Chapter Eighteen

 

So we didn’t get to have sex, apparently that was an adult relationship. By the time Aron had gotten out of the bath and I gave him a massage, he was fast asleep. I tried to wake him a couple times, but it was useless, so I headed into the living room and studied for a while until joining him.

When Aron’s alarm went off in the morning, it took everything I had to get myself out of bed and join him in the kitchen.

“You’re up early.”

I gave a groggy nod and a sigh of distaste. I hated being up early. I was more of a night person than I’d ever been a day person, but more than anything, I really just liked to sleep.

I padded over to the coffeepot, reached for a mug and poured myself a steaming hot cup of coffee. “Do you have an early class?”

“No. But I’ve got to work.” And I’d try to get in a little studying before then.

I paused, realizing his gaze was still on me.

“I uh, was wondering if I could ask a favor.”

“Of course.”

“It’s garbage day …”

“Oh, I can get everything ready to go.” I gave him a soft smile before turning back to my coffee mug and staring down at it, silently wishing it would cool down faster.

“Are you sure? I don’t want …”

“I’m sure.” I mean, he was off to work in less than an hour; I, at least, had four hours before I had to start getting ready. Which meant I could hang out with Aron as he got ready for the day ahead of him, except for when I was making his lunch and packing it for him. It feels … so right, I thought. Doing this, being up at the crack of dawn with Aron and making sure he had everything he needed felt … perfect. Though I didn’t want to admit that to him.

I followed him to the door, my heart sinking a little. I’ll see him later, I reminded myself.

My arms wrapped around his neck as he turned to give me a quick kiss. A soft laugh passed through his lips.

“You’re acting like I’m going to be gone for months.”

I felt like he was.

“I’m just going to miss you,” I said. I don’t like watching you leave. I would have to start sleeping in so I didn’t have to, then I could just wake up and get on with my own day. Yes, that sounded good to me.

With an effort, I pulled away from him and forced a smile over my lips. “I’ll see you later, and hopefully, I’ll have dinner ready for you.”

Aron raised an eyebrow. “I’ll see you later.” I wasn’t quite sure that was all he wanted to say, but I didn’t call him on it. His lips touched mine for a fraction of a second as he pulled away from me. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Aron walked out of the door.

I knew I was going to have to get used to this, but right now, I wasn’t sure I could.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to step away from the door. I heard the car start as I reached for my coffee cup and drained the last of it before refilling it and heading into the living room where my school books still sat. I looked around, biting my lower lip softly. I should do the garbage.

I wanted to get a head start on studying, but if I forgot about doing the garbage, I’d feel horrid, so I would start with that and maybe do a little bit of cleaning. I’m sure it would mean a lot to Aron if he came home and the house was at least cleaner than it had been. I blew out a deep breath, set my coffee mug down again and headed for the kitchen where we had just made a mess.

It didn’t take long for me to get the place noticeably cleaner. I did dishes, vacuumed, mopped, and then reorganized the fridge, and by the time that was done, I needed to do a little studying before heading off to work.

It wasn’t anything hard, just going over notes so I could try to remember them, but it was tiring nonetheless. “If it were more exciting, it would be ten times better,” I muttered to myself as I stood, reaching my arms over my head and padding over to the bedroom. Maybe getting dressed would help me focus.

It didn’t.

I had no choice but to force through it. I made note after note after note. It took me an hour to recopy everything that I’d written out, but I was finally starting to feel like I was retaining the information; now I just had to hope that during the test I’d be able to remember everything I was trying to memorize.

Slowly, I packed my work bag and my school bag. I have to admit it was nice having a car I could use. I didn’t need to worry about having to get everything in the same bag and then get the bag on the bus without hitting anyone, which was quite the task some days! Although I was still getting used to having to pack my heels so I could drive in flats, but it was all well worth it.

I slipped into some running shoes for driving, grabbed my bags, and headed out the door as my phone beeped.

Hey, what’s up?

Rebecca seemed to be texting more and more as the days went on, despite the fact I still wasn’t quite sure how to feel about everything going on between Rebecca and me, it did feel nice to know she was texting me again.

Heading to work, you?

I fired back, and seconds later got my reply.

Just getting ready for class, was going to see if you wanted to come over and we could drive over together :) Maybe you could stop by after work?

