crave | 16+

XXVII

JOSIE

"I DIDN'T KNOW YOU were even in the military," I half-yell to Aaron who's on the other side of the aisle, looking at whatever he needs for his fridge. It's been a little over a week since everything happened, almost two weeks since Aaron got me home to my apartment.

At first I'd thought that was the last I'd see of Aaron Wyatt, and his enticing blue eyes, but I was fooled when he knocked on my apartment door with a medical kit in his hand, the morning after. I'd been looking for jobs all night, and hadn't gotten a peep of sleep when he knocked.

To be honest, I'm still looking for a job. Apparently, Elijah declared my leave and told our partners for the weekly meeting that I was very ill and wouldn't be back for a long time. I guess that's his way of giving me time to find a new job. Mind you, this is what Sabrina told me, when she called and asked if I was okay, or needed anything.

"Many people don't," Aaron replies, bringing me back to reality. Him and I have become close, due to his checkups even when I insist I'm fine. I'm sure Elijah has a finger in this, and the second he tells Aaron to back off, I'll be left all alone. I don't think Sabrina and I will be more than we are now; work friends. There's Devina, but she has another life in New Jersey with an insufferable husband and her job. I can't ask her to tend to me, beside all the other stuff she has to do.

Aaron walks around the aisle, and comes to stand beside me. I eye him suspiciously and I catch a tug at the sides of his mouth. "Like what you see, love?"

A flush takes over my cheeks, and I quickly look away, staring at the different options of bread. A ring of laughter breaks out, and my eyes are drawn to the soft sound coming from next to me. I catch Aaron with a smile on his lips, as his chest rumbles out a deep chuckle. I stare in shock – I'd never heard him laugh before, and for some reason the sound soothes the nerves in my body, the aching longing for a man who let me go.

"I'm just kidding. I'm spoken for," he says, and this time it's my turn to let a laugh out, but Aaron doesn't shy away from my look. Instead he returns it with a half-frown. My laugh is cut short, when I spot the inquiry in his face. Maybe he took it as an insult?

"It's just the way you speak, like you're from the medieval century," I explain, and he simply nods his head, obviously not amused one bit. I shake my head, a remaining smile from the laugh and finally choose some bread, before Aaron and I walk toward the cashout together.

We both pay for our groceries, even though Aaron barely bought anything, and I buy enough to last me a month. Together we walk toward Aaron's black BMW SUV and I allow him to put my bags in the trunk, before I slump down in the passenger seat. A feeling I can't really explain settles in the pit of my stomach, and I try to shake it off before Aaron retreats to his seat and drives me home. Home. A joyless laugh escapes my mouth as I think about my dark empty apartment.

How I think about what my life has become – a month ago I was promoted to COO of one of the biggest companies in New York and now I'm stuck at "home", my ex-boyfriends bodyguard being the only thing holding my sanity in place. And mind you, Aaron is getting paid to babysit me. He's probably reporting back to Elijah everyday, or waiting until he thinks my sanity is okay, before he too, leaves.

The realization finally hits me; soon enough, I'll be all alone, just like I was 4 years ago, when I left home, when I left everything I knew. My dads voice rings in my head again, and I shake it out of my ears. The door to Aaron's side opens, and he settles on the driver's seat, taking off from the curb without saying anything.

After driving for a little while, I decide to break the silence. "Why are you here?"

He looks stunned, but quickly masks it up. "I don't think it's a good idea, that you get behind the wheel just yet, especially with your track record of reversing instead of driving straight forward," he says. I can tell he means the time I hit Elijah, but he doesn't smile, and neither do I.