Chapter 38 Nora
Chapter 38 NORA
N ora dreamed of her father. He was in her house, grilling sausages as they used to do when she was little. He spoke excitedly, his round face reddish—perhaps from too much schnapps, or beer, or both. He spoke in the Bavarian dialect, and she couldn’t understand much of it. All she got were the words “ Liebe ” and “Aiden.” “ Liebe ” was love and “Aiden,” unless it was something in Bavarian dialect, had only one meaning. To her it also meant love, but a love that hurt. And in her dream her heart hurt, like someone was pounding on her chest.
And pounding and pounding, until she woke. Someone was thumping on the front door.
Placing a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, Nora rushed downstairs. Her heart raced. Daylight streamed through the white curtains. She checked her breath—it wasn’t good, but not all that bad—inhaled deeply, and opened the door.
“Forgot my keys,” Dipa said. “Why are you looking at me like that? Were you expecting Aiden Elliott or something?”
“I’m going back to sleep. Wake me up when... I don’t know. Wake me up when May the fourth is around the corner.”
“Geek. Where are your manners? Aren’t you going to offer me breakfast?”
“I didn’t cook for fucking Aiden Elliott. Why would I cook for you?”
“Oh, so he’s more important than me? I thought I was your best friend. Is he your best anything?”
“My best disappointment. I’m going back to sleep,” Nora said, stomping up the stairs. “Good night.”
Nora didn’t fall back asleep, though. Both because her mind kept spinning with thoughts of how stupid she had been for hoping Aiden would appear and also because Dipa didn’t let her—first perched on her bed, then lying down by her side. Talking. Non-stop.
“It’s such a beautiful day. You know, someone came by the shop yesterday asking if we could make an ostrich-shaped cake. Can you believe that? By the way, I finally fixed the butterscotch cookie recipe. They are ah-mazing. Almost better than the two Gucci bags I bought yesterday. Come on, let’s go somewhere for breakfast.”
Nora used her best drowsy voice. “I’m trying to sleep.”
“We can go to that café you like and have chocolate chip pancakes.”
“Just shut your pie hole and take a nap, woman.”
“If I knew you were in such a bad mood, I would have gone with Vanessa to her soccer practice.”
“You should have gone with her,” Nora said with malice, fully aware of how much Dipa hated soccer.
“I didn’t, and now I’m trapped here with you.”
“You’re not trapped,” Nora said, and the image of being trapped—almost literally—with someone else popped into her head. “If you want to stay, be quiet.”
Finally Dipa dozed off. But Nora still couldn’t sleep, so she headed to the kitchen. Maybe doing something nice for someone else would make her feel better.
She burned the toast twice, and the scrambled eggs looked a little off. Even so, Nora carried the tray upstairs with a sense of pride.
Dipa woke when the door creaked open. “No! I’m still sleeping. This is a dream. Pinch me!”
“I guess this is your lucky day, Mrs. Haridasan.”
“You. Brought me. Breakfast. In bed. You cooked for me. How is it you say? You’re ready to get married or something?”
Her breath caught. Why did you have to go and place your fingerprint on every aspect of my life, Aiden Elliott?
Nora brought up her own breakfast and sat beside Dipa. She watched with contentment as her best friend ate. The meal was not good—and yet Dipa treated the food as a delicacy. Her eyes were shining. Then they became darker and she squinted at Nora.
“You were waiting for him, weren’t you?”
How could Nora deny it? It was the absolute truth. “God, I’m so stupid.”
Dipa shook her head. “You’re not stupid. Actually... I didn’t forget my keys. I thought he could be here with you. That’s why I knocked on the door.”
As Nora tried to slap Dipa’s arm, she spilled coffee on the sheets. “I guess you’re as delusional as I am, my friend.”
“We’re not delusional.” Dipa sipped her coffee. “Everybody knows he’s into you.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Wait . . . you haven’t watched his latest interview?”
“I’ve watched many things.”
“ The Taryn Show ? Last Wednesday? The one where he talks about you?”
