Game Changer Read online

  Ethan shot me a look and I shrugged, then whispered "Seriously? Ten people for a beach wedding? Isn't that kind of ridiculous?" He shook his head, letting me know that he agreed with me.

  "Hey Guys!" I heard a familiar voice from behind me. I spun around and saw Aiden getting attacked by Adam, Kirk, Ross and Kane.

  I nudged Ethan. "Did you see that coming?"

  He shook his head.

  After a moment, Aiden stepped away from his friends and looked at me. "You stalking me?"

  “Of course,” I said with a huge smile on my face.

  Everybody gave us a weird look, perhaps wondering how we knew each other.

  "I sat next to Emily on the plane," he explained before we all began walking toward the bus.

  Holy hell, was this really happening? Was I really going to be spending the entire week with the super-hot and way to sexy for his own good, Aiden Swift?

  Aiden fell into step beside me.

  "Looks like I'm going to get the chance to convince you to go to the beach with me now," he whispered but loud enough for Ethan to hear, because I heard him snicker.

  "Yeah, not going to happen."

  We stepped onto the bus and I ended up sitting next to Aiden. We kept whispering back and forth to each other. I’m sure it looked like flirting to everybody else, and maybe it was just a little bit, but for the most part we were just getting to know each other.

  "You have a Pomeranian?" I asked excitedly.

  He nodded. "Yeah, her name is Presley."

  "As in Elvis?"

  He nodded happily. "Yeah. She's got a little under bite and it reminded me of the Elvis lip."

  I laughed and smacked his arm. "That's so mean."

  He shrugged. "I thought it was cute."

  We pulled up to a hotel that left me breathless. It was a five-star resort that looked like a palace.

  "Wow," I heard Aiden say under his breath.

  "This is the first time in my life I was thankful to have such a spoiled brat of a sister,” I whispered, so that only he could hear me.

  Aiden helped me with my bags once we were off the bus and led me inside to where Erica was standing. She looked like a hostess for the hotel, with a handful of plastic key cards in her hand. She started handing them out. "Aiden, you're rooming with Ethan. Emily, you're across the hall in room 301."

  I gave her a weird look. "I get my own room?"

  She winked at me and said, "How about you just go check it out?" I glanced warily at her, but followed Aiden up to my room, who insisted on carrying my bags for me.

  I opened my door and screamed at what I found waiting inside for me. It was my best friend, Kira. She was sitting on one of the beds. I tackled her.

  "I can't believe you're here. You told me you had classes," I cried.

  Kira lived next door to us growing up, but when it came time to go to college she went to the University of Texas at Austin. I hadn’t seen her in over a year.

  “I missed you so much,” she said as she enveloped me in a big hug.

  "Ethan, get your ass in here!" I yelled. He came around the corner almost immediately.

  "Whoa … Kira!!" He shouted and jumped on top of us.

  "Oh my god," we both groaned.

  Damn it, did Ethan not realize he wasn't a little boy anymore? His weight was crushing us. After trying to get out from underneath him, I glanced towards the door and noticed Aiden leaning against the frame with his arms crossed and a grin on his face.

  I smiled at him. He nodded his head towards the hallway, asking me if I'd follow him. I pushed Ethan off of me and headed out the door.

  "Hey, what's up?"

  "Want to go and check out the grounds with me?"

  "Sure, just let me grab a couple things first."

  I went in and put my flip flops back on and grabbed my purse.

  When I got back out to the hallway, Aiden took my hand and we walked towards the stairwell, an unspoken agreement to take the long way.

  "So, what do you think of Erica?" I asked with a nervous grin.

  "She's something," he said.

  I wasn't sure how to take it. I mean, it could be that he now had this huge crush on her like I figured he would, or he was just humoring me because he knew I liked laughing at her.

  "Yeah?"

  "Yep."

  I looked at him and saw that he was purposely doing this. I huffed.

