I stood frozen on the sidewalk. Torn between wanting to lie, and wanting to be brave. I had been brave earlier when Carter has tried to push me around, and I wanted to be brave with Aiden now. But being vulnerable requires a different kind of bravery. It requires your heart to be brave. The most fragile part of you to bare itself, hold its breath, and pray it does not break by revealing every crack and scar it possesses.

Standing up for yourself is bravery. But revealing who you truly were is the kind of daring and gutsy thing that I hadn't been known for.

I was always left feeling flustered or embarrassed because Aiden's very existence in my life left me breathless. But I was going to fight for my chance to breathe. And try my hardest to be the kind of gutsy that the characters I wrote about would be proud of. Because that is what they were. They were far braver than I was. They represented everything I wanted to be.

"That was my first date," I said, looking up at Aiden with all the confidence I could muster. "That train wreck back there that masqueraded as a romantic display was my very first date." My hands felt weird as they hung limply at my sides. I needed pockets to hide them in.

"I wish it wasn't. Because it's embarrassing. Who writes stories about romance and adventure with zero life experience to back it up. I'm twenty-two. It's sad—"

Aiden searched my eyes, his own unreadable. "Just because you are careful with your heart doesn't mean your dating choices are embarrassing. There is nothing wrong with not having dated anyone." He looked away. "Besides, a fake date doesn't count."

He continued walking down the sidewalk. "So your dating record is still clean."

I hurried to keep up with him and smiled to myself. "Okay, so what about you?"

"What about me?" Aiden asked as the limo approached.

"What was your worst date?"

We climbed into the back of the limo, and Aiden gave the driver directions to a pizza place nearby. Then settling back into his seat across from mine, he ignored my question.

"Come on Aiden, you literally just witnessed mine. Spill. Worst date story."

He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Seven months ago..." he paused opening and closing his hands in a nervous tick. "I proposed to my girlfriend."

I raised a brow but didn't dare say a word. There was clearly a lot more hovering below the surface. But my mind was abuzz with questions. Aiden had been engaged? What happened? Is he still engaged?

"We'd been dating for eight months. Long-distance because of my job. And I wanted to change things. Have us both live in the same zip code."

He swallowed and looked at the ceiling. "So I surprised her... we had been talking about getting married for a few months by that point."

He paused, weighing each word carefully before he continued. "I took her to a restaurant, got down on one knee."

Aiden swallowed, a flash of pain crossing his baby blue eyes. "And she told me she wanted to get married, but that I wasn't the person she wanted to do that with."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "The icing on the cake was the 'proposal live stream' I set up. She had always wanted her life to be broadcasted for all to see."

I gasped. "So..."

"So all of my family and friends got a front-row seat to my heart being broken? Yeah."

I was silent for a long time, processing Aiden in a new light. A boy who had once been in love. Who had gotten his heart broken. Who had a whole history of love that made me feel so inexperienced by comparison. He had been willing to change everything to make it work and it hadn't been enough."You win."

He laughed bitterly. "Yeah, well. Shouldn't have tried something I wasn't ready for."

"Marriage?"

He shook his head. "No. Putting my relationship before my job. I quit right before proposing. She hated how much I traveled." Aiden leaned back and stretched out his arms. "I loved that job. But I couldn't have both. And I choose poorly. So with no job and no relationship I moved home."

Aiden finally looked back at me. "And that's the worst date I've ever had."

I shook my head, eyes wide. "Damn. Okay, I'm never complaining about some idiot making me eat a kale chip ever again."

He gave me a sad smile. "I've had those. You have every reason to complain. They suck."

We pulled up outside of the pizza joint and Aiden slipped out to pick up my order, giving me a private moment with my thoughts. I was so distracted by the idea of Aiden's past life, that when my phone started ringing, I didn't bother looking to see who was calling.

"Hello?" I asked, half distracted.

"Laliana? How was your meeting with Carter?" Sanders asked, sounding somewhat flustered.

"Sanders? Oh... um... Terrible."

She groaned. "I'm so sorry."

Even though she couldn't see me, I rolled my eyes. "Sure you are," I replied dryly. "You got what you wanted. A bunch of pictures."

She was quiet for a long moment. "I wanted you to get out there, yes. That's true. But..." she sighed. "I really think this will be good for you. Even with a rough start." She raced on, so I wouldn't interrupt. "You spend so much time by yourself Laliana. I know you feel isolated. And even though you don't like this, meeting new people is good for you."

"But you should have talked to me about it. We are a team Sanders and..." I swallowed feeling hurt. "You just left me in the dark."

"I know," she replied, her voice cracking.

"So... where do we go from here?" I asked. "Because I can guarantee, neither Carter nor I want a second date."

Sanders chuckled. "Scared him off?"

I snorted. "No!" I smiled, slipping back into our regular pattern of witty banter. "He tried to feed me kale chips. Instant pass for me."

She laughed. "Note to self, never offer Laliana kale chips."

I smiled. "Yep." My phone started beeping, letting me know someone was on the other line. "Oh Sanders, hold on. Someone's calling."

"Hello?"

"Laliana Summers. You've been quite busy this evening," said a gravely distorted voice on the other end of the phone. A chill ran down my spine. I knew who it was as sure as I knew my favorite pizza topping was pepperoni. I was talking to the stalker. And somehow, he had gotten ahold of my number.

"I'm surprised. Carter doesn't really seem like your type."

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice far calmer than I expected.

"Straight to the point. Always business with you. Never taking a chance to stop and talk to your fans... or your friends... It's what has gotten you into this mess." A garbled chuckle filled the phone and sent the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

"But since you insist on being all work and no play, I will help you make your next dating choice."

"How do you know—."

"Oh there are plenty of things about you that I know... Like that list with those celebrity names. It's sad that your agent has to force someone to go out with you. But you never were much of the dater."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out. We were so close you and I."

"Well putting a strange voice filter on the phone doesn't do much to jog my memory," I muttered.

"Always coping with humor. Still the same little Laliana." Another chuckle. "Well, my time is up. So I will make this quick. Go out with Decklan Blake next."

"Why would I take fake dating advice from you?"

"Besides the fact that I have a knack for getting close to you when you are at your most vulnerable?"

Aiden's face flashed into my mind. "I'm not alone anymore," I growled.

"Nothing good lasts forever. Go out with Decklan Blake or I will make sure that bodyguard of yours won't be guarding you anymore." A menacing laugh filled the phone, and then the line went dead.

I was patched back through to the other line where Sanders waited. "Hey Sanders?" I said, trying not to sound terrified. Spots filled my vision and I found it hard to breathe. "I think I'll go out with Decklan Blake next if that's okay."

But I didn't hear Sanders' reply. My vision went dark and I passed out in the back of the limo, panic finally winning out.

---

Have you ever gotten into a fight with a good friend? How long did it take for you guys to make up?