Chapter 14
14
Lis
“ H ey, what time are you working tonight?” Gracyn really needs to get a handle on her volume control.
“Seven to close. You wanna shush a little?” Easing out a deep breath, I close my eyes willing myself to grab another water and some more ibuprofen. I’m definitely feeling better, but I need sleep.
“Still have a headache? You’re looking all wobbly and woozy—sun too much for you today?” She’s obviously feeling perkier than she was this morning, and there’s no escaping her now. I shrug and shuffle down the hall to my room to change for my shift.
“Are you working tonight, too? You wanna ride in together?” Please, please let her say yes. If she drives, maybe I can catch a quick nap. And make it through the weekend without having to put more gas in my car.
No lie, this week is going to kill me. I have rent, books for my summer courses, and a million other bills to pay for. My tiny financial cushion from spring break is officially gone.
“I think I’ll drive, though.” She looks at me with her lips curled up in a smirk. “You still look like shit.”
My phone buzzes while I put some makeup on and try to tame my windblown hair.
A: Hey-I got darkroom time tonight. I can come by when I’m done.
L: How long will it take to process all the photos?
A: Christ, far too long. I’ll just get the thumbnails done. Come by for a drink.
I can’t tonight. I just can’t. The past two days have been some kind of crazy and intense. I need a minute to think about this afternoon. About what passed between us.
Pouring drinks and mixing cocktails will give me just the right amount of monotony to work through my thoughts and feelings without having to face them directly.
L: Can we meet up tomorrow? It’s going to take everything I have to make it through tonight with my head still pounding.
A: Right. I’ll try to get time in the morning. We can hook up whenever and then I can make some prints.
L: Is that a spectator sport?
A: …?
L: Can I watch you work?
A: I’ll text you a time.
His last response takes a lot longer than the others. I don’t have time or energy to try and figure out why. Gracyn’s pushing me out the door and I have to force my brain to switch gears to get through the night.
Sadly, my plan for work taking my mind off Aidan and the past couple days, totally backfires. It’s really slow for a Saturday night and I have way too much time on my hands. He’s all I can think about and Jenna’s not even here to distract me. Why the hell did I need to come in tonight? My mind is spinning. I really like him. I have fun every time we’re together and he’s so sweet to me—opening doors and always making sure I’m okay—I should try to trust him. Give him a real chance. Maybe he won’t let me down.
When the night is finally over, I shoot Gracyn a grin. “Nope, not drinking tonight. I’m going home, crawling into bed, and sleeping yesterday off.”
“Yeah, I kinda figured,” she chuckles. “So, you haven’t told me anything about the past two days with Aidan. I mean, obviously you got shitty yesterday, but what’s going on with you guys?”
We grab our bags and walk out the back door.
She’s pushing for info. She’s been really off since spring break and I haven't wanted to bug her. “I don’t know. I’m scared.” I hate admitting that, but my fear is honest.
“Lis, you have to try eventually. You know that, right?”
Of course, I know that. It’s all I’ve thought about tonight. “I do. It’s just…” God, this is hard. “…I can’t do it again. My heart can’t handle the idea of breaking again so soon.” I try to hold my tears back, but they just have to break free. Swiping at my cheeks, I try to pull myself together. Getting emotional goes hand in hand with being tired and I’m so there.
Gracyn hands me a tissue along with the start of an epic pep talk. “Lissy, he’s been nothing but kind and considerate. You need to give the boy a chance. He fought Francie, has taken you out, respects your commitment to school and took care of your drunk ass without taking advantage of you—because let me tell you—he so could have taken whatever he wanted last night. You asked him to, multiple times. But he tucked you into bed, made sure you took something for your headache and that you had water. You don’t want to compare, and I get that, but Rob wouldn’t have done any of that, even on his best day. Aidan’s different.” She’s totally right. “Tell me about today. What did you guys do?”
Sighing, I stare out the window. “He took me to the mansion for a picnic. Packed the most amazing food, and…”
“What?”
“I swear he watched me sleep for a couple hours—not in a creepy way, but just really sweet. And then we went for a walk to the reflecting pool.”
“Dude. That’s your favorite place. Did he know?”
“I don’t know. I think I was babbling about it last night at McBride’s.” I can’t believe I’m spilling this. “And he brought his camera. He…he took pictures of me.” I drop that on her as I get out of the car and pray she leaves it alone.
“He what?”
“He took some pictures of me in the garden. He’s a photographer, so, you know. It’s no big deal, just…” I shrug as I open our door. And my phone pings. “It was nothing. You can have the bathroom first, just hurry. I need to be done with today.”
Gracyn does her thing and is out the door in record time. She seems like she’s getting back to her normal self—her before-spring-break self. I don’t know what changed with her today. I’m just relieved to hear the lock click and finally be alone.
I take the longest, hottest shower I can stand. I scrub my hair, condition it twice, shave my legs and let the lavender scent calm and soothe me. The thick lotion I slather on after toweling off feels like heaven. Pulling on my shorts and tank, I hear my phone ping. Again. I totally forgot that I got a text earlier. And, evidently a couple more while I was in the shower.
A: I’ve got the proof sheet done. Want me to come by?
A: You still there?
A: The place looks dead. Did you close early?
A: Christ. Could you check your phone?
