Finding Me (Love's Not Easy Series Book 1)

by Rickman, Nicole

  Josiah stepped around Aimee and headed for the stairs when he reached the door he turned to her. “Aimee, watch who you trust and be careful searching into your mom’s past; it may not be as safe as you think.”

  Josiah pulled out of the flat. He left his key with Lexi to turn in for him. He never wanted to look at his cousin again. He was still in shock that not only was Aimee sticking up for him, she was the first to do so.

  He now regretted talking to those guys. He was going to let them know he can’t help them. He will tell them the truth; he had to leave because of a disagreement with one of the male roommates. He just hoped he had not already said too much.

  Aimee couldn’t believe Colin; and, she was letting him know it right now. She brought to his attention the amount of dust on his shoes and how he had not cleaned out the hall closet like he was supposed to. She asked him how many people have come through that door and put their coats in that closet. When he said that they would have come looking for their pills, she brought up they may not know where they lost them.

  After a long discussion, they agreed to never bring up the drugs again and then the whole group cleaned the entire closet and Josiah’s room. No new drugs had been found.

  LJ text Aimee to let her know he was sorry he left, but it sounded like the flat needed to settle something. He never said if he knew why they were fighting and she didn’t ask, just in case he did not know. She did not want to risk him asking her what it was about. She simply text back thanks.

  That night, she went to bed with one thing on her mind, and that was what Josiah said when he left. Could he be the one leaving her the notes to not come back to Neahovia?

  ♥ ♥

  Mr. X and Lady Y sat at the cafe drinking coffee. Her fears had come true. Some of Mr. U’s (for ugly) men were now following Aimee. They had convinced the guy in the grey shirt that she was not the girl he thought she may be. Though, he had no clue Lady Y was the one feeding him this information or who Lady Y really was.

  Now, these two loons have appeared. They don’t seem very bright because person Z told her Aimee caught the tall creepy looking one staring at her when she went on her Easter Vacation with her roommates.

  But now, he has this loon following Aimee. They are not clever at hiding, so that makes Lady Y wonder if Mr. U even knows what they are doing. The green head kid was talking to them again tonight. She had sent Mr. X to see why. Apparently he and one of the guy roommates had a disagreement and he moved out. He told them he would not be able to work for them.

  That was good news. Now, she needed to get these loons off of Aimee’s trail.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Monday began the refreshment part of their classes. Finals was a mere two weeks away. They wanted to spend the last Saturday they had before finals to relax. Aiden had the perfect private beach. Aimee and Lexi decided not to tell Drew and LJ. So, at eight a.m. Saturday morning, Aimee, Lexi, and Sophia loaded in Lexi’s convertible car. Colin and Aiden followed in Colin’s sports car. James and Piper were last in line.

  Lexi had the top down and praise songs playing on her satellite radio. The road to the beach was a two lane curvy road, but once they got to the parking lot, it was worth the curvy drive. The beach was very secluded; only one other car was parked in the lot. Aimee watched Colin park his car beside it; and then, Aiden hugged the guy who got out.

  There was no doubt, he was Aiden’s older brother. The guys unloaded the trunks and packed the baskets to the beach. The first thing on the agenda was a volleyball game. Girls won.

  The girls watched the guys make a pitiful attempt at surfing. They had a picnic lunch. Aimee challenged the other girls to try something new. None of them had been jet skiing. So, the guys rented the jet skis. Aimee sat on the back of Aiden’s, while Sophia shared with Colin, and Lexi with Donavon (Aiden’s brother). Piper and James headed out first, with the others close behind.

  Aimee convinced Aiden to let her have a turn at driving. It was so fun; she loved riding the waves. They only had the jet skis for two hours. When that was done, Colin and Donovan went swimming in the ocean. James and Piper took a romantic walk, while Sophia and Lexi tanned.

  Aiden and Aimee went for a hike to see the view from a nearby cliff. Half way up, they saw a sign to follow for zip lining. So, they followed the sign and found themselves higher up the cliff than they realized.

  The instructor came over and ask if they could wait about thirty minutes before going down. He needed to do his afternoon safety check. They were more than pleased to let him do the safety check.

  Aiden found himself thinking of how beautiful Aimee was. “Aimee, you are like no girl I know.”

  “Why is that?”

  “One minute you are all prim and proper, the next you are driving jet skis and zip lining off a cliff.”

  “Life to me would be boring if all I did was lie around and tan.” She laughed.

  “I believe that.”

  “What about you, is there some kind of restrictions on how dangerous an activity you can try?”

  “Probably, if I wasn’t the spare.”

  “Stop calling yourself that; you are not a spare.”

  He laughed at her. “You are the only person who gets mad when I say that.”

  “I get mad because it makes you sound like you are not important. Like you don’t matter. That is not true; you are important and you do matter.”

  “It’s a joke. I am second in line to the throne until Donovan marries and has a child; then, I move down to third.”

  “I know how the Neahovian Monarchy works; I am taking a history class. But, to me, when I hear you say that, I don’t think of your Royalty standing. I think of how you stand to your parents. I am sure they don’t treat you as a spare.”

