Chapter Thirty-Two
THIRTY-TWO
Micah
I unlock the door to my sister’s townhome and walk in, Aidan following behind me.
“I’m just going to charge my phone really quick, and then, I’ll be ready for dinner.”
“Sounds good—whoa…” Aidan glances around the open-concept kitchen and living room with wide eyes. “This is place is amazing. And huge. Damn.”
“It’s my sister’s. I’m just house-sitting while she’s out of the country for work for the next few months.”
I spot my phone charger on the kitchen island and plug in my phone. “Wanna have a glass of wine or something before dinner…” I trail off when I see Aidan gawking at the floor-to-ceiling windows on the far side of the town house.
“Damn, that’s a nice view.” He gazes out at the nighttime sky glittering with all the city lights in the distance. “Holy shit, there’s a balcony?”
I laugh as he rushes over to the sliding glass door and opens it. When he steps out, a gust of cold air whooshes in.
I cross my arms. “Get back inside—it’s freezing!” I say through a laugh as I watch him peer over the edge of the balcony.
“This is sweet!” he hollers. He turns back around to look at me, grinning. “Think of how many ways you could reenact the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet .”
My head falls back as I laugh. I walk over to the open door but stay inside.
He clutches his hand over his chest and leans back on the balcony. “Romeo! Oh, Romeo!” he yells.
I burst out laughing.
A second passes and someone outside in the distance hollers, “Juliet! I love you, girl!”
Aidan and I laugh. He walks back inside and closes the door. He grabs my waist and pulls me against him. I cup my face round his cheeks, which are red from the cold. He lets out a soft, satisfied hum, then he kisses me.
“You’re ridiculous,” I murmur against his mouth.
“I think you mean charming. And entertaining.” He kisses down the side of my neck. I shiver and gasp.
Just then my phone buzzes. Aidan groans against my neck.
I giggle. “One sec.”
I step out of his embrace and walk over to my phone and see a text from my sister.
Jordan: Hey! Wanna FaceTime later?
Me: Sorry, I made dinner plans with Aidan, we’re leaving in a sec. Can we do tomorrow?
Jordan: Oooohhh sounds hot! Yeah, no problem :) Have fun!
Jordan: Oh hey, can you water that succulent over the fireplace? I don’t think that’s been watered since I left, oops lol
Me: Yeah, sure thing!
I leave my phone on the kitchen island to continue charging. I grab a glass, fill it with water at the sink, and then walk over to the fireplace, where a potted echeveria plant sits on the mantle above it.
“House-sitter duties,” I say to Aidan.
He flashes a sexy, lopsided smile. “Pretty nice gig.”
I chuckle. “It is. I just have to make sure the place doesn’t catch on fire or flood, and I get to stay for free.”
“Will you go back to living at your place when she comes back?”
I still as I set the glass in the sink. “Um, I don’t really have a place of my own.”
“Oh.” He flashes a concerned frown. He walks over to me. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just…” Embarrassment bubbles up inside of me. He’s going to think I’m so stupid when I admit this.
“So I lived with my ex for most of our relationship. I gave up my place at the time to move into his house. And, um, well, he was doing a lot of renovations and I spent a lot of my savings to help him with that. I thought we’d be together long-term and get married someday, so I didn’t think twice about helping him with his house. But then we broke up. And I didn’t really have money for a place of my own because I had spent so much of my savings on him. So I got into some debt trying to live on my own. Once my parents found out, they paid it off for me. And then my sister insisted I live at her place while she was gone. When she moves back, I’ll hopefully have enough money saved that I can get my own apartment again.”
My shoulders hunch as I cross my arms over my chest. Aidan’s gaze sharpens. He looks pissed.
“Your ex didn’t offer to pay you back?” Aidan asks.
I shake my head. “He wasn’t really obligated to. He owned the house. I was just his girlfriend at the time—it’s not like I was his spouse and entitled to any compensation when we split.”
He tugs a hand through his chestnut waves. “What an asshole.”
I shrug. “I should have known better.”
“Micah, no.” He steps forward, grabbing my hand in his. “He’s a piece of shit for doing that to you. You were kind and generous, and he took advantage of you and your money. He deserves to rot for that.”
I’m quiet as I take in the fierce look in his eyes, the firmness of his tone. Warmth gathers in my chest at how Aidan defends me.
He leans closer, wraps his arms around me, and presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’m sorry that happened to you. It’s not right.”
All the muscles in my body relax. I sink deeper into his embrace. “Thank you.”
“If I ever see that guy, I’m going to kick his ass.”
I chuckle. “You will not,” I say, even though I can tell he’s joking.
“You’re right. I’ll get my brother to kick his ass. He’s a hockey player, so he loves to fight.”
I burst out laughing. When I step back, Aidan’s flashing that teasing grin. Inside, I’m melting. He’s so sweet and funny and supportive, and he defends me…
He’s all the things I’d want in a boyfriend…
Except you don’t want a boyfriend, remember?
