She smiled and nodded, but the smile looked strained. She looked exhausted, and after getting just a small glimpse into her workday, I wasn’t surprised. If the virus was a battle, this girl was on the front lines, and I felt terrible she didn’t have the ability to stay at home. As much as I hated being stuck at home, I realized it was actually a luxury. I was so incredibly lucky I didn’t need to go out and work, and my heart broke that so many people did.
“That was crazy,” I said to Aiden as we put our groceries in the truck and climbed inside. “Did you know it was that bad?”
He shook his head as he started to pull out of the parking lot. “I mean, I’ve seen the news and figured people were doing crap like that in big cities. I didn’t think it would happen here.”
“Me neither,” I agreed.
Aiden drove us slightly farther down the main road before he parked once again. There was only one pharmacy in town, and it was nestled between a few other stores. It was the only one in the small strip with its lights on and front door open.
Aiden turned the ignition off and applied more hand sanitizer. “You stay here while I go in.”
“I can come with you.”
“Nah, I’ve got it. Besides, it’s probably better if just one of us goes.” He jumped from the truck before I could complain. Maybe he was just as rattled as I was after visiting the supermarket.
I watched as Aiden walked inside. He was the only one in the shop aside from the pharmacist, and as he started talking, the older man immediately began to smile. I let out a sigh as Aiden worked his magic. He knew how to talk to just about anyone and always seemed to put people at ease. He’d been so sweet with the cashier earlier. I’d always thought he only said nice things to flirt, but I was starting to realize he really seemed to care.
By the time Aiden left the store, the pharmacist was laughing, and I couldn’t stop a smile from forming on my face. The old man was so cute as he chuckled away, and I wondered what Aiden had said to him.
“What are you smiling about?” Aiden asked as he returned to the truck.
“Nothing.” I answered far too quickly, and he lifted an eyebrow as though he were suspicious of my answer.
“Doesn’t seem like nothing…”
“Well, it was.” I sounded far from convincing, but Aiden shrugged it off. He must have been used to me acting weird around him by now and thankfully didn’t press the issue.
When we got home, we didn’t take the groceries inside straight away. Instead, I followed Aiden across the street to his neighbors’ place. I stayed by the gate while he dashed across the lawn to leave the medications on the front doorstep. He took his phone out of his pocket and was typing on the screen as he walked back.
The front door opened as Aiden reached me, and I recognized Herb standing just inside the entrance. He was dressed in a knitted vest, woolen trousers, and slippers, and his eyes were kind as he looked across the yard.
“That you, Aiden?” he called out.
Aiden lifted a hand in greeting. “Hey, Herb,” he replied. “I just dropped the medication on your doorstep.”
“Thanks, son,” Herb replied.
“Stop your jabbering and give the boy the money and a tip,” a woman called from inside. I remembered Rosalind’s sharp tone from the last time we’d seen the elderly couple. She appeared in the doorway moments later. Her long white hair was pulled back, and she was glaring at Herb with her chocolate-brown eyes.
“I was getting to it,” Herb growled.
“No tip necessary,” Aiden called out. “We just wanted to help.”
Rosalind’s eyes narrowed on me. “You must be Clary,” she said. “The girl whose parents are stuck overseas.”
“That’s me,” I replied with a nervous smile. Aiden hadn’t been kidding when he’d said Rosalind knew everything. I noticed him smirking out of the corner of my eye. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you too,” she said, her hard gaze easing. She looked remarkably different when she wasn’t analyzing me, and I was surprised to find she looked kind of sweet.
“I’ll put the money for the medicine in your mailbox,” she said to Aiden. “You kids run along now and have a nice day.”
“Thanks,” Aiden replied. As soon as we turned away, we almost immediately heard Rosalind scolding her husband.
“You’re useless, you know that, right?” she said to him. “You had one job this morning. All I told you to do was to leave the money for the boy on the front porch.”
“And I told you I’d get to it in my own time,” he replied.
“Are they ever not fighting?” I asked, as soon as we were out of earshot.
Aiden smiled. “Sure. But if they’re not fighting, it’s usually because they’re not saying anything at all.”
I glanced over my shoulder as the old couple disappeared back inside their house. “How do they stand it? They can’t seriously enjoy being married.”
Aiden chuckled as he gathered the groceries from his truck. “They’ve been married for fifty years.”
“But they seem to hate each other.”
Aiden shook his head, a smile still on his lips. “Love isn’t always what you expect it to be. Trust me, those two love each other more than anything…” He was looking at me intensely, as though he had more to say, but he stayed silent.
I frowned as I looked back at Rosalind and Herb’s house. “I don’t see it.”
“Well then, I’ll have to show you.”
“Okay…”
He grinned at my obvious confusion. “But later.” He walked into the house without explaining what he meant.
Sometimes, it felt like Aiden loved nothing more than keeping me guessing.
18
Aiden
Clary was cooking dinner tonight, so when it started to grow dark, I decided to wait in the kitchen for her. Mom had been in bed all afternoon, and Elliot was still holed up in his bedroom playing video games. So, when Clary entered the kitchen, it was just the two of us.