Nora’s heart stopped. “What?”
Dipa jumped from the bed. “Holy shit! I thought you knew about it! Gimme a sec.” She grabbed her phone and started typing, then stopped and looked at Nora. “Hold on. Before you get your hopes up way too high, let me say he doesn’t say your name or anything, he only—”
“Just show me the damn thing!”
Dipa found the video and fast-forwarded it almost to the very end. Aiden, dressed from head to toe in black, sat in front of a gorgeous woman in a hot-pink dress, her hair in thick cornrows.
“One last question: is Aiden Elliott single or taken?”
Aiden chuckled. “Single.”
The audience made a commotion, high-pitched voices yelled, “I’m single, too,” “Come to Mama,” and “I love you,” making Aiden blush.
Damn actor. Why do you look so cute playing coy? Nora thought—until a louder voice screamed, “Marry me, Aiden!”
The host pretended to be shocked. “It looks like you just received a proposal.”
“And I’m incredibly flattered, but I believe we should get to know each other personally before taking such a big step, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to accept it today.”
“He’s acting,” Nora said.
Dipa frowned. “And how do you know that?”
“His body language. The way he speaks. He just becomes another person.”
Having spent so many hours with Aiden, and then spending so many hours watching his movies, she could see clearly that he had two sides, as different as the two sides of the Force.
Dipa grabbed her arm as the woman in front of Aiden tittered and asked, “Is there someone special in your life?”
Aiden smiled. “Why, of course, I have many special people in my life.”
“Don’t leave us hanging, Aiden. In your love life. Is there someone special in your love life?”
Aiden’s eyes fell to the floor, and he swallowed, then cleared his throat. “I... Well... Yes, I guess there is.”
“Is it a long-term thing, or something recent?”
Aiden looked over Taryn’s shoulder to the backstage. Nora recognized the look on his face as a cry for help. The help must have come, because he ran his fingers through his hair and said, “It’s, uh, recent. Very recent.”
“It’s Anna Rheims!” several people yelled.
The sound of Aiden’s belly laugh warmed Nora. It felt like he was there in her house. “Anna’s a good friend, fellows.” he said. “There’s nothing romantic between us.”
“Is it the woman from Nashville?” someone in the audience shouted, and a desperate look flitted across Aiden’s face. It was subtle, but Nora would recognize it from a mile away.
“Thank you so much for coming. It was a pleasure having you here. Aiden Elliott, ladies and gentlemen!” Taryn Brooks said and stood up, offering him a hand.
“Look,” Dipa said. “Look at how shaken he is. Is he acting now?”
“No.” Nora’s eyes were still on the screen, her heart racing. He most definitely was shaken. So was she. “How... how come you didn’t tell me about this before?”
“I just assumed you’d seen it. And you throw a tantrum every time someone says his name, I can take a hint.”
“Sometimes.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Dipa put her phone aside. “I think he’s in love with you.”
Since last Friday, if Nora flipped through the newspaper, Aiden would be there. If she searched for something to watch, his face would be in her streaming app. She was aware of his existence now, and for some reason the universe reminded her of that every time.
Aiden is a comet, and he passed through you, but you decided not to fly with him. You lost the ride. Now all you can do is watch him shine from a distance , was the message Nora took from all these signs.
He was everywhere now. Everywhere but with her.
“Nonsense. If he’s in love with me, then why isn’t he here?”
Dipa wobbled her neck. “Maybe he can’t be.”
“And why didn’t he answer my text or call me or anything?”
“You texted him? Maybe he... I don’t know. But he’ll be leaving for Jordan soon and I think you should go to LA before it’s too late.”
Nora gasped. “Me? Go to LA? Are you out of your mind?”
“No. It’s simple. You take a flight, you go there, you find him, happy ending. It’s not even hard to discover his hotel. Let me just check the fandom forums—”
Nora closed her eyes and shook her head. Dipa had unbelievable ideas sometimes, but this took the cake.
