him, asking if he was there for her before having to untangle himself from her hold, and it was something he’d rather not repeat. He used to like the attention, but he knew it was the first thing he was going to have to change if he was to win Kayleigh over. The blonde who’d pouted the length of the corridor as she begged him to change his mind held no appeal anyway. His mind was only focused on which room was Kayleigh’s.

Relief flooded through him when he noticed the brunette stepping through the door was in fact Ellie. She had saved him time and humiliation. Hurrying over to where she was just about to shut the door, Aiden managed to block it with his hand, making sure the lock didn’t click into place.

Ellie glanced up at him in surprise. “What are you doing here?” She sounded annoyed, her hand still on the handle as she tried to close the door.

Wedging his foot in the gap, Aiden made sure the task was impossible. “Proving myself, like you said.”

“Uh ... How does showing up here prove anything?”

“Just let me in, Elles. Please?”

“I shouldn’t.”

“Come on, I’d do it for you in a heartbeat.”

Ellie rolled her eyes, but was distracted when her phone rang from her pocket. The second she turned to look at the screen and answer it was all he needed. Applying a slight pressure to the door, her hand slipped from the handle and he caught it before it swung to hit the wall.

“Aiden, no!” Ellie hissed after him, but was distracted by the phone again. “Sorry, Justin, hang on I’m dealing with your idiot cousin.”

“Which room, Elles?”

“Out. Now. You can’t just barge in.”

“I didn’t barge, you let me in.”

“Aiden ...” Ellie’s pitch dropped in warning, but he wasn’t worried. There were only four doors lining a small corridor so it wouldn’t take him long to find Kayleigh if she refused.

“Thanks, Elles. You can go now,” he said dismissively.

Shaking her head at him, she frowned. “Don’t try anything, you hear? You’re lucky Justin needs me or else we’d be here a lot longer.”

“Don’t worry, I’m trying to get her to like me, remember?”

“That’s not your problem. You have to get her to trust you.” With that parting comment, Ellie turned on her heels and left, her phone pressed against her ear.

 

 

 

 

Lying in bed, Kayleigh could hear voices out in the hall, but she assumed it was her flat mates returning home. What she didn’t expect was a male voice to call out her name—a voice that made her pulse flutter.

“Kayleigh?” The voice came again, but this time it was closer. In fact, it sounded like it was right outside of her door.
Oh God, why is he here now?

Sliding off her bed, Kayleigh ran her fingers through her damp hair before reluctantly moving to open her door. When she removed the wooden panel she was face-to-face with Aiden. She watched as his gaze travelled down her body, taking in the pink, cotton shorts, fluffy socks, and an oversized hoodie. She could feel her cheeks flush with embarrassment at her choice of outfit, but she hadn’t exactly been expecting company.

“Cute.” He nodded at the clothes, a smug grin on his face as she tried to talk. Her mouth was refusing to pick itself up off the floor. “Can I come in?”

“What are you ... Why are you here?” she asked, ignoring his comment as her brain scrambled to come up with an appropriate response.

“I needed some help running lines for tomorrow.”

Kayleigh arched one eyebrow as she folded her arms across her chest. However, the action made her aware of the fact that she had no bra on and her arms stayed fixed in front of her for another reason, even if the jumper revealed nothing.

“I’m finding that hard to believe seeing as you’ve had no problem so far.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

With a hesitant gesture, Kayleigh moved out of the doorway and motioned for him to walk by. He wasted no time in kicking off his shoes and collapsing on to her bed with a smirk as he patted the space next to him.

“Geez, just make yourself at home.”

He laughed and the sound sent a swarm of butterflies racing through her stomach.

“So what scene did you want to go over?” Kayleigh asked, forcing herself to remain on a neutral subject and stay seated at the opposite end of the bed.

“How about a movie instead?”

“Seriously?”

“Why not?”

“I thought you wanted to run lines. I was doing things before you arrived.”

Aiden glanced around the room, his eyes falling on the book she had left upside down to mark the page on the cabinet. He reached over to pick it up, admiring the cover for a second before flicking it open to the page she was on.

Before she could think about it, Kayleigh lunged for the book. The second her fingers skimmed the page, Aiden pulled it out of reach and caused her to land face first on his lap. Frozen in shock, it took Kayleigh a moment to realise where her head was placed and what she could feel through his jeans. As soon as she did, she sprang off the bed with a squeal, tumbling to the floor in a mess of wet hair and baggy clothes.

“You okay?”

Pulling her hair from her face, Kayleigh glanced up at him; he was trying to appear concerned, but a smile was overpowering his face when he leaned over to study her. Kayleigh huffed as she pulled herself back up, ignoring the hand he offered. “I’m fine.”

“Good, I’ll get back to reading then.”

Kayleigh groaned. “Just put the book back, Aiden.”

His eyes appeared over the top of the book, shining with humour. She could see he was skimming the page. “I didn’t peg you for the type to read erotica.”

Kayleigh could feel her anger building. He was laughing at her. He’d put her in a specific category–generalised like everyone else—and now he was picking out flaws to laugh at. Storming over to him, she snatched the book back. “It’s a new adult, contemporary romance, not erotic fiction.” Closing the book, she dropped it on the floor and moved round to the edge of the bed.

