Chapter 33 - After party (2)

Sarah guided Aiden while walking to the hotel. The roads are fairly clear due to many snowplows working through the night, but sidewalks have a significant snow on them. Sarah observed that snow is just below her knees, and she is happy that her boots are above snow level.

While walking, Aiden is silent, but his mind is racing.

'Why did she suddenly want to come to my hotel room? After things got all hot and steamy, she suddenly stopped and asked to go to a hotel... Maybe she finds that VIP room in the club is lacking comfort. Does she want us to get more intimate?' , he has his hopes.

He ignored the fact that she was checking her phone before leaving. That was not relevant in his opinion. But he wants to confirm, just to be sure, "Are we going to my room?"

"Yes", she responded.

"What do you have in mind?"

Sarah looked around and noticed other people in front of hotel. She cleared her throat, "Something that needs to be done in privacy."

His eyes lit up. Now he is confident in his assumption. He secretly praised himself for packing the protection. Not like he goes anywhere without it, but this time it's special.

…

They reached his room.

Sarah removed her coat and boots. After this, she was snow-free.

Aiden was excited, "I need to shower first."

"Sure, no problem. Just give me a laptop before you go.", she said absentmindedly.

He pulled out one laptop with a black case and logged in before handing it to Sarah.

"Thanks", she said and observed that laptop has no branding. After quick inspection, she gave a praise, "Custom made". Then her fingers got busy flying over the keyboard.

Aiden didn't look what she is doing. He was too excited, and the only thing on his mind was to take a shower without delay.

Sarah's family values their privacy. She needs to get that viral post down before her parents find out. It's not that she will get in trouble for going to a club, but Hill family puts priority on their professional achievements, and despises gossip. They firmly believe that Hill family is so harmonious and prosperous because their private life is out of the public eye.

Sarah found the original post that went viral. She hacked in the account of the owner and deleted the post. This removed all likes, comments and shares as well. That was the easy part.

Then Sarah got busy tracking cell phone for the owner. She needs to remove photo from the device, and any cloud storage, otherwise there is nothing to stop the person from posting it again.

Sarah found phone number that was used to create original post. At that time, she heard Aiden coming out of the bathroom.

She turned her head toward him and the scene she observed got her to hold her breath and freeze with her mouth slightly open.

Aiden came out of the shower with only lose fitting pajama bottoms sitting low on his hips. He was carelessly rubbing his wet hair with a towel, his v-shaped torso beautifully toned, with few water drops on his flawless skin reflecting the light.

Sarah thought that this must be the case of one of the Greek gods who descended to Earth.

He saw her reaction and showed her his most mischievous smile.

'He is irresistible! Is this normal?' , Sarah though.

It took her few seconds to come out of the daze and realize that her hands are resting on a keyboard. That reminded her of her task at hand.

"Please put some clothes on", Sarah said.

"Why?", Aiden was confused.

"I can't work when you are distracting me like this."

He walked towards her to see what she is doing.

"What are you working on?", he frowned while looking at the laptop screen.

Her eyes were glued to his perfect abdominal muscles. 'Is that what people call an eight-pack?!'

She swallowed hard, and made a strong effort to raise her eyes, and look into his face. Unfortunately for her, his face was lightly flushed since he just came out of the shower, and his still wet and messy hair just added to the effect of him being absolutely enchanting. Sarah took few deep breaths; he was so close that she could smell the shower gel he used.

"Please put some clothes on", she whispered with difficulty.

"Only if you tell me what is so important", he was sulking.

"I can't talk or think when you are like this", Sarah admitted.

He looked at her without responding with a frown on his face.

"Don't you know how handsome you are? Even if you are devil himself, I feel ready to sign my soul away to you.", she voiced her thoughts.

Aiden's expression softened. He smiled and pulled her to stand up in front of him.

He embraced her and responded: "I will take it, and in return I will give my soul to you."

He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. Sarah felt that she is losing her control with mix of his sweet words, bare chest right in front of her and his kisses. She was not able to resist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. In a second their tongues danced and explored areas of each other mouths.

As they struggled to catch their breath, Sarah said between kisses, "I really... need... to finish...this..."