“You know what?” Nora said, and Dipa’s eyes popped open in anticipation. “Let’s go to Vanessa’s practice. I wanna see her play.”
Dipa’s shoulders drooped. “I wanted a happy ending, and you give me a soccer match? Really?”
“It’s a beautiful day outside. You said it yourself. Let’s enjoy it.”
“If Aiden were here, I bet you wouldn’t want to enjoy the day outside.”
Nora slapped Dipa’s arm. “He’s not, so let’s go.”
Dipa carried the same bored face she wore at Vanessa’s practice to the bistro, where the three of them went for lunch once the practice was over. Nora fidgeted, her legs shaking under the table, her hands going from the cutlery to her hair to her phone to scratching her neck to adjusting her blouse. She wolfed down what little food she could stomach, then bolted back home. What if Aiden was waiting for her on her front porch?
He wasn’t.
Nora tried everything to distract herself—she started a new puzzle while listening to The Beatles; talked to her cousin Karol, who picked up the call from a paradisiac beach in northeast Brazil, her son squealing with delight in the water; she tried to finish Pride and Prejudice —she was getting to the part where Lizzy and Darcy would make amends. Still, the afternoon passed in slow motion. It was torture.
Then it started to rain.
The house felt empty and cold—not because she was alone, but because she wished she wasn’t.
“I think you should go to LA before it’s too late,” Dipa’s words echoed in her mind.
My entire life I waited for others to make the first move , she told herself. It’s about time I take the reins. The rain had brought Aiden to her last Friday. Today it would take her to him.
Nora rushed upstairs and packed a bag, not even paying attention to what she threw in. It didn’t matter what she wore. It only mattered if she found Aiden in LA. For the flight, all Nora really needed was her ID and her credit card. She checked three times to ensure they were in her wallet.
Panting, she bolted down the stairs with the bag in hand, then she realized she’d need a jacket. On impulse, she went to the basement, picked Aiden’s bomber jacket from the floor and put it on. Engulfed in his scent, and now duly armored, she felt a rush of confidence.
I’m doing this. I’m doing this, damn it.
Nora was standing with her eyes closed, rejoicing at her new-found power, when the doorbell rang.
She rushed up the stairs. “Coming!”
The doorbell rang again.
“He’s still not here,” Nora yelled as she made her way to the entry. “I’m doing what you said. This is crazy! I’m—”
Instead of Dipa’s small figure, a tall, lean one stood outside.
In front of her house, under the pouring rain, Aiden was checking her windows as if to see if she was home. When he finally noticed she had opened the door, their gazes met, and the world stood still for a moment.
Nora’s heart pulsed in her ears.
Of their own accord, her feet dashed towards him as if her life depended on it, cold raindrops sluicing her in her rush. When she finally reached him, Nora threw her arms around his neck. Aiden embraced her hurriedly, desperately, his arms wrapped tight around her body.
He was drenched, and Nora was at last content she had read the signs correctly. They were making their way towards each other.
And there he was.
His warmth, his scent, his presence—everything about him seemed to fill a void she only very recently had discovered it was there. For once, she was complete.
Nora had so much to say, yet her brain refused to cooperate. Still holding him tightly, she looked at him. Raindrops made their way down his face. He was clean shaven and looking hotter than any man had the right to. His green doe eyes held so much in them—yearning, fear, and something else she didn’t dare hope for. But it was this something else that spurred her to speak.
“I’m so sorry.”
It wasn’t exactly what she’d planned to say, but before she could elaborate, Aiden took her face between his hands.
“I can’t, Nora. I tried to stay away from you, but I can’t.” His words came out half-strangled, conveying a pain that pierced her heart. He hugged her and sank his face in her neck.
She didn’t want to let go—then or at all. But she managed to loosen his embrace so she could look into his eyes. His irises sparkled, reflecting the fire she knew was in her eyes, too. “Then don’t,” she said, and her fingers dove deep into his hair to bring his face down, making his forehead touch hers.