“Hey,” she said, giving me a curious smile. “What are you doing in here?”
I was sitting at the kitchen counter, trying to gather the courage to tell her how I felt. I’d been trying to figure out a way to say the words all day, but I’d chickened out at every opportunity I was given. I just needed to spit it out already.
I’d thought that maybe catching her before dinner would be a good time to get it over with. Now that she was standing in front of me though, I was seizing up. Telling her in the kitchen? What was I thinking?
“Aiden?” she prompted.
I blurted out the first thing I could think of. “I’m here to help cook dinner.”
“What?” The total shock on her face wasn’t all that surprising, considering what happened last time I tried to cook. I’d almost burned the house down with a pizza. Me helping with dinner was just about the silliest explanation I could have come up with. It wasn’t what I’d intended to say. Not even close. But, hell, I was running with it.
“I’m here to cook dinner,” I repeated. “Remember how you told me I needed an iso-hobby? Well, I’ve decided it should be cooking.”
Clary grimaced at the thought. “I don’t think cooking is a good hobby for you…”
“Why not?”
“Because I live with you, and I don’t want to end up poisoned.”
I laughed and jumped up from my stool. “You won’t end up poisoned because I’m going to have the best cooking teacher ever showing me what to do.”
“You have a cooking teacher? Who?”
“You, of course.”
Clary backed away, holding her hands up in front of her. “No way. Nuh-uh. Not going to happen.”
“Come on, Clary. Please.”
“Aiden, you ruined frozen pizza. I didn’t even know that was possible.”
I shrugged. “What can I say? I like to dream big and shoot for the impossible.”
“Come on, Aiden. You don’t actually want to le
arn how to cook.”
“Sure, I do. I happen to love food, so it seems like the perfect iso-hobby to me.”
She let out a long groan, and the moment the sound escaped her lips, I knew she was going to cave. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”
“I can think of a few ideas…”
Her eyes flashed with irritation, and I immediately clamped my mouth shut. I really needed to stop with the flirting. I was supposed to be opening up and telling her how I felt, but instead, my mouth seemed to have a mind of its own. I couldn’t seem to help it around Clary though. Maybe being a terrible flirt was just who I was. It was as much a part of me as my blue-green eyes or my tanned skin. Seth would be so disappointed.
“So, what are we making, Chef?” I quickly tried to get Clary back on task before she decided I was far more trouble than I was worth.
“Lasagna.”
I grinned. “Italian again.”
“You seemed to like it last time.” She looked a little embarrassed as she spoke, like she didn’t want me to think she’d chosen Italian food simply because she thought I liked it. It seemed like she had though, and I couldn’t stop the stupid flutter of excitement I felt at the idea.
“I loved it last time,” I corrected her. “Okay, so how do we do this?”
“We start by talking safety in the kitchen…”
My shoulders sank as Clary launched into a long list of the dos and don’ts of working in the kitchen. She was talking at me like I was five, but I really couldn’t blame her. Even a five-year-old probably could have cooked a frozen pizza without destroying the kitchen in the process.
By the time we started the actual cooking, I was beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea. It wasn’t at all like the cute cooking moments in all the rom-coms I’d been forced to watch with girls. We weren’t throwing flour at each other, and we weren’t lightly touching hands as we stirred the pot together.
It felt more like I was in the army being ordered around by my commander. Clary took everything she did in the kitchen very seriously and was likely terrified I’d burn the place down. But, if I was honest, the more she ordered me about, the more I enjoyed it. I liked seeing her take charge.
“Okay, now layer some of the sauce across the bottom of the dish…” She frowned as she glanced at me. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I’d suddenly realized I’d been staring at her rather than concentrating on the next task. “Well, you’re kind of cute when you get all demanding. It’s hard not to watch.”
She blushed, but the annoyed look in her eyes didn’t disappear. “Aiden…”
“Yes?”
“Stop staring at me, and focus on the food.”
“Okay.” I laughed. I was enjoying this far too much.
By the time we’d finished the dish and put it in the oven, I was surprised by how much I’d enjoyed cooking. And it wasn’t just the part where I got to spend time with Clary either. Hell, I think I’d actually learned something.
“Thanks for teaching me to cook, Chef.” I grinned at Clary as she closed the oven door.
She gave me a smile of her own as she turned to me. “I’m shocked to say you weren’t totally terrible.”
“Well, the lasagna’s not out of the oven yet…”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, it’s not going to get burned. I put a timer on, so, unlike your pizza, I think it’s going to make it.”
“I still wouldn’t be surprised if I managed to mess it up somehow.”
She shook her head, still smiling at me. “You’ve got to have more faith.”
“Something smells good,” Mom said, entering the room. I’d hoped to see her looking more rested after a day off, but her skin was still pale and tired circles ringed her eyes. I tried to push down the worry I felt for her and pasted on a smile.
“I made lasagna,” I announced with pride. “Clary taught me.”
“She did, did she?”
“Yep,” Clary replied. “And he’s a quick study.”
“Really?” Mom sounded so surprised I was almost offended.
“Thanks, Mom,” I muttered.
“Yeah, he did really well,” Clary added.
