3. Aidan #3
“It’s fine,” I told him, shoving down the disappointment.
“It’s not fine. I owed both of you an apology for that, and I probably owe a lot more people apologies for it, but—”
“I meant because I’ve gotten to know him the past couple of weeks and it just…it’s been nice. You told me enough about him. I can see you never lied about who he was or what he was like, though, uh, he’s definitely calmed down from the stories you told me.”
Mika huffed out a laugh. “Yeah well. That’s good.
It’s one thing to be all over the place, partying your life away in your college years, but we’re officially adults now.
Sometimes I even worry that he was miserable because he had to ‘grow up’ more than he wanted, but I think he enjoys his life now. He’s better.”
“There’s something to be said about calming down,” I said with a shrug, tossing in the garlic.
He grew quiet as I stepped back and pulled off my outer shirt.
I had spent most of the day inside and it had been pretty cool, but now at the stove with the oven going, I was sweating.
I had a tank top underneath and let out a sigh of relief when I felt myself cool down, taking a drink of the beer before grabbing the jar of sauce and tossing my heavier shirt over a stool on my side of the counter.
Next came the pants I was wearing, but again, I’d thrown on shorts before my jeans because I didn’t know what the weather was going to be like and I preferred to be prepared, those met with the shirt and I shuffled back to the stove to put it all together.
“Hmph, I see you rediscovered the gym,” he said from behind me.
Alarm shot through me, but I faced the food rather than looking at him. “I know, I know. You had to drag me to the gym back then. I was content to ride out the youth and good genetics to keep looking good. Then I realized I couldn’t rely on it as much.”
“So…vanity.”
“Sort of…it was when I discovered I was getting winded going up steps I realized it was time I rediscovered the gym. And then I realized it was making me look better and feel better. And any time I went too long without going, I felt…restless. So you know, a lot of things.”
“Hmph,” he said again, and I wondered what was about to come out of his mouth. “I also haven’t noticed you smoking.”
Disappointment flashed through me, and I pushed it away. Jesus, we’d just got on speaking terms. It was stupid as hell to let some idiot part of my brain make me want…attention, compliments? From him. “Two years now. That took longer than working out.”
“Smoking is a lot harder to kick for a lot of people.”
“Don’t tell me what I already know,” I said with a snort. “Even talking about it makes my fingers itch.”
I took the bread out and turned the sauce down so it stopped bubbling.
I turned to look at him, knowing it was time to alert everyone that the food was done.
It was a miracle no one had shown up to see when it would be ready.
I had heard the occasional bark of laughter and Carter’s loud mouth from down the hallway, but no one had wandered in. I knew it was Reno’s doing.
“What?” he asked.
I stared at him, taking in the sight and noting the differences between the college kid I’d known and fallen in love with, and the man who was both known and unknown to me.
There was a scar on the knuckles of his right hand that hadn’t been there before, and I wondered how he’d got that.
His eyes were as green as ever, and although I knew they were the same shade as Reno’s, his seemed darker, more thoughtful and rich.
He was paler than Reno, but darker than he used to be and, well, he had grown bigger since I’d last seen him too.
He was different and the same, and my feelings…
were different and the same. Part of me wanted to reach out and brush my fingers along that knuckle scar, but I drew back.
The younger me would have avoided touching him because I wouldn’t want him to think I was inviting him sexually, because I wouldn’t be able to guarantee anything would happen.
The current me also didn’t want him to think I was inviting him sexually, but…
that was because we weren’t together anymore and that idea was laughable.
“You’re thinking thoughts you don’t think you should think,” he said, raising a brow. “Should I be worried?”
“Why, worried I’m plotting your downfall?” I asked,. It was bad enough that the average person could read my face easily, but that jackass had always been better at it, and I really didn’t need him being privy to what was going on in my head.
“I’d be surprised if you weren’t,” he said with a snort.
I knew it was time to call the others, so I said, “Look, shit is…complicated. We’re both just…there’s a lot, okay? There’s a lot.”
“I’m aware,” he said gravely. “But I want to find a way to work together peacefully, if not…maybe move past it one day.”
“Move on?” I wondered warily.
“As friends,” he said and damned if I didn’t feel a stab of disappointment that I flicked aside.
