by K E Osborn
“You look better in them than I do.”
I walk up to him, stretch up on tiptoes, and put my arms around his neck. He takes in a deep breath and kisses me, holding me around my waist. His kiss is strong and passionate. He moves his hands down to my ass, slapping it and making me laugh.
“C’mon, woman, feed me,” he says, sounding like a caveman and slapping me on the ass once more. I walk out to the kitchen, and we raid his cupboards in search of something to eat. We decide on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
“I didn’t picture you as a peanut butter and jelly kind of guy.”
“Oh really? What do you picture me as?”
“More like a caviar-on-croutons kind of guy,” I say, laughing.
“Only on special occasions,” he says, moving in and hugging me from behind.
We eat our peanut butter and jelly at the dining table.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yeah, thank you for being here. It means a lot to me.”
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” I casually scoff another mouthful. “Oh, and thanks for the flowers yesterday. I love them.”
“I’m glad you love them. Get used to it. You’re going to have flowers delivered every Monday from now on. That’s a promise.”
I roll my eyes at him, thinking he’s joking.
“No, I mean it. So you never forget how much you are loved.”
“I know how much you love me, babe. Don’t waste your money.”
“It’s not a waste of money. They liven up your office, and anyway, I know you love them. It’s a done deal. Flowers every Monday, no arguments.”
“You’ll get sick of it eventually and will stop giving them to me.”
He grins from ear to ear. “Is that a challenge, Miss Taylor?”
I laugh at him. “Take it how you will,” I say then continue to eat.
“You’re on.” His eyes seem to light up.
Oh, how I love lighthearted Aiden. He seems much calmer than he has been in the past twenty-four hours.
* * *
We spend the rest of the day on the sofa watching movies as Aiden holds me tight the entire time. His cell phone rings at various times throughout the day, but he ignores it, eventually putting it on silent.
It gets closer and closer to night, and I start to feel hungry again. My stomach growls.
“Hungry?” Aiden asks, holding me tightly.
“A little.”
He picks up his cell phone. I see the screen. There are thirteen missed calls. I bite my bottom lip and wonder if I should say something. I decide not to, letting him deal with it in his own way. He dials a number, and I hear the ringing on the other end then someone picks up.
“Hello, sir.”
“Hi, Mike, can we get some takeout food? The usual is fine. Make it for two please.”
“Certainly, sir.”
“Thanks, Mike,” he says and hangs up.
“Hope you like Indian food.”
“How did you know?” I ask, feeling slightly bemused.
“I know everything, remember?” I shake my head as we go back to watching our movie.
Mike eventually shows up with our dinner, we eat together, it gets late, and as we have work tomorrow. Aiden takes me home.
***
Mike pulls up in front of my house, and Aiden walks me to my door, holding my heels and black dress as I fumble like always to get my keys out of my bag. Finally, I manage to find them, and we enter the house. We walk down the hallway to my room. The lights are out; Sarah has obviously gone to bed. I try to make my way barefoot through the house, and I walk straight into the dining table, the push making it move across the floor and creak. I stop and start to giggle. Aiden takes my hand and walks me to my room. How does he know my house in the dark better than I do? We get to my room, and he turns on the light, putting my shoes on the floor and my dress on my bed. He walks toward me and takes me in his arms. His grip is strong as he kisses me again.
“I love you, Aiden,” I say to him as he ends our kiss.
He breathes slowly, closing his eyes, his head pressed against my forehead. “I love you more than anything in this world, you know that, right?” I get the feeling he hasn’t said that to many, if any, of his other girlfriends.
“I know.” I take in a deep breath as his eyes open, staring straight into mine. He sighs and lets me go, kissing me once more on the forehead.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I see his angst returning. “Baby, you’ll be fine.” I try to reassure him.
“I know, but I’m not looking forward to the fallout and accompanying argument with Father as to why I wasn’t at work today.”
“Guess that’s going to be inevitable, but don’t worry about it until tomorrow. Try to have a good night’s sleep, babe, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Are you still coming here to stay the night?”
