Hold Fast - Part Eighteen
This episode is part of a larger story, Soft Touch. If you haven’t yet, you can go back and read it from the beginning right here.
The familiar scent of fresh coffee and freshly-printed ink. Autumn sunshine falling in glowing shafts through the windows. The soft clicking of the people walking down the hallways, distant phones ringing. The familiar bustle of Ketterbridge City Hall.
I slip in through the doors, inhale deeply, and smile to myself.
Cold air from outside is clinging to me, so the warmth of the Mugshot cup is soothing against my hands. My whole body is sore, even my fingers. I woke up this morning to find myself sprawled on top of Aiden, who was passed out on the couch. It was obvious that we didn’t even come close to making it upstairs. Our bags were on the floor by the coffee table. Aiden still had one shoe on, although he managed to get both of my Converse off of me. He was so thoroughly knocked out that the piercing morning cry from Blue that startled me awake didn’t even reach him.
He did wake up quickly when I gave a jolt and fell out of his arms. Even somehow managed to catch me before I could hit the floor, which made me feel twice as graceless as I already did. But it was also nice to suddenly be looking up into my favorite pair of blue eyes, startled and bewildered though they were. They’re very cute like that.
I’m missing them already.
My heart flutters as I pull open the door of the Archives. I start to eagerly rush down the steps, and nearly run directly into Aiden, who was coming up them with an archival board box full of old papers in his arms.
He protectively wrenches it back when we nearly crash into each other. His other hand catches my shoulder, steadies me out before I can stumble down the steps.
“What the fuck, Jamie?” he laughs, releasing me and tossing his hair out of his face. “How many times in one day do I have to stop you from-?”
He falls silent mid-sentence, gazing up at me from the cool darkness of the Archives, blinking at the warm afternoon light spilling in from behind me.
“God, I’m sorry!” I laugh, then feel a deep, instant blush leap to my cheeks as my eyes adjust.
Oh, man. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the sight of Aiden in his professional clothes. He looks so good in them that it should be illegal, especially with his glossy hair in sweet, tumbled disorder from him nudging it out of his face with his elbow to preserve his cotton gloves. His soft bronze skin, his ocean eyes softer still. The fragrance of aged paper and a very faint trace of vetiver drifts up to meet me.
A splash of white-hot fire rushes across my heart. I bite my lip, much harder than I meant to, my fingers tightening around the stems of the flowers in my hand.
“I’m sorry,” I laugh again, struggling to catch my breath as I gaze into those eyes. I hold out the little bouquet that I brought. “I, um – I made this for you during my shift. You know those beautiful ivy geraniums we have growing down the side wall, at the shop? Outside? We brought them indoors and trimmed them down for the season, so we had lots of fallen blossoms. They looked nice with some leftover verbena we had, and I had cut a few adorable sprigs from the goldfish plant, so I just thought I might put it all together…”
I trail off, blushing deeper. Realizing that I’m spilling out a whole lot of words in a fast, flustered rush.
Aiden just stares up at me for a moment. Suddenly looking shy, hugging the box tightly to his chest.
“What?” he asks, then gives himself a shake, dropping his gaze to the flowers and the coffee in my hands. “Oh, that’s… all for me?”
“Yeah, um – the flowers alone seemed like maybe not enough of an excuse to come visit you,” I admit, laughing a little, sheepishly offering him the coffee. “So I decided to assume you were also badly in need of a macchiato.”
Aiden stares blankly at me, then screws his face up and drops his head. I open my mouth to ask him something. Before I can, he comes up close to me, in one smooth movement taking the flowers from my hand and brushing a kiss onto my mouth.
“Thank you,” he murmurs, right against my lips. “Let me just put the very delicate old papers away before I take that coffee.”
We head up to his office, where he takes a grateful sip of the macchiato. I toss out the last bouquet I brought him, which has turned brown and brittle. By the time I return from the bathroom with the clean vase and the fresh flowers nestled inside, Aiden has stowed the box and started to sort through some papers.
