“Argh. Whatever.” I groaned and blushed again.

“Now I need to know exactly what went down.” He laughed and looked at Liv. “And I thought we got together under crazy circumstances.”

“Well, at least you guys got together.” I sighed. “Aiden didn’t give me the time of day after our night together.”

“It wasn’t exactly the same, though, was it, Alice?” Liv spoke softly. “I mean, he didn’t know it was you at first.”

“Don’t remind me.” I groaned and put my face in my hands. “I’m so embarrassed. I should just forget everything. There’s no way that Aiden will ever be able to get past that incident.”

“You never know,” Liv said and beamed up at Xander as he kissed her cheek and rubbed her back. I wanted to gag at how lovey-dovey they looked. “What do you think, Xander?”

“I think I need to know exactly what happened.” He looked at me and his green eyes turned from laughing to a more serious expression. “I know you might be embarrassed, but trust me: I can tell you if it’s as bad as you think or if it’s not as bad as you think.”

“I’m just embarrassed.” I looked down at the ground.

“It’s not as bad as hooking up at a wedding with a stranger,” Liv said.

“Yeah, it’s not as bad as going back to a strange man’s hotel room,” Xander continued in a serious voice. “And then nicknaming him Mr. Tongue.”

“Xander!” Liv hit him in the shoulder.

“Don’t you mean ‘Mr. Tongue?’” He grinned at her.

“I think she means Mr. Miracle Tongue.” I laughed.

“Whatever.” Liv blushed. “You’re both gross.”

“That’s not what you said this morning,” Xander said in a loud whisper, and she hit him harder.

“Shut up, Xander.”

“You two!” I laughed. “Fine, I’ll tell you what happened, but only because I want to know if you think I even have a chance. And if I should join the flag football team.”

“Flag football team?” Xander frowned. “What?”

“Liv told me that Aiden is joining a team and that we should join.”

“She what?” He turned to Liv. “You never told me that you wanted to join when I mentioned it earlier.”

“Well, I didn’t decide until recently.”

“Uh huh, sure you didn’t.” He shook his head. “So you two are signing up?”

“Perhaps,” I said at the same time as Liv.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea, Liv.” I shook my head. “I know you think it’s a surefire plan, but surefire plans don’t always work out.”

“What’s a surefire plan?” Xander narrowed his eyes and looked at Liv. “Liv?”

“Nothing.” She smiled innocently. “I just want Alice and Aiden to interact on a weekly basis so that he can see what he’s missing.”

“Hmm,” Xander said with a small frown.

“And she wants me to wear short-shorts,” I added. “Which I don’t think is a good idea.”

“Short-shorts?” Xander laughed and shook his head. “That’s your plan to get a man? Shake your ass in front of him?”

“I didn’t know I was trying to get a man.” Liv pursed her lips up at him. “But I guess I can wear short-shorts as well.”

“Don’t you dare,” he said as he looked down at her ass for a few seconds. “Your big butt is mine and mine alone.”

“My big butt?” Liv’s voice dropped, and I grinned to myself. It was about to go down. Xander had no idea what he’d set into motion. Liv hated her butt, and I knew she did not consider his comment a compliment.

“Yeah,”—he slapped her ass lightly— “I like big butts.”

“You what?” Her voice rose, and I swear daggers were flying from her eyes into his heart, stabbing him softly.

“I like big butts,” he said and shrugged. “But your big butt is for me to enjoy, not every Tom, Dick and Harry on the football field.”

“I do not have a big butt!” she squealed and immediately started doing squats. “Take that back.”

“Take what back?” Xander looked confused, and I burst out laughing as Liv moved up and down with an annoyed look on her face. “Also, you’re doing those squats all wrong. Your form is off.”

“What?” she snapped.

“You shouldn’t be bending your back like that. You should—”

“Shut up, Xander.” She looked at me. “Can you believe he just told me I have a fat ass?”

“I cannot believe it.” I looked at Xander. “Shame on you.”

“What?” He threw his hands up with a confused look on his face. “I never said you had a fat ass. I said you had a big butt. A big butt that I like—love, even.” He groaned at the murderous look on Liv’s face. “Let me just shut up now.”

“Yeah, you need to just stop.” Liv stood up straight and stretched her arms out. “Ow.” She made a face and looked at me. “My legs are aching.”

“I’m not going to say you should work out more, then,” Xander said with a smirk, and we both hit him on the arm. “Ouch, girls!”

“Alice, are you ready to tell my asshole of a boyfriend what happened with Aiden so we can all decide upon a plan of action?”

“Whoa, wait!” Xander frowned. “I’m not here to help you two come up with any spells or trickery, but more to give my advice.”

“We’re not witches. We don’t cast spells or trick anyone.” Liv rolled her eyes.

“You could have fooled me,” he said with a straight face. “Brock and Jock?”

“Oh, get over them.” Liv shook her head and looked at me. “Are you sure you want a boyfriend, Alice? Do you want to put up with all of this?”

“I wouldn’t mind.” I sighed wistfully and looked over at Xander. “I know you said he can be a pain, but sometimes it’s nice to have a little pain.”

“What have you been telling her?” Xander winked at Liv and she groaned.

“Not enough, obviously,” Liv started up again and stopped herself. “Anyway, enough about you and me. Alice, I want you to talk about your story.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I groaned. “This is so embarrassing and almost unbelievable.”

“Don’t worry, Alice, there’s nothing you can tell me that I wouldn’t believe,” Xander said. “And I’ve heard stories from Liv about the two of you, so trust me when I say that I can believe it all.”

“Thanks.” I made a face. “I’m not really sure that that’s a compliment.”

“Enough already,” Liv said. “Xander is just looking to get himself into trouble.”

“Okay,” I said with a sigh and then closed my eyes. “I guess I should start at the beginning.” I opened my eyes and looked at an expectant Xander and my face flushed as I opened my mouth to begin my story. The story of how I’d seduced Aiden Taylor, the older brother of my best friend in the world.

And then my phone rang. And my heart stopped beating for about three seconds as I stared. It was the call I’d been eagerly anticipating for the last six years. And I had absolutely no idea why he was calling.

Chapter Three

Sometimes a Girl Just Has to Sneak into a Bed

I have had a crush on Aiden Taylor since I was ten. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, how can you have a crush on a boy when you’re ten and he is sixteen? Trust me, it is very, very easy. Aiden Taylor has always been handsome. And when he was sixteen, he was the stuff of every school girl’s dreams. His now-dark hair had been a dirty blond then, and longer, almost like a surfer’s, but he’d been on the baseball team. His bright blue eyes had always been full of mischief and he’d always treated me as an annoyance, just like he’d treated Liv, but I hadn’t minded. In fact, I’d loved it. I loved spending time with him. I loved it when he let us play video games with him. I loved it when he’d tickled me or played board games with us. Aiden had been the bossy older brother, but he’d also made time to hang out with us. It had been easy to daydream about him becoming my boyfriend. Not that it was ever going to happen. I was too young for him, and he hadn’t seen me as anything other than his sister’s best friend. That was, until the summer after he’d graduated from college. He’d come home for the summer with his girlfriend, Lisa or something. I could still remember the first time we’d laid eyes on each other that summer. It had been a magical moment. I was sixteen, about to turn seventeen, and he was twenty-two. We hadn’t seen each other for about two years, as his college schedule had kept him away except for holidays like Christmas, and even then he’d only been home for a few days.