He cursed under his breath then the line went dead. A second later, I heard footsteps pounding across the floor. The front door whipped open and there stood Aiden, fresh from the shower, hair damp, black t-shirt stretched across his chest.
“She didn’t tell me you were here.”
“Oops! I knew I forgot to tell you something,” she said from behind him, not sounding the least bit remorseful.
Aiden stepped through the door to retrieve my bags for me, even taking the one off my shoulder. I sighed in relief, aiming an appreciative smile his way as he led me in.
“So this is it,” he said, looking back at me with a smile. “That’s the kitchen, and there’s the living room.”
“Pretty self-explanatory.” I laughed.
He joined in. “Yeah. Right. C’mon, I’ll show you your room. It’s just across the living room from mine.”
“Ai-den,” the girl singsonged. “I’m starving. You said we could go get some lunch.”
Her pouty tone grated on my nerves, and Aiden wasn’t immune either. He met my gaze and rolled his eyes teasingly. I smiled at him conspiratorially.
“Fine,” she groaned in annoyance. “I’ll be downstairs in the car. Waiting.”
Then she stormed out of the condo.
“Girlfriend?” I asked, trying to make my tone sound nonchalant.
“Not even close,” he assured me.
Oh thank god.
He opened the door to my room and we stepped inside together.
There was already a mattress and bedframe, as he’d mentioned there would be, but not much else.
“Did you bring a car down?” he asked.
I shook my head. I’d flown from Dallas that morning and taken an Uber to the condo. “No. It was pretty old and unreliable. My parents offered to help me get something better, but I figured I could just walk most places since we’re in such a great location.”
“Yeah, you’ll be fine. I have my Jeep if you ever want to borrow it. Figure you might need to go pick up some stuff to make this place feel like home.”
I glanced back at the sparse room.
Home.
Right.
“You have a private bathroom back through there,” he continued, pointing to a door opposite the bed, “and there’s a washer and dryer in the hall near the kitchen.”
He looked down at his cell phone buzzing in his hand, and a fleeting look of annoyance crossed his face.
“I can take it from here,” I told him with a reassuring thumbs-up. “I’ll just take my time unpacking and getting settled in.”
“Sounds good. Sorry I have to run,” he said, backing up toward the door. “I’ll make it up to you. Do you like pizza?”
“Can’t stand the stuff.” He looked taken aback, and I grinned. “I’m kidding. Everyone likes pizza.”
His smile magnified tenfold. “Right. I’ll bring some home later. We can celebrate.”
Did I want Aiden to greet me upon my arrival at his condo completely and utterly in love with me? Sort of. But then, I couldn’t really blame him for having a girl there. After all, the last time he’d seen me, I was still dating Darren. He didn’t know we’d broken up after the wedding. He didn’t know I’d been anxiously awaiting my move to Austin, not only to start life after college and an exciting new job, but also because I secretly wanted to get to know him better.
That night, he brought home pizza as promised, and the next day when I asked to borrow his Jeep so I could go to IKEA for a dresser, he volunteered to come with me.
We stopped for BBQ on the way, and it’s been like that ever since, me and Aiden, partners in crime.
My parents had nothing to worry about with him. In the two years since I moved in, we have not kissed or touched in a sexual way. He has not asked me out on a date, stared longingly into my eyes, made proclamations of love, or tried to seduce me. The time I saw him naked, it was only because I got home early from work and he’d left the door to his room open because he wasn’t expecting me. Innocent mistake.
Now just because Aiden hasn’t been pursuing me doesn’t mean he’s been a saint. In the two years we’ve lived together, I have seen him with other women. Lots of women. Loud creative types. Shy bookworms. Sporty yoga instructors. Worse, they aren’t even all beautiful; he’s not shallow like that. Most of them are funny and awesome and that’s part of the reason why I let them in when they come knocking after a breakup, wanting more of him.