My affectionate eyes linger on his desk. The Mugshot cup, the archival forms and soft brushes and carefully stowed fabric weights. A book of poetry, set aside with his phone. I lean over him, add the flowers to the desk, and kiss the side of his neck.
“Maggie’s right,” he murmurs, gazing at the flower arrangement. “About you being an artist.”
He tilts his head back and lets me look right into his eyes, which instantly makes my cheeks burn.
“What’s the matter?” he laughs softly, thumbing my chin.
“Nothing! I just can’t breathe, because I can’t get any fucking oxygen when you look at me with those – nevermind!”
Aiden lets out one of those warm, huffing laughs that melt me so quickly and thoroughly, then gets up and kisses my forehead.
“Thank you for this.” He nods at the macchiato, then the flowers. “And for these. And for everything you did during this last trip to Port Sitka.”
I blink in surprise. “Everything I did?”
“I mean. You ran right at a big scary bear when you thought I was in trouble, so…” Aiden catches his lower lip between his teeth, his smile warmer than the autumn sunlight in the windows. “Yeah. Everything you did. I know you’d never have had to do that if you weren’t dating a Guardian. I’m aware that I come with – drawbacks. I appreciate you putting up with all of them so patiently. I appreciate it a lot.”
He’s slowly backing me up against the closed door of his office.
“Oh, yeah, so – so many drawbacks,” I manage unsteadily, spreading my hands on his chest. “It’s terrible, I’ve got – endless complaints to file.”
A few minutes later, after those complaints have been firmly dealt with, I follow him out of his office and into the hall. Dazed and smiling, my clothes slightly rumpled up. All those kisses held unspoken promises for when we get home, and my cheeks are blazing beneath my freckles.
City Hall is cheerful and cozy this afternoon. Autumn garlands have been draped across the walls. The people coming in have coats over their arms, pink cheeks from the cool air, and better-rested faces now that their kids are back in school. Many office doors have been left flung open. Through them I catch glimpses of colorful bookshelves, steam coming up from mugs of tea and coffee, fiery orange leaves blustering in the sunlight beyond the windows.
I really do love it here, although that’s largely because Aiden can usually be found here. It’s intimately tied up with him in my mind.
I take a second to breathe it all in before I turn back to him.
“How’s your day been, Sugar Maple?”
“Well, it’s definitely gotten better since that extremely bad moment this morning when you said goodbye and drove off to your own place of work. That was hard on me.” Aiden smiles when I let out a laugh, shaking my head at him. “On the whole, though, good. Been thinking a lot about the thing with you and me and the bear.”
“Yeah, sounds like it.” I resist the urge to take his hand as we walk slowly together down the hallway. “How about the thing with you jumping off of Moondancer to come after me when I went overboard? Did you consider that you could have drowned? And then there’d be no point in trying to save me, because I’d drown with you. I’ve decided.”
Aiden lets out a startled laugh, widening his eyes at me. “Jesus Christ. Gays are so dramatic. No thoughts, just proceed straight to drowning yourself?”
“Yes, so be aware of that the next time you put yourself in a near-drowning situation.”
“Is there any way I can talk you out of that plan, Linden?”
“No, I’m just letting you know.”
“Oh, well, lovely! Thank you!” Aiden lets out an agonized sigh, rubbing his temples. “Could we agree that you’ll promise not to drown yourself, if I promise-?”
“I can’t tell if I’m always joining your conversations at odd times,” Gabby says, smoothly falling into step with us, “Or if all of your conversations are odd at all times. I still remember Kent the Frog, just so you know.”
“Gabby, hi! Oh, that dress is amazing – no no, I’m not gonna drown myself, so long as Aiden behaves, and the – the frog thing was-”
“Stop,” Gabby laughs, tilting her head back like she’s asking the heavens for help. “Don’t tell me. You know I prefer to be kept in the dark. Even when it comes to lies about frogs.”