As she sat down, their eyes met and his bored into her with an unspoken apology. “Kay, I’m sorry. I was only kidding, I don’t care what you read.”

She shrugged, her shoulders skimming her ears as she played with her hands on her lap. The bed shifted under her as Aiden moved but she refused to look up.

His fingers grazed her cheek when they brushed a strand of hair away, then trailed down her jaw. A scorching line of heat was left behind as his finger settled beneath her chin, pulling her head up to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry,” he said in earnest.

She only shrugged, the embarrassment refusing to release its hold on her. She felt silly for her reaction, what she was reading, and now the awkward tension as he apologised. It didn’t help that she kept becoming tongue tied.

“Movie or lines?”

“What scene?” she murmured, gazing out of the window in distraction.

“Well I wanted to practise Act Two, Scene Six ...” He paused, and Kayleigh looked up warily. “But how about Act Two, Scene Twelve instead?”

Her mouth dropped. “I’m not kissing you alone, on my bed, and in my pyjamas,” she cried, heat washing over her.

“Because you don’t want to, or because you’re embarrassed?” He smirked.

“Because you’re not being serious. You’re toying with me and I’m not falling for it.”

Aiden’s face became sombre, the smirk straightening out and his eyes cooling as they watched her carefully. “I’m not toying with you, Kayleigh. I’ve meant everything I’ve said.”

“What are the chances of me getting you to leave right now?” She didn’t know what to think. All she could do was stare at the lips she wanted to feel on hers again. She hadn’t touched them since the first rehearsal, but she hadn’t forgotten the feeling as they caressed hers.

“Slim to none if you keep looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” She knew she would regret asking.

“Like the only thing on your mind is kissing me. You look hot drawing your lip between your teeth like that.”

Kayleigh instantly released her bottom lip, having not realised what she was doing. “What about now?” She stared at him as blankly as she could.

“You really want me to go?” He leaned forward, as if to move, and Kayleigh’s heart skipped a beat. She knew she should tell him to leave—that it was what she wanted—but the words wouldn’t form on her lips. Seeing him stretched out on her bed affected her. It was hard enough to think around him on a normal day, but to actually have him on her bed?

“See? I knew you liked me.” His grin was back, but this time it didn’t sound like he was laughing at her. “Movie then?”

“Fine ...” She feigned reluctance as she hauled herself off the bed, thankful she was studying an acting degree.

Deciding to punish Aiden for his unannounced and uninvited visit, Kayleigh picked the cheesiest chick-flick she owned. She hid the case from him as she inserted the disc into the TV and moved over to the bed with the remote. Kayleigh sat on the end so only Aiden’s feet were visible from the corner of her eye.

“Kay, you’re not going to be comfy like that. Sit up here, I promise to behave.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. She was already tired and her back longed to rest against something. Crawling up the length of the bed, Aiden watched her every move as she spun and leaned against the headboard.

“Told you.”

“Shut up and watch the film. I don’t even know why I’m agreeing to this.” She wasn’t looking at him, but she could feel him move, his presence closer than before as his breath tickled her ear. He paused there for a second, his cologne sweeping over her and making her feel lightheaded as her body tensed.

“You agreed because you like me,” he whispered into her ear, making Kayleigh catch her breath.

“Aiden,” she squeaked, but he only hummed in response, and she swore she felt the rumble. “This ...” She took in a shaky breath. “This isn’t behaving ...” Her voice trembled as she spoke, not able to hide what he was doing to her. She doubted even the best actress would be able to resist him.

He chuckled and moved away. As soon as he was back on his side of the bed, she relaxed slightly. Turning her attention to the film, she tried to block out all thoughts of Aiden. She ignored his presence and pretended he didn’t exist.

Soon Kayleigh felt her eyes beginning to droop with tiredness. She had planned to get an early night, but Aiden had put an end to that plan. Not having the energy to fight sleep, she allowed her eyes to close. She trusted Aiden despite his reputation. He was a good guy at heart, and even if he overwhelmed her and turned her into a nervous wreck when speaking, she trusted him.

CHAPTER TWELVE

 

The heavy arm draped across her stomach was the first thing she noticed when she awoke. The second was that it was pulling her tightly against a strong, warm chest. She didn’t need to question who it was, but she did wonder why he was still on her bed and cuddling her. Besides his arm, their legs were tangled, stopping Kayleigh from moving.

Turning her head, she tried to glance up at the clock but she couldn’t stretch far enough. As she looked over her shoulder, Aiden stirred.

“Morning,” he moaned, his voice gruff. However, his hold tightened instead of releasing her. Pulling her into his embrace, she felt his lips on her neck, placing light kisses just below her ear.

“Aiden.” Kayleigh hated how his name came out as a breathless whimper. She should have been pushing him off, but everything about him drew her in. “Aiden.” It came out more forcefully and broke through the morning haze that clouded his mind. Lifting his arm, he allowed her to slide out of his grasp and turn so they were facing each other. “You’re still here.” She knew it wasn’t a question but she expected an answer as he rubbed a hand over his face. A small amount of stubble coated his jaw, creating a dark shadow and a rugged look.

“Sorry, I must have dozed off when you did. I swear it wasn’t intentional.” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger as he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.