Are We Out of The Woods Yet?

Part 7

In the three days leading up to Sunday, Robert barely saw Aaron at all. Had he been avoiding him? If so why? Aaron nervously pulled on a hoodie, zipping it up. He looked in the mirror, no it was zipped up too far, he pulled it down a bit. His hair, he'd put too much wax in it. "Shit."

"Mornin' love." Chas came into his room.

"D'ya mind? I could've been naked??" Aaron complained.

"Oh sorry love. Well...I'll knock next time. Doesn't half stink of cologne in 'ere, you been spraying 'em all?"

"What? I've only got one." Aaron raked a hand through his hair one last time in front of the mirror, only half listening, before sliding past his Mum, out of the room.

"Are you going out somewhere?" Chas asked him. She could tell when he was nervous. He wouldn't sit still and he'd bustle about the room like a 20th century maid in the kitchen. As usual Aaron wasn't replying. She followed him downstairs and into the sitting-room. "Aar..." He frantically searched for his phone, from time to time listening out for Robert's voice in the main part of the pub.

"Where's ma phone?"

"Oh Aaron you've messed up the sofa." Chas put down her mug, coming over and plumping the pillows back into shape.

"Mum!"

"I don't know love." Aaron wiped a hand under his nose.

"Brilliant."

"It's not my responsibilteh to look after it!" Chas finished faffing with the pillows and stood up straight with her hands on her hips. Aaron suddenly spotted it on the window-sill. He gratefully jogged over and grabbed it. He was going to shove it into his pocket when he noticed he had a text message from Robert. "Oh, you found it then." He selected the message.

Still on for today?

Something about the fact that Robert still had his number made his heart swell. For work they had a separate phone so he'd had no need to keep his normal one. But he had.

Yeah, where are we meeting?

He replied, ten minutes late, oh well. "So where are you going? Unless you've got an odour problem at the moment?" Chas pressed. "Don't tell me you've found someone new?" She smiled.

"Gotta go." Aaron smiled at her, leaving. Chas just let him go, hoping it wasn't Robert.

Aaron found Robert waiting outside in his car across the road from the pub. He walked towards him apprehensively. Robert had been watching and waiting for him to appear so had seen him. His heart jumped of course, butterflies were in his stomach. Aaron stood at the edge of the path, letting a car go past. He could feel Robert's eyes on him. He felt hot. He focused on looking left and right for any on-coming cars. Eventually he crossed, after waiting unnecessarily for a car miles away, to zoom past him. He shuffled round to the passenger side, pulling the door handle and opened the door. He swallowed. "Alright?" Robert greeted him with a reassuring smile. Aaron nodded, settling himself inside the vehicle, shutting the door. He kept asking himself what he was doing sat in the same car as the guy who had told him he was worthless. He felt more like a tool than the ones he used at the scrap-yard. "We don't have to go..." Aaron finally, properly looked at Robert, he was wearing a white shirt with the top two buttons undone. Aaron thought of...certain events...where more of those buttons happened to come undone... He shuffled round to look out of the windscreen.

"Just drive." Robert nodded, turning too and starting the engine...

The journey was filled with awkward glances, pathetic attempts at discussing subjects neither of them cared about and both of them knew Robert asked way too many times if he should perhaps put the radio on.