“There never was a frog,” I admit sheepishly.
“No, there wasn’t,” Gabby agrees. She takes a sip from the cup in her hand, sending a delicious waft of café de olla my way, then beckons for us with a flutter of her fingers. “Both of you, with me. We need a quick meeting, and I’d like to make this fast, since my day is more slammed than I can describe. Actually, this might describe it – I’ve been trying to write a text to Kent for the past hour, but I keep getting interrupted. And you know what the text is about? How I’m behind schedule.”
“Oh, no!” I break into a trot to match her pace, since she’s gliding through the hallway at her usual brisk speed. “Busy getting Ellen ready for school?”
“Sent her off with two adorable afro puffs and a brand new backpack,” Gabby says fondly. “I’ll admit I had fun doing the school supply shopping with her. Why does it feel so good to buy a bunch of notebooks?”
“I don’t know, but I agree. This conversation is making me want to go buy a few right now.”
“Let’s talk first.”
Gabby leads the way into her office. It’s glowing with shafts of late afternoon sunlight, all the color of golden toffee. Aiden and I nervously draw up to the front of her desk. She goes around behind it, drops into her seat, and slides something to us. This morning’s newspaper for Ketterbridge and its surrounding towns, which today is headlined with:
Port Sitka Harbor Fire Causes Temporary Closure, Prompts Calls for More Frequent Inspections
And, beneath that story: Unregistered Boat Sinks in Harbor
This story begins in large letters: Authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward as they attempt to identify the owner of a boat that was reported…
Aiden and I simultaneously lift our eyes to Gabby, who’s sitting back in her desk chair with her coffee cupped in her hands, one eyebrow quirked up.
“We, um-” Aiden begins sheepishly.
Gabby puts a hand up with a soft jingle of her bangles.
“Please tell me that you found her,” she says.
“We did,” Aiden confirms.
Gabby blinks at him, then sits back, letting out a long, slow breath that sinks her shoulders. “And is – is she okay?”
“She is,” I answer immediately, earnestly. “Not even hurt.”
Gabby closes her eyes, takes another deep breath, and opens them smiling.
“Good,” she says softly. “That’s good news.”
“In further good news, I brought this for you, as a thank-you for helping us get out there quickly.” I hold up the pastry bag. “Buttery, flaky on the outside, super soft on the inside, chocolate-filled-”
“Croissant from Mugshot,” Gabby sighs ecstatically, already extending a hand for it. She holds the bag for a second, then lets out a little laugh, setting it aside. “This is turning out to be my favorite meeting of the day by far. Can you tell me what happened? But don’t tell me anything that you know I shouldn’t hear. Either because I’m City Manager, or because it would make me worry.”
“Oh, sure!” I answer brightly. “Let’s see – the first thing that happened is we had a run-in with a guy with a shotg-”
“No,” Aiden cuts in, seeing Gabby’s eyes begin to widen. “Jamie.”
“Oh, okay – so, then this boat crashed and sank. Not the one from the harbor, a different one-” I break off, realizing Aiden is urgently shaking his head at me. “No? Not that, either? Okay – well, the fires were both necessary, which one should I explain first? Oh, wait. I guess there were three. We missed the first one-” I stop again as Aiden widens his eyes at me. “We’ll go right past the fires, then. The uncle-”
“No, no,” Aiden whispers.
I try again, stopping every time Aiden meaningfully catches my eye.
“The engine on the boat – Noah – Ralph – Ripley – now there’s this big party we’re going t-” I break off helplessly. “Alright, what can we tell her about?”
“Okay,” says Gabby, who’s put her head in her hands. “Enough. Nevermind.”
“What we can tell you, boss,” Aiden cuts in, “Is that Faith is home safely, unhurt, with her fiancée. And the people responsible for her disappearance won’t be bothering her again.”
Gabby lifts her head, meets Aiden’s eyes, and sinks back into her seat, too full of relief to speak. Aiden and I give her time, during which I cast my gaze around her beautifully arranged office.