I stared at the text, trying to get a good read on it, but I couldn’t. Was it just that she wanted to hang out? Or was it more than that? If she was trying to take advantage of me, I didn’t want to let that slide, but if she really did need a ride, I wanted to help her out.

I blew out a deep breath trying to figure it out.

Right now, it doesn’t matter. I slid into the car and gunned the engine; at least, right now I could use work and driving as an excuse not to reply to her right away, so I had a little bit of time to figure out what I was even going to say to her.

I wish Aron could tell me what to do about it.

But we were trying to avoid the whole him telling me how to live my life thing. I knew it was hard for him not to child me, but I needed to do things my way, and he needed to deal with that.

I pulled into the work parking lot and looked down at my phone as it lit up, ringing. I looked down at the name on the screen.

Mom.

I reached out and grabbed it.

“Hello?”

“Hey Mel, I’m glad I caught you! You’re always so busy these days.”

“I know.” I had been for a year or so now, between work and studying, there was hardly any time for a social life; now that I was dating Aron, it was even harder to find time for everyone else, and I wanted to spend time with Aron. Even if that meant putting off time with my mother.

“I thought we could get together for dinner, your dad and I have something to tell you.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What? Is everyone okay?”

“Oh yes, yes. We’re fine. How about Longos at 6:00? Bring that new boyfriend of yours if you want, too.” Her voice sounded strained as she said it like she didn’t quite mean it.

“I’ll have to see if he’s free. He might be working late tonight.” I paused, biting my lip. Should I even bother inviting him if Mom didn’t sound like she wanted to meet him? “But I’ll see you later.” I cleared my throat.

“See you later. Love you.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

And with that, she hung up. I was left sitting in the parking lot for a couple of seconds, trying to figure out if I was supposed to invite Aron or not, or if he would even want to go. I guess there is only one way to find out.

I stared down at my cell phone and after a couple seconds of staring pulled up his contact info.

Do you want to come to dinner with me and my parents tonight? 6:00.

I sent the message and forced myself to get out of the car. My shift started in ten, and I wanted time to slip into the bathroom and touch up my makeup.

 

“Jamie.”

I tried not to sound nervous; in fact, I planned on pretending I didn’t know she’d stopped by to see Melina.

“Hi, Aron.” She stepped into my office and made her way over to me. I glanced down at my computer, avoiding looking at her.

Today she wore a tight black dress. One that showed far too much for an office. She sat down in front of me and crossed one leg over the other, her dress riding up. Still, I avoided looking at her.

My phone beeped. I looked down at it, and my heart skipped a beat. She wants me to meet her parents? I’d planned on working all night, but if she wanted us to have a dinner with her parents, how could I say no?

Jamie cleared her throat. “Aron, we both know I’m a hard worker.”

“Yes, you are. You’re responsible for a lot of success.” And part of that was beneficial to me. Although I was a freelancer, I rented this office space to allow clients to come in and see me.

The entire building was rented to high profile freelancers, and more often than not we needed to hire a couple people. Jamie was someone I’d hired a long time ago, and she was driven, she was successful, and she was a fighter. I’d never seen her lose something she wanted.

“I love working for you.” She reached out and touched my hand gently. “But I can’t stand by and watch you destroy yourself with that … little girl you’re spending all your time with,” A soft smile spread over her lips. “I know it’s hard, she’s young, and she’s pretty. But she’s taking advantage of you. You know that. The hair, the clothes—the cars!”

I opened my mouth to protest but closed it. It didn’t matter what I said; she’d turn it around.

A thin smile spread over her lips.

“I can’t stand by and watch you do this, so if you’re going to continue to see her … I’ll have to leave. I can’t watch you destroy yourself like this.”

“Mel’s not going anywhere.”

“I understand.” She stood, her smile widening, but she didn’t look happy.

I watched her, waiting for what would come next—whatever it was.

“I know you think you’re in love with her, and I know it can get lonely. I just wish you realized I am here for you, and I won’t take advantage of you like she will. Until you do realize that, I’ll be handing in my two weeks’ notice.”

I stared at her with wide eyes. She was quitting?

“Unless of course … our little chat has been thought provoking?”

Oh, it had.

