Chapter 33 - Aiden
A n hour later, Aiden awoke groggily from a deep, post-sex nap. Olivia’s wet hair was strewn across her pillow, and one of her arms was draped over his chest. He took a deep breath, savoring the pleasure he felt waking up next to her. He could watch her sleep all day, but she was legitimately concerned about getting her work done.
He gently caressed her cheek and gave her a kiss on the forehead before whispering, “Olivia, I think we fell asleep.”
Her face scrunched up, recoiling from his words. After an hour in the field with her, he’d gotten a sense of how hard she worked to keep her CSA going. He wished he was around to help more, to take some of the pressure off. But he also knew she was independent and happy, and she was following her dreams. He’d have to figure out other ways to support her. At the moment, supporting her meant going back outside and getting everything harvested for tomorrow .
He nudged her again and spoke quietly into her shoulder, “Olivia. Vegetables. CSA customers. Lots to do.”
Somehow that broke through, and her eyes snapped open. “Fuck!”
“It’s okay, I’m here. It should go fast with two of us, right? How much work is left?”
She studied the ceiling. “Okay. We have a few hours of work, but you’re right, it’ll go faster with you here.”
They got back to work. The rain had thankfully passed. In its wake, the sun had come out, but water droplets still clung to the plants. Every vegetable sparkled like it had just been dusted with glitter in preparation for a photoshoot. The flowers were especially mesmerizing–row after row and shade after shade of reds, yellows, pinks, oranges, and purples. She’d even proudly showed him the irrigation system she’d built from scratch. Everything was a testament to her effort and creativity.
With the rain gone, Olivia turned on her Bluetooth speaker, blasting a playlist featuring mostly nineties pop music. When NSYNC's “Bye Bye Bye” came on, Olivia belted out the lyrics and danced in front of the green beans she was harvesting.
She caught him watching her and paused. “Aiden, how are you not singing right now?”
“Sorry, Olivia. I’m a loyal Backstreet Boys fan.” He waved his hands, telling her to carry on. “It’s okay,” he said patronizingly. “Some people make bad choices, and you’ve chosen NSYNC. I won’t hold it against you.”
“ What? No way! NSYNC is clearly the superior band.”
“Well, Backstreet Boys were technically more successful,” he countered, giving her a flirty smile .
“But Justin Timberlake, am I right? He brought sexy back.”
“Yeah, but Justin isn’t NSYNC. He's the butterfly the NSYNC cocoon created.”
“Then you should value the cocoon more,” she said.
“But what about Britney?”
“Yeah, poor Britney,” she said, shaking her head sadly.
Then, as if to shake it off, she turned up the volume and began dancing more wildly than before.
He loved it. He loved seeing her silly side, and he had to hold himself back from walking over and interrupting their work again. There would be time for that later.
Making love to Olivia again wasn’t the only thing he was putting off. He needed to apologize for allowing Amber’s inappropriate behavior and confess his lie about their lack of history. He kept hearing Isaac’s advice to clear the air ASAP, but he wasn’t ready to trade their easy energy for a serious conversation.