“Maggie would call you an artist,” I tell Gabby.
She lets out a little laugh.
“I don’t know what that means, but of course I’m an artist.” She gestures at herself. “Look at this. I made this.”
Aiden and I laugh, too, then look up at the sound of a soft knock on the door. Kent opens it and steps inside, cold air clinging to his clothes, a single scarlet maple leaf clinging to the strap of his messenger bag.
Aiden laughs beneath his breath when he sees that Kent has a bunch of ivy geranium blossoms in his hands for Gabby. His bouquet is different from mine, dotted with white violets and orange geums, but the foremost flowers are noticeably the same.
“Hey, baby,” he says softly, closing the door after himself, smiling at Gabby. And then, to us – “Hey, you two.”
“Hey, boss!”
“Oh, Kent-” Gabby gets up to accept a kiss from him, flustered and blushing. “I didn’t know you were coming by, I would have-”
“You smell nice,” Kent murmurs, tucking a strand of Gabby’s hair behind her ear. “Like cinnamon.”
“Thank you,” she laughs, curling her shoulders in, twisting her fingers around her wrist. “But Kent, I’m sorry, I’m so busy, I don’t have time today – I was going to text you and let you know-”
“No worries,” Kent says breezily, circling over to the windows and picking up a vase from the nearby filing cabinet. “I know when there’s no text it means that. Don’t mind me at all, I’m just here to change out your flowers. Oh – and I have to give you this.”
Gabby watches in puzzled surprise as Kent draws a manila folder from his bag and hands it to her.
“Sorry, I got confused by the City Hall website, so I wasn’t sure where to register the paperwork. Do you mind getting this to the right department for me?”
“Sí, but which part of the City Hall website is confusing?” Gabby clicks on a pen and opens the leather portfolio with her notepad in it. “I’ll have to get that looked at. If it was confusing for you, it’s probably confusing for everyone.”
“Of course you’ll have it looked at.” Kent breathes out a laugh full of intimate warmth. “Every time I come here you’re in the middle of making something better.”
She flashes him a swift smile, putting her pen to the notepad. “What were you trying to do?”
“Register a change of name for my business.”
Gabby lifts her head in surprise, in tandem with me and Aiden.
“You’re changing the name of the shop, Kent?” I ask, startled. “Really?”
“What you’ll learn, Jamie,” Kent tells me, in a matter-of-fact tone, “Is that letting a then three-year-old name your shop is how you end up with a name like Fresh Flowers.”
“It is a bit – straightforward,” Gabby laughs, her olive eyes sparkling.
“Right, and if you search it on the internet literally everything else comes up before the shop. I’ve always thought we could do better, so I asked Ellen if she wanted to update the name she chose before.” Kent taps the file on Gabby’s desk. “And she did.”
“Aw! Okay.” Gabby picks up the file, her bangles jingling softly. “Did you want to-?”
A tentative knock on the door cuts her off. A man with ruffled-up hair opens it and leans in, looking painfully nervous.
“Ms. Soto? I’m from the Engineering Department. I think you – you called my boss and said you wanted to speak to me?”
Based on the sweat glimmering on his forehead, the summons have left him with the worry that he’s in some kind of trouble.
“Oh, yes-” Gabby shoots Kent an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry, I have to-”
“No worries. I was just headed out.” Kent gives her a warm smile across the desk, then taps the folder. “Make sure that gets where it needs to go for me?”
She nods gratefully at Kent. He slips out past the anxious employee in the doorway, who steps into the office when Gabby beckons for him.
“Let’s make this quick,” Gabby says briskly. “I only have a few minutes.”
The man closes his eyes, sweating visibly, twisting the lanyard with his City Hall badge in his hands.
Gabby gets a glimpse of his face and does an alarmed double-take. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing!” he says immediately. “Just – just wondering what the City Manager wants with the most junior engineer in the department?”
