Relentless Hope (Resilient Hearts)

by Cassidy, Ashley

  “Nothing. Just excited about tonight... So, you’re still not going to tell me where we’re going?”

  A mischievous smile creeps up the corner of his mouth. “Nope, not yet,” he says, before his face turns serious. “Do you mind if I drive tonight? I wanted to rent a car but I figured you would yell at me for wasting my money on the first day I got paid, but if it’s okay I’d play the driver tonight?

  “Of course.”

  Aiden takes my car keys when we get to the house and disappears shortly thereafter, promising to come pick me up in about thirty minutes. I rush to my room to start putting my make up on. I decide to go with a light natural look applying an eye shadow that brings out my black eyes and a nude lipstick. I put my hair in a loose braid that I bring over one shoulder. As soon as I put my dress on, I hear a knock on my door.

  “Hold on one second,” I yell at the closed door, as I scramble to quickly put my shoes on. I want Aiden to see the whole outfit when he sees me.

  I turn the door knob and push the door all the way open. Aiden is standing on the other side, holding out a box in his hand when he sees me.

  His eyes get big and he gulps quickly, but I notice his hands turning to tight fists, the mixed signals once again confusing my senses.

  “Wow. You look…you look amazing,” he says, as he hands me the box. “This is for you.”

  I take the box from him and examine the top to see it’s a box of my favorite chocolates. I only mentioned in passing once that I like this chocolate. I can’t believe he remembered it, let alone go into the trouble of getting it for me tonight. “Aiden–you didn’t have to get me anything.”

  “I know, but I wanted to. This is for you too,” he says with a shy smile, as he hands me a single red rose. My eyes jump to his in surprise.

  “Aiden. What is this? Is this… Is tonight a date?”

  “Tonight’s about you, Aleah. It’s whatever you wanted it to be. I just want to make you happy? So, what do you want tonight to be?”

  My hearts flutters, as butterflies soar in my belly. Of course my heart wants tonight to be a date, but the nagging voices in my head are still too strong to let my heart win.

  “Let’s just see how it goes,” I say, as I let my cowardness speak for me.

  “Okay. You may want to bring some comfortable shoes and a jacket, just in case.”

  “Where are you taking me that requires comfortable shoes?”

  “Oh, Aleah−always impatient. I told you, you’ll find out soon enough.”

  Aiden leads the way to the car, stopping at the passenger side to open the door for me before rounding the car and taking the driver’s seat.

  “How hungry are you?” he asks, as he buckles his seatbelt.

  “Not that hungry yet. Why?”

  “Will you be able to wait a couple of hours?”

  “Sure.”

  A huge grin comes across his face, the joy radiating from him making me giddy. We chat comfortably during the drive talking about our day and things here and there. As I notice him driving towards north and bypassing the downtown and Hollywood areas, my curiosity grows.

  “Where are we going?” I finally can’t help asking again.

  “Patience, Aleah, patience. You’re going to learn to be patient.”

  “Arghhh…the anticipation is killing me.”

  “Good… It’ll make it that much more exciting,” he says with a smirk. I keep quiet, but as soon as he exits the freeway and I see the sign, I squeal in excitement.

  “The Griffith Observatory? You’re taking me to the Griffith Observatory?”

  The smile on his face tells me my guess was correct. The overwhelming sense of joy I feel at his thoughtfulness threatens to bring tears to my eyes. I mentioned to him once that I was into starts as a kid, but I’d never made it to the Observatory, and we are here tonight fulfilling my childhood wish.

  We walk up the stairs when we get there and go directly to one of the outdoor terraces to see the view. We get there as the sun is setting over the L.A. sky and the view is simply breathtaking. Aiden puts his arm around me as we lean on the railing to take in the view in front us and I can’t help but lean into him. I place my head on his shoulder and get a waft of his smell, and it’s enough to make me get lost in his intoxicating scent.

  I feel all my senses slowly losing control. Every cell in my body is drawn to his, the pull so strong that the strongest of forces will have no chance against it. I turn my head slightly up to gaze into his eyes and see every bit of the emotions running through my body reflected back in his sparkling eyes.

  At the moment, the urge to lock my lip with his is so powerful that it washes away every ounce of fear and second thought in my mind. I let my body get pulled to the magnetic force, as I turn my head up to slowly touch my lips to his. At first, it’s the softest of touches. Just a sensation of one pair of lips against another, but the havoc this slight touch wrecks to every nerve in my body has the force of a tornado.

  Aiden moves his lips slowly against mine in a sensual rhythm that has butterflies dancing in every corner of my stomach. It’s a slow tender kiss, but it’s packed with so much emotion that it makes my knees go week. He brings his hands up to cup my face running his fingers gently on my cheeks and I feel every last bit of the walls around my heart crumble into a million pieces at my feet. I know at that moment that there is no denying I’m falling hard for this man, the realization both exhilarating and frightening.

  The kiss goes on for a long time, as if neither one of us can bear to break the connection we’ve finally made. Aiden finally pulls away. He ends the kiss by placing a small butterfly kiss on the corner of my mouth and then kissing the tip of my nose and the side of my forehead. I melt into his embrace, cradling my head into his chest as he wraps his arms tight around me. “Wow,” I whisper into his chest. “That was just, wow.”

