The Author and Her Bodyguard

Chapter 11

The second time Aiden swept through my apartment, eyes taking in everything like the freaking Eye of Sauron from the "Lord of the Rings," was a much different and far less embarrassing experience.

For one, the apartment was clean, and two, I was too tired to watch him analyze my life in apartment form. Instead, I slumped down on a barstool at my kitchen counter, enjoying the feeling of the cool tile top on my face.

"Summers," Aiden said, cutting across my lone kitchen light, and casting me in shadow. "All clear."

"Thanks," I mumbled, continuing to stare off at a random spot on the wall, from where my head lay on the countertop.

When the shadow didn't move, I peeked up at him. "Did you want something? If not, I'm pretty sure I don't need a bodyguard to watch me sleep." He held something small out towards me and after several blinks, a white washcloth came into focus.

"For your wrist," he replied to my unspoken question.

I looked down and saw a small circular bruise along my wrist where the man had grabbed me. I took the washcloth that was filled with ice and placed it against my skin, wincing at the pain. "Thanks," I murmured staring down at the washcloth, feeling so touched by the small gesture that I couldn't bring myself to look up at him. It was always the small things that hit home for me. The ones that to most went unnoticed.

A scrape of a chair broke my mental monologue and I looked up to find Aiden settling down in another barstool across from me. "Um... Can I help you?" I asked, startled by the idea of him spending more than five minutes in my apartment.

He didn't fit into the world I had built, so seeing him sitting across from me like he was completely comfortable in my universe was a strange and foreign sight.

"I hope so," Aiden replied. "You've proven to be harder to watch than the Jonas Brothers at a concert. And I don't mean listening to their music. Boy band fans are terrifying."

A grin caught me by surprise, bringing a smile to my lips. Aiden was funny! But I wasn't sure if he was even aware of his own comedy stylings. It made it charming instead of cocky.

Forcing my brain to halt in its tracks, I tapped the countertop to have something to do. I refused to go down a dangerous mental path that resulted in me thinking of Aiden as more than just a pretty face that kept me safe. Nope. Nope. Nope. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT NOPE.

"I need to get a good picture of who this stalker is." Aiden leaned back, taking me in with his crisp blue eyes. "But I can wait if you want to get changed."

I stared down at myself and laughed. "Yeah, good idea." I was tired of looking like a horror show. Standing up, I moved to my bedroom door before turning back around. "Um... help yourself to..." Did I have anything for him to drink?

"To a Pop-Tart?" he suggested.

I shot him an annoyed glance. "Sure. Or a glass of water or something." He looked away, but I caught a hint of a smirk before he turned to stare up at my bare cabinets.

Shutting the door, I quickly hopped out of my dress and took the fastest shower of my life. Say what you want about girls taking long, never-ending showers. But when we want to, we are crazy fast. And I suddenly had a very good reason. I didn't like being naked with Aiden so close by. Hence the lightning-fast shower.

Changing into a large yellow and black flannel, and a pair of sweatpants, I pulled my wet hair up into a messy bun and walked back out into the living room.

I was surprised to find Aiden nursing a cup of tea in a Pluto mug, the sleeves of his buttoned-up white shirt rolled up to his forearms, revealing muscles that were most likely meant to protect more than distract. But they were unhelpfully distracting at the moment. Stupid illegal muscles.