•C h a p t e r T w e n t y - T h r e e•

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Song for chapter twenty three: I Like Me Better by Lauv

|Skyler|

"Okay just trust me," Josie said sternly over the phone.

I stood in front of my closet, raking my hands over my hair as I shuffled through all my clothes, but still unable to come to a conclusion about what to wear for the date with Aden tonight.

"What do you mean? I don't wanna freeze my ass off," I responded to Josie as I scanned over a thick burgundy sweater in my hands. It was beginning to get cold late at night when the sun went down. Cold as in chilly but not winter jacket weather just yet.

"That's the point, idiot," she sounded restless with me and I could feel Josie's eye roll from over the phone. "You're going to get cold and he's going to give you his jacket, duh."

"Okay but what if he doesn't. I'm just gonna freeze me ass off anyway," I rebutted with a huff, stuffing the sweater back into the drawer after I realized that it would be a monstrosity to wear it for this date.

"Trust me, he will," Josie pressed on. "Anyways tell me how it goes, I gotta go, Ryan is calling me!" she squealed and hung up before I could even get a word in. I rolled my eyes with a smile and tossed my phone onto my bed, turning back to my closet. Just this once I would listen to Josie, if I regretted it, well then that sucked for me.

Finally, I settled on a denim skirt and a light baby blue sweater. At least my body would be warm even if my legs turned to icicles.

Who am I kidding though, it's not even that cold yet.

I walked to the bathroom and began brushing on my foundation and some concealer. Even though I still had a headache from my hangover, I had a decent nights sleep so my eyes looked less like a panda's today.

I put on a couple layers of mascara and blended in some eyeshadow as well — for the first time in a while — when I heard a knock on the door.

Within a few seconds, I had shoved all my makeup back into the drawers haphazardly and scrambled to the living room, almost tripping over my feet. I was greeted with Aden's gorgeous face when I opened the door.

I didn't think it was possible for him to look any more attractive, but he had done it. Clad in a pair of black jeans, grey crew neck sweater and a black military jacket, I was basically swooning over him. His hair was combed back like usual, with a few rebellious strands dangling over his forehead.

When I finally looked up at him, I noticed his eyes scanning me from top to bottom. I silently hoped that my outfit looked as good as it did a moment ago in the mirror.

"Hey," he breathed.

"Hi Aden," my cheeks heated up from his stare. "I'm ready, I just need to grab my bag." I told him as I sprinted back into my room. I stuffed some cash into my purse and grabbed my phone before slipping on my sneakers as I braced myself on the wall.

I sent a quick text to Aunt Claire as I approached Aden, telling her that I'd be home later. Maybe she'd still want to have that conversation. Shudder.

"Okay, lets go," I slipped my hand in his before my brain could think to stop me as we walked out the door and into the elevator. The doors shut behind us and I felt my cheeks flush furiously when I noticed Aden's gaze on me, his eyes a darker shade than usual.

"You... look beautiful," he said after a short moment of silence. He stepped towards me, a reddish tint on his cheeks.

"I guess you clean up pretty well too," I smirked. He frowned before his lips twitched upwards in a smug smile. My breath sucked in and my eyes widened when he leaned in closer, his lips just centimetres away from mine.

"I think that you know that I know you're lying," he drawled, his minty breath fanning over my cheeks, sending a shiver up my spine. My slow ass brain took a second to understand what he'd said.

"Do I..? I trailed off, my eyes were subconsciously trained on his lips.

The elevator doors swung open and Aden stepped off. I blinked, snapping myself out of whatever daze he had me in, only to see his pompous smile. I narrowed my eyes at him; he knew how much he could affect me.

"Where are we going?" I asked him when I found my voice again. We approached his car parked on the side of the street.

"You'll see."

"It must be the best thing I've ever done," I drawled.

"Well then, I have the weight of the world on my shoulders," he turned back, flashing me one of his dashing smiles.

My eyebrows furrowed when Aden opened the passenger's door and watched at me expectantly, motioning to the car.

"Get in, Clumsy," Aden smirked at me and I almost groaned, feeling like an idiot. It was a simple gesture that I never would've expected, and it made my heart flutter at that.

"Thanks," I sat down on the passenger's seat, my cheeks heating up a thousand degrees again as he shut the door and jogged around to the driver's seat. "I thought you were letting me drive for a second, now that would be a date," I joked as he closed the door behind him.

"My car is my most prized possession. Knowing you, I would have to spend thousands repairing it after," he looked at me with a pointed expression as he pulled out of the parking spot. I only rolled my eyes, but I couldn't deny that he was right. The last time I had driven was, well... I didn't actually know.

"Ooh, I call being in charge of the music," I squealed as I plugged AUX cord into my phone, scrolling through my playlist of songs.

"Oh no," I heard Aden groan as a picked a random one through shuffle.

"I'll have you know that my music taste is the best," I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Oh yeah, like Run the World by Beyoncé," he shot me a teasing smile before turning back to the road.

