Page 36 of Stained Hearts
“What are you hoping for?”
He chuckled, but there was no mirth there. “I have this fantasy. I’m on the beach, lying out under the sun. The sand is warm, and the waves are lapping at my feet. I look over, and next to me I see a man. He lifts his sunglasses and winks at me, and my heart stops, swear to God. He reaches out and takes my hand and just holds it. For me, it’s like the perfect moment that I want to freeze.”
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. God, I wanted that for him too. “That’s a good dream.”
“Yeah, but….”
“What? Talk to me, Aiden. But what?”
“Until today, the guy never had a face. Now he does.”
I leaned back against the seat. “Oh?”
“You’re the first person, Livvy included, who hasn’t treated me like I’m broken. I love Noel like a brother, but even he does it sometimes. You don’t stare at my legs or treat me like I’m someone who needs to be pitied. When we were sitting in the park, I expected that from you. I mean, what adult is on the ground crying?”
“One who has carried all this inside him for too long and couldn’t bear the weight of it anymore. There’s no shame in that.”
“But people were watching. They saw you carry me out. How many do you think felt sorry for you?”
“Fuck them.”
He gasped and I chuckled.
“Seriously, I don’t give a shit what other people think. They’re not living our lives, so they have nothing to say about how we live them.” I slipped the phone between my shoulder and ear. “Aiden, where is this coming from?”
He breathed in a few times. “I like you, and I don’t want you to think that I’m some freak.” There was a hitch in his voice. “Please don’t think that.”
Aw, fuck. “Aiden, sweetheart, don’t cry. I don’t think you’re a freak. You’re a kind, sweet, caring guy. I like you too, and I want us to get to know each other. I want to date you, Aiden. I want to take you out and see things. I want to invite you to dinner with my parents, so my family can meet you. I want so many things with you, okay? But what I want most is for you to see yourself the way I see you. You’re not your legs. You’re your heart. Your smile. Your taste. That’s what you are to me.”
He sighed into the phone.
“Okay, do you want to know what I need you to do for me?”
“Yes.”
“Go get some sleep. Then tomorrow, if you’re willing, we’ll go to the museum.”
There was a note of excitement in his voice. “I haven’t been there since…. Well, since I could walk.”
“Okay, then let me make this official. Aiden, would you do me the honor of going out with me tomorrow? We’ll stop and have breakfast, then head to the museum. We can have lunch there, or go out and get something. Then, after we’re done, we’ll stop somewhere for dinner.”
“You want me to spend the whole day with you?”
Hell, I wanted more than all day. Somehow Aiden had wormed his way into my heart and my life, and the thought of him not being with me was hard to bear. Maybe it had something to do with losing Brian and realizing life was short. Either way, I had said I’d go slow, and I intended to do just that.
“I’d like it, but the question is, would you?”
“Yes!” Then he hummed. “What about your window?”
“What about it? Will one day make a difference? You deserve a break too, you know.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Do you really want me to go? I’d have to take the chair.”
“Okay, and? What part of me wanting you to come along don’t you understand? If pushing you around is what it takes, then I’m all for it.”
Aiden sighed. “I don’t know why I’m so freaked-out over you seeing me as weak.”
“No, sweetheart. Weak is giving up, despite the fact that there are people willing to help you. You’re many things—kind, sarcastic, a sugar fiend, and a great kisser—but you are by no means weak. The chair doesn’t define you as anything. Only you do that.”