She allowed herself to melt into the moment but the guilt became unbearable. “I know what I said is unforgivable. But I am so, truly, deeply, absolutely sorry. I should have never acted that way. I swear to you it’s not who I am.”
“I know,” Aiden said. “ I know you , Nora.”
“No, you don’t. You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. Not after only those few hours spent together. Right now, all you have are my words, and some of them were terribly cruel to you. So, again, I’m sorry. I’d really appreciate it if you could give me a chance to show you who I really am.”
“I know you are a loving, sweet, compassionate person. You took me in and took care of me. It’s true, I don’t know every single thing about you. Granted, we could spend centuries getting to know each other, and yet we would never truly know everything. But I would like it.”
“Like it, what?”
“To spend centuries getting to know you.”
Nora’s heart did somersaults. “I would like that, too.”
“So you would like to spend centuries getting to know yourself? That’s quite the journey of enlightenment.”
Nora guffawed. “Oh my God, Aiden. Your jokes are horrible.”
He grinned, as if he had just received a compliment, and kept staring at her. His grin softened little by little, until he was left with a serious expression. “I should have never hidden that I’m an actor. I can give you one thousand excuses on why I did it, but the truth is that I was afraid you would treat me differently because of it. You seemed to be liking me for me, and not my public figure. But I should have come clear as soon as I realized you didn’t know me.”
She wished he had done it, but at the same time she knew everything could have been different if he had. In the end, Nora was glad things had worked out as they did, even with all the hurt. Maybe relationships needed some hurt, in order to grow stronger and thrive. “You thought I was going to find it pretty cool once I discovered it, didn’t you?”
Aiden shook his head, making water splash from his wet curls. “I never took you for that kind of person... Especially not after you said fame was a disease. You’re not entirely wrong: there are some awful aspects to fame. But there are also positive ones: the only reason I’m here right now it’s because the person at the airline front desk recognized me.”
Nora mocked a surprised face. “Fame is the cure, then!”
“Please don’t be sarcastic. You’re absolutely irresistible when you’re sarcastic.”
Keeping her gaze, Aiden’s face approached hers little by little, inch by inch, centuries that could be broken up in years.
Centuries to get to know each other.
Their lips brushed. Aiden slowly moved his head from one side to the other in a feathery caress, overwhelming Nora’s senses. She wanted his kiss. She wanted all of him.
He placed a delicate peck on either corner of her mouth.
All at once, he stopped. “Oh, I almost forgot. I need to ask you the thirty-seventh question.”
Nora frowned. “There were only thirty-six.”
“In the magazine, yes. I have an extra one.”
Her heart skipped a beat. He was looking so deeply into her eyes he probably knew exactly what she was thinking. “Shoot.”
“What color are your eyes?”
She let out an unexpected huff. How disappointing. “My eyes are—”
He muffled her words with a kiss. “It’s a joke, love. The question is: did the questionnaire work?”
Was that the question?
“Aiden, you really are the worst joker in the world.”
He gave her a roguish smile. “I beg to differ. But... did it?”
Nora pondered this, as if she needed to. She knew the answer was gleaming in her eyes. “Yes. I guess the damn questions really work.” She caressed his lips with a light touch of hers, tracing his shaved jaw with her fingers. “Did it work for you?”
“I didn’t need all thirty-six questions to fall in love with you.”
He was in love with her. To know that her feelings were reciprocated made Nora feel like her heartbeats couldn’t keep up with her breathing and her chest was about to burst. Her grin was so wide her cheeks were stretched.
Aiden caressed her face, then slowly ran a thumb over her bottom lip. “Nora?”
“Yes?”
“I would very much like to kiss you now, if that’s okay.”
“It is very much okay.”
Thick raindrops hit their faces. Aiden breathed deeply, as if he was about to conduct a very important task. Nora’s lungs filled in with air in tandem with his, and his hands snaked beneath the jacket around her waist until their chests touched. Then he took her mouth in full.
Nora closed her eyes and focused on her feelings. Her heart was beating like a drum. Rain splashed all over them, chilly and wet and noisy. Petrichor rose from the earth and mixed with Aiden’s scent. His lips on hers—she hoped that sensation would never go away.
