Chapter 8 - Aiden
W hat kind of joke was the universe playing on him? Olivia had swum up to his dock? Naked? Was he being pranked?
As soon as he had figured out what he was seeing, he tried not to see things.
Sort of.
He didn’t see much.
But it definitely made him want to see more.
Fuuuuuck.
The whole thing sent him back in time to the party he’d had at the cabin after graduation. The party where Olivia Olsen had actually shown up. He wondered if she still had that diamond studded belly button piercing.
Shit! You gotta stop. He tried to remember all of the resolutions he’d made this morning and why asking her out was a bad idea. The distance. Moms are friends. Not gonna work. Don’t go there.
But also, that adorable dog. What had she called her? Missy? He’d been in tears, laughing at the sight of them dog-paddling back to shore together. Absolutely hilarious.
Still, he held strong to his resolution to keep as much distance as he could between them… Which lasted until he went to the YMCA the next morning to meet Ethan for some one-on-one basketball, where he spotted an Olivia Olsen Farm business card on the community bulletin board. Olivia’s phone number was right there, practically begging him to add it to his contacts.
Maybe he’d text her once, so she had his number…in case of emergency. Easy peasy. No big deal. What’s the worst that could happen? But Aiden saw right through his own supposed good intentions. In reality, he wanted to be certain the next time he was in town, he could get in touch with Olivia and see her again.
Aiden : Hey, it’s Aiden. Did you make it home ok?
Olivia : How did you get my number?
Aiden : I’m standing in front of your business card on the community bulletin at the YMCA.
Olivia : Wow, Pam works fast. Maybe I should hire her as a part time marketing consultant.
Pam? He had no idea who she was talking about.
Aiden : What?
Olivia : Never mind. You go to the Y at 8 a.m. on a Sunday? So ambitious.
Aiden : I'm shooting hoops with Ethan. He has to work at 10.
Olivia : Of course you are
Aiden : What’s that supposed to mean?
Olivia : Mm-hmm. You wearing your letterman jacket ?
He couldn’t help but give her points for that one. Grinning, he typed out his message.
Aiden : For the record, I’m taking offense to that
Olivia : I made it home ok. See you around.
Aiden : Glad to hear it. Take care.
Oh man, he’d clearly been dismissed. But she was fun, and he wanted to keep texting her.
How long should he wait to make the trip back to Gresham? What was a reasonable amount of time to keep anyone–let's be honest, his mom–from getting suspicious about his intentions?