“Yes. Indeed it has been.” I finally met Jamie’s eyes and gave her a forced smile. Jamie’s smile widened as she nodded.

“Good.”

And without another word, she walked out of the office. Leaving me to myself.

I was pretty sure I’d just been threatened, but I didn’t have a clue what I was supposed to do about it.

She’s brought a lot to the company. I couldn’t deny that, not even to myself. But there was no doubt in my mind that she’d just tried to intimidate or even bribe me. That wasn’t going to go over well with me. If she wants to give her two weeks’ notice then there is nothing I can do to stop her.

No. I knew that was wrong. My fingers drummed against the desk. If I left Mel, she would stay. Jamie would stay, and she’d bring even more clients over to me. To us.

 

Aron said he would meet me at the restaurant, which made the most sense since my classes went until 5:00, and he was thinking about heading back to the office after dinner anyways. My heart raced as I pulled into the parking lot and caught sight of my parents’ car. I didn’t see his around anywhere.

They watched as the car pulled into a parking space, but when their jaw dropped as I stepped out, I realized they hadn’t known it was me. They’d just been looking at the car.

My mom closed the distance between us and pulled me into a hug. “Mel, how are you doing?”

“I’m good. How are you?”

She looked past me at the car, then shifted her gaze to me. I felt my cheeks flush as she looked at my brand new purse. I was thankful I’d just gone with a pair of jeans and a sweater today.

“I thought you couldn’t afford a new car.”

“Aron lent me one of his.” I tried to brush it off, make it sound like it wasn’t a big deal, but I saw the look on my dad’s face.

“That’s a pretty nice car for him to be lending you.” Today it was the Jag.

I shrugged. “It was the best one for me, he felt.” I cleared my throat, looking around. He was nowhere to be seen. “Anyways, should we head inside? I’m sure Aron will be able to find us if we take a seat.”

My mother gave a stiff nod. As we headed into the restaurant, I saw his car turn onto the street. My heart skipped a beat as he pulled into a parking spot. Thank God. I’d been worried most of the day that he was going to bail on me, that was why I hadn’t told my parents if he was coming or not. That way, if he didn’t, I wouldn’t have to try to justify it to my parents.

“How’s school going?” my dad asked, bringing me back to reality.

“It’s good,” I said. “I had a test today; I’m pretty sure I passed.”

“You’re studying hard?”

“Yes,” I assured my father as we headed to our usual table at the back of the room. I glanced back as I heard the door open.

A grin spread over my face as I came to a stop. Aron headed over to us and pulled me into a hug, his arms wrapping around me tightly. I took a deep breath of him and forced myself to pull away.

I cleared my throat.

“Mom, Dad; this is Aron. Aron, this is Kate and Mike.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Aron extended his hand to my mother, they shook and then Aron extended his hand to my father. For a split second, I didn’t think Dad was going to shake Aron’s hand, then his hand reached out and grabbed Aron’s. My heart did a backflip as I silently thanked God.

“Let’s go get something to eat.” My mother gave a soft smile. “Mel said you were coming right from work; you must be hungry.”

“Very.” Aron grinned widely as we headed for the table and slid into our seats. Aron’s hand reached out and took mine for a fraction of a second, squeezing softly before he reached for the menu.

“So,” My dad cleared his throat. “We’ve got some news for you, Mel.”

Right. They’d wanted to talk about something. My heart skipped a beat. “What is it?”

My parents exchanged a look before my mother opened her mouth. “Well, your father and I have decided it’s time to move.” Wow. “We’ve been looking for a long time now, and we think it’s time we settle down somewhere warm. You know we’ve been talking about an early retirement for a long time, and we went to the bank. If we can get a good price for the house … it will do a lot to make that possible.”

“So you guys are selling the house?”

“Yes, we’re going to fix it up a little and list it. If we can get a good price for it, we can start looking for reasonable homes … out of state.”

My eyes widened. “Out of state?” Of course, I shouldn’t have been surprised. They’d always talked about moving somewhere warm when they were done with work. It’s all happening now.

Was I really ready for this?

Aron cleared his throat. “I don’t mean to jump in, but I know a couple contractors that are wonderful to work with. I’d be happy to pass along their info to you.”

A smile touched my dad’s lips. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, they’ve worked wonders for me on a small budget. I can’t rave about them enough.”