Free Aimee and the Heartthrob by Ophelia London Page B

this epic crush on you back then, Miles. You knew it and Nick knew it and he told me how you made fun of it. Made fun of me .”
    Miles felt the blood leave his face. “What?”
    “Don’t act so shocked.” She crossed her arms. “I’m sure I was pretty blatant about it back then. Even my dad told me how I used to follow you guys around. But I was twelve and you were nice to me and so cute, but that’s no excuse for you to be mean about it behind my back. Did it make you feel uncool with your friends that some scrawny little nobody had a crush on you? What you did was mean, and you hurt my feelings, badly. So yeah, that’s why you’re a huge assjacket and why I don’t want to be here, or anywhere you are.”
    The accusation knocked him speechless; he’d never felt so blindsided. Nick was his best friend, and with Aimee being Nick’s sister, he’d always felt close to her by extension. But everything she’d just said was complete news.
    “Aimee, I…” He pushed a hand through his hair, still damp from the finale. “None of that happened.”
    “Yeah, sure.” The tone in her voice was more hurt now than mad.
    “I didn’t know you had a crush on me. You were always, you know, there . But I never saw you like that.”
    She rubbed her nose and looked away. “Gee, thanks.”
    “I’m sorry, but you were twelve . I just didn’t. And I didn’t know how you felt about me.” Were any of those feelings still hanging on? Not that it mattered, but he did wonder. “I’m sorry that I didn’t know, really sorry.” He felt the honesty of his words. What would’ve happened if he had known back then? Finally, she blinked up at him. “If I’d known, I would’ve been more…careful. Crushes can suck.”
    “Oh.” She dropped her chin. “Yeah, they can. So, what about Nick?”
    “I can’t remember Nick and me ever talking about you. But I swear, I never made fun of you.”
    “Why would he say that, then?”
    Miles shook his head, but he had a hunch it probably had to do with his reputation—even if it was epically exaggerated. “I’m not sure,” he said. “Think it could’ve been a misunderstanding?”
    “Doubtful. It was like he was purposefully trying to get me to stop liking you.”
    Miles lifted an eyebrow. “Did it work?”
    “Like a frickin’ charm.”
    He wasn’t crazy about that answer, or how fast Aimee had replied. If she had feelings for him once, they sure as hell were gone now. “Well, that’s a relief. There’s a code, ya know.”
    “Code?”
    “About best friends and sisters.”
    “Like that matters. There’s no need for any code because there’s nothing between us.” She blinked up at him, her brown eyes softening for the first time. “Right?”
    “Um, right. Of course. Nothing.” He looked down at his shoes as an awkward silence filled the room, which was also filling with her perfume, making it hard for him to focus on that code. “Well, again, I hope you know I’d never hurt your feelings on purpose. I’m not that guy.”
    “I didn’t think you were, Miles,” she said quietly.
    At her words, an unexpected sizzle filled his chest and fanned out. And when she lifted her big brown eyes up to him, that sizzle turned hot and headed dead south, causing him to stare at her mouth. “Thanks,” he made himself say with a smile. When Aimee Bingham smiled back, he felt like he’d won a Grammy. “So…you think I’m cute?”
    “What?”
    “You said when you had a crush on me, you thought I was cute.”
    “Thought,” she said. “Emphasizing the past tense of the verb. As in the past .”
    He couldn’t help snickering. “Ah, so you don’t anymore? Not even a little?” He flashed her a smile, the same one that got huge fangirl screams during a show.
    But Aimee didn’t scream. “You’ve got the biggest ego,” she said, though her voice was playful.
    “That’s what they tell me.”
    “At least that hasn’t changed.”
    He laughed again, enjoying the banter. It