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“Aw, thanks, Jules! Thanks for tolerating the miserable cold for me.” She cracked up when I made my eyes as big as possible and put my hands in a prayer position right under my chin. I tried to model myself after the cat in the movie Puss in Boots.
“You’re such a dork!” she chided. “But seriously, I can’t imagine Annisa getting her certification. Can you?”
We exchanged bewildered looks, but I didn’t answer. Besides, I was more concerned with how she would be able to get certified so quickly.
I also wondered how her presence would affect my time with Aiden. Would she try to get in the way and flirt with him?
Ping.
The noise and the screen lighting up stirred me from my revelry. I read Aiden’s message. I’m here. He ended his text with a smiley emoji.
I’ll be right down, I typed out and sent Aiden the text, but instead of ending it with a smiley emoji, I accidentally used the kissy face emoji. It was too late to take it back, and I cursed my phone’s inability to edit that regrettable message. I hoped Aiden didn’t read too much into the text, and before my mind went down a rabbit hole full of doubt, he replied with a grinning emoji.
“PHEW!” I grabbed my scuba diving gear bag and headed downstairs before I did any more damage with my errant emoji text messages.
“Hi,” I said when I walked out the door. Aiden had gotten out of his car and was waiting for me. He looked so casually chic, leaning against the door frame. He was wearing a dark blue hoodie and cargo pants with some slip-on boat shoes. He looked like a J. Crew model.
“Hi, Claire!” Aiden pulled me in close to his chest, and I breathed in his aftershave. The smell was familiar, and it reminded me of nutmeg, cinnamon, and musk. He smelled good.
“This might sound weird, but what kind of aftershave do you use?” I asked, still wrapped up in his embrace.
“Why? Does it smell bad?” He pulled away to see my face.
“No, no,” I reassured him. “I like it. It smells familiar.”
“It’s Old Spice body wash,” Aiden admitted sheepishly.
I burst out laughing. “No wonder it smells familiar. It’s the same brand my dad uses, except he uses the aftershave and not the body soap.”
Aiden chuckled. “Gosh, I didn’t realize I was old-fashioned, and I hope it’s not a weird thing that I use body wash instead of regular soap.” He let go of me so I could get in the car.
“Nope! I love it, and a lot of guys use body wash now. You’re trendy,” I called over my shoulder and slipped into the passenger seat when he opened the door.
Aiden’s car was a maroon Lexus NX, which was nice but not flashy. It was also extremely clean inside. I sucked the air through my teeth as I noted the absence of a coffee stain on the seats or a stray wrapper on the floorboard.
“Yeesh! I better be careful, or otherwise, Aiden might think I might be a slob.”
“What’s that?” Aiden asked. He only heard the first part and didn’t hear me cautioning myself.
“Yeesh, I can’t wait to go diving!” I said again, but this time, I tried to change the tone so it sounded like “YEEEsh.” I hoped what came out was a sound of excitement rather than an exclamation of defeat.
Aiden nodded with a smile and pulled his car into traffic.
My face flushed in embarrassment, and I looked out the window so Aiden couldn’t see my expression. Get a grip before he thinks you’re nuts.
While Aiden concentrated on getting us out of San Francisco traffic, I studied his profile. His dark hair framed his face. His full eyebrows stood out above his brown eyes. I didn’t notice it when we were in Mexico, but in the sunlight, his eyes were flecked with gold and were slightly tipped downwards. Hmm. I wondered if he had any Asian heritage.
With the skills of a race car driver, he darted through the lanes, getting ahead on the congested highway.
“That’s impressive.”
“What is?” He turned to give me a brief look before returning back to look at the road.
“Your driving.” Aiden looked confused, so I added, “Julia always gets so stressed when she has to drive through the city. I think there were times that she said a little prayer every time she changed lanes. You, on the other hand, seem to be a pro.”
He raised one eyebrow at my assessment but didn’t say anything. Instead, he just grinned and stepped on the gas pedal.
“Woah!” The car’s acceleration pressed my body back against the seat. It took some time, but I finally relaxed as I watched the skyscrapers recede behind us.
