1 Cherries and Cinnamon

"You little roach! Get out of here! I don't want gays in my store!" The storeman yells. "I'm sorry, sir, I'm leaving okay?" I say rushedly, not wanting him to yell anymore. I quickly grab my groceries and hurry away. As I walk outside the fresh air hits my face and the tears trickling down my face start to pour. I begin to cry, hard. I start walking into an alleyway where I slide my back down the wall and collapse. I don't want to go home yet. As I let out these sobs, passersby stare at me. I lay there for what feels like forever then finally pass out.

I open my eyes to see some guy standing over me. "So you're awake," he says. I'm shocked at his deep voice and British accent, but I like it. "Who are you and where am I?" I ask. I look around and I can see I'm in somebody's apartment. I'm in a big wide bed with soft warm blankets and the air smells like cologne. Mom's gonna be worried. "Who am I… My name is Aiden. Where are you… you're in my bed," He says. "What's your name?" He asks. "Callum," I say. "Hm, okay. Are you hungry?" He asks awkwardly. "Yes, but I have my own food," I answer. "You sound very cute when you get done crying by the way," He says. I roll my eyes, trying not to blush at the compliment. Why? Just why?

"You're not eating those, it rained. Your food got ruined. I'm going to make you chicken alfredo and you can just sit on the bed and rest while I get cooking and feel free to choose clothes from my closet to wear and put yours in the laundry basket to wash," I go to the closet and look at his clothes uncertainty, some of them look too big to wear and they are too formal for me. It's not like I'll be staying for long so I might as well. I see a big hoodie and decide I want to wear it. Aiden watches me as he sits on the edge of the bed. "That would be cute on you," He says quietly. I take his advice and grab it. "Um, I need… under-" I cough. His face goes red. "Oh… right. 'Cause… yeah," He says awkwardly. "Are you um… a boy or a girl…" He asks. "I was assigned male at birth, but I'm nonbinary. What about you?" I ask. "I'm a dude, um… I'll get you the underwear,'' Aiden says while he turns 50 shades of red.

I turn my face away. Did I really just ask for underwear from a stranger? That's so embarrassing. A few minutes later Aiden comes back with a pair of underwear and I go to the bathroom to put the clothes on. I can smell the food before I see it as I walk into the very small kitchen. I watch Aiden's muscles as he moves in the kitchen. For some reason, he cooks shirtless, which I find very attractive. Wait, you can't fall in love with someone you just met. Besides, how do I know he's not a kidnapper? What if he poisoned the food or going to hurt me when I'm asleep?

Aiden looks at me and smirks. "If I was going to hurt you in your sleep, I would've done it already," "Stop stressing yourself out, Love," He winks at me. Did he just read my mind? Is he a mind reader? That's creepy and hot. Did he just- he called me Love…. I feel something dripping down my nose, I look and see red liquid, Is that blood? Did I just have a nosebleed?! Aiden rushes over to me with a kleenex. "I'm fine," I mumble. I try to get him to stop wiping my nose with the kleenex but Aiden says "You know, You're cuter when you're stubborn". I pout and say ¨ Well you've only known me for two hours, so why do you keep saying I'm cute if we don't even know each other that well". Aiden sits me down in a chair and puts his hands on both sides of it. "If I remember correctly, I only called you cute maybe twice, but trust me…there's more," He says, in a tone I can't place. I feel my heart beating fast when his hand brushes against my cheek. What if I just lean in a bit and place my lips on his, I wonder if they're soft?. Maybe just a little taste wouldn't hurt.

Aiden seems to read my mind. He leans forward just a little bit, then turns his head away and walks over to the pot of noodles. Did he just trick me? Wait, what was I thinking? I can't kiss a stranger that I just met. Aiden starts to put noodles in a bowl and put sauce on them. "Maybe later," he says just so I can barely hear it. I need to clear my head, being here in the same room as a stranger like him is bad for me. Ahh but his abs are so fine, he's so fine. Wait, what am I thinking? Stop acting like a pervert. Get your mind out of the gutter, Callum.

Aiden offers me a bowl of fabulous chicken alfredo. He can cook sheesh. I want to throw this bowl at his face. Aiden says "Um you okay? Your face is super red," I then go to grab my bowl again and it falls and lands on my lap. I wince in pain but dont scream.

OUCH. Aiden grabs the bowl and says "Take off your hoodie, I'll get you new clothes to wear¨. I say ¨ But I'm not wearing a shirt underneath the hoodie, and plus…I like wearing it." I say. Aiden smiles. ¨ It's only me and you, no one else is going to see you shirtless besides… you saw me shirtless so what's the difference" I hesitantly take off the hoodie and turn my head so I don't see Aidens eyes staring at me. Aiden then walks out of the room while I look down at my body. I'm very skinny and look girlish.

Why can't I have a body like that stranger has? His body's so perfect and mine is more… imperfect. Aiden comes back with a shirt that looks too big for me but I put it on anyway. It's better than being shirtless at least. The sleeves of the shirt hang loosely and cover up the short shorts I'm wearing. Great, now it looks like I'm not wearing anything underneath. Hopefully, the stranger doesn't think or do anything perverted to me. Wait, Didn't he say his name started with an A. Is it Alex, no um oh well I´ll just call him a stranger for now. Aiden says "Well I guess we can go to sleep now, I'll show you the bedroom that you'll sleep in and I'll sleep on the couch".