“We’ll start with being able to get along,” I said with a snort, resisting the urge to set my hand over his and held it out to him instead. “We’ll start small.”
“Small it is,” he said and shook my hand.
Warmth, it always came back to fucking warmth.
It was the warmth of our shared memories that had kept me from giving in to hating him.
And it was the warmth of his hand that made me pause for a moment and forget that it was nothing more than a friendly gesture.
It was the warmth that lingered on my fingers as I drew my hand back, and I would swear was still there as I moved toward the door.
I knocked on Cait’s door and the operator's curt voice answered. “Come in!”
I popped open the door and smiled at the woman behind the desk, her hand holding her latest book, a horror romance from the looks of the cover. “Food’s ready, you want first dibs or do you want me to just bring a plate?”
“If I don’t eat with you guys once a week, you all get pouty and needy,” she said with an aggrieved sigh as she marked her book by folding down the corner.
She saw the spasm on my face and laughed.
“Don’t start with me, kiddo. I’ll beat your ass before I let you tell me how to treat the books I spent my hard-earned money on. ”
“Oh, I’m not stupid enough to tell you what to do,” I said with a snort and a wave of my hand. “But I’m not going to pretend that didn’t hurt my soul. I will shed a tear every time I remember you did that.”
“God, another new guy with some brains? My oh my, it must be my lucky year,” she said with a snort and set the book down, heaving herself up with an almighty grunt. “God, getting old isn’t for the weak.”
“You are not that old,” I told her.
“How old do you think I am?” she asked, and I snorted.
“I’m not that easily tricked,” I pointed out.
“Ah well, I suppose there has to be good and bad to go with you having some sense,” she said with a heavy sigh.
“Here,” I said, leaning out into the hallway. “Hey, Carter?”
From the door that led to the rec room, I heard him raise his voice above the movie they were watching. “What?”
“How old do you think Cait is?” I called back.
“Uh, I don’t know, like fifty…ow! What the fuck, Mav? He asked a question and I…ow!”
I glanced at her, and her eyes narrowed. “I can alert everyone else that dinner is ready if you want to share with him what you think about his assessment.”
“You do that. And when I figure out if I want to praise you for giving me a target or beat your ass for picking on someone too stupid to know better, I’ll get back to you,” she said as she walked past me into the rec room.
“I’m sure,” I said as I punched a button on the intercom system. “Excuse me, everyone, food is ready and—”
“Ah! Cait, I’m sorry! I’m sorry,” Carter cried, and I raised a brow when I realized he was loud enough that it probably carried to anyone who had a walkie with them. Which technically should have been everyone because we needed to be ready in case we were called up for something.
“Right,” I continued with a snort. “And tonight’s entertainment will be Carter learning there are some things you shouldn’t say or do. Come get it while it’s hot, or you’re reheating leftovers.”
By the time I stepped out, Reno and Mav had already made their escape from the room.
Not that Cait was likely to go after them, but as I heard Cait’s voice giving Carter an earful, I decided it was probably the safest bet.
She was a middle-aged woman; I knew because I’d seen her ID once, who had been working with men just like this group.
That meant she took no shit; she gave plenty of it, and she knew how to strike fear into the hearts of guys who outweighed her by dozens of pounds and were almost two feet taller, depending on the man.
I wouldn’t want to be collateral damage to her anger either.
“Reno,” I said lightly, and Mav glanced over but kept going toward the kitchen.
Reno lingered, looking wary. “You’re not trying to trick me into staying here so Cait can get me next, are you?”
“It’s not a bad idea considering you’re meddlesome,” I said with a raised brow.
“Uh…he told on me, didn’t he?”
“What else are brothers for?”
“Wait, you have brothers?”
“Yeah, and a sister, not the point.”
“You were giving only child vibes…wait, oldest?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Yes, again, not the point.”
“Come on, I was just trying to help,” he complained, looking nervously over his shoulder.
I clapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “And you did, okay? You’re a meddlesome bastard, but you’re a meddlesome bastard who absolutely helped.”
“No more awkward?”
“I never said that, but we’re going to do our best and maybe after today, we might even seem normal…ish…actually no, in this group, we’ll probably stand out like two needles among a bunch of other needles.”
“True, we are pretty weird,” he said, sniffing the air. “So, uh…dinner?”
“Dinner,” I said as I walked into the room with him.