She was his. She would be his for centuries, if he’d have her.
She could feel Aiden smiling against her kiss. Nora could sense his happiness, the same happiness she felt.
When he let go of her, Nora was light-headed.
He looked behind his shoulder. “Perhaps we should go in? Unless you don’t mind us being the front cover of a gossip magazine tomorrow.”
“We can meet halfway. I can agree to a small picture in the middle of the issue.”
Aiden smiled. She didn’t have to ask him, she knew this was something he didn’t appreciate about his life. But if he loved acting, she would never, ever, ask him to give up on it for her, just like she hoped he never asked her to give up on her career for him. They were their own person. And they would figure a way around.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they started to make their way down the cobblestone path towards her house.
To have Aiden so close to her made Nora’s feelings burst and dance like northern lights. There was love, admiration, enchantment. But despite her previous apologies, there was a swish of dark light dancing among the colorful ones: guilt.
“I hope you understand how sorry I am.” Nora would apologize as many times as was needed. For as long as he needed her to.
“I do understand, and I’m sorry, too. Now can we please talk about it inside?”
Enthralled as she was by Aiden’s presence, Nora only noticed she was chilled to the bone when he mentioned getting inside, and the cold hit her all at once. “Yes, I’m freezing!”
“I know just the way to warm you up, love.” Aiden flashed her a brazen look, making heat pool in dangerous areas.
When they reached the front porch, they both took off their sodden jackets and shoes, entering her dimly lit house. As soon as Nora closed the door, Aiden was by her, using his body to press hers against it.
“So, you were saying that you’re sorry?” he whispered in her ear, his breath against her neck giving her goosebumps.
“Y-yes. I’m so sorr—”
He didn’t let her finish, muffling her words with his mouth, igniting a flame within her.
“Maybe we should elaborate on this further,” he said, without disconnecting from her.
“Uh-huh.”
He kissed his way to her neck. “But maybe later.”
“Yes, please.”
Aiden’s hands roamed to her lower back. He encircled Nora’s waist, his paws surprisingly warm against the skin under her shirt, pulling her impossibly close against him—as if they could get even closer than they already were.
For every minute she’d spent since last Friday imagining how it would be if the next time came, Nora didn’t imagine it would be this good. Aiden’s kisses were mind-melting, earth-shattering, leg-trembling—that she knew already. But the way his hands caressed her skin while his body pushed hers against the wall and the way his scent overwhelmed her senses made her heart thump intensely, her every fiber vibrating with desire.
“I remember I made a promise. I intend to make good on it,” he said in between kisses.
Slowly, Nora made her way to his ears and whispered, “One that involved screams and yes and me stopping teasing you?”
He grunted his assent.
She bit his earlobe. “This is next time, and I won’t stop.”
The low moan he let out was answer enough for her.
Keeping their bodies and mouths still connected, Aiden walked backwards towards the living room. Nora’s calves hit the edge of the sofa and Aiden started leaning over her. Yes, the sofa was a great place to start. But she had a better idea.
She straightened up. “Wait. Come with me.”
Nora grabbed Aiden’s hand and took him up the stairs.
“I need to show you something,” she almost whispered as she opened the door to her bedroom, her heart, her life. Her usual untidiness was accented by the rushed packing she’d just done.
Aiden hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder, as if they were admiring a beautiful landscape. “If you want to shock me with your mess, congratulations. This is the worst I’ve seen.”
Her hand smacked his upper arm before she could even think. But, to her surprise, his tongue-in-cheek comment didn’t outrage her, rather causing her insides to go warm.
“I would never show my bedroom like this to a one-night stand.”
He turned to be in front of her and looked her in the eyes. “Good, because I have no intention of being one.”
Aiden nudged at her cheek, bringing their lips together in a slow, sensuous, perfect dance and—unable and unwilling to disconnect from his embrace—Nora kicked the door closed behind them.
THE END
(or is it the beginning?)