“Oh, yes. It probably seems like I asked you here out of the blue.” Gabby takes one of the bound stacks of papers from her pile and holds it up. “You’re the one who wrote this proposal for revamping the City Hall parking lot, aren’t you? You put it in the box set out for employees to submit proposals or suggestions.”
The guy blinks at it, astonished. “What… I put that in there three years ago. I assumed it was rejected when I never heard anything back, but I didn’t know what happened…”
“What happened is, I just found the box and all of its proposals in a storage closet at the very back of this office, where it seems to have been sitting for the past three years. I assume the previous City Manager must have left it there. None of the proposals appear to have been reviewed.”
The engineer stares incredulously at Gabby. “And you’re going through them now?”
“I’m sure the details may be hard to recall all these years later, but you proposed certain changes to make the parking lot safer for children.”
“Oh, no, I remember, I worked on it for a while – I know money is tight, but just a few small changes could go a long way. There are areas where the sight lines aren’t clear to someone the height of a child, say a five-year-old. The hedges are too tall.”
The man fades off, rubbing his wrist, then hastily adds – “The kids need to be able to see the cars coming, that’s all. The changes I suggested in my proposal would support that. I hope I didn’t overstep, submitting it straight to the City Manager, but it got passed over by my boss at the time…”
He pauses nervously, still uncertain about whether or not he’s in trouble.
Gabby breaks into a small smile, then slides the proposal across the desk to him.
“I’m not the only one who needs to approve it, so it’ll need some work,” she says, tossing her long hair over her shoulder. “I’m guessing you’ll want to make updates before it’s officially reviewed. I’ve also marked it up with some notes and suggestions for changes in the text. You may want to emphasize that if City Hall is officially aware of these issues, and did nothing to address them, that could leave us liable if something were to happen. The budget and legal department representatives might find that argument worth consideration.”
The engineer picks up his proposal automatically, bewildered, more than a little dazed. “This – this is going up for consideration? Seriously?”
“It is.” Gabby drops back into her seat, taking up her pen. “May I ask what prompted the proposal, by the way?”
“Nothing, I was just thinking about it-”
Gabby’s perceptive eyes linger on his face. “Do you have children, by any chance?”
He tilts his chin up, all of a sudden beaming proudly. Unable to resist, he holds out his phone to show Gabby his background picture.
“An eight-year-old and four-year-old. One more on the way, now. I can’t wait.”
“Ambos son adorables.” Gabby rests her chin on her palm, casting a quick smile up at him. “I’m sure they’d be glad to know they inspired such initiative.”
The engineer blushes in pleased surprise, then hesitates when Gabby adds – “Can you have that proposal to me by the day after tomorrow? Is two days enough time to work on it?”
“I – yes, it is, but I – nevermind.”
“No, what?”
“Nothing.”
Gabby sits there waiting patiently until he sheepishly curls the proposal in his hands.
“It – it’s just my eldest’s birthday tomorrow, and my wife and I have a little party planned for her, so I took a vacation day… but – I can see if, um-”
Gabby waves a hand at him. “Three days, then.”
The engineer smiles gratefully, then drops his gaze to the proposal, hesitating again. “Shouldn’t someone more senior be in charge of this, though?”
“No,” Gabby says firmly. “You can have someone help you, if you want, but this is yours. I’d like to have someone who feels the way you do about children in charge of improving the town for children.”
The engineer just stands there staring at her until she looks up from the note she was jotting down and arches an eyebrow.
“That’ll be all,” she says, gesturing to the door with her pen.
He gives a little start, then goes hurrying out of the office, beaming and hugging his proposal to his chest.
I catch a glimpse of something surprising when he opens the door. Kent, still lingering outside. Eavesdropping with a smile on his face. He stays leaning against the wall for a second, then heads off and disappears into the hallway. I watch him go, remembering something he said to me once.
I love watching Gabby work. She’s doing all this incredibly stressful stuff, I know, but for some reason it’s so relaxing to watch her do it. Feels like things are slowly and surely being fixed.