  "Fine. What do you mean by something?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

  He grinned triumphantly. "You were wrong earlier about how I would know what you meant when I saw her. I still think you're pretty flawless."

  I blushed and ducked my head.

  He moved his hand so his fingers intertwined with mine. We ended up standing in front of a huge pool, which over looked the ocean. "My sister is so spoiled," I said randomly.

  "Why do you say that? Plenty of people get married in Cancún."

  "Yeah, I know, but we grew up without much money. So I guess now it's just, that nothing is ever good enough for her. I almost feel bad for Kane, not because I think she'll cheat on him or anything like that, but he's always going to end up dealing with her ridiculous demands." I shook my head.

  “If you really love someone, you don’t need all this pomp and circumstance. A wedding should just be about you and the man you want to spend the rest of your life with. Why do you need a hundred people watching you exchange your vows?”

  I sighed. “Whatever, I’m just being ridiculous. Don’t listen to me.”

  He pulled me into him, so that we were standing face to face. “I happen to agree with you. I never understood the concept of big weddings either.”

  I was sure he was about to kiss me, but instead he pulled away and we continued our stroll around the hotel gardens before heading back in to get dressed for dinner.

  When we got back to our respective rooms, Kira helped me curl my hair into large, long, ringlets. I wasn’t sure what to wear, but we finally decided on a blue sundress with a light brown leather belt that matched my gladiator sandals perfectly.

  We opened our door at the same time that Aiden and Ethan opened theirs.

  "Hey handsome!" I winked at Aiden, but Ethan faked being bashful and said "aww, thanks." We all laughed.

  Ethan held out his arm and escorted Kira downstairs. Aiden and I stood there for a moment, checking each other out, before he held his arm out for me to take.

  "You look beautiful."

  I blushed and then smiled up at him.

  “Thank you.”

  He was wearing a light blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and dark wash jeans. He looked delicious.

  “The color of your shirt makes your eyes look amazing … In a manly way of course," I corrected.

  He grinned. "Of course."

  Downstairs, everyone was waiting for us, including my parents who before now, I hadn’t seen yet. They flew out to Cancún the day before my brother and I did.

  "You're gorgeous this evening Kitten," Dad said as he kissed my forehead.

  "Thanks Daddy. You're looking rather dapper yourself." I winked at him and then hugged my mom.

  "Who's the arm candy?"

  I gave her a confused look and glanced behind me.

  "Oh, Aiden? He sat beside me on the plane and turned out to be one of Kane's groomsmen. We've been talking a lot since then." She gave me a look that said that she knew all and I couldn't hide anything from her.

  We all piled onto the bus. Unfortunately, there were a few too many people so Ethan and I didn’t have a spot.

  My brother didn’t let that bother him. He picked Kira up and placed her on his lap.

  I looked around. "Seriously guys?"

  I glanced at Aiden and noticed that he patted his lap.

  "Ha, no. I'm way too big for that."

  He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me to him but I tugged my hand away, so he stood up and wrapped his arms around my waist, making me fall onto his lap as he sat down.

  "
Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

  He laughed loudly. "I'm fine honey." He was still chuckling while I just glared at him.

  He laughed again and then kissed my shoulder.

  "I know you're not really mad."

  "Um, I'm not?"

  "Nope. You forget, I've seen you mad before Emily.”

  “When?”

  “On the plane, when Ethan told me that you liked me."

  The memory of that little embarrassing moment irritated me so I shot a glare towards Ethan, who was too busy playing with Kira’s hair to notice. I made a mental note to remember to punch him in the gut later.

  For the rest of the trip, Aiden kept one hand on my hip while the other rested on my knee. I could feel his hot breath on my neck and it was driving me wild. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. My skin rippled pleasurably under his touch.

  We were on a bus with my family and all these other people and yet, all I could do was think about Aiden ripping my clothes off. What in the heck is wrong with me?

  I tried to focus on something else, anything but Aiden’s gentle touch.

  Erica was leaning across the aisle to talk to one of her old sorority sisters while Kane spoke to Adam.

