Ch. 11: Time with Aaron

CHLOE PRICE'S POV:

Aaron was fast asleep before we got to my house. I helped him to his bed and I went to my own. I could not stop thinking about the ghost wolf. So much so that during the night I dreamt that Max, Aaron and I were three piglets building houses. When I woke up I vowed I would have no sweets before bed, a vow I would surely brake in the future.

I snuck into Aaron's room, he was sleeping on the wrong side of the bed. It was adorable, he was like a human plushie.

"Oh the ways I could wake you up. You've been here four days and you treat this room like it's yours," I thought to myself.

"You keep staring like that and he might get the wrong idea," my mom's voice whispered behind me. I turned quickly and quietly. She was already in her waitress uniform.

"Jesus, you're a freaking ninja," I whispered loudly.

"You're smitten," she stated.

"Am not," I argued, but I could feel the blush on my face.

"Don't worry," she winked, "I won't tell Max about the competition. There's scrambled eggs on the stove.'

Once she had left, I gave Aaron a solid jab in the ribs, hearing him groan. "Come on, up and at 'em. As mom would say, 'wakey wakey eggs and bakey'. If you don't get up, I'll eat it all. Don't think I won't."

"Gimme a…" His sentence was lost to a huge yawn, blue eyes blinking in a sleepy daze.

"Aw, are you too sleepy to move? Cute," I teased, watching him try and fail to get up.

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed hold of his wrist and dragged him out. He stumbled, almost losing his footing and falling flat on his face.

Before he could, I held him steady. "Whoa, easy there, dude."

"Kind of your fault," he replied, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

I stood him back up, "Big mistake. Nothing is ever my fault. But I'll let you off, rookie. Soon, you'll be as well trained as Max is."

"Ha," he said, "no one can break me."

"Oooh, issuing challenges. Second big mistake. Max is seriously going to have to give you a 'Chloe crash course' before it's too late. I'll let you get dressed," I smirked, "you've got five minutes before I start without you."

When Aaron was ready, we headed downstairs to chow down on the breakfast Joyce had made for us. As usual, I had a healthy appetite and managed to scrounge some of his food too. Like Max, he gave in pretty quickly. One quick flash of the puppy dog eyes and he was putty in my hands. There were plenty of similarities between him and Max, time travel aside. In fact, if my childhood best friend was a dude, she would almost definitely be Aaron. That might help explain a few things.

After breakfast, we decided to go on a quick walk to pass time. Strolling down the familiar street, I was hit with a flood of memories of Max and me. She lived pretty close by, so we were nearly always together. If only I could turn back time… although, as already proven it wasn't that simple.

"You seem… happy," Aaron stated. "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, some of my childhood adventures. You see that house over there." I pointed to a house part way down the street. "I used to sneak into the garden."

He raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Just because. I was always a rebel at heart and that was the only fence with a gap big enough to squeeze through," she explained. "Max used to watch me and complain, but she always ended up joining me and we never got caught."

"Sounds like you two were close." He said with a smile.

I smiled back, "Yeah, we were. And we are now, for different reasons. For a time, I did wish she'd never even come into my life. Guess even I can get it wrong sometimes. Although, don't dare tell Max I said that or there will be hell to pay."

"Got it," he said wide-eyed

We stayed out for a while and I reminisced aloud about childhood mischief. Aaron quietly listened, making a comment every now and then, but mostly listening. It was… nice to feel like someone was actually listening instead of just waiting for the right opportunity to talk about themselves and drown me out. It was a balance very few ever managed.

After a while, I wanted to show him my room, but I did not want to make him uncomfortable… yet. So I asked him to close his eyes and led him there, the look on his face when he saw it was my bedroom was priceless. My room was… messy, to say the least. Magazines and clothes littered the ground, and pictures, posters, and graffiti covered the walls. I used an American flag as a curtain angled stripes up.

"Well," he said, "this is… rebellious."

"Damn right," I said. "I wouldn't want to disappoint and I have an image to uphold."

"You know," he stated, "a guy could get the wrong idea being invited to a girl's room."

"'Girl'?" I asked with my hands on my hips, unimpressed.

"… woman?" He whispered quickly correcting himself.

"I am nineteen," I said, "speaking of which, how old are you?"

"Eighteen," he stated.

I whistled, "You're old enough to date. If you want I can hook you up with Victoria."

"N-no," he became flustered, "I, uh… she's kinda scary."

"Hot, though, right?" I asked enjoying the moment, "I would, even though she's a total bitch."

My comment seemed to embarrass him. "I guess," he rubbed the back of his neck, "not really my type."

