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Move to New York City for Aiden?
Could I really do that?
I hate how fast the day goes, and it’s made all the faster because of Aiden’s early morning flight out of Denver. He has to get up at 4:30 AM so he can make the drive from Vail and get to the airport on time. That night, I expect him to turn in early, but he stays on the couch, cuddled up beside me under the blanket as we finish watching It’s a Wonderful Life.
The lights are low in the kitchen. James and Jolie already went to sleep a while ago, so it’s just us, alone on the couch as snow falls outside.
I’ve been so happy up until this moment, full of Christmas spirit as we spent the day building snowmen and eating, watching movies and eating, and constructing a gingerbread house then eating that too.
But now, there’s no escaping what will happen tomorrow.
Aiden’s leaving, and I don’t know what’s going to happen after that.
The credits roll on the movie, and I don’t move a muscle. I want to turn back time and relive the day together. I don’t want him to move from his spot beside me.
I glance over and see him staring down at where our hands are linked.
“Aren’t you tired?” I ask.
“Not really.”
His voice sounds far away.
“You’ll be tired in the morning.”
“Maybe.”
“What’s wrong?”
He lets his head fall back against the couch and he stares up at the ceiling.
“I looked at my work calendar while you were baking earlier.”
“Oh?”
“I’ll be traveling for the next five weeks. I have a clear night or two in my schedule where I’ll be back in New York, but that’s it.”
“Wow. That’s…”
“We can still make this work,” he says, hurrying to cut me off.
“Of course. I wasn’t going to say otherwise.”
“So you’re not going to run away from me again?”
“No.”
He relaxes against the couch. “We can talk on the phone while I’m away.”
“Yeah.”
“And there’s mail.”
I can’t help but smile. “You’re going to send me postcards?”
“Every day if you want me to.”
I lean over and kiss him. It was meant to just be a soft peck, but Aiden loops his hands in my hair and keeps me pressed against him as he kisses me again. I shift toward him and drag my hand up his shirt. He gathers me against him and we start to tilt back on the couch with me on top of him. His hands start to roam. First to my back, then to the bottom of my shirt. He tugs the material up, dragging his fingers up my spine. Then, slowly, he works his hands around to my front, cupping my breasts as I release a soft moan.
We don’t stay there on the couch.
Aiden’s the one who thinks better of it, tugging me after him down the hall, pushing open his bedroom door so we can shuffle toward his bed, clothes getting yanked off and tossed aside as we go. We should spend the night configuring our schedules, planning a future, but there’s no talking. In fact, our mouths are only in use for other things.
I think I stir awake when Aiden kisses my cheek in the wee hours of the morning, but then it only seems like a hazy dream.
When I wake up for good and glance over, Aiden’s not lying on his half of the bed. He’s already on a flight back to New York.Chapter Twenty-OneMaddie“Where is your head this morning? Hell-o. Earth to Maddie.”
I jerk out of my reverie, more than a little embarrassed that Elise caught me at a bad moment. Though, to be fair, it’s not all that hard to find me in one these days. Bad moments abound during my first week back at work after the holiday break.
Elise is standing in front of my desk outside of her office, waving her chai tea latte back and forth in front of me as if trying to snap me back to reality.
“Still dreaming of the holidays?” She cringes at the idea. “Not me. I think I gained three pounds. That’s why I can never go home. My mom insists on force-feeding me, and I can’t turn down her bread pudding. You and I are doing SoulCycle every day this week. Call and schedule it.”
“On it,” I say, flipping through the mess on my desk, trying to find a pen and notepad so I can jot down her request on my to-do list. It takes longer than usual to find it buried under my trash from breakfast.
I’m not usually like this. I pride myself on being an organized person, but coming back to the office after New Year’s has been rough.
I have a lot on my mind, and most of it centers around Aiden.
He’s in New Zealand at the moment. At least, I think he is. I can’t remember if he flies back to New York today or if he continues on to Dubai straight from there. His travel schedule is confusing to say the least, and it seems to constantly shift. Assignments pop up spur of the moment, and already the five weeks of travel he had on the books has turned into eight.
