only her head to the side to flash Tyler one of her smiles. Her body shivered as his fingers tickled against her lower rib cage. “So, that was unexpected.”
“You could say that again.”
“I hadn’t planned on letting you in, and doing…THAT.”
“Well I’m happy it happened… I was going crazy while I was away.”
“Me, too. It felt so good to see you again.”
Tyler leaned forward and kissed Aileen sweetly this time, savoring the taste of her mouth for a moment before pulling away. “You’re so gorgeous.”
Aileen blushed; she always did when Tyler complimented her like that. For some reason it always meant more coming from him. She was the one to lean in this time to kiss him, barely brushing her lips against his, pulling away with a smile.
Tyler had to bring himself out of their perfect moment to look over at her alarm clock.
Aileen didn’t look. She sighed instead. “Jani’ll be home soon.”
It didn’t necessarily mean that Tyler had to leave, but they didn’t really have a habit of staying the night with each other just yet.
“You probably want to get going.”
“How soon?”
“Soon enough that if we don’t want her to see you, you should leave right now.”
“Kicking me out right after, isn’t that usually the guy’s job?”
“Not today.”
Aileen laughed as she sat up, dropping herself off the bed and onto the floor, gathering up her clothes and his, tossing his shirt into his face. “Time to get dressed, champion.”
Tyler rubbed his shirt over his face and pulled it on over his head, straightening it out as he watched her pull her shirt and shorts back on. She looked good naked, but she looked amazing in her track uniform. He had always thought so. “Do I really have to go? It feels like practice just ended.” He grinned at her.
Aileen looked at the clock. “You don’t have to. It’s not like staying the night is a crime.” She smiled at him. “But I don’t know if you want to deal with all the repercussions of that just yet. And, unfortunately, I have homework that I have to get done. And you probably do, too.”
“Alright, I’ll go, but I don’t want to.”
“I know, that’s what makes it worth it.” Aileen jumped into Tyler’s arms and kissed him one last time, rubbing her body against his, letting herself feel his body against hers before dropping to the floor. Kissing his cheek and stepping back, she reached out for his hand and dragged him out of her bedroom.
Leading him to her back door, sliding it open and pushing him out onto the back porch, she smiled cheerfully. “I’m sorry I have to kick you out.”
“Maybe one day soon, I’ll stay over.” That thought made him smile. Yeah, maybe when everything else was done they would have time for a relationship, instead of whatever they had was.
“Sounds like a deal.”
Tyler nodded and headed back around the house to his car, slipping into the driver’s seat and pulling out of the driveway before Jani showed up.
Aileen ran through the house to watch Tyler pull away. She wished she’d agreed to him staying. She just wasn’t sure where they stood. When his car disappeared and she sighed, and slowly returned to her the kitchen and the abandoned dishes, finishing them up just as Jani walked in.
“That smells amazing!” the tall Canadian girl enthused. “Please tell me there’s more of that and you’re going to share!”
She turned wide brown eyes on Aileen, who laughed. “Yeah. There’s more of it. It’s in the crock pot. Help yourself.”
Jani clapped her hands together and them pounced on Aileen, hugging her tight. “You’re amazing,” she said as she stepped back, moving immediately toward the crock pot. “And possibly the best housemate ever. And I will totally make you some kind of food sometime to make up for it.”
Aileen giggled. “You don’t have to make it up to me. Just eat. Enjoy.”
She left her roommate standing over the crock pot and went back to