18. Aiden
18
AIDEN
“ S tay the night,” I whispered, wanting to preserve this moment, the one with Cora wrapped up in my arms, for as long as possible. I couldn’t believe how right this felt, how easy it was. Maybe I was too hopped up on good sex hormones to think straight, but being here with Cora felt like coming home to find something I’d been missing without realizing it.
Her fingertips ghosted across my forehead. “I can’t.”
“You can.”
“And have my mother blowing up my phone when I don’t turn up?”
I laughed in the darkness of the room, the sound crowding us, and I pulled her closer. “I doubt Bonnie’s going to come hunting us down. We’re not teenagers anymore. She won’t care if we have sex.”
“You’re right. But she probably expected me home an hour ago, and I don’t want to worry her. She’ll do something crazy like activate the phone tree.”
“Oh god,” I said, running my hand down my face. “I forgot about the stupid phone tree.”
“The last thing I need is for someone at the reunion to tell her about Levi. Or worse, this,” she said, gesturing between us, “before I can.”
“I don’t think anyone knows we ditched the reunion to go have sex.”
“The way you drove out of that parking lot?” Cora teased. “Anyone who saw you would have known there was only one thing on your mind.”
“You could always text her.”
“I could,” Cora said softly, pressing her lips to the bridge of my nose. “But we’re leaving in the morning, and I’ve barely had a chance to talk to her. I really do want to stay,” she continued. “Only tonight’s kind of my last chance to spend time with her and figure out what she’s hiding from me.”
“Still considering your alien abduction theory?” I joked.
“Until proven otherwise, yes.”
Despite going along with my teasing, I knew Cora was worried about her mother, and I didn’t want her to stress. I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Find your clothes. I’ll drive you home. Just like I did after our first first time.”
“You’re counting this as a first time?” she asked.
“Our first time as adults,” I said as she slid out of the bed, bending over to retrieve her bra and her dress. I studied her in the shadows, taking in those endless legs, the dips at the base of her spine, the fullness of her hips, the curve of her breast.
Yes, it was our first all over again, and I sure as hell hoped it wasn’t our last.
Cora
The Mercedes pulled up in front of my house, parking behind my mother’s car. It was a lot more discreet than Aiden’s old beater had been in high school. The truck used to rumble in the driveway, giving us away. My dad would peel back the curtains in the living room, watching us to make sure there was no “funny business” going on. But the Mercedes practically purred as he turned off the ignition.
“You don’t have to get out,” I started to say, giving up as Aiden climbed out of the car and shut his door.
There was no point in arguing since he was clearly determined to check all the boxes. He swung my door open a moment later, reaching for my hand. I hadn’t bothered to put my heels back on, instead scurrying up the driveway barefoot while I carried them by the straps.
I reached the door first, twisting to face him.
Aiden stood there, curls mussed, hands in his pockets, grinning down at me like he’d just scored his first touchdown. “So, should we recreate our first goodnight kiss as well?”
“I mean, it has been a night of firsts again.” First time sleeping with him as an adult. First make-up homecoming dance. First time being back in high school.
“If I remember correctly,” he said, “you pretty much pounced on me at the door.”
“I did not!”
“You totally did. I literally stumbled.” He put his hand on the bricks behind my head. “Had to brace myself like this.”
“Hmm,” I said, smiling as he leaned down.
“I think my arms went here,” I said, looping them around his neck. “And my lips here.” I kissed him. It wasn’t a repeat of the chaste little goodnight kiss from all those years ago. It was much sexier, all teeth and tongue, but I couldn’t stop giggling like I was still in high school.
“I see you’re not worried about your mom coming out to bust us now,” he said, laughing until I sucked his tongue into my mouth. Then he groaned.
I glanced at the window next to the door as we broke apart. It was dark. My mother usually left a light on if she was still awake. “She might have fallen asleep already. I’m later than I told her I’d be.”
“Well, someone took their sweet time getting dressed.”
“I know. How long does it take you to do up the buttons on a dress shirt?”
Aiden growled next to my ear. “What are you going to do now?”
