“They weren’t even really dating,” I said. “Liv just had a crush on him, and they spent most of their calls talking about wrestling.”
“Ugh, and heavy metal.” Liv made a face. “I don’t know how he believed that I enjoyed listening to heavy metal.”
“Heavy metal?” Xander looked confused.
“Liv told him she loved heavy metal and wrestling because he loved them and she wanted to connect with him.” I giggled as I thought back to the silly lies we’d told as teenagers.
“Hey, he liked to talk about music,” she said, defending herself. “I used to sing that one Guns and Roses song every time I saw him.”
“Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven’s Door!” At the same time we both sang out loud the title of the only Guns and Roses song that we knew and then burst into laughter.“I guess you’ve both been a bit immature for a long time, then?” Xander asked in an amused tone as he gazed at Liv lovingly.
“I wouldn’t say immature,” I said defensively, thinking about my current plan to try and seduce Aiden.
“Yeah, we’re not immature,” Liv said and punched Xander in the arm again. “We’re just fun-loving.”
“Uh huh,” Aiden said and shook his head, his eyes never leaving my face. I looked up at him, and I wondered what he was thinking. He had a half-smile on his face, and I wanted more than anything to be able to lean forward and just kiss him. I let out an involuntary sigh, and I watched as Aiden’s eyes dropped to my lips and then back up to my eyes. A sharp thrill ran through my stomach and the room went quiet. I felt tense and excited and I could barely breathe. The electricity between us was tangible and I waited with bated breath for Aiden to say something else.
“Back to my story.” He grinned. “Remember how I saved you from eternal depression and disappointment?”
“Hmmm, eternal depression and disappointment, eh?” I raised an eyebrow at him, but my heart was thudding. I could remember that night as if it were yesterday. It was one of the moments between us that reminded me why I’d fallen so hard for him.
I’d been thirteen and a bit awkward. In fact, both Liv and I had been awkward. We’d been average students, both with braces and slight acne. We weren’t cool kids and we weren’t really smart, either. We’d been just normal teenage girls: a bit goofy, really into boys, really into talking about boys and really into wishing boys would notice us. Liv had invited me over for a slumber party on Valentine’s Day, but had gotten a call about ten minutes after I’d arrived, and I’d sat in the Taylors’ living room watching TV with her parents and feeling sorry for myself. Scott and Chett were out, and Aiden was busy studying for some test. At thirteen I’d already felt like a bit of a loser, and I’d been so excited when Aiden had seen me sitting with his parents watching Jeopardy and asked if I wanted to be his Valentine’s date. Now, he hadn’t meant in a romantic sense—I’d been thirteen and he’d been eighteen—but he’d wanted to cheer me up. Of course, I’d eagerly said yes. I mean, Aiden was a like a Greek god to me, so hot and so untouchable. I’d jumped off of the couch so fast and we’d gone into the kitchen and to the games’ cupboard. He’d pulled out Monopoly (his favorite game) and asked me if I wanted to share a pizza. Of course, I’d said yes, even though his parents had already fed me lasagna. Aiden had taken a frozen pizza out of the freezer, and poured us each a glass of orange Sunkist. We’d sat at the kitchen table and played Monopoly all night. I’d felt like a million bucks; especially after he’d made strawberries dipped in chocolate for me. That was perhaps the first time I’d ever thought of Aiden in a truly romantic way. My heart had soared at how caring he was being. I could still remember the words he’d said to me as I’d complained to him that I was afraid I’d be alone forever. Liv had a valentine and had left me to just watch TV with his parents, and I’d had no one. He hadn’t laughed and told me I was too young to have such worries. He hadn’t called me a loser. He hadn’t made comments about me being thirteen and too young for love. No, he’d smiled at me and picked up my hand and leaned forward and looked deeply into my eyes. His voice had been deep as he spoke and told me that “one day I would meet a guy that would make me feel like the only girl on the world. One day I wouldn’t care about Valentine’s Day because every day of my life would feel special. That the man that I ended up with would be worth the wait and that I should never settle for anything less than true love.” He’d then stroked the top of my head and told me that one day I’d meet the right guy, the guy made especially for me and that nothing would be more important to me than that guy. In that moment, I’d known deep in my heart that he was that guy. I hadn’t said anything of course, since I knew he just saw me as his sister’s best friend. I knew that I was someone he cared for, but I was still a little kid; deep inside, though, I’d known: he was that guy for me. The moment hadn’t lasted long because he’d let go of my hand within seconds and gone back to playing Monopoly and telling me off for not upgrading my houses to hotels, but I hadn’t minded. The fact that Aiden had spent his Valentine’s Day trying to make me feel better and special had meant more to me than anything in the world. It meant that I could put up with his superior attitude when we played Monopoly because I knew deep inside that while Aiden was bossy and arrogant, he had a heart of gold and he cared about me and my feelings. I knew that he was a guy who I could always count on; even if for him, I was just his sister’s best friend.