"Oh, so what is your type then, hmm?" I asked. "I already know Max's, so it's just you left."

"What is Max's type?" he asked eager to dodge my question.

"Uh, me, duh. Then again, I'm a lot of people's type. The charming, roguish punk. So, type?" I insisted, not letting him get away with that weak ass excuse for a deflect

"Um, I dunno," he was as red as a cherry.

"Oh, come on dude. You must know what kinda things you're into. Even if you haven't actually ever dated anyone. No need to be shy. For starters, chicks or dudes, or both, or whatever else?" I asked. I was legitimately eager for an answer.

"I like… chicks," he said. I liked that answer.

"Figures. Personally, I'm not really all that bothered," I said. "More about the person, who they are, not what they are. I do seem to have a thing for quiet, nerdy, hipster types. Guess I have Max to thank for that. Think I've grown out of my 'bad boy' phase, mostly."

"Bad boy phase?" he asked.

Now I was the one feeling uncomfortable, "Not my proudest moment. After my dad died, I had a lot of shit to deal with and went off the rails. Still not totally on the rails yet, but I'm getting there. Max and… Rachel helped me."

"So, you've, um…" Any heat that was on me was immediately on him.

"Had sex?" I asked getting a hesitant nod in return. "Yeah, I have. What about you, music maestro? Bet you've had some extensive fingering practice… with guitars, at least." I teased making a bicycling motion with my index and middle fingers.

"Uh…" he was adorable when he was flustered.

"You're still a virgin, then," I stated without any preamble. "I suspected as much. You and Max give off that same vibe."

He raised an eyebrow, pleasantly surprised and relieved, "You're not going to make fun of me?"

In that moment I had an evil, awful idea. "No," an evil smile creeped its way across my face. "Actually, I have a way to help if you're interested."

"Sorry what?" Arron asked dumbfounded, the expression on his face was priceless.

"Don't worry, I won't push you too hard or anything," I smirked, watching the slow working blush creep onto his face. "Consider this a… dry run, so to speak."

Wasting no time, I walked over to him and grabbed him by the waist, kissing him gently. Better to ease him into it. Sure, I might've got kicked from Blackwell, but damn was I good at other s***, kissing among them.

Stopping momentarily, I leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "You get bonus points if you put your hand on the girl's waist while you kiss." As I said that, I guided his hands onto my hips and continued the kiss.

When his hands started to wander further down to my a**, a little too far south of the border, I pulled back and planted his hands firmly back on my hips. "Whoa, slow down there, Speedy Gonzalez. You gotta buy me dinner first," I added teasingly.

"Sorry," he mumbled, lowering his gaze in shame.

"Hey." Taking hold of his chin, I gently raised his head so I could look him in the eyes. "Chill out, okay. You're learning from the best. Just don't force it and most importantly, enjoy it."

Keen to step it up a notch, I took hold of his wrist and led him to the bed. Gently pushing him down onto the mattress, I climbed on top of him with my hands either side of his head. He glanced up at me, uncertain but not against this. When I didn't get any verbal complaints, I leaned in and kissed him again. Just as I suggested, he seemed to be savoring it, not rushing.

As nice as this was, I wanted to take it just a little further. Or try to. "Now, let's try something a little different, huh?"

Before he could answer, I took his hands and placed them on my butt. His eyes widened slightly at the unexpected move, not quite sure what to do. It took him a moment or two to acclimatize with some reassurance. Honestly, for someone who wasn't so experienced, he was doing a pretty decent job.

When I went to move his hands down, I felt some resistance. Clearly, he'd had enough. As tempting as it might be to push, this was his first time doing something like this. A little disappointed, I eased myself off him.

"Okay, I think that's enough for today," I announced as he sat up. "So, what did you think?"

"I… think I liked it," he replied hesitantly.

"Hmm, yeah I could tell." I winked at him, watching his face turn red. "No need to be shy about it, dude."

"I'm not really a people person," Aaron stated.

"Really?" I asked sarcastically, "You seemed pretty friendly with me a few seconds ago."

"You know what I mean," he said. "You and Max have been my only friends since my mom died… that is: you didn't become my friends out of pity… I think. However, at this point I think you're… more than friends… at this point." He spoke uncomfortably, but he was honest.

I playfully hit his arm. "You're not a wordsmith but you are a good person. Not too many of those around. Really gotta pick through the shit to find anyone worth the time and effort. And, if you stick around, we'll see just how 'friendly' we get. Deal?"

Considering it for a second, he smiled. "Deal."

I am so sorry about the wait. College life you know.