“Probably go inside and text all my friends, telling them Aiden Callihan kissed me.”
“Guess I should go and tell all the guys on the team I just scored.”
I laughed. “Is that what you did back then?”
“Obviously.”
“Boys,” I said, rolling my eyes.
He bussed my cheek. “I’ll pick you up in the morning?”
I nodded. “See you then.”
“Have a good night.” He backed down the steps, the corner of his mouth tugging into a smile as he turned, climbing into the car. I watched him drive off before I took out my key, unlocking the door. It was awkward juggling my keys, shoes, and clutch, but I did my best not to stumble into the table in the front hall in the pitch black.
Once I was inside and the door had closed behind me, I dropped my shoes and felt along the wall for the light switch, giving it a flick. My jaw dropped as the living room lit up, my eyes almost bugging out like one of those cartoons on TV when the character has been whacked over the head with a hammer. Because there sat my mother, Bonnie freaking Newport, sucking face with some man on the sofa like she was sixteen, not pushing fifty-five. Holy shit .
What twilight zone had I just walked in on?
“Oh!” A tittering laugh filled the room as my mother and said mystery man jumped apart, shooting to their feet and stumbling around, adjusting their clothing like they were kids who had just gotten busted by their parents. “Cora! You’re back already? I didn’t expect you home so early.”
Clearly .
“It’s almost midnight,” I said, putting my keys down. I didn’t know where to look, or not look, or what to do. Was it too late to call Aiden and just leave the way I came?
“You’re right. It’s late,” a voice said. A familiar voice. “I guess the evening got away from us.”
“It did,” my mother said, giggling in a way I’d never heard before.
I frowned, getting my first good look at the man I’d been awkwardly trying not to stare at. “Mr. Cranson?”
“Hi, Cora,” he said, his face breaking into a kind, if slightly embarrassed, smile. “Nice to see you again.”
“Um…you too?”
No freaking way was my mother making out with my high school English teacher! Aiden was never going to believe this.
Hell, I barely believed it.
Mr. Cranson had taught me three of my four years in high school. In the years since then, he’d grown a beard and gone mostly grey, but hearing his voice took me back to long discussions about some of my favorite books. His classes had always been the highlight of my year, and he’d been one of the reasons I’d planned on going to college for teaching. To say he’d been a great teacher was an understatement, but to find him on the couch, kissing my mother…well, that was something else entirely.
I laughed uncertainly. “So, what’s, uh…What’s going on here?”
My mother stepped forward, taking Mr. Cranson’s hand. “Oh, honey, I’d wanted to talk to you about Henry and me before something like this happened. But you got in late the other night, and you were so busy running around with Aiden, getting the reunion sorted. It didn’t feel like the right time.”
Henry! Oh. Oh . This was serious.
My mother took a deep breath, looking right at me. “Cora. Henry and I have been dating for a few months now.”
“A few months?” I asked. Of all the ridiculous things I’d worried about, my mother dating again hadn’t even been on the list. But I supposed it should have been. It had been a long time since we’d lost my father. And honestly, I was just so relieved it wasn’t a health issue. “That explains why you’ve been a little weird and evasive every time we’ve talked lately.”
My mother winced. “I hadn’t realized…I suppose I didn’t want to tell you when it was still in its early days, in case it didn’t go anywhere. But it has gone somewhere.” She turned, smiling at Mr. Cranson. It was a soft smile. The kind of smile I hadn’t seen her wear in a very long time. It was clear that Mr. Cranson made her happy.
Mr. Cranson leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. “I should let you two have a proper chat.”
My mother nodded. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Not if I call you first.”
Well, that was horribly cheesy. As awkward as this was, I couldn’t stop grinning.
“It was good to see you, Cora,” Mr. Cranson said. “Hopefully, we can catch up sometime soon.”
“Absolutely,” I said as he passed me, slipping out the door. I turned back to my mother the moment he was gone. “I cannot believe you didn’t tell me!”
My mother threw her hands up. “I didn’t know what to say at first. I didn’t even think I remembered how to date. And never in a million years did I think it would go anywhere. Then one date turned into two and two into…well, you know how it goes.”
