Suddenly, the lack of a real date doesn’t sting quite as badly. “Can you stay for a little bit? Maybe watch TV?” He has work tomorrow morning. I have a disaster to deal with bright and early, but I want to extend our time together for as long as possible. Twenty-two more minutes isn’t much, but I’ll take it.
“Yeah, for a little bit.”
CHAPTER 16
OLIVER
If there is one good thing I’m getting out of today, it’s that I’m finally in Aaron’s condo. It’s precisely as I expected. Minimalist doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Stuff tends to accumulate in my apartment. Some of it needs to be there, but a lot of impulse purchases could go. That requires a lot of focus, though. And a concentrated amount of willpower. Instead, I’m content to have a mishmash of stuff covering my shelves and walls.
And sometimes the floor.
It’s a small thing compared to the fact that our date is cancelled. Again. It’s a real struggle not to let all my insecurity shine through, especially as his friends started to show up.
The moment Nathan and Colt arrive, I retreat to the kitchen. I know. I shouldn’t be self-conscious around them. It’s not like Colt is my ex-boyfriend or anything. I think a date has to last more than twenty minutes for that title to go into effect. However, Aaron and I are dating and haven’t even reached thatthreshold, at least by his definition. Personally, I’m counting all the time we’ve spent together. Just because it wasn’t official doesn’t mean it wasn’t real.
I won’t tell him that. I have a feeling that using the wordboyfriendwould scare him off. We’ll work up to it.
It’s not hiding. It’s selective socializing. A term I’m officially putting in my personal dictionary. In an attempt to look busy, I dump the tortilla chips I brought into a serving bowl I find in one of Aaron’s cupboards. What I can’t see is a small dish for the salsa. Since Aaron refused to assign me anything to bring, he’s stuck with my usual offering. It’s not exactly thrilling, but I’m hoping people will like it. Or politely ignore it.
“Hey.” Tyler comes around the corner, his body loaded down with two cases of beer.
“Let me help you.” I grab one of the boxes, checking the design to see what he’s brought. At least this one is relatively normal. A Porter with only a slightly higher than usual amount of alcohol. “Where do you want these?”
“Fridge would be great. They’re already cold, but I’d prefer to keep them that way.”
I let Tyler get his organized first before I add mine to the shelf. Of all Aaron’s friends, Tyler has the best taste in beer. Some of it might be a bit much for me, but it’s better than the crap Matthias buys.
“Here.” He hands me one of the tamer options in the mixed pack and leans against the corner. “So, what’s new?”
It’s exactly this kind of situation that makes me freeze up. Usually, it’s only because I don’t do small talk. Now it’s both that and my desire not to lie. I can’t tell him that I’m dating Aaron, but that takes a lot of things off the table.
Can I tell him that he’s helping me train for a 5k? Mention my newest crochet project without bringing up Aaron’s?
“The usual,” I say. “I had to deal with a crisis at work yesterday, so hopefully things will settle down.” They won’t. They never do. It’s more that I hope the time between storms is long enough for me to get organized again.
At least I found fifty extra books for Haskell to take with him last night. They still sold out, but it went better than expected.
“How about you?”
“Well—” Tyler’s cut off by Matthias barreling into the kitchen, a more petite guy trailing behind him.
“You made it,” Tyler says. “Grab a drink. The good stuff is on the bottom shelf.” He gestures toward the fridge. “This must be Frank. I’m Tyler.”
Tyler sticks out his hand to the man I don’t know. He looks about as uncomfortable as I feel right now. I feel for Frank. This is a rough group to break into. They’re all nice, but they can be a bit… much.
“Sorry. Frank, that’s Tyler, and over there is Oliver.” When Matthias introduces me, I give Frank a quick wave. Maybe I should’ve shaken his hand like Tyler did? I’m not really the handshake type, but it is good manners. At least that’s what my parents always said. “You hiding out in here?”
“Ugh. They won’t shut up about whatever the new city thing is going on for non-profits. I’ve heard about it all week. I’m happy to take a break and let Graham nerd-out over it with Nathan and Colt.” Tyler groans as he takes another drink of his beer.
There’s a long pause while Matthias rifles through the fridge, Tyler, Frank, and I all staring at one another. Saying nothing. It can’t be long, but I swear minutes have gone by. I can’t take it, so I clear my throat and come up with something to say. “So, Frank, you work in landscaping?”
“Um, sort of. The company does a lot of yard renovations that include some landscaping, but not so much planting. We largelydo home construction projects. Like remodels and finishing basements.”
“Frank’s also going to school at Cardinal Falls Community College.” Matthias puts his arm protectively around Frank. “He’s working on a degree in data science.”
“Ugh.” The sound is out of my mouth before I can stop it—shit, not a great first impression. I’m sure Matthias will tell Aaron how I insulted Frank the minute I’m gone. “Sorry, ignore me. I’m one of the few in the group who aren’t good with numbers. I thought maybe I was getting someone on my side for once.” It’s not that I can’t do math. I can when I want to. And, if there’s a nice calculator available.