My eyes widened incredulously, "How did you know?"

"Last night in your drunken stupor, you screamed that song at the top of your lungs," he explained, raising an eyebrow at me. My eyes grew wide and my cheeks flushed when the hazy memory came rushing back to me.

The streetlights that had begun to turn on illuminated the interior of his car, casting shadows along his face. I found myself thinking that he looked amazing in that angle.

"I'm a great singer," I defended myself and Aden choked.

"Not while you're drunk Clumsy," he laughed, his hands running over the steering wheel as he pulled into a parking spot on the side of the street.

"Oh your poor eardrums," I teased, glancing around. "We're at Central Park?"

"Yup, you go on first, I'll be right there," he said as we stepped out of the car. We both shut the door simultaneously behind us.

I nodded, "Okay, don't take too long."

I glanced both ways and when the streets grew empty of incoming cars, I darted across the street and entered the park. There was significantly less people as it was beginning to grow dark out, but that didn't take away from the park's beauty.

I plopped down at a bench in front of a small lake that glistened, reflecting the lights from the lamp posts next to me. I could make out the large trees that surrounded the lake, along with a few couples walking down the path hand in hand.

I'd never been in Central Park late at night since I'd been at New York, and I didn't know how pretty it could be until now. I breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of the freshly mown grass and trees. The leaves rustled from a gust of wind that blew and I shivered slightly.

A smile spread over my face at the thought of what my mom would have done to see this beauty.

"Miss me?" I turned my head to the sound just as Aden took a seat next to me on the bench, close enough that his shoulders brushed against mine. He held two cups of coffee in his hands.

"I got you a cappuccino," he handed me one. I took it in my hand, the heat from the cardboard cup warmed my stiff, cold fingers in an instant.

"Thanks," I said meekly. "What did you get?"

"Just a black coffee," he told me, taking a large sip from his cup.

My nose wrinkled in disgust, "Black?"

"Yes cause I'm a real coffee drinker, unlike you," he shot back teasingly at my expression.

"You just like black coffee cause it's dark and soulless, like you," I smirked.

"That, you're probably right about," he pointed to my cup. "Open the lid."

I peered down at my coffee and did as I was told, lifting the lid off and my lips twitched upwards in a small smile. On the foam of the cappuccino there was a bit of coffee art drawn on top. Two hearts next to each other, one large and another somewhat smaller.

"It's kind of cheesy..." Aden started and I looked up to see his sheepish smile and heated cheeks. "I thought it was a good idea when I got it—"

"Aden, I love it," I turned to him, cutting him off before he could continue on his nervous ramble.

I took a sip of my drink, careful not to ruin the hearts and sighed contently. I had only had a cappuccino a handful of times, but for some reason, this one tasted so much sweeter than the others I'd tried. Perhaps it was the cafe that did a good job, but deep down I knew that wasn't it.

I looked back up at Aden, surprised to see his gaze trained on a little girl that had just sat down beside the lake, her mom trailing behind her. As the two talked and laughed Aden's gaze transformed into a nostalgic one.

"My mom used to take me here a lot," he started. "We'd do all kinds of things together here, like feed the birds even though we weren't supposed to. And then she left me with my dad, haven't seen her since." He sounded bitter near the end, his eyes hard, "Didn't even think to take me with her. I'll never understand it."

"Would you have wanted to go with her?" I asked, placing my head on his shoulder as I scooted closer. The little girl and her mother in front of us got up and left, hand in hand, her mother promising ice cream for her the next afternoon.

"I would've liked to then," he admired their retreating figures, "but then I wouldn't have met you." My face heated up as he planted a kiss on the top of my head.

"Well I'm not exactly happy about the things that brought me here, but I'm glad they did," I told him, taking another sip of my coffee. I never realized how true it was until then.

"When's your next appointment with your therapist?" he asked, glancing down at me.

I shrugged, "I wasn't going to go again." Aden raised an eyebrow at me. "What?"

"Therapists are supposed to help you," he said it in a matter-of-fact tone. "Isn't that a good thing?"

I frowned at my almost empty coffee cup, avoiding his gaze slightly, "Well, yeah but every time I've gone it hasn't gone well." Aden stared at me, waiting for me to elaborate. "I ran out crying both times and I don't want to talk with some woman about how my mom died. I know how she died."

Aden sighed, "I'm not going to tell you what to do, but maybe you haven't given this whole counselling thing a fair chance."

I frowned to myself again. Perhaps he was right, as much as it pained me to admit.

"I'll try it again," I finally said with a sigh, rolling my eyes when I caught the victorious smirk Aden had plastered on his face. "Just for you," Aden shot me a look, "...and for myself," I added.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few moments as I watched the leaves billow in the wind. The gust combed through my hair, weaving in between my strands. The ripples in the water moved along with the wind.

Thank god it was getting cold, and spiders were no longer in season.