I followed my mother into the kitchen. She filled the kettle and plugged it in before rattling around in the cupboard for a pack of cookies. She stuffed an Oreo into her mouth and leaned against the counter.
As I stood there, waiting for her to continue, I got the sense that she’d been worried about more than her and Mr. Cranson not working out. “Were you afraid I wouldn’t approve?” I asked gently.
She sighed, offering me the package of cookies. I took one, plopping down at the table while she made us both a cup of tea. “I did sort of wonder if you might think I was betraying your father’s memory,” she said.
“Not at all,” I hurried to say. “You deserve to be happy, Mom. I think Dad would want that for you.”
My mother smiled. “I think so too.”
“Actually, now that I know you’re not hiding some terrible secret,” I continued, “I’m thrilled for you. And Mr. Cranson.”
“He’ll want you to call him Henry now.”
“Henry,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “Sounds funny.”
“It’ll grow on you.”
“I really am happy for you, though. You know how much I adored him as a teacher, and how much he inspired me to want to teach English myself.”
“I hoped you would feel this way.”
My mother placed two mugs of tea on the table, then kissed the top of my head before sitting down. “By the way, what terrible secret did you think I was hiding?”
“Oh my god!” I laughed at how foolish I was about to sound. “I’d imagined anything and everything from early retirement to you moving down to a beach and opening a fruit stand. I had a really good alien abduction theory going, too. Aiden thought it was hilarious.”
“Aiden, huh?” my mother asked. She sipped her tea. “I’ve been hearing a lot about him lately.”
I ran my finger around the rim of my mug. “Yes, well, we work together now. And he had to help me pull off the reunion when Trish dumped it on me.”
“Is that all?” My mother tipped her head, regarding me with knowing eyes. Eyes that had always been able to see through what I wasn’t saying. “I think this is the part where you update me on your love life.”
I pulled my mug closer, inhaling the steam. Why did I feel sixteen years old again? “What do you mean?”
“I may have been otherwise occupied when you walked in?—”
I snorted. “Is that what we’re calling it?”
My mother pointed a long finger at me. “Watch it,” she said, smiling despite her warning. “I’m still your mother. And don’t think I didn’t notice your sex hair or your ‘just kissed’ lips.”
I flushed, touching my fingers to my lips.
“Should I assume it was Aiden?”
I nodded. “We’re sort of…back together.”
“As of when?”
“Well, tonight I guess.” I sipped my tea, letting that thought settle over me. What a wild time it had been. I supposed I owed Trish a thank you for bringing us back together here, where it all began. “I think we’ve been tiptoeing around it for weeks now, but tonight…it all just fell into place.”
My mother bit her lip, not saying anything for a second.
“What is it?”
“Are you happy?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Then that’s wonderful, honey. Really. I did always like Aiden when you two were dating…”
“But?” I asked, hearing the hesitation in her voice.
She reached out, placing her hand on my cheek. “I want you to be careful. You’ve both grown up since high school, so maybe you can make it work this time. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again. I still remember the last time—you walking through the front door in tears. You were inconsolable. It took your father and me hours to get the full story out of you.”
I’d been so young and inexperienced back then. And the breakup had been so abrupt. But this time, Aiden and I were old enough not to hurt each other like that. The circumstances were completely different. “It’ll be okay,” I told my mother. “Like you’ve said, we’ve both grown up since then. That won’t happen this time.”
But even as I said it, a wriggling unease settled in my gut.
Aiden and I still hadn’t talked about why our relationship ended in the first place. Were we ever going to clear the air, or were we just going to let it hang like a cloud over this…whatever it was between us? And for that matter, what was there between us? Were we really together? Or did he consider this a fling? I thought back to the way he’d kissed me, the way he’d touched me, like I was something to be protected. You didn’t bother protecting the things you didn’t intend to keep…right?
But even if this did mean something to him, until I knew the reason why he’d ended our relationship so abruptly in high school, how could I be sure it wouldn’t happen again?