“I’ll be here; I’ll come straight after work.”
I hug him once more as we walk to the front door, missing the table this time. I give him a goodbye kiss, and he leaves to get into the car with Mike. I walk in and close the front door, locking it before I go the bathroom to have a shower.
***
The weeks that follow are filled with a usual routine. Friday to Sunday I spend at Aiden’s apartment, eventually finding a permanent position for a toothbrush in the en-suite and homes for other things like some essential clothing items that stay at Aiden’s apartment. He stays at my house every Wednesday, also finding a place for his toothbrush and some clothing at my house. My feelings for him grow with every touch, every kiss, every heartbeat. I know he truly is mine, and I truly am his. The hype over the investigation for Aiden’s work dwindles down slightly. The detectives’ leads are getting them closer, but there is still more than one suspect.
Chapter 22
“It’s Christmas Day, Aiden. Merry Christmas, babe,” I say as I reach my hand under the bed to pull out his present. His eyes bulge when he sees the big package in front of him, wrapped up in silver and blue wrapping paper. He picks up the box, shakes it, and listens for movement.
“I didn’t know what to get you. There are few different things. Open it,” I say excitedly.
He tears the paper to find a box filled with gifts, including a couple of shirts, various colored ties, a copy of a movie that he likes, and a framed photo of us at Skye’s birthday party. He looks up at me and smiles, a smile that warms my heart.
“Thank you, I love this,” he says, holding up the photo.
He bends over and pulls out two small rectangular presents from his bedside table, wrapped in silver and pink wrapping with little bows on top.
“You got me pink wrapping paper, babe.”
He hands me the two gifts. I tear the paper on the first one to reveal a light blue Tiffany & Co. bracelet box. I look up at him in shock.
“No way, it’s too expensive.”
“I like to spoil my girl,” he replies.
I take in a deep breath and open the box. I see a white gold chain bracelet with xoxo as a centerpiece glistening in the light. “Oh my god, Aiden, I really love it.” I take it out of the box.
“It reminded me of the text message you sent me after our first date, when you put the xoxo for the first time at the end of the message.”
“I remember, thank you,” I say sincerely as he places it around my wrist. “I was so worried that I had been overly affectionate by sending the xoxo that night.”
“Well, it made my night even better when I saw it. Now open the other one.”
I tear the wrapping to find another light blue Tiffany & Co. box. “Aiden!” I scowl at him, furrowing my eyebrows but following through with a smile.
“Shh, just open it.”
I shake my head, opening the box. It’s a matching necklace in white gold with xoxo as the centerpiece.
“This is too much. It must have been expensive.”
“You’re worth it, baby.”
“I feel bad. Shirts suck
compared to this.”
“I love the photo, baby. It’s exactly the perfect gift. It’ll look awesome on my desk at work, where I will be reminded every day how lucky I was to find you. I love anything you give me. To be perfectly honest, the best present by far is the gift of your love.” He strokes my arm. I lean forward on my knees and hug him.
“I really, really love your gifts, Aiden, thank you so much.” I sit back down on my feet and hand the necklace to him. I lift my hair out of the way as he places the necklace carefully around my neck and fastens the clip. He kisses my shoulder again, sending a shiver down my spine.
***
We get dressed and head over to my mother’s for Christmas lunch.
“Just letting you know that Mom can be a little quirky, but I do love that about her.”
We pull up in front of mom’s unit in the Aston Martin. We get out of the car, taking Mom’s present with us, and push the doorbell as we arrive at her door.
“Coming,” she yells as she runs to the door. We hear a bang then something fall and crash onto the floor.
“Oh, crap,” Mom says. I look at Aiden and laugh as Mom opens the door.
“Sweetheart, I’ve missed you. I’m glad you’re here. Merry Christmas,” she says, hugging me tightly.
“Merry Christmas, Mom.” I hug her back. “Mom, this is Aiden.” She’s still holding onto me. She looks up at Aiden.