  Kirk and Ross were busy chatting up Erica’s other sorority sisters.

  The parents and grandparents were all enjoying themselves too. At the restaurant, Erica and Kane led everybody off the bus and we followed in couples. Aiden held onto my arm before I could get tangled up with anybody else. I laughed as he dragged me down the stairs, careful that I didn't fall.

  "Careful super star, not all of us are as good on our feet as you are." I warned him with a wink.

  He leaned down and whispered seductively into my ear "If you think I'm good on my feet, wait until you see me off them."

  I stood there in shock as he pulled us towards the doors, laughing loudly.

  "Where did the polite guy from the airplane go?" I asked him once we were sat at an incredibly long table.

  "He decided that he needed to make you realize that he's interested."

  I could hardly wrap my head around the fact that Aiden Swift was actually hitting on me. He wasn’t just some random good looking guy. He was a famous football player that probably had girls throwing themselves at him. What did he want with someone like me?

  I wasn't sure how to respond to what he told me, so I took a drink of my soda and turned my attention to my sister, who was beginning to make a speech.

  Chapter 3

  "I know everyone is hungry so I promise I’ll keep this short. I wanted to thank you all for putting your entire lives on hold and joining us here in Cancún. It was here in Cancún, that I met Kane just over a year ago. I couldn’t imagine any other group of people that I’d rather spend my last week as a single woman with.”

  Everybody laughed and Erica bent down to kiss Kane.

  A little while later, after eating some amazing food, an island band started playing tropical music. Aiden pulled me on to the dance floor with him.

  "I can't dance," I protested, refusing to move an inch once he'd gotten me to the group of people already dancing.

  "Everybody can dance Emily, you just need the right person to lead you."

  He put one arm around my back and took my left hand in his right, then moved us back and forth, wiggling his hips.

  "That's some pretty intense hip action there, been taking hula lessons?" I teased anything to distract him from my horrible sense of rhythm.

  "No, but my mom signed me up for dance lessons when I was a child, claiming that if I spent all my time playing football, I'd be too violent."

  I laughed. "Did it help?"

  "Nah, but it did improve my game."

  I nodded understandingly and realized that I was actually dancing.

  "Wow, look at that. I'm not even stepping on your toes."

  Aiden laughed.

  "That's what we should have done. Here."

  He lifted me easily and set me on his feet before continuing. The new arrangement made our bodies press against each other, allowing me to feel every muscle in his body as he moved.

  "How do you do that?"

  "Do what?" He asked as he looked into my eyes.

  "Pick me up like I'm a rag doll instead of a five foot eleven, nineteen year old."

  "Comes with the territory. I have to be strong for football."

  "Wow. I should have met me a football player a long time ago," I said whimsically.

  "If that was the case, I couldn't be dancing with you like this. That would be tragic."

  I thought he was joking until I looked into his eyes. I watched in amazement as he slowly leaned down, his lips getting closer and closer to mine. At the very last moment, I snapped out of my daze and jumped back, out of his grasp and off of his feet.

  "I'm sorry. I, I just can't do this right now." I motioned between us.

  Turning away, I ran to the bathroom. I was leaning against the sink when the door opened and Kira walked in.

  "So, what exactly was that?" She asked, with one hand on her hip.

  "I panicked. He was leaning down to kiss me and I wanted it, but at the last second I came to my senses. I only just met him today Kira."

  I looked at her, my eyes desperate for her to understand.

  She sighed and shook her head at me.

  “Emily, I’m not suggesting you have a random hook up or shag some guy you just met, but it was just a kiss and he is obviously really interested in you. Everyone can see that. He can’t take his eyes off of you.”

  I sighed and put my head in my hands.

  "This wasn't supposed to happen," I groaned.

  I felt her arms wrap around my shoulders.

  "I know, but it did, now you get to put your big girl panties on and handle this like a grownup.

  I sighed. I knew she was right, but it still didn’t make accepting what I needed to do any easier.