My mother’s eyes betrayed her suspicion. I’d never once showed an iota of interest in cooking before. From the way she was looking between the two of us, it was clear she suspected I had ulterior motives for wanting to learn now. She wouldn’t be wrong.
“Well, that’s great. How long until dinner?” Mom asked.
“About twenty minutes,” Clary replied.
“That gives us some time for a family activity.” There was a sense of eagerness in Mom’s voice, and her expression became animated at the idea. “I bought us a jigsaw puzzle to do together. What do you guys think?”
I smiled at Mom. “Sounds good.”
“Great. I’ll go grab your brother, and we can start it on the dinner table before we eat.” Mom rushed from the room. Her level of excitement about doing a puzzle was completely mystifying. I couldn’t understand how anyone could look forward to such a boring activity.
“I thought you didn’t do puzzles,” Clary said as my mom left the room.
I did remember telling her that, but I just shrugged. “If it makes Mom happy, what’s the harm?”
Surprise lit Clary’s eyes, but she turned before I could get a read on the expression. I wasn’t sure why she was shocked. Doing a puzzle was hardly a big deal.
The jigsaw puzzle turned out to be one made for kids, and we all laughed when we solved it in next to no time.
“Mom, I thought you said you had a challenge out here for me,” Elliot said with a smile. It turned out that puzzles were Elliot’s secret talent, and he’d probably placed more pieces than all of us put together.
Mom lifted her hands helplessly in the air. “A hundred pieces sounded like a lot.”
“I’m sure it did,” I replied with a laugh. I was hardly about to complain though. I didn’t exactly find puzzles thrilling and wasn’t interested in spending any more time on it than I had to.
The high-pitched ringing of Clary’s alarm filled the room, and she rushed to the oven to take out the lasagna. It smelled incredible, and as I walked over to help her plate it up, I could see it looked just as good. Clary’s arms brushed against mine as I helped her serve the food. She seemed oblivious to the moment we touched, but I couldn’t seem to focus on anything else. Could she really not feel how our bodies gravitated toward each other? Couldn’t she feel the same sparks that flashed across my skin when she was near?
She was so focused on the food a bomb probably could have gone off in the backyard and she’d have no idea. Clary looked up and shared a smile with me as we served the last plate. “Not bad for your first time,” she said.
“Like you said, I’m a quick study.” I grinned. “Plus, I had a pretty awesome teacher.”
She blushed prettily and glanced away. I wasn’t sure why she found my compliment so hard to take, but she quickly refocused on carrying the plates to the dinner table. I missed her presence at my side and hurried to follow her with the two remaining plates.
“Wow, this looks amazing,” Mom said as I placed her dinner on the table.
“And you didn’t screw it up!” Elliot added. It might have sounded like a spiteful remark, but I think my brother was actually trying to be supportive because he was nodding at me cheerfully.
“Thanks.” A sense of pride swelled in my chest. I’d never cooked anything edible in my life, and it was a strangely pleasurable feeling to put something I wasn’t completely ashamed of on the table. We still had no idea if the food was any good, but the fact Clary had taken charge of the meal almost guaranteed it would be amazing.
A grin spread across my face as we started to eat. Damn, Clary knew how to cook. The lasagna was full of flavor and baked to perfection. I almost felt the urge to roll in the layer of white sauce, and the fact I even knew there was a layer of white sauce only boosted my sens
e of achievement.
We’d all been talking and joking while completing the puzzle, but everyone was silent as we ate dinner. I liked to think it was because they were all enjoying it so much. I certainly was, and I already couldn’t wait to have the leftovers tomorrow.
“So, I think Clary should have her own cooking show,” I said as I finished my last bite of food. “Or maybe even open a restaurant. This was so good other people deserve to eat it.”
“You did most of the work,” Clary replied with a smile.
“Okay, so it can be a joint cooking show,” I said. “We’ll call it Clary Teaches Aiden to Cook.”
She laughed. “Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.”
“The Clary and Aiden Cooking Bonanza?” I suggested instead.
She scrunched up her nose, clearly not a fan of that one either.
“How about Clary Cooks While Aiden Tries Not to Burn the Kitchen Down?” Elliot suggested.
Clary pointed at him and nodded. “That, I like.”
Everyone at the table laughed, but I scowled at them all. “That was one time,” I grumbled.
“And let’s hope it stays that way,” Mom said as she started to stand. “Thank you both for dinner. Elliot and I will do the dishes.”
“But, Mom,” Elliot groaned. She gave him one stern look, and my brother simply sighed. “Okay, okay,” he grumbled. He picked up his plate and Clary’s before heading toward the kitchen.
Mom reached over for my plate but didn’t walk off straightaway. “They’ve called me into the hospital tonight.”
“What? It’s your first day off in forever.”
Mom shrugged. “They need me.”
“And you need rest. Tell them you can’t go.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going to do that.”
I stood from the table, frustration lashing through me. “You’re dead on your feet. Get them to call someone else.”
“You know that’s not how it works. This is my job, Aiden, and we’re fighting a pandemic. The virus doesn’t take days off.”
Stuck with You Page 17