AIM [FIRST DRAFT]

Chapter 21: It's a Double Date

Aimee heard Molly calling her downstairs, definitely wishing she could disregard that voice. She pulled away from Stefan and climbed off the bed. She walked backwards toward the door.

"Sorry, I've got to go," she excused herself and she was out in a hurry. "I'll be right back," she called from the hall.

Stefan was grinning like a slightly sane version of the joker; his life had been so much better since he met Aimee. When she was happy, Stefan was happy.

He noticed Aimee's phone on her bed. It must have fallen out of her pocket. It was tempting. He knew he should leave it alone, but he wondered what was on her phone. No, he shook his head. If he was going to look through her phone it would be for the right reasons; to ensure that it was not able, in any way, to put Aimee's life in danger. He retrieved it, clicked a button and the screen lit up. It instantly opened to the last file that Aimee was in; her messages. He read the one that was supposedly from him and shook his head unfavourably.

"Otis," he murmured, reading the text.

He led Aimee there using Stefan's phone. Now he felt uncomfortable just holding it. He deleted the message. It was none of his business, but it was a reminder of that annoying man. He guessed Aimee would feel the same way if she knew that it was from Otis.

Stefan's finger accidently went into My Files and he was partly confused by how he even got there. He would not look in her images, her videos, maybe her music. He read down the list menu and stopped at her voice recordings. Stefan opened the folder and there were at least ten recordings on the list. A part of him wanted to play them. It was usually easy for him to go through someone's phone, but not Aimee's.

"No," he put her phone down on the bed quickly.

He sighed and watched the door, waiting for Aimee to come back. Stefan shuffled in his back pocket for his cellphone. It was vibrating in his jeans. He wondered who was calling him; the number was private, he had no appreciation of it.

"Who're you?" he answered rudely.

"You may want to change that tone," a male with an English accent.

"Mitchel," Stefan recognised the voice.

"I hope Aimee's alright," he replied. "Also, that she did not hear you call me by my first name."

"She's fine, Mitchel," said Stefan. "She's downstairs. We're at her house," he explicated.

Buckley murmured instructions into Stefan's ears. His facial expression showed how he did not want to do what Buckley had asked, but had to. The conversation continued.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Clifford had finally come home and Aimee was called down for a proposition he had. Aimee was just glad to see him; he was later than he said he would be. She greeted him with a wide smile and a tight hug. She did not have to hide her cast anymore, it was a partly good feeling, like a weight being lifted off her shoulder - not that the weight was very big. He was actually unbothered by the situation, more by Molly's unreasonable grounding. Yup, Aimee missed him.

"You said you'd be home by four," she reminded him.

"Sorry about that, I had to help close up at work," he explained.

"All is forgiven," Aimee separated herself from the hug and smiled at him.

"On the plus side, I got a raise so I wanted to take you ladies out for supper tonight," he smiled kindly, "my treat."

Aimee was excited, but at the same time she was a little worried; Stefan was still upstairs. She wanted him to tag along, but did not know how Cliff would react even though Clifford was a lot more chilled out than Molly was. He was taking them out for once! Aimee unleashed her inner audacity and simply asked:

"Can I bring my friend, Stefan?" she bit her lip. "He's upstairs," her nervousness was visible on her face.

"The more the merrier!" he beamed.

"Thanks, Dad!" she squeezed him once more. "I'll run up and get him."

She wasted no time doing so. Stefan was still on the phone, but he did not want her to know. He heard her coming up the stairs and hung-up immediately, without a goodbye. He almost prayed Buckley would not get too furious with him. He shoved his phone into his pocket and pulled his best I-wasn't-doing-anything face when Aimee came in through the door.

"I hope you're hungry," she said cheerfully.

Stefan was surprised to see her in such a good mood, but he was happy to see her like this. He did not say anything for a while; he savoured the moment. Aimee glanced at him, waiting for an answer.

"Chinese food or pizza?" she tilted her head slightly.

Stefan shook his head out of his daydream. "Um, Chinese," he replied.

"Great!" she beamed.

She hoisted him up by the arm and enthusiastically brought him downstairs. They walked ear in on Clifford and Molly's chat. She changed her attire. Clifford's back was facing Aimee and Stefan, but when he heard them trotting down the steps he spun around instantly.

"There you are," he said excitedly. "All ready to go?"

Aimee blinked at Stefan and back at Clifford. "All set," she smiled.

Clifford strode casually to the front door and pushed the handle down. With his hand remaining on the door handle, he stepped back and gentlemanly gestured everyone outside. Molly thanked him daintily when she was half out the door. Aimee had a calm grip of Stefan's arm and she walked him along. It was chilly outside, but no one complained. However, Molly held her arms in a shiver. Clifford shut and locked the door before stepping up behind her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, snuggling her close for a second to help keep her warm. The car keys were fumbling in his left hand as he tried to unlock the car. The lights blinked twice, but the car was silent. The moon shone on it and it glistened as though its navy paint was coated in water.

Clifford sauntered over to the passenger door and opened it for Molly. As his wife climbed in, Aimee swung the car's back door open. She made way for Stefan. He shook his head, barely.

"After you," he insisted.

He helped her into her seat and she scooted over to make space for him. She never sat in the middle, but made an exception for Stefan. Their hands clutched together in the space between them as they used their free hands to strap themselves in. The car suddenly turned on. Aimee hardly noticed Clifford coming in and shutting his door altogether.

"So... Dad... where are we going?" she queried.

Stefan's eyebrows came closer. "I thought we were going for Chinese?" he looked at Aimee in confusion.

"Nah," remarked Clifford. "That's too common. I wanna spoil you ladies, and... Stefan," he grinned and reversed off the driveway.

Aimee giggled, she wondered what he had planned. Maybe he would let them buy extra-large boxes of popcorn at the movies. The car screeched like a Porsche on a race track. He was definitely eager.

"The restaurant's not going anywhere, Cliff," Aimee joked.

"I'm still driving in the speed limit," Clifford responded. He glimpsed at her over his shoulder quickly and back to the road even quicker. "Anyway, it's quite the distance."

And now Aimee was starting to worry. She caught sight of Molly's grin - one she was unfamiliar with - and Stefan's laidback expression. Aimee sunk further into her seat before the tyres rolled over a speed bump.