Free Girl Next Door - The Complete Series by C.C. Wood Page B

door.”
    She looked surprised, but also not too bitchy, which made me wonder if she was really as bad as Aidan had led me to believe. “Well,” she began, “I just wanted to drop by and let him know I wouldn’t need his help moving out of Patrick’s apartment. We worked things out.”
    Her smile seemed pretty sincere and sweet.
    I smiled back. “I’ll be sure to tell him.”
    She hesitated but spoke anyway. “I hate to pry, but how long have you and Aidan been seeing each other?”
    This turn was making me a little wary. “A little over a week.”
    Anya smiled and laughed a little. “Wow, Aidan works fast. Well, I hope I see you around, Nat. You seem nicer than the other women he’s dated. Maybe we’ll be sisters-in-law.” She paused. “It was nice to meet you, Nat. Bye.”
    Anya turned and strutted down the walk. She opened her car door, looked back at me, and waved. I watched her climb in and drive off before I shut the front door. I moved slowly to Aidan’s living room, gathered my clothes and purse. I wrote Aidan a short note, telling him I would see him later, and went out the back door, locking it behind me. I crept out his back yard and to my back gate. I used my spare key, which was hidden on the bottom of the mat. Literally, I kept the key attached to the underside of the door mat. I knew most people might leave a key under a mat, but mine was attached to the mat. I figured most would-be thieves wouldn’t bother to flip the mat completely over and inspect the bottom. So far, I seemed to have been right.
    So, I unlocked my back door and went into the house. Though I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go back to bed, I knew there was no way I could go back to sleep now. I started a pot of coffee, but decided to shower while it brewed. I also threw back a couple of over-the-counter pain meds.
    After my shower and coffee, I curled up on my bed and watched the sunlight and shadows intermingle on my wall. My mind, however, was on the things Anya said. She seemed pretty nice and sincere, but her words were bugging me. She thought Aidan and I were serious and that I was nicer than other women that Aidan had dated. While this was not necessarily a bad thing, I was beginning to think the same things, and that was really, really bad. Aidan had warned me. We were fuck buddies who also enjoyed each other’s company outside the bedroom. I couldn’t afford to get attached. I would end up with a massive broken heart.
    In the middle of my contemplation, I heard the doorbell. I was pretty sure I knew who it was, so I ignored it. A few minutes later, my cell started ringing on the nightstand. I glanced at the display. Aidan. I let the call go to voicemail.
    I needed a little space and time to think before I saw him again. Obviously, I wasn’t keeping the emotional distance I had agreed to, so I needed to back off, fast. Otherwise, this would end even uglier than Jack, only my role would be reversed. I’d be beating on Aidan’s door and he’d be telling me to move on because that’s what he was doing. I so wanted to cry, but I bit my lip hard until it passed.
    I realized Aidan must have given up, when the doorbell didn’t ring again, and my phone chimed for a text. I opened the app.
    Call me as soon as you get this.
    It was from Aidan. I ignored the text and continued with my thoughts. It was time to distance myself. I decided no more sleepovers, no more movie nights, and no more dinners eaten in my living room while we talked about our day. That was boyfriend-girlfriend territory, and would not help me to keep my emotions uninvolved.
    I also decided to actually set the expiration date. I would disengage from Aidan in two weeks. If I jumped him at least twice a day for two more weeks, then I would probably be okay in a year or two to have sex with another man and not think of Aidan.
    My decision made, I rolled out of bed and grabbed my phone. I scrolled through my contact list to Aidan’s name, and