I cross my arms. "We sleep on opposite ends of the bed," I say. He smiles to himself and hands me a bowl of cold fried chicken from his fridge. "No. And warm this up. Eat it, then wash your hands and go to bed," He commands. …I like that. I shiver as his cold fingertips brush my cheek again. "What are you gonna do if I don't wanna?" I mumble. "What was that?" He asks teasingly. He knows he's hot. "I said-" BOOM. He'd picked me up and slammed me against the wall. "You said nothing. From now on, you don't speak unless I say you can. Do you understand me?" He says calmly but sternly.

I know I'm blushing, which I know gives him more power over me. Stop blushing! I nod and he smirks. He lets me go but immediately laces his fingers in mine. "How old are you?" He asks. We start walking to the bedroom and I'm so mesmerized by his beauty I forget to answer. He stops in the doorway. He clears his throat and repeats himself. "How old are you?"

This time he sounds more demanding. "Sorry! I'm 17 my name is Callum im omnisexual and genderfluid," I say quickly. He nods. "I'm 19 and my name is Aiden," he says. He didn't share his sexuality. "Oh okay that's cool…," That means he's legally an adult and I'm still a minor. I turn 18 on June 3rd. He puts his hand on my lower back and gently pushes me into the room. "Go lay down," He says gently. He notices the bowl of chicken still in my hand and rolls his eyes. He takes it and puts it in the microwave. "You don't listen, do you?" He says with annoyance. I feel bad. "Aiden, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to, I swear!" What if he starts to hate me? That makes it even worse. He stares at me. The timer on the microwave goes off so he quickly turns it off.

"It's okay, Love, I'm not mad at you," Aiden says. I can feel my heart leap every time he calls me Love. "Why do you call me Love? Or is that just some British thing?" I ask. He laughs as he grabs some clothes and a towel. "Because I-" He stops. I wait for a couple seconds to see if he's going to tell me. "Because I….? What?" I prompt. He opens the door to his bathroom. "Don't worry about it…. I'm going to go take a shower," he enters the room and closes the door behind him. "I'm an over-thinker. I'm going to worry," I say, even though he can't hear me. I lay down and eat chicken while I watch TV until he comes back.

After a few minutes of watching Ouran High, I hear the bathroom door open, so I look over. Aiden comes out of the bathroom with a white towel around his waist and the ends of his black hair dripping water. He strokes his hair back and walks toward his dresser. I pretend I'm not watching up until the moment that he takes the towel off. Don't look. Don't be a pervert. Aiden changes into a pair of black sweatpants, but stays shirtless. He ruffles his hair with the towel to dry it. I don't remember him putting on underwear.

"If you're staring because I look bad, I'm sorry," He says. I shake my head. "You actually look really good-" I try to cover up what I said by eating the food. He just puts his hands on both sides of me. "Hm," I swear if he turns his head again this boy is gonna end up- I feel his lips on mine. They taste like cherries and cinnamon. His breath is minty. It feels like the air is humming with electricity. I can hear my own heartbeat surge as he holds my chin. I think I like you. Aiden pulls back and backs up a bit. "You asked me what I was going to say, earlier," He says. "It's just a British thing. Because I'm british. That's what I was going to say,". Sure we believe you.

"Mhm. Can I take a shower?" I say as Aiden lays his head on my shoulder.

Aiden says ¨ why? Aren't you comfortable like this ? ¨

¨ I need to take a shower or I'll stink and maybe you wont like to hang around me when I´m stinky would you ? ¨I say . Aiden puts his lips by my ear and says, `` You dont stink Love , you smell like my cologne and mint¨. Dang he knows I use his cologne because it smells like him .I lay my head down on my pillow and cover up and Aiden lays down and wraps his hands around my waist which is comforting. I feel my eyes drifting off and I fall asleep.

I'm sitting at a table with Aiden across from me . I hear his beautiful voice speaking to me. His voice always makes my heart beat fast and my body warm inside. I want to tell him that I love him and want to live together forever. I say ¨ Aiden there´s something i need to tell you , I…. Love you and I want to be with you forever¨. I see Aidens smile turn into a disgusted look and he gets up from his chair . ¨ I never Loved you , I just teased you because you're easy to tease and that's disgusting , I never want to see you again¨ He says as he walks away. I run and grab his arm but he pulls it away. I feel tears running down my face. Stupid Call. So. Very. Stupid. I start running away from the cafe and find myself mysteriously awake. I'm laying on my side and Aiden is hugging me from behind, like a big spoon, little spoon type thing

Chapter 2

."Hey beautiful," Aiden says in his very astonishing sleepy voice. No. "Good morning," I say. His voice is deep and melodious, even when he just woke up. My voice is all up and down and in and out then high-pitched then it levels out. "How'd you sleep?" He asks. "Good," I lie. "What'd you dream about?" He asks. Why do you want to know, Jerk? "Nothing much, you?" I reply. "Was your dream about me?" He asks. Yes. "No,". "Are you lying to me?". Yes. "No," I love you, dumbo. Aiden stares at me. "What-" he cuts me off by gently placing his hand on my hip and his lips on mine. His Lips tasted again like cherry and cinnamon . How can I let him kiss me after what he said in my dream? What if it's true? What if it's true that he does it to tease me ? i would let him use me for his game. I pull away and head for the bathroom to change. How can I try to ignore his teasing? I'm not easy to tease like he thinks I am . After I change and walk out of the bathroom , I bump into Aiden and get knocked over. I'm about to hit the floor until someone grabs my arm and I hit something hard. I look to see my face in Aidens chest. "Going somewhere My Love?" he says. My love… "No just to the kitchen to eat," as I make my way to the kitchen. When I'm about to walk in , Aiden grabs my arm and pins me to the wall."I'm going to ask you some questions, don't you dare lie to me." he says. I wonder if he's a detective, he's good at this. Aiden unpins me and starts walking to the kitchen, where a buffet is laid out by chefs in white.