Page 37 of Liberating Love

“We’re about to have dinner, and then Mom wants to play cards tonight, so…”

“That sounds fun. Maybe one night I could come over and we could all play. I had fun hanging out with you and your mother.”

“Oh. Uh.” He clears his throat, then in a strained voice asks, “Really?”

“Absolutely. Why do you sound so surprised? You have to know how much I enjoy your company.”

“Sure, I mean I know you like me to come over for… I just, well, we uh…”

“Didn’t get to have hot and sweaty sex?”

He huffs out a small laugh that’s one part shy, one part embarrassed. “Yeah, I guess that’s what I meant.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, we also eat dinner together, watch TV, sometimes play a game, and every now and then I can resist your sexy freckles long enough for us to have some pretty good conversations. There’s more to this than…” I trail off. I’m hesitant to say too much and have him pull away.

14

Aiden

“What if I make you dinner on Friday and we can still do our regular take out Saturday night?” Delaney asks over the phone.

I can’t help but grin. He’s been trying to cook me dinner every night this week, but I haven’t been able to get over there because my mom’s still not doing too great. “I don’t know, D.”

He pauses, then says, “What if I cook at your house for you and your mom?”

That makes me freeze. I’m in my bedroom only having gotten home from work thirty minutes ago. I haven’t even had a chance to change into pajamas yet since I made sure my mom was okay before I called him. “You’re really serious about this dinner thing, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am.”

I blow out a slow breath and close my eyes. I want to say yes, I want that so badly, but… but what the hell are we doing? This thing between us has no future, and the more integrated Delaney becomes in my life, the harder it’s going to be when he’s gone. Fuck. And despite all of that, I find myself saying, “Okay.”

There’s a beat of silence before he asks, “Okay, I can come cook you two dinner?”

“Yeah.” My voice comes out in a croak, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I want him here, I want him in my life. I can finally admit that to myself, even if I can’t say it to him. This is going to end in disaster, but that’s a worry for later. Hopefully way, way later.

“Great, Freckles. You just made my day.” I can hear the smile in his voice, and it makes me grin and push away all the negative thoughts. I need to enjoy this while it lasts.

I put my phone on speaker and set it on the bed so I can get out of my clothes. My sweats are calling my name. “Oh, I have a list of programs for you. I was thinking that maybe we could work on your resume or whatever, then send it out. I have emails, websites, and phone numbers for us to check out and see which ones you think would be a good fit. I’ll give you everything when you’re here… Friday, I guess.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate your help with this.”

I shrug even though he can’t see me. “No problem.” Then a thought occurs to me and I say, “Um… I don’t have to help you with your resume if you want to do it by yourself. I didn’t mean… I just have a good program we can use, that’s all I meant by it.”

He chuckles. “Freckles, I would love your help.”

I blow out a breath, glad I didn’t offend him or something. “Okay, good.”

“Aiden?”

“Yeah?”

“Calm down. You’re fine. We’re fine. Take a breath.”

I do. “Sorry.”

He chuckles again. “I can practically hear your anxiety from here.”

I groan. “Ugh. I can’t help it. Everything’s so…” I trail off and blush because I don’t know how to explain what I’m feeling. Everything feels so easy when I’m with him and can forget the outside world, but then reality sets in and my worlds seem like they’re going to come crashing together in a giant mess. But then I hear his voice and…

---