  “I know,” is all he says in response. We stand like that for a long time soaking in the blissful peace that has come between us after the explosive kiss we just shared. When I finally lift my head up to look into his beautiful eyes, his tender smile takes my breath away. He bends to place another kiss on my forehead, as he runs his fingers gently through my hair.

  “You ready to go check out the telescopes?” he asks.

  When I simply nod my head, he grabs my hand, lacing my fingers through his as he leads me to the line for looking through the giant telescope. As we stand in line next to each other, I take notice of how my senses are attuned to his every move. Every gentle sway of his body, every turn of his head makes my heart rate quicken and my body crave more of his touch. He brings his hand up to gently run his fingers across my back. The touch is featherlike gentle, but it makes goose bumps form all over my skin. I lean into him once more and he places a kiss on top of my head.

  We stand like that lost in each other’s gentle touches until we get to the front of the line. Aiden helps me get positioned correctly to view through the telescope, and when I do, the view of the stars takes my breath away. I catch a glimpse of a large star surrounded by a few smaller ones.

  “I think I see one of the planets, and a few of its moons. What is that?”

  “That must be Jupiter,” one of the guides responds.

  “Oh, my God. That’s incredible,” I can’t help exclaiming. “Aiden, you have to see this. Come look through this.”

  He gives me a smile that makes my breath hitch. “I love the look of excitement on your face right now,” he says, as he slides in front of the telescope.

  “Do you see it? The giant reddish one.”

  “I do. It’s beautiful, but not as beautiful as you,” he whispers, as he turns his head around to face me. The simple statement brings butterflies back to my stomach.

  We walk hand in hand outside, scrolling through the grounds, basking in the incredible views of the L.A. night sky and enjoying our nearness to each other. We stop at a couple of other smaller telescopes to check out the views, stealing small kisses here and there,
as we walk around.

  When we walk back to the car, I’m so happy I feel like I’m walking on cloud nine.

  “So, you’re going to tell me where you’re taking me next or is the rest of the evening a surprise too?” I ask, teasingly.

  “What? You didn’t like your first surprise?” he asks with a smile.

  “No, it’s the opposite. My first surprise was so amazing that I can’t wait to find out about the rest.”

  “Well, I can tell you this much. The rest won’t be as exciting… We’re going to dinner.”

  “Dinner can be exciting. In fact, I’m so hungry right now that the thought of dinner is pretty darn exciting.”

  “Then you’re in for a nice surprise,” he responds with his sexy grin.

  We drive down to Beverly Hills where the car finally comes to a stop in front of a trendy Italian restaurant. We’ve never been here together, but Aiden had mentioned the name of this place before as one of his favorite new restaurants. I look across the console at him and he smiles.

  “Is this okay?”

  “I’ve never been here, but this one guy I once knew told me incredible things about it, so I’d like to try.”

  “Well, the guy sounds like an incredibly smart man. I think you should always listen to him.”

  “Haha…in his dreams,” I tease.

  We slowly walk towards the restaurant, and as soon as we enter, I fall in love with the ambiance. The place is new, with modern furniture everywhere. The lights are dim and a candle and a fresh flower in a vase adorn every table.

  We take a seat at a table and the waiter approaches for our drink orders. Aiden asks me what my choice of wine is and I almost choke on my words.

  “Wine? I let you pick that one. I’ll drink whatever you pick.” After the waiter walks away, I whisper to Aiden. “You realize I’m still underage, right?”

  “Yea, but he didn’t ask to see an ID, so you should be fine. So, what type of wine do you like?”

  “I’ve never had wine before.”

  “You’ve never had wine? Wow. What about other drinks?”

  “I’ve only had a couple of drinks in my whole life. My family was strict. They didn’t drink alcohol and they expected me not to.”

  “Okay then. We’ll have to make sure you go slow tonight. Let me change the wine to something light and sweet.”

  “No, don’t change it for me. I want to try what you like.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  The wine arrives a few minutes later and I raise my glass to my lips. Aiden’s curious eyes are glued to my lips, as I take my first sip. It tastes like grape juice with a strong hint of alcohol. My first thought is that it doesn’t taste good, but then I take another sip and the second one tastes a little better.

  “You don’t have to drink if you don’t like it. I can order you something else.”

  “Let me finish this glass first and then I’ll let you know if I want a different one.” Aiden nods his head. I slowly drink the rest of the glass as we talk and by the time I finish the glass, the taste has grown on me.

  “I’m starting to like this,” I say to him with a smile.

  “See, I knew you were a keeper,” he says, returning my smile. Just then, the waiter approaches to take our food orders.

  The conversation turns to more serious topics, after we order our entrees.

  “So you’re excited about starting school in a week?” asks Aiden.

  “Yes,” I say with enthusiasm. “I can’t wait. I’ve been feeling really bored and lonely at that huge house lately. Can’t wait to get out and do something useful.”

  A sexy grin lifts up a corner of his mouth. “Oh, have you been missing me at the house, Aleah?”