  "I both hate and love you at the same time, Kira."

  She grinned. "As it should be."

  I slowly walked out of the bathroom and spotted Aiden sitting at the table. I slid into my seat next to him.

  "I'm sorry I ran off like that. I don't want you to think that I didn't want to kiss you, because I do… a lot. I'm just, I can't do something that kissing could lead to with somebody I just met on an airplane this afternoon."

  He looked taken aback and didn't respond.

  "Are we okay? Or should I start groveling to get you to speak to me again?" I asked nervously.

  "So I wasn't an ass for making a move?" He asked sheepishly.

  I shook my head vehemently. "Absolutely not." I groaned. "God, this is so awkward."

  I leaned forward and put my lips to his. He was shocked at first, but eventually responded. I pulled away and touched my hand to my lips. "You must think that I'm crazy," I whispered, suddenly embarrassed.

  He pulled me back to his lips and ran his fingers through my hair.

  "Yeah,” he murmured against my lips. “But I doubt I'd like you very much if you were predictable."

  We pulled each other tighter, and my tongue flicked out lightly to taste his lips. He exhaled heavily before opening his mouth to me and meeting my tongue with his. One of his hands was making its way to my waist when I heard someone clear their throat.

  We sprung apart to find Ethan and Kira standing there, arms crossed and with smirks on their faces.

  "Came to your senses, huh?" Kira mocked.

  I didn’t respond. What could I say? I was already so embarrassed by all of this. It’s like I’m not even myself anymore. Something about being around Aiden has turned me into this hormonal monster.

  Aiden gave me a curious look, but I just turned and took a sip of my soda.

  We spent the rest of the night dancing and having an amazing time. On the ride home, I ended up getting an actual seat next to Aiden. I was sitting between him and the side of the bus, leaning against his body with my legs swung over his.

  Aiden
wrapped one arm around my shoulder and I held both of his hands in mine, looking at his fingers. They were about an inch longer than mine.

  "You make me feel small."

  He chuckled. "That's because you are small."

  "I'm not small," I corrected him, and compared to most girls I really wasn’t.

  "Smaller than me." He shrugged.

  "That's not exactly difficult. I think most of society is smaller than you. How tall are you, anyway?"

  "Six foot five.”

  I burst out laughing. "Okay Sasquatch."

  He rolled his eyes and squeezed his arms around my shoulders lightly.

  We pulled up to the hotel and most of the group stumbled off the bus. Those of us, who didn't drink, walked off with dignity. Aiden walked me to my door, which wasn't really out of his way, considering that his room was just across the hall.

  "Good night," I said as I kissed him lightly on the lips and pulled away, holding my hand out to shake his. "It was nice to meet you."

  He laughed and kissed me again, grabbing my hand to pull me in to him.

  I grinned and walked into my room, the smile never leaving my face as I got ready for bed and fell asleep.

  The next morning, when we were all eating breakfast, Erica announced that we'd be spending most of the day at the beach. Everyone, but me was excited.

  "How come you look like somebody spit in your orange juice?" Aiden whispered in my ear, squeezing the hand he'd been holding since we sat down.

  I grumbled and whispered back. "I hate the beach."

  His raised eyebrow clearly asking me to elaborate. "Look around at the girls here. I'm going to be huge compared to them."

  He rolled his eyes and I glared at him.

  "You wouldn't understand, you're a guy."

  I bit my lip as we all walked back to our rooms to change.

  Kira put her hands on her hips and said "Okay, let's see what you've brought with you." She knew how much I hated the beach.

  I sighed and regretted my decision in the suits I brought with me. I must have been insane when I packed!

  She opened my suitcase and gasped. "Oh my god, did you bring these by choice?" At the end, she laughed.

  "Shut up." I really had no idea what I had been thinking. My "swim suit" was more like tiny pieces of fabric. My bikini was sea foam green with ruffles and large golden circles. It was more of an afterthought to even grab something to swim in.