This thing with Aidan is just supposed to be fun, nothing serious. And even if things got serious, how could we ever last as a couple? My job could put him out of work. Which means things with us will probably end when I’m done with my audit…
Emotions surge through me. I still at how intense and raw it feels…how rattled I feel at the thought of ending things with Aidan.
“You ready to grab some food?” he asks.
I nod at Aidan and shove those feelings aside. I can’t get caught up in all that now. I just need to focus on enjoying the moment.
I grab my phone. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Aidan stares at me, mouth half open in surprise as I devour the last fry on my plate.
“Wow. If the whole financial-auditor thing doesn’t work out, you’d kill it as a competitive eater.”
I cover my mouth as I laugh and chew. I reach over the table in the booth we’re sitting at and shove his shoulder.
I swallow. “You’re making fun of the way I eat? Not cool,” I joke.
His mouth curves up in a teasing smile, and he holds up a hand. “I’m not making fun of you. I’m impressed. I’ve never seen anyone demolish a burger and fries so quickly. It was pretty hot.”
I chuckle. “I skipped lunch today, so I was starving.”
“You eat faster than my brother, and he’s a monster when he’s hungry.”
“Yeah?”
Aidan nods. “I want to set up an eating contest between you two. That would be epic.”
I laugh into my Cherry Coke. He finishes his patty melt but leaves half of his fries. “The rest is for you.”
I grin as I finish off his food. He grabs my glass and takes a long sip of my drink.
“So did you always want to be a financial auditor?” Aidan asks.
I raise my eyebrow at him. “I thought work talk was off-limits.”
He chuckles. “I’m just curious how you got into it. It’s not a job I hear a lot about. And hey, I told you about how I got into teaching. It’s only fair that you tell me how you got into your career. I want to learn more about you.”
I can’t help but smile at how sincere Aidan sounds, at just how much he cares to know about me.
“One of my mentors in college suggested I look into it as a job after getting my MBA,” I say. “She thought it would suit my skill set, and it does.”
As I wipe my mouth with a napkin, I catch him staring at me.
“What?” I ask.
He flashes a hesitant smile. “I thought you’d say you were passionate about it.”
I shrug. “I mean, I like it just fine. It’s the kind of job where if you work hard at it, it pays off. I’ve been able to move up over the years and earn a great salary. And I’m good at it.”
He looks at me for a long moment. “But you’re not passionate about it. You don’t love it.”
I pause for a long moment. “You’re right. I don’t love being a financial auditor. It’s not my passion. It never has been. But not everyone has to be passionate about their job.”
“Yeah, of course. But you’re passionate about writing. I can tell how much you love it. When you talked about it on Scribble Share, you lit up. Even though we were exchanging DMs, I could tell just how much writing and reading brings you joy,” he says.
I’m quiet for a moment as I process what he’s said. He’s right. I love writing and reading. I’m a million times more passionate about that than I am about my actual job.
“You could make that into a career with how good you are at it, Micah,” he says.
I start to smile at his glowing praise, despite the uneasy feeling that builds inside me.
“Writing is such a competitive field. It’s hard to make a living at it, even if you’re good. Even if you work hard,” I say.
He looks like he wants to say more, but after a second he nods. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s definitely not easy. But if your asshole ex can make a career out of it, so can you.”
I chuckle. “Okay. God’s honest truth? If I could magically have the stability of my current career with writing, then I’d quit my job and be a writer in a heartbeat. But that sort of stability doesn’t exist in creative fields. And I’m not the type of person who can live in that kind of uncertainty.”
I’m surprised at how empty the words feel when I speak. Like I’m reciting a mantra I no longer believe.
Maybe I shouldn’t ignore that feeling…
A second later, the logical part of my brain catches up. I’m just caught up in all the happy feelings that writing on Scribble Share has brought me recently. It’s fun to write as a hobby, but I’ll never be able to make it doing it for a living.
A weird unsettled feeling burrows in my tummy. I ignore it and take a long sip of my drink.
I glance up at Aidan, who’s nodding at what I’ve said. For a second, I think he’s going to say something, but he stays quiet.
I offer him more of my drink, but he holds up a hand.
“No, thanks. Gotta stick to water for the rest of tonight if I’m gonna hit it hard at the gym with Jason tomorrow.”
“Wow. You’re so hardcore,” I tease. He laughs.
When the server walks by, Aidan hands him his credit card. I try to give him mine too so we can split it, but Aidan won’t let me.
“Don’t you dare. Tonight is my treat.”
My stomach does a somersault at the firmness in his tone. “Thank you.”
He smiles. “My pleasure.”
When he finishes signing the receipt, we stand up and step out of the booth. He looks at me, his gaze catching on my lip. He reaches over and gently drags his thumb along my bottom lip.
“You had a little something,” he says in a low, soft voice, his eyes fiery.
A tingling feeling spreads through my chest. Even when he’s wiping food from my mouth, it’s sexy.
“Aidan?”
We both look up. There’s an older man standing a few feet away from our table, staring at Aidan.
I glance over at Aidan, who’s looking at the guy with a weird expression on his face. Like he recognizes him, but he’s not happy to see him.
And then he says, “Dad.”