“Hi, Aiden, it’s nice to meet you. I’ll give you a hug in a minute; I need my Jeni fix first.”
“Mom!”
She huffs and finally lets go.
“Hi, Ms. Taylor,” Aiden says kindly as she hugs him tightly, his eyes bulging at her strength.
I roll my eyes.
“Please call me Ev. Ms. Taylor is so formal, and Evelyn makes me sound so old.” She laughs. “Come inside, you two, I have a roast turkey in the oven. I hope you’re both hungry?”
We walk into Mom’s small one-bedroom unit. There’s a tiny backyard for her dog, Bella.
“Where’s Bella, Mom?”
“Ha! The naughty girl stole a piece of ham while I was cutting it, so she’s been banished to the backyard.”
Aiden and I both smile as we make our way to the kitchen, still carrying her present. I place it down on the kitchen counter
“Do you need a hand with anything, Mom?” Aiden caresses my back.
“Nope, you two love birds sit at the table. Lunch is ready.”
“Mom, let me help.” I pick up the peas and carrots and take them to the table.
“Fine, if you must. Aiden, sit,” Mom says sternly. Aiden does as he’s told and sits down at the round table. Mom places the last of the food on the table, turkey and roast vegetables.
“This looks amazing, Ev.”
“I want to say thank you, Aiden, for making my baby girl happy. She seems to be back to the happy, cheerful Jeni that I know and love so much.” She has tears in her eyes.
I roll my eyes with embarrassment.
“She makes me unbelievably happy too, Ev. Thank you for having such a great daughter,” he says with love in his eyes.
“Okay, okay, enough you two with the ‘We Love Jeni Appreciation Society’ please,” I say as I start to load up my plate with the turkey.
We eat our lunch.
“That was delicious. How did you make that stuffing?” Aiden asks Mom as I take our empty plates to the sink.
I leave them to it as I start to clean the kitchen. I look out the kitchen window to see Bella playing with her ball. Losing my concentration, I accidentally drop a plate on the ground, smashing it into pieces, a shard coming up and cutting my leg.
“Oh, fuck,” I say loudly.
“Jeni, language,” Mom scolds as they both rush to the kitchen.
“You okay, baby?” Aiden’s face falls as he walks toward me and sees blood dripping down my leg. “Baby, you’re cut.”
He kneels on the floor and wraps a napkin around the wound while Mom cleans up with a dustpan and broom.
“Yeah, it’s just a scratch.” I lean forward to pull out some Band-Aids from the drawer. Mom walks in and trips over Aiden’s feet. I put my arms out to catch her and stop her from falling. She giggles and pats him on the head.
“Sorry, sweetheart.”
He smiles at her as she keeps walking.
“Now I know where you get your clumsiness from,” he whispers as he puts the Band-Aid over my wound.
Time passes as we chat with Mom about anything and everything.
We exchange our presents and realize it’s time to leave for dinner at Aiden’s parents’ house. We say our farewells to my eccentric mother and get back into the car and head off to his parents.
* * *
We drive up a cobblestone driveway as Callie and Alistair’s mansion comes into view. The two-story home sits on ten acres of land on the outskirts of Mornington Vale. White fairy lights twinkle in the moonlight across the roofline and down the walls. The trees surrounding the mansion are also covered in twinkling fairy lights, giving it a romantic feel. We pull up where the other cars are parked.
I survey the amount of cars that are parked in front of the home and ask, “How many people will be here?”
“A few.” He takes the bags containing the gifts from the car and walks me to the front door.
Callie is waiting at the door; she’s dressed in a white dress with a red apron and a Christmas headband in her short blonde hair.
“Aiden, you’re here, and, Jeni, it’s good to see you again.” She takes us both in her arms.
As we enter the foyer, I see a giant staircase leading up to the second story. Its rails are made of dark wood, and they line the stairs elegantly. We proceed to the living room, where everything is white. It’s all a bit sterile. Everyone is already seated, exchanging gifts.
