Jaden almost winced as the faint smell of guilt permeated her blood. Gaige shouldn’t feel guilty. Gaige, of the two of them, was the only one who had done no wrong. She had definitely been single the first time she and Jaden had fallen into bed together and for good reason. She had been the one that wrong had been done to. She was the one who had gotten cheated on. If anything, she was justified in moving on, in sleeping with the first man she came into contact with to help her move on. Jaden on the other hand, he was another story entirely. He had violated bro code on so many levels. Not only had he slept with his best friend’s ex, but she was his cousin’s ex, making the crime that much worse. And to top it all off, he had done so multiple times. He had betrayed his cousin on a level, no family member should ever betray their kin.
Gaige was innocent. He was definitely not.
He wished there was some way he could take away that guilt for her. But Jaden feared speaking about it would just complicate matters. And beyond that, he wished he could erase the look of disappointment that came over her face as he reluctantly let go of her. If Jaden had his way, he’d never have to let go of her and neither of them would have to feel guilty about giving into the feelings and attraction they had for each other. Jaden wished a lot of things, but sadly, there was nothing he could do about their current situation except to accept reality and make life a little better for the both of them by making sure history didn’t repeat itself.
He chuckled when she spoke. He wasn’t sure how exactly it had worked out that Gaige was single handedly the most graceful AND clumsy person he knew, but it had. And if anything, it was one of the most endearing qualities about her. Jaden didn’t mind her clumsiness, just so long as he was around to catch her when she fell. “Well, at least it hasn’t gotten you into any serious trouble… yet.” he teased.
As she adjusted the bags she held, his eyes fell upon them for the first time since running into her. He’d had eyes only for her and everything else, including the things she carried, had managed to escape his notice. He quickly righted that situation and reached forward, taking the bags for her. But when she mentioned that she had been waiting for him, he paused. Once again, his smile faltered just a little. Surely, it should be wrong that the fact that she wanted to hang out with made him as excited as it did. He shouldn’t want to spend anymore time with her than a normal person would want to spend time with their brother’s ex. And yet… here he was. Ecstatic at the thought that Gaige Garten wanted to spend time with him.
When she faltered, Jaden immediately straightened, shaking off the guilt that threatened to make him lock himself away from her. Clearly, he had been misreading why she wanted to spend time with him. And if there was nothing on her part besides wanting to hang out with an old friend, than he sure as hell wasn’t about to spoil the chance of a fun evening with a friend. He just wouldn’t read too much into it. “Actually, I do have plans.” he replied, as he adjusted her many shopping bags so that he could hold them in one hand, doing his best to keep a serious face. He paused just a little longer to let her think that he was dismissing her and then his face broke into a grin. “And they involve carrying my favorite blonde’s purchases around for the night.” he added with a wink.
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