  “No. I hadn’t even thought of it that way.”

  The gentlemen operating the Zip line came over to see if they were ready. The line went over the water where their friends were sitting at; and, they landed just on the other side of them. Aiden sent a quick text telling them to watch out below for them.

  They each put on their Zip lining gear. Aiden took off first. He glided down the line in a breeze, laughing all the way. Aimee sent up a prayer to God, then went on her first Zip line adventure.

  When she went over the ocean, the whole backside of her body went in the water. When she landed in the sand at the opposite end of the zip cord, the worker unhooked the gear. Aiden was waiting for her, bent down laughing with his hands on his knees. He lifted her up and twirled her around. “That is the highest I have ever zip lined.” Aimee looked up at the altitude of the cliff they had just left. “That is the first time I ever zip lined.”

  Aiden kept his arm around Aimee as they walked back to meet the others. Lexi and Piper were standing, hands on hips, like a mother ready to attack.

  Lexi pointed her finger at Aimee. “What do you think you are doing, young lady?”

  “Did you not think about how dangerous that was? Piper threw her hands up in the air. “Of course not.”

  Aimee just laughed. “Oh my goodness, that was such a rush.”

  “Seriously?” They walked off and Aimee went after them.

  “Girls, wait.” They turned to Aimee and made sure they were out of earshot from the guys.

  “That looked so fun.” Lexi grabbed her arm.

  “It scared the life out of me when I first saw you; but, then I could hear you laughing.” Piper shook her head.

  “Then what was the mothering act about?”

  “Your self-proclaimed big brother nearly had coronary attack.” Piper laughed.

  “Poor James.”

  The girls joined the guys and decided to go into the town to have a dinner at a country club that Aiden and Donovan had membership with.

  The first stop, however, was at a dress shop known as Maria’s.

  A tall slender brown haired lady stood at the front door when the group of friends walked to the store entrance.

  “Your highness. S
o pleased to see you again.”

  “Maria. Nice to see you, as well. Please, call me Aiden.”

  “Aiden.” Maria looked around. “Where is Miss Ava?”

  “She is still in Italy for a few more weeks.”

  “Oh what a pity.” She dragged the t sound in pity.

  “You know Miss Lexi. These are Lexi and my roommates and friends Aimee, Sophia and Piper. I will take care of the bill when we return for the ladies.”

  “Nice to meet you, ladies. It looks as if you have had some day at the beach.”

  “We did.” Lexi replied.

  “Well, let’s get you ladies ready for the country club.”

  She took the girls to a private back room. The room was lined with cocktail dresses, shoes, and accessories. Red velvet seats was carefully placed around the room, though no one was seating on them right now.

  A small, petite, oriental lady came to the room. “My name is Camellia. I am your hostess for now. I take you to shower, so you can wash up.”

  The ladies followed Camellia to the shower room. Camellia pointed at a stack of towels and robes. “Shower essentials inside shower. Do not wash hair. We wash hair.”

  The girls said not a word, but went straight to the showers. When done, they put on their robes and stood waiting for the return of Camellia.

  “Lexi, is this typical service here?” Aimee asked.

  “Not unless you look like you have been dragged in off the street or a beach.”

  “We didn’t look that bad.” Piper placed her hand on her hip.

  “Look in your showers.”

  Sophia laughed. “I hate to see the shampoo basins.”

  Camellia returned. “You done? Good, come with me. I take you to hair salon now.”

  Hair and makeup were completed; and that, only left finding a dress for the evening. They returned to the small room they were first brought to. This time, they sat on the smooth red velvet chairs.

  In twenty minutes, each girl was dressed for the country club. Just in time for the guys to arrive, just as fresh and redressed as the girls.

  The country club was a few miles from town. It sat on a hill that overlooked the ocean. It was far more beautiful than the country club her dad had membership at. A full moon was out tonight. Aimee was captivated by the atmosphere. It was, by far, one of the most romantic places she encountered in her life. They ate dinner and enjoyed a show from the member's youth theater. Then, they made their way to the dance floor.

  Aimee wasn’t sure how it exactly happened, but she had danced the entire night in the arms of Aiden. She felt so comfortable and safe in his arms. Everything about dancing with him felt right. In fact, she felt like in his arms was where she belonged.

  Aimee couldn’t believe she allowed herself to feel that way about Aiden. He was dating Ava. Even though his relationship with her was rocky, she was not going to let herself fall for him. She reminded herself that they were roommates; and, she could never have a romance with one of the guys she shares a flat with.

  The night was coming to the end. The band announced this would be the final number. Aimee was trying to convince herself to sit this dance out. Before she could convince herself, Aiden appeared in front of her, reaching a hand for her.

  “One last dance?”

  “I was thinking I may sit this one out.”

  “Are you feeling ok?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why do you want to sit this dance out?”

  “Because you are still dating Ava. People talk a lot, Aiden. We are roommates for another reason.”

  Aiden took her hand as he danced her toward the balcony. “Aimee Pittman, I never thought you could be so silly as to worry about nothing. We shouldn’t care what others think when we know the truth.”

