I swear to—
“At least it wasn't a car show on one of the hottest days this summer," Lily stated, eyes sharp as she narrowed them on Aiden.
I was smiling behind my fist as I looked at her on my right. She was sitting up straighter, more confident, as she cocked her head waiting for Aiden’s answer.
Kira, sitting on her other side, had gone silent as she watched Aiden too. The look in her eyes was one I knew too well, and my smile dropped.
Aiden closed the fridge door with a little more force than was necessary as a cocky grin came to his face. “Touché.”
I didn’t think any more bullshit could spill from Aiden’s mouth, but it did.
For the rest of the day, we sat in the living room. Forced to listen to his plans to take Kira on a road trip soon. She reminded him they would have to wait until they could get time off work.
After that, we watched the movies he chose while he talked throughout each one. He claimed to understand the essence of the movie better than everyone else.
It was The Godfather, for fuck sake. What essence was there to fucking understand?
With Lily curled into my side, I brought my lips to her ear and muttered under my breath, “Is he actually gonna let us watch the movie?”
She pursed her lips to keep from smiling, and then whispered back, “Maybe you should quote some stuff too. You’ve got the accent for it.”
I dug my finger into her side, and she giggled.
Kira and Aiden, sitting on the other couch, looked over before Lily mouthed an apology for interrupting. Her friend smiled, her gaze lingering on us a moment longer before she brought it back to the TV. Meanwhile, Aiden rolled his eyes and proceeded to mumble another quote under his breath like a toddler.
“I’m gonna make dinner,” I grumbled, shifting out from beneath Lily as I unraveled my arm from around her waist.
“Are you sure? We could just order something,” she said quietly, watching as I got to my feet.
“I want to,” I shrugged. Then leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I need to get away from the echo over there before I punch it in the throat.”
Lily pressed her lips together again, amusement shining in her eyes. “What will you make? I don’t even know what’s left in our pantry.”
“I’ll think of something.” I kissed the top of her head, cupping the back of it as I did, and headed into the kitchen. It wasn’t until I was at the pantry that I stole a glance at her, catching the moment she sunk into the corner of the couch, smiling contently to herself as she tucked her legs up and rested her head on the arm of the chair.
Part of me wanted to forego dinner altogether, scoop her up in my arms, and take her to bed. Not just for sex, though it would be a bonus, but just to hold her. I craved the feel of her in my hands like she was some kind of nicotine fix for my touch.
The Godfather finished not long after I left the living room, prompting Lily to jump in with a movie suggestion before Aiden had the chance to choose the next one. She suggested something light and easy to watch — a romcom that Aiden called mind-numbing, and picked up his guitar to tune it.
It took everything in me not to fling a metal strainer at his forehead. He had insisted on everyone being quiet through his movie choices, and now he was playing his guitar through theirs? I assumed that was why Lily came into the kitchen briefly to grab a bottle of wine from the counter beside the fridge, and four glasses from the cupboard near me.
“We were planning on saving this for a special occasion,” she whispered, searching the drawer at my hip for a bottle opener. She pulled one out, stabbed it into the cork, and then popped the bottle open, locking eyes with me as she smiled. “But fuck it.”
“That’s the spirit.” I filled a pot with water and brought it to the stove, watching Aiden from the corner of my eye. I kept my voice down. “Does he know any other songs besides Wonderwall?”
“I don’t think so,” she laughed quietly, pouring the wine as the chords rang out in an unsteady rhythm from the guitar. “What are you making?”
“Pesto pasta. And improvisin’ with bacon bits,” I said, lifting the packet of bacon strips.
Lily picked up the jar of pesto sauce, frowning at it. “I didn’t even know we had this.”
I turned it over in her hand to read the use-by date, using any excuse to stand closer to her. “You’ve got another four months before it goes bad.”
“Huh.” She smiled up at me and patted me on the chest gently as she set the jar down. “Good thing I found someone who knows what to do with it—”
The strumming got louder, and I clenched my jaw. My respect for Kira went way up, based solely on her ability to sit beside Aiden and pretend she was enjoying that shit.
Lily sighed and turned her back to the living room so she could lean against the counter. “Do you need a taste tester, or sous-chef, by any chance?”
