Change of Plans

Chapter 26

The thing about first dates is that it's almost always guaranteed to be all sorts of awkward and this one was certainly not the exception. This was proven by Aiden's silence as we shuffled along the surprisingly busy street. We'd parked about two streets over and were now continuing the rest of our journey on foot, it seemed. "Okay mister," I said, reaching out to grab his arm when I could take his silence no more. "Where are you taking me?" He smiled and made a zipping motion across his lips. I looked to the heavens before following him once more, but after five minutes more of that, I grew agitated.

"My gosh, you're worse than my sister," he said, taking my hand in his. "We're almost there." Just as he said that he turned the corner and came to a stop. "Ta-da!" I smiled at his excitement and gently shoved him. I suppose if I ever went anywhere besides school and the mall I'd have known that our destination was the park. I made a mental note to lambaste my non-siblings when I returned home for allowing me to keep myself locked away.

I wasn't exactly expecting a restaurant themed date, but a walk in the park certainly wasn't on the list of possibilities. We bought corndogs and strolled along, soaking up the warmth the sun provided. I decided then that silence wasn't such a bad thing. It was undoubtedly better than making awkward small talk when we could be enjoying each other's company. In truth, the fact that this wasn't a typical date took some of the pressure off of trying to make everything flow perfectly.

I gasped when two little kids weaved their way between us, laughing merrily while playing a game of tag. He took hold of my hand once more and tugged me closer to his side. "They remind me of my sister and me at that age," he gestured to the little boy who was now trying to pull his sister's hair out of its hair-tie. "We drove my mother crazy and days like this were her only reprieve from the hassle of raising twins."

"You're a twin," I said in astonishment. "How come I've never heard of this?" I was sure that I'd remember something like that although my memory pretty much sucked.

He shrugged. "She lives with my dad." I nodded with wide eyes as understanding dawned on me. "Yeah," he chuckled. "My mom got me in the divorce and my dad got her."

"Is that hard for you? Being away from her?"

He stared at me with raised eyebrows. "You're kidding right? I love it."

I laughed as we reached a park bench and took a seat. "That so wasn't the answer that I was expecting."

"No?" he raised his brow.

"You were supposed to say that it's really hard not having her here and that you miss having someone who understands you more than anyone else, right in the next room." I flushed. "Too much?"

He did a cross between a nod and shrug. "A bit, but I'll tell you what I don't miss. Being late for school every day because I share a bathroom with the prima donna of New York. I certainly don't miss the many fights over who gets the car on the weekends or whose turn it is to do the dishes." By this point I was laughing so hard that he stopped talking to stare at me. "Okay," he said smiling. "It sounds silly now that I've said it out loud."

"It's not that," I reassured him. "It's just that I'm an only child, well, I was an only child. And all that I'd ever wanted was someone to fight with over who used the last of the toothpaste and left the empty tube in the sink or arguing over which show to watch. It sounds sillier than your reasons but I was mostly a pretty lonely child."

"And now you've got a houseful of siblings to keep you busy."

I smiled at him. "That I do."

We sat there for a minute longer before deciding to get ice cream. Aiden's company, I decided was better than ice cream on even the hottest summer day. I licked my cone and smiled, thinking of just how weird I was. Two months ago, I was denying that I had any feelings for him and today we were on a date and there was definitely something stirring in my heart. It may have been deep, deep down, but it was there alright.