The dots start up again. He’s getting a little cranky; I’m not the only one who needs a good night sleep.
L: Give me a sec. I just got out of the shower.
That was stupid. Why did I text him that?
A: Are you needing help?
L: Thanks for the offer. I’m good.
My phone starts vibrating as soon as I hit send. Shit. “Hello…”
“Well?” The smoky timber of his voice sends a shiver down my spine.
“Well, what?” My teeth dig into the side of my lower lip as I try to hide my physical response to just his words.
“Are you wanting me to come by or are you free tomorrow mornin’? I’ve the dark room at ten o’clock for a couple hours.” I can hear bar noises muffled in the background.
“Um, I’m free tomorrow, all day. You sound like you’re busy anyway. I’ll just meet you there.” I try to stifle my yawn, but am not at all successful.
“Yeah, I came to the bar to grab a bite to eat and ended up working for Jimmy. You might’ve given him more of a run for his money than he let on. He’s lookin’ a bit peaked and asked me to stay for him.” His chuckle is low and deep, rumbling straight through me. He definitely affects me more than I am ready to admit. “You sound like you’re ready for sleep yourself? I’ll text the address and see you in the morning, yeah?”
I yawn again. “Uh-huh. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sleep well, love.”
It’s been ages since the last time I was in this part of town. I pass the building three times before I text Aidan that I’m here. A steel door creaks open down the alley and Aidan steps out. The sun is behind him with rays streaming down around him, highlighting his silhouette. He is breathtaking.
I slide through between his body and the doorframe, brushing up against him slightly. “’Scuse me.”
The whole building stinks like chemicals—rotten eggs. It does nothing to enhance the 1970s plastic and linoleum decor. I wrinkle up my nose taking in the room. “This is…nice… How’d you find this place?”
Aidan huffs out an amused chuckle and reaches for my hand. “I asked at the college—I hoped they would let me use theirs, but this’ll do. Not many people have a need for the labs now. But I learned the old ways when I was in school.”
I raise my eyebrow at him—he’s not that much older than me, right?
“Come with me, I’ll show you the ‘magic.’”
It’s kind of creepy moving through the empty building, past offices, and storage rooms. We are very much alone in here. Aidan soothes me with his warm hand—stroking my fingers with his thumb and squeezing me a little as we enter the darkroom. I check my watch. “What time did you get here?” The red light is on and there are shallow trays lined up on the work surface. It’s a crazy, organized chaos.
Aidan quietly closes the door behind us and leads me over to a table with a folder and a small box. “Just before you. I mixed up some chemicals and got things ready.” He puts one hand on my shoulder and leans into me a little grabbing the box. “Do you want to look and see what we’ve got?”
The room feels almost cold after coming in from the glaring sun and I’m suddenly very aware of his warmth at my back. I shiver when he straightens, opening the box.
“It’s cool in here. Are you okay?” His warm breath on my ear sends another shiver through me.
“Um…yeah. I’m good. Let me see.” I grab at the proof sheet, again feeling Aidan lean into me. He slides the sheet out of my reach and holds it away from me.
“You’re eager, then.” He smirks. Pressing his left hand into my lower back, he slips around to my side. He holds his hand there for a beat longer than he needs to, but not nearly long enough. Something changes, and he shifts his eyes from mine. Pulling back from me, he mumbles, “Well, erm… Right. Let’s just get this set.” He starts moving around, putting distance between us. Slipping the proofs under some weird magnifying thing—adjusting knobs, and buttons, and lights.
Is he nervous? This man has been touching me in some small way since I got here and now he’s stepping away, keeping clear of me. He was all flirty on the phone last night. He’s…I don’t know. Trying to give me space?
“Can I see now?” We’ve killed half an hour with this little dance. It’s obvious Aidan is stuck in his head. Maybe he’s nervous? Scared to show me the images.
He blows out a big breath pursing his lips, and steps back. “Erm—you can. Just look through at the contact sheet and, erm…let me know when you’re ready for the next one. We’ll just…”
I’m a little freaked by this viewing thing he’s been messing with. It’s intimidating, but the image that greets me is nothing short of amazing. “Wow. That’s…” I’m completely speechless.
“They get better,” Aidan whispers as he reaches over and adjusts the sheet so the next frame comes into view, his confidence coming back.
After a few awkward minutes of sliding the frames through slowly and clumsily, we start to fall into a rhythm, relaxing into each other. Aidan gets a little lost in his craft and forgets whatever it was that made him put distance between us earlier.
Each frame is better than the next. His artistic eye is seriously well developed. The light created a halo effect as it streamed through the arbor. Illuminating the subject’s hair and the sheet that’s wrapped and draped around her form. He’s clearly decided which ones he wants to print. I want to see them all—it doesn’t register that it’s me in the pictures. It never even crosses my mind.
I move back a bit, just watching and listening. I could do this for hours, it’s beautiful. I know I asked for the magic of making the prints, but I kind of get lost myself. It’s dark and quiet. And as gorgeous as the shots are that we’ve looked at, Aidan in the flesh is a site worth appreciating. Maybe he would let me take some pictures of him.
I watch him fall into a kind of artistic abyss. He’s lost in the poetry of his movements, and the lilting melody of his voice washes over me as he explains what he’s doing. I’m absolutely captivated by him. I’m lost in him, lost to him.