Chapter 30 - Aiden
A fter saying goodbye to Olivia and putting in a shift at the hospital, Aiden was back at June and Isaac’s house for pizza with their kids. If he wanted to see his friends on a regular basis, he was learning it was easiest to be the surrogate uncle and show up with food. His friends seemed to welcome the distraction and the presence of an extra adult in the house, especially one willing to let their kids climb all over him, which he loved. It reminded him of when he was a teenager playing with his younger twin siblings.
At bedtime, Aiden would make himself useful, doing the most obvious chores. In exchange, his friends were able to relax and hang out. Sometimes they watched bad reality TV together, which they usually made fun of or talked over. Other times, they played board games. He was slowly adjusting to this new phase of friendship.
Tonight would be more of a talking-over-the-TV kind of night. Having just met Olivia, his friends would surely want to debrief .
Isaac and June plopped onto the couch next to him, letting out long sighs. June jumped right in. “So Aiden, Olivia is fantastic. Well done.”
He laughed. “Yeah, she is, isn't she?”
“Are you and Olivia locked in?” Isaac asked.
“One hundred percent.”
“Good,” they replied in unison.
After a moment's silence, June said, “I had a talk with her in the bathroom.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, after Amber was being all Amber with you, I could tell Olivia was kind of upset.”
“She was?” Aiden asked, alarmed. Shit, why hadn’t he noticed that?
“I mean, yeah,” June chastised him. “Amber was hanging all over you. Dude, you gotta get better at self-defense around her. You let her get away with far too much, especially in front of your new girlfriend. What the hell?”
June was right, and it left him with a pit in his stomach and a tightness in his chest. At the time, he hadn’t thought twice about it because it was just Amber being Amber. She was terrible about physical boundaries in general, but Aiden knew she was the worst with him. Everyone put up with her because she had a sweet side if you got to know her. When she let down her guard, which she typically did when it was just the five of them, she was funny and smart, not that he’d be telling this to Olivia as an excuse. He would have to face the music and apologize.
“Fuck, you’re right, what’s wrong with me?”
Isaac shook his head like, bro, what were you thinking ?
“Yeah, so I basically saved your relationship,” June said.
“Oh my god, thank you. Holy shit, what did you say?” How could he have been so stupid? What if he’d lost his chance with Olivia because of Amber of all people?
“Well, I told her you’re crazy about her and not to worry about Amber.”
“Okay, good.” He sighed, relieved.
“And…” June was stalling. She sighed before adding, “You should know I had to explain Amber’s behavior, so I told her you all slept together once in college.” She cringed as she added the last part. “But I also told her you were strictly not interested in Amber, and she had nothing to worry about.”
Oh god. Olivia had asked him if he and Amber had a history on the car ride home from the bar. His stomach went cold. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He was furious with himself. He lowered his head into his hands, trying to remember everything that was said.
“Dude, you look like you’re going to barf.” Isaac sounded concerned.
Rubbing his face, Aiden lifted his head to make eye contact. Taking a deep breath in and letting it out slowly, he said, “On the drive home, Olivia asked me if Amber and I had a history, and I said no.”
He hung his head once more and looked down at the ground, ashamed to admit this lie to his best friends.
“Oh dear, that is not ideal.” June sounded uncomfortable.
“Did she seem pissed?” Isaac asked.
“No. I guess not, but I basically made our relationship exclusive. She seemed fine.” Aiden shrugged his shoulders, unsure .
“You lucky, bastard.” Isaac shook his head. “Well, you better make it right. She gave you a pass, but now you’re operating from behind.”
“Yeah,” June added, “you should tell her you know she knows and get that bad energy out of your relationship ASAP.”
“I would never cheat on her. Jesus, after what I’ve been through, I can’t even imagine doing that to someone.”
Isaac let out a low whistle. “Okay, well, tell her that. Not us . We obviously know you’re a good guy, and she definitely likes you, so have the conversation and enjoy the rest of your happy lives together.”
“Yeah, I will. Definitely. Next time I see her, ’cause I should do it in person, right?”
June nodded. “Probably.”
“Oh, god, she’s only been gone eight hours, and I already miss her.”
June and Isaac laughed. They knew how bad he had it for Olivia. He wondered when he could drive to Gresham, hoping it would be soon because he was tempted to get into his car and go right then. The sliver of logic he hung onto told him to slow down.