“Aiden, Jamie, I’ll have to send you along now.” Gabby reaches for the folder with the business name change request that Kent left behind. “I’ve got my next meeting in – shit. Under five minutes. Kent seriously came here and left before I could finish writing that text to him.”
Aiden laces his fingers through mine. “We’ll get out of your way.”
“You are not in my way,” Gabby says firmly. She pauses, gazing down at Kent’s folder curiously, then flips it open. “In fact you’ve cleared a lot of worry from my mind, and brought me a croissant, so if – if anything…”
She trails off, staring down at the completed form in the folder, her eyes growing very wide. She blinks hard a few times, like she’s trying to clear her vision, then looks at it again.
I drop my gaze to it, too, and accidentally read the new name of the shop.
It seems I’m now an employee of Gabrielle’s Greenhouse.
My fingertips fly up to my lips, and Aiden’s mouth drops open into a giant grin.
“Aw!” I blurt out, before I can stop myself.
“What…?” A deep, bright blush rushes into Gabby’s cheeks, her long lashes blinking fast. She lets out a sharp laugh, shaking her head. “Gabrielle’s – he can’t be serious, that-” She falls silent, staring at it with an astonished, flustered smile on her face, then snatches up the folder and rushes to the door. “He must still be here, I – I’ve got to-”
She disappears through the door of her office and out into the hall. Forgetting to put back on her heels, which she nudged off during our conversation. A few people look up from their desks to watch in surprise as she goes flying past barefoot, the folder clasped in her hands.
Aiden and I exchange a swift, delighted grin with each other.
“Kent has style,” Aiden laughs. “With a big assist from Ellen.”
“Yes, he does.” I let out a happy sigh as we set out back into the hallway, joining the current of people moving past. “I’m glad that someone is making things nice for Gabby. She’s always doing that for everyone else.”
“Just like you,” Aiden agrees.
I turn my face away to check my phone, mostly so Aiden doesn’t see me blushing. Mercifully it started buzzing just at the right moment to provide me with an excuse.
“Hey, Noah! Are we still on for our games and-” I cut myself off sharply, remembering where I am. “Our, um – our thing tomorrow night?”
“Hey, bro – yeah, I’m sorry, I gotta reschedule. Me ‘n Raj were digging around in the trash behind the-”
“Of course,” I laugh, before he can finish.
“Yeah, yeah. Point is, we found a cast iron fireplace insert. It’ll be dope in Eduardo’s cafe with a little fixing up. Raj got really excited about it, so we’re gonna go tomorrow and see if Eduardo likes it. If he does, Raj wants to have it up and working before it starts getting real cold out, and we figure if we’re already there we may as well get a full day of work in on the place. I’m gonna be wiped out when we get home, so – can we push our plan back?”
“Sure!” I answer, letting Aiden lead me through all the City Hall bustle. “But isn’t your sister getting here pretty soon?”
“That got pushed back, too. By a full week.”
I pause in concern, hearing some subtle change in Noah’s voice. “Are you okay?”
“What? Yeah, I’m fine.” There’s a brief silence, and then – “Just, you know. Wish we hadn’t found out this close to the trip. After we already cleaned our house, and set up the guest room in case she wants to stay with us, and everything.”
Aw, Noah… I don’t think it really has anything to do with that stuff. I know he’s been really excited to see her, and I can tell that he’s a little crestfallen.
“But she’s still coming, right? The trip is still on?”
“Yeah. She said that some work thing came up, but she’s already got a new ticket for next week.”
“Okay, so she’ll be here!” I tell him encouragingly.
“Yeah, I know. Like I said, I’m fine. It’s just one more week of waiting, doesn’t matter.” Noah clears his throat. “Anyways, d’you mind if we move our plans?”
“No problem, but in that case it’ll have to be after Maggie’s party. You’re coming to that, right?”
“No.”