  She wasn’t for sure why she followed him onto the balcony. When they entered the balcony, they danced around the other couples until they reached the far side of the balcony; where the best view of the moon shining over the ocean was.

  “I wanted to show you this view before we left. I have never met anyone who shares the same appreciation for the view Mother Nature provides us.”

  “That is where we disagree.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This view.” Aimee pointed to the water and how the moon light was reflecting off it. “It is God’s creation, not mother natures’. To me, it shows how much God loves us. He created beautiful things, such as this view, sunrises, and sunsets for our enjoyment.”

  “You know you give God an awful lot of credit. Especially for someone who has been through such horrible tragedies in their lives.”

  “I give God the credit he deserves, Aiden. Actually, he deserves more credit than I ever could give him. He is the one in control of my life, not me. He is there for me through those good and bad times, even when no one else is. He knows when I am going to cry even before I do.”

  “But…”

  Aimee placed a hand on his arm. “Everything that happens in our lives, whether we think it is right or wrong, good or bad, He is there and He is in control. He will carry us through.”

  Aiden leaned on a rail and pointed at the ocean. Aimee looked at the moon light shining over the ocean.

  “Aimee, I don’t want to appear rude. I am only trying to understand this. How can you feel this way about God, after the loss of both your mom and Gran?” “How can you think there is something good that can come from such a great lost to you?”

  Aimee started to speak but Aiden held up his hand. “How could He let such horrible things happen? How can He allow all the wars caused by man’s hatred toward man? What greater good can come out of a war that shreds a nation to pieces; causing the innocent women, like your mom and Gran, to flee the country for their safety?”

  Aimee took Aiden by the hands and looked him in the eyes. “Those evil things you mentioned, were never caused by God. He was there to bring good out of the bad. The drunk driver who hit my mom, the war against the women in your country. Those are all caused by man taking pleasure in the sinful evil things in this world.”

  She stopped and took a breath. “Satin plants seeds of evil. I like to think of satin’s seeds as weeds or a virus. They come in to a beautiful creation of God’s and spread their ugliness around. If we do not tend to those weeds or viruses, and get them out of the way, they eventually take over. Then, God somehow comes along and brings the beauty back.”

  “You sound like my mom now. She blames the evilness of man for the Radical War.”

  “God does not do evil, Aiden. One of my favorite verses is James 1:17: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

  “But.”

  “Aiden, how do you think the devil works? He is putting seeds of doubt in your head. He even tried to tempt Jesus. He wants us to believe bad things.”

  “You really sound like my mom.”

  “Is she a Christian?”

  “Yes. I guess I never really paid much attention to her when she talks about the Bible though. Because, if I had, I would understand before now. One man could not alone convince people to follow him. He was narrow minded and had no principles. Satin planted the seed of doubt in the other’s head and then used him to do the rest.”

  “Exactly. We choose which way to go, good or evil.”

  “Yeah, I still have a lot of reading and studying to do on this subject. But, right now, I want to enjoy this beautiful view God has provided us with.”

  “It is beautiful; the moon is so bright. I don’t believe I have ever saw a more beautiful view.”

  They stood still, facing the ocean, holding hands. Aiden took his right hand and moved a stray piece of away from her face, causing her to turn to face him. His hand now under her chin. “I agree, I love this view.”

  Aimee felt her heart pounding; she knew it was wrong, but oh how she wanted him to kiss her right now. He moved closer, moving his
hand behind the back of her head, their lips was almost touching. Aimee closed her eyes as Aiden closed the distance, just before their lips touched, they heard Lexi call their names.

  Aimee jumped back. She stared at Aiden. What in this world had she done?

  “Sorry.” Aiden stepped back. Aimee looked so pale and confused he wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her everything was ok. But he couldn’t because Lexi turned the corner.

  “Did you two hear me calling? We need to go, they are closing and we have to be back before midnight to make curfew.”

  “Ok. We are ready, but we don’t have a curfew.” Aiden grinned.

  “Oh, I know, come on.”

  Aimee sat in the backseat of the convertible. She was quiet; whenever Lexi or Sophia tried to ask her what was wrong, she told them she was tired and had a lot on her mind.

  She did not sleep well that night. She kept reliving the scene on the balcony. She had almost kissed Aiden. When she did fall, asleep she dreamed of kissing him over and over again.

  During church, she prayed for God to help her control these thoughts. She could not be thinking of him that way. He was still dating Ava and, even if he wasn’t, they are going to be roommates again in the fall. She prayed for God to help her with all of her thoughts and mixed feelings. God, help me to follow Your direction. Help me to do the right thing and have the right thoughts. Until she could get her feelings under control, she was going to keep a safe distance between her and Aiden; she could not be alone with him. Not until her heart settled back down.

  Chapter Twenty

  The fact that finals were quickly approaching, helped Aimee to avoid Aiden. She called Ruby and Wendy to walk with them to school in the mornings. She made sure they had a large group at lunch. She hosted more study groups at the flat. If she was not in class or having a study group, she studied in her room or at the library.

  She had made it to the Saturday before finals, except for meeting Lexi, Colin, Piper, and Aiden to look at a new flat available for next year, her day was cleared for studying. She had the flat to herself right now.