Chapter 28
Aaron found me in the park and gave me a hug. "Nudge," he said. "It's great to see you."
"You too," I said loudly. I passed him a note: We're trying to get Iggy to snap, so act like you mean it.
"What?" he demanded. "This was all a trick?"
"Quiet," I whispered. "He could be anywhere."
"Nudge, I do mean it," he said, clearly hurt. "I'm still in love with you."
"I still love you too," I said, raising my voice. "I'm glad you wanted to get back together."
"Nudge!" he snapped. "If you think I'm doing all this just to help you trick your boyfriend, you are dead wrong."
"Aaron, shush!" I hissed.
"Too late," Iggy said, fluttering out of a tree. "Can't believe you tried to pull a stunt like that. It would have worked if he was in on it, actually."
I giggled weakly. "Sorry about that, Iggy."
"No problem. Tell you what, I'll just tell you what I would have told you if it had worked."
I brightened. "Yeah, do that."
He got down to his knees. "Don't do this, Nudge. I'm fiendishly in love with you. Take me back, please."
"Fiendishly?" I repeated.
"I never claimed to be the adverb king," he retorted.
"AHEM!" Aaron bellowed.
I turned to him sheepishly. "Oh, hi Aaron. Look, I'm sorry. It wouldn't have worked out between us."
"It would have, Nudge," Aaron said. "Please? I love you so much. Take me back."
"Aaron, I'm not the end-all-be-all," I said. "You'll find somebody who will love you for who you are, I know you will."
"That's a cheap cop-out," he grumbled. "That could be you."
"No, it could never be me," I said. "I can only be with Iggy. That's the only option."
"No, Nudge, you can't do that," Aaron insisted. "I was abusive, I'll admit that freely. But I'll never do it again, Nudge. I love you more than this Iggy guy ever will."
I smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Aaron, but that's not possible. Iggy is… Iggy is mine. But I don't think I ever would have known that without you, so I have to thank you. I do love you, Aaron. Can we be friends?"
Aaron glared coldly. "No," he said. "You'll never see me again." He stalked off.
Iggy caressed my face and kissed me. "Hmm," I muttered. "I don't know if I can be happy with you after I broke his heart like that. Let's show him some sensitivity. We'll probably haunt his thoughts forever anyway."
"He'll heal," Iggy assured me. "You know he will. Don't let him ruin this."
"I love you, Iggy," I said, sobbing.
"How about that date?" he said.
"Um… wanna go get some coffee?" I suggested.
"Genius. Let's do it."
I frenched him. I know that's a bit racy, but I think that all I've been through should count for a few extra years. Wouldn't you say?
The mission: get coffee. And there was nobody who was gonna stand in our way.
