Chapter 10

She was through with class and was on her way to the car park when she got a message from Aiden saying one of his staff was around to pick her and that he was sorry for yesterday. She was still angry with him and was even contemplating if she should act like she didn't see the message and drive straight home. A few moments later, she was seated at the back of the car with John in front driving to a place she had no idea about. The car came to a halt in front of a gigantic building.

"Maam, Mr James instructed that I bring you to the marina and also sent something you can change into. I'll leave you to change in the car," he says as he hands her the bag containing a hat and the jumpsuit.

Aiden knew she was a sucker for yachts. She was very excited and decided that she was going to let yesterday's outburst slide. She picked up the beautiful jumpsuit and realized it was halter neck backless jumpsuit. She instantly got the message he was trying to pass. After changing into her cloth and sandals, she got down from the car and followed John to the marina. He looked so familiar. She knew she must have seen him somewhere. He was a handsome man so he was very much noticeable.

She met Aiden at the marina and couldn't help but smile. He had shaved and was looking like a twenty-year-old man. She won't be surprised if the female staffs at his company had an eye for him. He was handsome, rich and famous.

"Beautiful. I love how jumpsuits define your waist and give you this hot boss look. I like it when you wear jumpsuits."

A part of her was wondering if this was a natural complement anybody could give but she wasn't ready for a mental battle. She just wanted to enjoy her day.

"Then remind me never to wear them."

"I apologised for yesterday's outburst. Let's just enjoy today," he says as he takes her hand and climbs into the superyacht.

He was glad she didn't turn down the offer. During their ride, while she was appreciating nature, he couldn't help but steal glimpses of her. She was indeed beautiful. He remembered when he had just come back from boarding school, his friends had come to visit and had seen her picking flowers from their garden. They couldn't stop talking about her and how they would love to ask her out on dates. He was so quick to lie to them that she had a boyfriend and that they should stay clear. Only then did they change the topic to video games and other latest happening.

All through the ride, they talked about all the sweet memories of when they were younger. Her mother was hardly there to attend to her but she never felt lonely and that was because of Aiden's company. Most times he would ditch his friends and keep her company at home. Most of them couldn't say anything about it because he was the so-called bad boy of the crew. She turned to face Aiden when she realised he had suddenly gone quiet.

“Why are staring at me like that?” she couldn't help but question. She almost felt like a dare in the jungle being stared at by a lion who was waiting for the perfect time to pounce.

“Times flies and a lot has happened. So many things could have been avoided but they all happened for a reason. I can't take it back, but I won't miss another chance.”

“What are you talking about?”She asked confused.

He gently tucked in a strand of hair that had fallen out of her bun behind her ear and let his fingers graze her ear in the process. He began to trace his fingers down her neck towards her back while peppering her with kisses. Her skin was flawless and soft like that of a baby. This girl was surely going to be the death of him.  Her eyes possessed the function of a magnet that he couldn't help but be drawn in by those eyes. He couldn't even tell if it was his brain responsible for his actions or his hormones.

One minute they were talking about memories, the next his fingers were grazing on the exposed part of her body while he was peppering her with kisses. He made her feel like a treasure the way he caressed her skin. Her hands found their way into his shirt but his buttons were slowing her down. Just as she was about to unbutton the last two buttons, she remembered his statement from yesterday when he said every guy that sees her in this type of cloth has only one aim which is to have a one night stand with her. She stopped suddenly.

“What is wrong? Did I hurt you or something?” he questioned.

“No. You didn't. Can we just pretend like this never happened? She said while trying to catch her breath.”

“Rachel, what is wrong? I thought the feeling was mutual. You should have told me to stop. I thought you gave your consent when you kissed me back.”

“Aiden stop. There are many reasons why I stopped. I wasn't ready and I am sure you weren't to. We were just caught up in the moment. Let's just forget it happened. And I am not ready to jeopardise our long time friendship because we want to satisfy our flesh with some minutes of pleasure.”

She was grateful for the call that came in because his body language showed he wasn't ready to sweep this under the carpet as she begged. The call must have been very important because his mood quickly changed that he looked so uptight and serious. He strolled to the end of the room before he started the conversation.

What came over her? She had been dating Brian and not once had she lost control like this. She had made it clear from the beginning that she wasn't ready and he had understood. Could she ever forget the feel of Aiden's mouth against hers? Thank God her final exams we're coming up very soon. She was going to stay over her friend's place till her exams were over. At least she would keep her sanity in check and also avoid any tension between the two of them.

She was ashamed of herself. She knew when to stop Brian when he was going too far but all it took was a graze of his finger on her skin and she was already all over him trying to rip off his shirt and almost pull off her clothes. She grabbed a scarf from her bag and hung it over her shoulders to cover the exposed part of the jumpsuit. For the rest of the ride, she toured around the superyacht appreciating every part of it.