“Hi, everyone,” Aiden and I both say in unison.
Aiden takes the bags of gifts over to the giant Christmas tree, which is beautifully decorated in black, silver, and red decorations. It looks magnificent with its twinkling silver lights.
I sit down on the sofa arm and look around the room. I see Nana sitting next to the tree with Alistair and Blair, and on the arm of the chair next to Blair is Benjamin. Sitting on the sofa next to me is Brielle and then a young guy I haven’t met, but I assume he’s Brielle’s boyfriend. Callie stands in the doorway next to an older gentleman dressed in chauffeur’s attire. I’m guessing he’s Alistair and Callie’s driver.
Aiden hands out his gifts to everyone. Of course, I didn’t help pick them out or contribute financially toward them. The gift giving continues with expensive, outrageous gifts for everyone, including me, as Callie and Nana move to the kitchen to prepare for dinner. Aiden is busy talking away to Benjamin. I decide to go to the kitchen to see if I can be of any help with the food. On my way there, I hear Callie and Nana talking. I stand behind the door so they can’t see me.
“So they think they know who it is then?” I hear Nana say to Callie.
“I believe they have narrowed it down to two people, but they won’t tell Alistair who,” Callie replies to Nana.
“I hope they catch them soon,” Nana says.
“So do I. The stress is unbearable. I don’t know how much more of it Aiden and Alistair can take, or me for that matter. I hope Matthew gets what’s coming to him,” Callie says sternly.
“You think it’s Matthew?”
“I don’t know who else it could be,” Callie replies as Brielle walks toward me.
“Hey, Jeni,” Brielle yells, making me jump.
“Hey, Bree.” I walk through the swinging doors of the kitchen, pretending that I have just arrived.
“Ladies, is there anything I can help with?” I ask Callie and Nana, who abruptly stop talking.
“Darling, you can take this out to the table if you like,” Nana says as she hands me a large bowl of vegetables.
After depositing them on the table, on my way back, I see Blair in the library off to the side talking to someone
. I stop and look into the room to see Blair move toward Benjamin and kiss him. My hand shoots up to my mouth in shock as a little excited squeal escapes me. They hear my squeal and turn to look. I quickly lean against the wall, hoping they didn’t see me.
I am standing there with my hand still covering my mouth when Benjamin reaches around and pulls me into the library.
“What did you see?” he asks sternly, holding me tightly at arms’ length.
“Ben, don’t be so dramatic,” Blair says, rolling his eyes. “Let her go, you are hurting her.”
“It’s not your job that’s on the line here, Blair,” he says, still holding tightly onto my arms.
“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything.”
Benjamin lets go of me and runs his hand through his hair.
“Jesus, Blair, I told you someone would find out!” Benjamin yells at Blair.
“I think it’s sweet. I had my suspicions anyway,” I say, looking at Blair. He smiles at me as Benjamin paces the room.
“Oh, Ben, stop being so dramatic and tell them already. No one’s going to care.”
Ben gives Blair a death gaze.
“Like I said, it’s not your job on the line, Blair. Your father knows you’re gay. If he found out I was as well, he would definitely fire me on the spot. You and I both know that,” he says sternly.
“Then let him fire you. You can come and work with me.”
“I don’t think Aiden would appreciate having to find a new PA.” He continues to pace the room.
Blair looks at me for an answer.
“I think that—”
“No one is interested in your opinion,” Benjamin says harshly.
“Ben, stop that! Where’s my fun-loving, caring, honest, loveable Ben gone?” Blair asks.
“Sorry, it’s a stressful time for me,” he says, scratching his head.
“Benjamin, I think you should be proud of who you are, and if you’re in a relationship with another man, be proud of that too. You shouldn’t have to hide who you are because you’re scared of one man’s reaction.”
He sighs as Blair takes his hands. “C’mon, baby, we got this. Let’s walk out there holding hands. We won’t even have to say anything to them. They will just know.” Blair is almost begging. Benjamin looks at me.