“What’s your surefire plan?” I asked weakly. There were times that I didn’t love that I had rubbed off on Liv so much. When we were younger, Liv was innocent and quiet and I was the rabble-rouser, always looking to get into something. I always had a plan or a scheme, and they had never worked out as I’d planned them to.
“You’re going to go to the flag football games with me and Xander. You’re going to look pretty and flirt with all the attractive single men. You’re going to be nice but not overly friendly to Aiden. You’re going to let him see what he’s been missing all these years.”
“You think he’s even going to care or notice?”
“I’m positive of the fact.” She grinned. “Now that I know what happened between the two of you, I understand the dynamic between you both a lot better.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes.” She nodded. “I always wondered why he used to look at you with such protectiveness, but also with a kind of possessiveness and jealousy.”
“He treats you the same way.” I rolled my eyes, but my hopes were rising.
“Nope.” She laughed. “Yes, he is overprotective and a bit of a jerk, but he’s never acted jealous when I’ve talked about another guy and he’s never acted possessive or upset when he’s seen me with another guy. He couldn’t care less. You know he told me he’s glad I’m dating Xander because now Xander can worry about me.”
“Yeah, but he’s just saying that. He loves you.”
“Yes, he loves me. I’m his sister.” She grinned. “But he has feelings for you as well. Feelings that are about more than being your honorary big brother. I bet he’s confused.”
“Confused about what?”
“He’s confused that he had this night with you all those years ago that he enjoyed, but feels guilty about it and now he’s not sure what to do.”
“You think so?” I asked hopefully.
“Yeah, I really do.” She nodded. “The problem is he still sees you as a teenager. You need to show him you’re a woman now.”
“And flag football will do that?”
“You, in some short-shorts running down a field, with hot guys chasing you as your long blonde hair flies in the wind, will do that.” She grinned again. “Come on, Alice, you know how guys are.”
“But what about Scott? And what about my Facebook message?”
“Ah, forget them. They mean nothing.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” She nodded.
“What do you know?” Xander’s voice filled the room, and I groaned.
“What are you doing here?” I asked accusingly, and he laughed.
“Nice to see you too, Alice. I’m taking my girlfriend out to dinner. Is that okay with you?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” I looked at Liv and she grinned.
“He was parking the car,” she explained. “I left the door open for him to come in.”
“Oh, okay. I was wondering if you gave him a key already.”
“Would you have a problem with that?” Xander teased me. “I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t.” I shook my head at him.
“I bet you wouldn’t mind if Aiden had a key, though.” He winked at me. “Maybe this time he can be the one to slip into your bedroom and bed.”
“Liv!” I screamed as my face went hot. “You told Xander?”
“Xander!” Liv turned to him with angry eyes. “What were you thinking?”
“What?” he asked innocently.
“Why would you tell Alice that I told you?” She sighed and looked at me with apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry, but he wanted to know what was so important that I’d kick him out last night.”
“So you told him?” My jaw dropped. “I can’t believe you told Xander that I lost my virginity to Aiden.”
“You had sex with Aiden?” Xander’s voice sounded shocked, and my heart froze as I looked into Liv’s eyes.
“You didn’t know?” I frowned at him and then looked back at Liv.
“I didn’t tell him everything.” She sighed. “I didn’t want to tell him everything. I just told him that you slipped into Aiden’s bed one night and kissed him.”
“Sex is a bit more than a kiss.” Xander laughed and looked at me. “Well, well, well, Alice Waldron, the more I learn about you, the more intriguing you become.”
“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?”