Page 87 of Hunt for the Roses
“Okay, I should have said something. Is that all?” I say.
“I don’t know. You tell me,” Trent says.
My wise-ass self kicks into high gear as I let out a chuckle and run a hand through my hair. “If you have a question, Trent, maybe you should just ask it.”
“Or maybe you guys can start telling me what’s really going on,” Trent says before looking over at Aria. “Ari, would you like to jump in at some point?”
I immediately take the burden off her. “Hey, you don’t need to get snippy with her. You’re annoyed with me right now, so have it out with me.”
Trent lets out a frustrated sigh as he looks off to the side, then looks between Ari and me. “So my gut feeling is right.”
I lick my lips as I look downward for a second, and I’m about to say something when Kate comes back over to our table with the two guys from the bar.
“Hey, guys! Charlie and Luke, this is Aria, the girl I was just telling you about. Isn’t she gorgeous?” Kate says with a smile and wink.
It’s evident in Aria’s face she’s going through the same emotional whiplash I am, but still throws a reluctant smile their way. I feel my blood start to simmer knowing Kate is trying to hook Aria up with a guy right in front of my face, but there isn’t a single, damn thing I can do about it. My hands are tied behind my back, and I know I have to keep my cool before this night turns into utter chaos.
“I’m sorry, I’m just going to go to the bathroom for a quick second,” Aria says as she gets up from her chair and beelines it to the back of Shippers.
I’m left sitting in my chair with my elbow on the table and two fingers on my forehead, trying to find the right way out of this situation. Kate points to each of us as she introduces our names to Charlie and Luke. “This is Trent and Dane.” Trent says hello and I just throw a tight-lipped smile because I don’t feel a need to say hello. They’re lucky they’re even getting an acknowledgement from me.
Too frustrated with the given circumstances, I get up so I can go to the bathroom area and check on Aria, but Trent stands up at the same time and pulls me aside. “Look, man, I don’t know how to feel about this yet, but this can get real messy for you and Aria. I mean, do you honestly know what you’re getting yourself into?”
I swallow a nervous lump before responding. “Not really, but I guess I’ll find out,” I admit, and then I walk away to go find Aria.
Just as I’m walking in the bathroom hallway, Aria is exiting the women’s bathroom. We lock eyes, and then I walk up to her to grab her hand to lead her outside. We walk through the crowd of people at the entrance of Shippers, making our way to the side of the building, and Aria’s hands are over her face as she sighs. “We shouldn’t have come here.”
I’m leaning one shoulder on the side of the building as one leg is crossed in front of the other, and I’m facing her as I talk. “Ari, what does it matter if it was now or a month from now?”
“This guilt is exhausting me,” she breathes.
“I know,” I whisper, but then I shake my head as I sigh and look up toward the nighttime stars. “I’ve been so wrapped up in us I didn’t even think about how our quick exit the other night may have raised a red flag.”
Aria leans further back into the brick wall as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Me either. It was stupid,” she whispers.
“Good to know where you stand,” I remark sarcastically.
Aria turns her head back to me as she narrows her eyes. “Don’t do this. Don’t twist my words to feed your insecurities.”
“Well, give me a choice then. Your emotions are like a ping-pong ball, it’s a little hard to keep up,” I retort.
Aria exhales as she puts her fingers on her forehead and looks downward. “Dane, you know what I meant when I said it was stupid.”
I place a palm flat against the brick wall as I stand up straighter. “It was stupid. But that stupid decision led me to one of the best nights of my entire life.”
Aria picks her head up to look at me, and when her eyes lock on mine, I can see her doubt lifting. “I feel the same way,” she whispers.
I see her eyes glisten, like tears are begging to leave them, and I walk over to pull her in for a hug. I cross my arms around her shoulders as I kiss the top of her head, and she slides her palms up my back to accept my embrace. The scent of her strawberry shampoo overwhelms my senses, and I feel at peace having her in my arms. I can feel the tension slowly leave our bodies as we hold each other, and it’s such a tragedy we haven’t been doing this our whole lives. Being with Aria is so natural, and it’s the sum of everything. It’s like all the roads of my life have led me to this destination, and every bump and dip in them was worth it.
After getting ourselves together, we make our way back into Shippers to catch up with Kate and Trent at our table. Charlie and Luke have now occupied seats at our table as well, so Luke is next to Kate across from us, and Charlie is sitting right next to Aria on our side of the table.
Great.
“So, Aria, Charlie was just telling me he’s a teacher too,” Kate says with suggestive eyes.
Aria looks at Charlie as she takes her seat. “Where do you teach?”
I take a sip of my beer before I say something really inappropriate, and just let her converse. I know Aria doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, and she’s just going through the motions of being a civil acquaintance.
