After we all exchange pleasantries, Alex takes us into the dining room where, surprise surprise, I’m seated next to Aiden.
I lean over and whisper to him, “It seems like your friends had ulterior motives when they invited me to dinner.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, sorry about that. I would have warned you, but after they informed me you were coming, I couldn’t convince anyone to give me your number. Gee, it’s almost like they didn’t want me telling you their nefarious plans or something.”
I snicker, which draws a look from Alex and Gran, both laced with a little bit of ‘awww’ and ‘I told you so’.
These people are going to be the death of me. It would be easy enough for me to keep my mind off of Aiden if this were just a normal dinner, but everyone here seems intent on throwing us together at every turn. My face heats remembering him in the shower yesterday, and I take a sip from my glass of water to calm myself.
Maybe if things were different, I could see myself falling for a guy like Aiden. He’s definitely attractive. And despite our differences, I enjoyed spending time with him, even if he is a sore loser when it comes to video games. I don’t have time to chase after a guy right now, though, so after tonight, it will be business as usual. I need to focus on the job search, not on a guy who isn’t even interested.
Chapter 20
Aiden- Babies and More Babies
“So then Aiden came around the corner and saw what was happening, and I swear the boy froze solid. It’s like he’d never seen a pool party before or something.”
“Gran, you and your friends were all in skimpy bikinis, including the men, and you were all covered in pudding!” Everyone is laughing and I’m having flashbacks to all that wrinkly, pudding covered flesh on display.
“Well, what else were we supposed to do after we turned the pool into instant pudding? Just let it go to waste? That’s not very eco-conscious of you Aiden.”
Rhea is laughing so hard beside me she’s resting her head on the table and banging her fist beside it. Even if she’s sort of laughing at me, I love the sound of it.
“OK, then what about the time that Ryder and I came by to visit and you and Gladys had been sculpting giant dicks out of crispy rice cereal treats and covering them with fondant? You had dozens and dozens of enormous, outrageously decorated dicks on every surface in your house.”
“Hey, yeah,” Ryder agrees, suddenly no longer laughing. “That was some disturbing shit, Gran. You’ve definitely corrupted us.”
“Oh, you big babies. Those little wieners were nothing. You should have seen the gigantic dicks we had stored at Gladys’s house. They were as tall as me, and so thick and veiny.” Gran sighs, as if remembering the good old days. “That was a great baby shower.”
“THAT WAS FOR A BABY SHOWER?!” Ryder yells out. “Who in the hell for?”
Gran shakes her head, like she can’t believe we’re so dumb she has to explain this to us.
“It was for one of the staff at Peaceful Pines. It was really more of a gender reveal than a baby shower. You know how much I hate those things. So I figured, why let a blue puff of smoke have all the attention when what you’re really wanting people to know is the kind of equipment the baby’s going to be working with.” Gran looks around at everyone at the table, all of us staring at her with our mouths hanging open. “What? It was a boy.”
The table erupts into uncontrollable laughter again. How could we not? Gran is the only person I know who would think throwing a penis party instead of a gender reveal is the more appropriate way to go, but I suppose it makes sense when you think about it. The only thing the gender scan really tells you is whether the baby has a penis or a vagina.
“Oh my god, Gran,” Rhea forces out between breaths. “What would have happened if it had been a girl?”
Gran looks at Rhea like she’s sprouted another head. “Well, obviously Gladys and I would have spent hours and hours crafting edible vaginas instead of penises. Actually, I have a plan in mind for a balloon vagina archway for next time someone I know has a baby girl. It will be glorious.” She shoots a pointed look over to Alex and Denise, the two pregnant women in our little group. “I can’t wait to find out what you girls are having.”
“It’s a surprise,” Alex, Denise, Connor, and Ryder all blurt out at the same time. I don’t think any of them want Gran planning their baby showers now that they know what she’s capable of.
“Well, Gran,” Rhea says, pulling Gran into a side hug. “If I ever have a baby, I would love it if you would make me a balloon vagina archway, regardless of whether the baby is a boy or a girl. I think it would be hilarious to watch all the guests arrive through a giant vag tunnel.”
Suddenly I’m not laughing anymore.
No matter how much I thought I didn’t want Rhea, I still enjoyed the thought that maybe she was a possibility. But now it is definitely out of the question. She wants kids, and I am never having any. What my dad did to me and to my family has made me promise myself that I will never pass on his genes. And I will never give myself the opportunity to become the same kind of man he was.
The conversation continues on around me, with Gran and Rhea coming up with a plan for a penis tunnel entryway involving white streamers and forcing guests to run through it to join the party. It’s ridiculous and hilarious, and, if I weren’t in such a sour mood from thinking about my asshole father, I might be laughing like everyone else.
I’m not feeling all that social anymore, so I get up and excuse myself to the bathroom. Instead of going to the bathroom, I wander downstairs and I find myself in the room that Connor keeps for me here. It’s just a basic room. Queen-size bed against the far wall with nightstands on either side, a dresser with a mirror on one side and a bookshelf on the other. I have a small selection of clothes and books that I keep here even though I rarely spend the night. My body feels tight and tense and my stomach feels like there’s lead in it. I need to relax a bit, so I walk all the way into the room and crawl up onto the bed, curling myself around a pillow.
Why is it that thinking of Rhea wanting kids has me feeling so shitty? I’ve been insisting that I’m not interested in her like that, and I know I can’t have a meaningful relationship with anyone, let alone with someone who has confirmed that they want kids. But she’s funny, and sweet, and adorable, and fuck is she hot. Just thinking of her when I was in the shower yesterday led to the most intense orgasm of my life.
My friends are all falling in love and making it look so good. They love each other so easily, and it seems so comfortable. Alex and Connor have settled into their new life, and they have twins on the way. Even Ryder is married to Denise, for fuck’s sake. And whatever Devon has going on with Xena, even though he swears it’s nothing, makes them both look so happy. I don’t begrudge my friends their joy, but I do feel jealous about how easy it is for them to feel happiness.
I’ve felt nothing but on edge for my entire life. At first, it’s because I was doing everything I could to not set my dad off. Then, as I got older, dad got worse and worse, and I was never sure when I’d need to fight back, until I finally moved out. And ever since the accident that killed my entire family, I’ve spent all my time worried that I will be the same kind of man my father was. I would deny myself any pleasure to ensure that never happens. No matter what else I do in life, nothing matters more than ensuring I don’t turn into that asshole.