This is so startling that I stop in the middle of the hallway, take my phone away from my ear, and stare at it stupidly for a second.
“No? What do you mean, no? You’re skipping a party? You?”
“I can’t be getting involved in anything to do with Ralph’s business again, Jamie. I promised Raj and Mel I wouldn’t do that. The Sea-Doo thing was because it was an emergency. A Sea-Doo emergency.”
“Yep, one of those,” I answer, biting back an affectionate laugh. “Aw, Noah. You’re being so responsible. You should feel good about yourself.”
“Fatherhood changes a man,” he says, very gravely. And then, after a brief crashing sound – “Shit! Sorry, I dropped my phone. I’ve got my arm in one of the vending machines behind the gas station. I can almost reach this fucking Kit Kat… come on, baby, come on…”
“I take back what I said a second ago about you being so responsible. I take it back so hard. And what I said about feeling good about yourself. You should feel heavy with shame.”
“Man, my arm is stuck, Niki is laughing at me, it’s basically that fuckin’ baby yoga class Mel made me go to all over again – hang on, I can do it-”
“He’s stuck,” I tell Aiden helplessly. “In front of Nik, too.”
“Don’t tell Aiden that! Aiden, bro, don’t believe his lies, I got this!”
“You’re not on speaker, Noah.”
“Oh, hang on – Raj just came over, he’s gonna tilt the machine for me. That’ll do it! Gotta go.”
“Fine, but if Raj drops a vending machine on top of you right in front of your baby in the name of saving two dollars, I’m saying I told you so!” I answer, then hang up and look at Aiden. “Noah’s-”
I break off with a sharp laugh, seeing the baffled and alarmed expression on my Companion Plant’s face.
“Noah’s – probably fine,” I go on, my voice wavering, “But Noelle’s visit got pushed back a week. Guess she had a work thing come up?”
“Aw, man. Poor Noosh.” Aiden lets us back into his office, where he drops down into his office chair and tosses his chestnut hair out of his eyes. “He was so excited.”
“Yeah, but he’ll be okay. He’s spending all day tomorrow doing construction stuff with Raj.”
“Oh, that’ll fix him. He’ll be happy again after an hour, tops.” Aiden looks up at me thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s for the best Noelle’s not coming right now, especially if we’re all supposed to hang. We’ve got a busy week ahead of us. Between you teaching your science class, then us going to the drug kingpin’s party.”
“Do you have to put those two things in the same sentence?” I groan-laugh, burying my hands in his irresistible hair. “Oh, god. Should I not have committed us to this party? I just felt like Kaden should probably have some friends there, if he’s going to go… and don’t you think Maggie would be sad if none of us went? Which is what would happen, because you know Ralph won’t go without us, and the ghosts are both recharging. Not that Maggie could see them.”
“No, yeah, I think we should go.” Aiden folds his arms around me, draws me down onto his lap. “But how do I keep Francesco away from you? He looked about ready to eat you up. I’m not saying I won’t fight the head of a notorious crime family if he touches you, but I am saying that Ralph probably won’t like that.”
“Please,” I laugh, winding my arms around his neck. “As if you have anything to worry about. If anything I’m concerned that Francesco will decide he likes your voice so much he wants to keep you. That’s what I would decide, if I was him.”
“Yeah, okay.” Aiden huffs out a laugh, keeping me nestled up in his arms. “If you seriously think you should be concerned, I think that’s cute. My sweet, simple boyfriend.”
“Wow, alright, you horrible jerk! You’re the gym boy jock-brained-”
Aiden lifts my fingers to his lips, brushes a kiss onto my knuckles.
“Be my date for the party?” he murmurs, smiling up at me with his blue eyes.
The afternoon sunlight drifts across them, but I find myself more lost in the warmth and light that was already there, that’s always there.
“Yes,” I answer meekly, suddenly and painfully shy.
Aiden stamps another kiss onto my knuckles, then cracks a little grin.
“Then I guess it’s party time.”
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