Chapter Eleven

 

He hadn’t said much after he rolled me onto my back and slid out of me. I was still in shock.

Why would he say that to me?

What would possess him to do that? Did he actually mean it?

Why would he say it if he didn’t mean it?

So many questions, and I wasn’t willing to ask them. I wasn’t sure I wanted the answers and wasn’t even sure I knew how I was supposed to react.

Guilt tugged at the pit of my stomach. I hadn’t told him I loved him back. Would he think that meant I didn’t love him? Would he want to break up with me if I didn’t say it back?

I watched as he made his way into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. I heard the tub start up and pushed myself up, then stopped.

Maybe he needs some time alone. I thought.

Really, what was I supposed to do? I blew out a deep breath and stared at the door to the bathroom for, well I don’t even know how long. Finally, I got up and padded over to the door. I pushed it open gently and peeked in to see Aron lying in the jetted tub. He looked up at me.

“Do you mind some company? Or would you rather have some time to yourself?”

“I’d never ask you to leave.” His eyes sparkled, but he looked nervous. He looked away from me as I stepped into the tub and got comfy.

“So …” I cleared my throat. “Back there …”

“Yes. I guess it was a little ... rash of me, I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Well … I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

I smiled. “You didn’t.” I paused, reaching out and taking his hand. Do I love him? I thought I did. But what did I really know? I mean, we hardly knew each other, right? So was it stupid to tell him I loved him.

Our fingers tangled together and I squeezed his hand gently.

“I love you too, Aron.”

Stupid or not, I was going to do it. I was going to take a risk, and if that meant I got hurt then so be it. I gave him a wide smile as I watched the relief relax his shoulders.

“You’re not just saying that because I said it?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Don’t get me wrong, you … kinda shocked me there. I had to process but … I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I just … wasn’t sure if I was being crazy or not.”

It felt good to get it off my chest.

We didn’t say anything; instead, we just lay there relaxing in the bath. It wasn’t an awkward silence, though. It was content.

And it was that moment that I realized just how much I wanted to live with him. Not just to save money but so we could do things like this. So we could just have a bath together at the end of the day. So we could relax and enjoy each other’s company without having to talk.

 

In an effort to get the best flights, we were flying out the day after we got there; well, not really. It was going to be 1:00 a.m. the second day, but we didn’t bother getting the hotel room for the day that we weren’t going to be there. Instead, after spending the day out sightseeing and buying me an extra big purse to put everything in, we headed to the airport and spent the night there. It was easy to say that there was a lot to do there. I’d never thought that I could have done so much at an airport. A massage, a manicure, hell, I could even buy a laptop!

“Wow.” My mouth fell open. I’d never realized that airports were like little shopping malls.

Aron laughed softly as we headed to the gate we’d need to be at. “It’s impressive, isn’t it?”

“I … wow.” I was speechless. After the past couple of days, I couldn’t help being speechless. Between everything that I’d seen and Aron telling me he loved me, I felt like a whole new person was going to be coming back home in my place.

I’d already emailed my landlady about getting out of the lease, and she seemed okay with it.

“So, do you think your mom will take it okay? I mean, if we move in together?”

“I don’t think she’ll be surprised. I’ve always had a bad habit of moving fast, and she’s always known that … but I think she’ll be worried about what kind of person you are.”

“You mean if I’m a gold digger.”

“Yes.”

We fell silent for a couple of seconds. I was guessing that was something a lot of people were going to worry about when it came to me.

“It will help that she knows you now,” he added quickly. “But she’s my mother; she’ll always worry about me.”

“Of course; I totally get it.”

Just like my dad would probably think he was just trying to take advantage of me because I was young. I didn’t dare say that out loud, though. Aron didn’t need something else to worry about, and I knew our age difference was a big deal to him. We sat down on a couch together, and I stared aimlessly at a TV.

“I’m going to get some water. Do you need anything?” Aron stood.

“No, thank you.”

I didn’t pay much attention as he walked away and only looked away from the TV when someone sat down on the chair beside the couch. She was a little older than I was, I could tell because she had a wrinkle. But she was well put together. It looked like she was traveling for work, in business casual and carrying a leather briefcase. For a split second, I was a little jealous. She looked beautiful and successful.

That’s what I wanted to be.

I wanted to be everything that it looked like she was.

I took a deep breath and smiled back as she gave me a soft smile, forcing myself to look away from her before I became creepy. I’ll get there one day, I promised myself.

Aron sat down beside me, opening a bottle of water and taking a sip.

The woman cleared her throat. I turned to see her, but she didn’t pay any attention to me. Her eyes were locked on Aron.

Jealousy tugged at me.

“Do you have the time?” she asked. “My phone is dead.”

“Oh,” Aron looked down at his watch. “11:43.”

“Thank you.” She gave him a flirty smile.

“You’re welcome.” Aron returned her smile, though his wasn’t flirty.

I took a deep breath trying to calm my jealousy. Relax, the conversation is over.

“Are you traveling for work?” she asked.

And the jealousy was back, this time, mixed with annoyance.

“Fun,” I answered before Aron could say a word.

The girl looked at me. She looked me up and down and then smiled. “It’s so nice to see a father and daughter travel together.”

“Pardon?” Aron reached over and touched my thigh gently as he looked up from his phone.

The girl worked hard to control her reaction, and I’ll give her credit. Her jaw didn’t drop; she didn’t wrinkle her nose. She did a good job, actually.

“Nothing,” she said quickly.

And that ended our conversation. A few seconds later, she stood and walked away.

I grinned as I turned to Aron, ready to comfort him over what had just happened. To my surprise, he returned my grin.

“Well, that was … interesting.”

“I think you played it very well.” I leaned over and gave him a soft kiss.