  “I have,” I say with a shy smile, the alcohol already making me more honest than I’d like to be. “But, it’s not just that. I just don’t like living in that huge house all by myself. I know it’s a multimillion dollar mansion with one of the best views of the ocean and all the amenities I could ask for, and I should be grateful for the chance to live there, but the enormous size of the place and its quietness since you left, makes me feel all the more lonely. I grew up in a loud large family. I’m used to having a lot of people around and that’s what the Palos Verdes mansion is meant for. It’s built for entertaining and for a large bustling family. For one person to live there all by themselves, it just feels like such a waste of space.”

  “I know what you mean. I always wondered that about my grandpa too. Every time I visited, I wondered if he felt lonely living there all alone… So going back to school would be good for you then?”

  “Yea, I’m just not looking forward to the drive every day.”

  “You’re making the drive every day now for me.”

  “Yea, I guess I am,” I say with a laugh. “But, by then I’ll be busy. Right now, I have all the time in the world, but with all the classes I’m taking, I’ll have very little time to spare.”

  “How many classes are you taking?”

  “I’m taking five, plus an off campus LSAT test preparation course.”

  “LSAT,” he asks in surprise. “I thought you were a pre-med student.”

  “I was, but I’m thinking of going to law school instead.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and I talked to an advisor about it this week. I like the science part of medicine, but I’m not sure I’ll like the actual work and the more I think about it, the more I realize, I was getting into that field for the wrong reasons. I was mainly doing it for the prestige and for money, and I’ve really outgrown those reasons now. David left me enough to not have to worry about money for the rest of my life. Don’t get me wrong,” I quickly add, as I see the look of surprise on his face, “comparing to what he left to all his other heirs, my share is peanuts, but for me it’s more than enough. I don’t need to live extravagantly. More than anything, I care about the financial security money provides. To know that I will have a roof over my head, no matter what, and I have more than enough now not to have to worry about that. That’s why going into medicine for money is really stupid for me now. I want to do something that I care about. Pursue something that’s meaningful.”

  I take a deep breath and try to think of the best way to explain my thoughts. “I’ve been thinking about that for a while now and the one thing that I keep coming back to is that I want to do something to help with women in need, particularly victims of domestic abuse.” I avoid Aiden’s eyes as I say this, because I know his deeply observant eyes will see right through me, and I’m not ready yet to open up to him about some of the darkest days of my life. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to talk about that phase of my life with anyone, so I try to move the conversation along and change the topic as fast I can.

  “So I talked to my advisor and she suggested law school. It captured my interest, and the more I think about, the more excited I get about the prospect. That’s why I’m taking the LSAT prep course... So, what about you? How are you enjoying the job now that you’ve been there two weeks? Is that something you would want to do after you’re done with the experiment?”

  Aiden studies me for a few seconds before he responds. I know he wants to ask more questions, but he senses my uneasiness at discussing the topic and decides to let it go. I watch the play of emotions on his face as he thinks this through and I’m amazed at how easily we can read each other after such a short time of knowing one another.

  He releases a deep sigh before finally saying, “I like the work. I’ve always been good with numbers and I like trying to predict the market and beating it. I’ve been doing that on my own for myself for a while now.”

  “You have?” I ask in surprise.

  “Don’t look that surprised. What? You think all I do all day is lie around and waste time?”

  He looks offended when I just shrug my shoulders. “You must think really highly of me then. You thought I was pretty much a bum,
huh?”

  “No, I knew you were super smart. David told me how well you did in Harvard business school, but he also said that you didn’t seem to have any drive to do anything with it.”

  “Yea, I didn’t have any interest to use the skills in business, but I used them for my own benefit. When I turned twenty one, I was granted access to about two million dollars of my trust fund. I invested that in the stock market and a few start-up businesses and since then I’ve doubled the money.”

  “You doubled your money in four years?” I ask in shock.

  He chuckles. “Yea, I did. I love playing in the market for me, but doing it for other people is a completely different ballgame. I don’t like doing that because when you work at an investment firm, your ultimate goal is to make money for the firm, not for the client. So, you come up with tons of gimmicks and tricks to get people to invest money with you and then you get them to buy and sell constantly to make money off of their trades. It’s not necessarily to make them money, so sometimes you even suggest options that are not the best for the client, but have the best chance of making you money…and I hate that about the business. I interned at Pierson’s Investment for a summer during college, and by the end of the summer, I didn’t want anything to do with it. I get that it’s a business and it needs to make money, but I don’t need to get into that to make myself money. I’ve been lucky enough to receive enough money through my inheritance to invest it for myself and make money off of the investments. I don’t need to take other people’s money to make me rich.”

  “So if you get the rest of David’s estate, what are you going to do then?”

  He laughs. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? I don’t even have the slightest idea what Grandpa has planned for me next, so I don’t want to think that far ahead.”

  Our meals arrive then and the conversation changes to food and other topics. I continue drinking the wine with my food, as I’m immersed in conversation with Aiden, enjoying every bit of his presence.

  As the night goes on, I feel more and more relaxed. At some point, I notice that I’m starting to sound giggly and louder than normal, but I feel so happy with the events of the night that I feel quite carefree, not caring much how I’m acting.