“Is the wait longer for a patio table?” he teases.
I giggle.
“Where are the chinchillas?” he asks, looking around.
“In my bedroom. I’ll show you.”
As I move past him, his hand brushes against mine. My heart leaps as Aiden’s fingers entwine with mine, and I hold his handas I lead him back to my bedroom. I turn on the light and take Aiden over to Mochi and Matcha’s cage.
“Here they are,” I say. “I think they are the cutest things ever.”
“Oh my God, they’re so fluffy!” Aiden says.
“Yes. They’re angoras.”
“I didn’t know there are different types.” He flashes me a sheepish look. “I actually don’t know anything about them.”
“We’ll talk to them for a bit, then I’ll take them out into the living room. I try to let them out as much as I can for playtime.”
I point out Mochi and Matcha to him, explaining that Mochi is the tan one and Matcha is the gray one, and Aiden talks softly to each of them. After a bit, I open the cage door and put my arm in, and Mochi immediately climbs on top of it.
“That’s so cool,” Aiden says.
“Right? They’re unusual pets, but they’re perfect for me. I’m going to take him into the living room, and then I’ll come back and get Matcha.”
I take Mochi and put him down on the hardwood floor. I return for Matcha, and Aiden follows me into the living room.
“We can sit on the floor,” I say. “I’m going to get out their toys first.”
Aiden nods and drops down on the floor, stretching his long legs out in front of him as Mochi and Matcha run around the room. I open the cabinet underneath my wall-mounted TV and begin removing the toys: a tunnel for them to run through, some chew toys, their exercise wheel, and some chewable sticks. I sit down next to Aiden, our legs brushing against each other.
Matcha stops to pick up a chew stick, nibbling on it, and I watch Aiden’s face light up as he watches him.
Suddenly Mochi runs up against the breakfast bar counter and leaps off it, and Aiden bursts out laughing. “Wall surfing! Like the video you sent me!”
Okay, the fact that he’s enjoying my babies so much is literally melting me into the floor. “I love how they react to things,” I say.
Mochi comes up and hops up onto my leg. “Look at that!” Aiden says excitedly.
I stroke Mochi under the chin. “Right? They can be affectionate. Would you like to pet him?”
“Can I?”
My heart swells when I hear the eagerness in his voice. “Yeah, just stroke him under the chin. That’s his favorite spot.”
Aiden reaches out his long fingers and softly strokes Mochi’s chest. “He’s so soft.”
“I know. And if you come over here enough, he might even come and sit on your leg.”
Then I realize what I said and my heart sinks.
“What?” Aiden asks, reaching up and tucking some of my hair behind my ear.
“I don’t know how often you can come over,” I say matter-of-factly. “I was thinking about this right before you got here, Aiden. How you have to walk through my lobby. People might spot you here. Maybe it’s easier if I just go to your place.”
“No,” he says firmly.
“No?”