I jerked up in my seat from that slightly disturbing thought. "How big are spiders in New York?"

Aden's eyes glistened, an amused smile spreading over his lips, "They're not that big. Some are poisonous though."

My nose crinkled in disgust, "Oh that is so not okay."

"Are you afraid of spiders?" Aden teased.

"Who isn't," I sipped my coffee again. I was definitely not going to be able to sleep tonight with that much caffeine in my body. But who could turn down a cappuccino?

"A lot of people," he pointed out.

"Okay well, that's cause a lot of people have never had to clean out a spider's nest before," I snapped back without thinking.

"What?!" his voice was an octave higher than usual as he grimaced. "How did that go?"

"Oh it went, probably the scariest thing I've ever done," I took another big sip of my coffee, shuddering from the memory. I was supposed to take the spiders' nest out because my mom was on a business trip and no one was there to do it for me. I was afraid that if I didn't do it, it would lead to some infestation.

Why didn't I call the exterminators? Beats me and my twelve year old brain.

"Nah, spiders are not scary. You're just a baby," he smirked and I gawked at him, my eyes narrowing.

"No I'm not," I shot back, shoving him lightly with my hands. He didn't move, instead, he leaned in closer and my breath hitched.

"Are too," his smug smile widened as his cheeks grew into a bright scarlet shade. "But... you're my baby."

My eyes widened at his words just as I felt my cheeks heat up even more, until it was as hot as an oven. I glanced away, my hair falling over my face — to my relief — so he couldn't see how red I was turning.

When I looked up again, I found Aden watching me intently, a soft smile on his lips. My heart pounded quicker in my rib cage, and my stomach swarmed with butterflies. How had I not noticed how close he was to me before?

"But, I think the scariest thing I've ever done was kiss you," he said in a soft tone, his eyes trailing down to my lips. "But I'm glad I did it." He glanced up, his eyes meeting mine again. They were shades darker than usual.

A wave of excitement and giddiness coursed through me, accompanied by the familiar feeling of butterflies in my gut.

"Skyler... would you like to wear my jersey for my last soccer game of the season?" his voice was steady and calm. He nervously rolled his tongue over his bottom lip. "I mean, if you weren't the one wearing it, no one else would."

A large smile spread over my face immediately as I nodded, "Yes, of course."

Aden's lips muffled my giggle when they connected with mine. Fireworks erupt in my stomach and I wrapped my arms around his neck to draw him closer as he kissed me deeply. Shivers ran up my spine and I held back a moan. It felt as though time had stopped, and everything that I'd been through that brought me here was worth it. It was all worth it because it lead me to Aden.

He pulled apart a few moments later, cutting the kiss shorter than I wanted it to be. The absence of his body magnified the cold temperatures around us. I shivered.

Damn Josie and her stupid ideas, I'm freezing my ass off.

"Come on, lets walk," Aden stood up and I followed. His warm hand slipped into mine and my stomach warmed as much as my cheeks did. He looked down at me. "Are you cold?"

"No," I said quickly.

Aden shook his head, smiling. "I'm sure you're not. Your hands are freezing, and you're shivering," he shrugged his jacket off and slipped it over my shoulders in a swift motion. My heart fluttered in my chest. I slid my arms into the arm holes of his jacket, his sleeves a few inches longer than my arms. The jacket smelt just like his cologne.

I take it back. I love you Josie.

Together, we walked for another couple of hours, talking about meaningless things and joking around. More like Aden made jokes at my expense and I shoved him as hard as I could as revenge.

Regrettably, Aden walked me back to my apartment as it neared midnight.

We stopped in front of my door and I reluctantly shrugged off his jacket, handing it back to him. "Thank you for tonight, and for the coffee." I smiled up at him.

"No worries," his voice was gentle, then a sheepish smile appeared on his face. "Is it too early to ask for a second date?"

"No, it's not. We should do it again another time," I giggled as Aden breathed a sigh of relief. I looked back at the door, dreading the fact that I'd have to leave him. "Goodnight Aden."

"Goodnight Clumsy," he pressed a kiss onto my forehead and I dissolved into it, the sound of my nickname made my stomach flip. I gave him one last smile just as he began walking away before stepping into my house and shutting the door behind me.

I walked in to complete darkness, and I almost swiped a nervous bead of sweat off my forehead. My talk with Aunt Claire would be postponed until further notice.

I tiptoed through the kitchen to reach my room when the lights switched on, blinding me momentarily as bright spots appeared in my vision. When my eyes finally adjusted to the light, they landed on Aunt Claire, standing by the doorway of my bedroom, arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow raised.

Never mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hope you liked this really long chapter! Please do vote, comment and share because I would really appreciate it!

This chapter is dedicated to LorraineTubbritt

So Aunt Claire is angry, uh oh.

Oh and alsooooo I made Aden and Skyler aesthetics!!!

Skyler's.....

Aden's.... (it's getting hot, phew)


~SweetnessInTheSalt

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