He inched away and after few deep breaths asked, "What are you doing?"

"Taking down post with our photo.", she responded.

He frowned, "How long does that take?"

"That part is done, but I want to remove photo from the original device also.", she added.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, let her go, and went back to the bathroom.

Sarah was watching his retreating v-shaped back and fought with herself not to go after him. She plopped back in the chair, put her forehead in her arm and did her best to compose herself.

Few seconds later he emerged, this time with a top on.

"Can I help?", he asked.

Sarah looked at him and responded with a smile, "You already did."

He raised his eyebrows, signaling her to explain.

"You covered up, so I can focus on this", she smiled as she continued typing on the keyboard.

He pulled a chair, and sat next to her silently, watching her work. He reminded himself that this is why he came back to the University, to asses her skills. Somehow he got lost thinking about her, trying to get closer, to feel her. He caught himself daydreaming of a moment when she would label him as her boyfriend and announce it to everyone.

He forgot why he approached her in the first place, it didn't matter anymore. Not to him, at least.

Watching her work now, she didn't disappoint him.

Sarah found the phone number and hacked into the device without a problem. She confirmed that there was no access to any cloud storage in last several hours. She also checked chat apps and email accounts on the phone and didn't find any relevant activity logged. That means that photo is only local, which makes things easier. She located the photo on the device and made a copy for herself before permanently deleting it from the cell phone. With that, the issue with viral post is solved. She breathed out with relief.

"Fast, skillful and thorough." He praised her.

"Thank you." She found his comment slightly condescending.

'Did he just evaluate my work?'

Sarah was hit with a sudden realization. 'Why did I do this in front of him? And he watched! What if he reports me? It's illegal to access other people's devices and accounts without permission!' Panic showed on her face.

She was high after they kissed in the club, and when she saw the viral post, she got carried away and didn't think about her own safety. 'Now what??!'

Aiden observed changes in Sarah's expression. He saw her eyes nervously darting from him to the laptop, and he had an understanding of what is on her mind. Aiden stood up and pulled her in his embrace.

Sarah didn't hug him back. She just stood there, stiff.

The thought that she does not trust him bothered him immensely. He wanted her trust. He wanted her love. "Do you trust me?"

Aiden's question shook her up. Does she trust him? What are her options? She already exposed herself. She can't take it back. Can she even be in a relationship with him if she does not trust him?

Her arms moved around him, and she hugged him. 'That's right, I decided to trust him when I decided to be in a relationship with him. One implies the other. They are inseparable.'

Aiden exhaled in relief and tightened his hold on her. "I…" He struggled to voice his feelings. "You will not regret this."

She checked the time, and it was past 1 in the morning. "I should go home", she was aware of his closeness. She didn't want to leave.

"Why?", he whispered in her ear, which made her lose herself in a moment.

He can tell that she wants him. It's just the two of them in the room. Why does she want to go?

"Don't make things more difficult for me. I'm already struggling." Sarah lifted her head to face him. "I will come back in the morning, promise. If I don't go home now, I will need to do a lot of explaining to my family. I need some time to tell them about you, I don't want to mess this up."

Aiden reminded himself that he should follow her pace, and reluctantly nodded.

"You take rest and I will be in touch in the morning. OK?" Sarah wanted to kiss him but was afraid that she would not be able to let go. She needs to go home. Now.

His head was nodding in approval, and his eyes were telling her not to go.

She steeled herself, picked up the phone, and told receptionist to call a cab for her.

As soon as she left, Aiden plopped on the bed and stared on the ceiling for some time before getting his phone and texting his brother.

[Aiden]: "She has the skills."

He got a response few seconds later.

[Jeffrey]: "Can we trust her?"

[Aiden]: "Yes."

[Jeffrey]: "Did you talk to her?"

[Aiden]: "Not yet. I'm working on it."

…

On the way home, in the cab, Sarah was thinking where she could go with Aiden tomorrow. She was not able to decide. 'Tomorrow during breakfast, I will ask Sophia and JoAnna for suggestions' , with this thought she focused on relentless snowfall outside the window while images of Aiden lingered in her mind.