Off Limits

13 | Men have one thing and that's the audacity

❝Maybe making out for a few minutes would help us figure things out❞

- unknown

Mackenzie Thompson

I'm lowkey convinced that Grace and Jo were FBI interrogators in another life. The second Aaron said he had to get back to his cousin, they rushed back into Lola's. They demanded everything be taken to go, and dragged me to the car. They then started bombarding me with questions, while occasionally stopping for two seconds to shove food into their mouths.

"Since when has your life become so exciting?" Jo asks with a quirked eyebrow and a smirk on her lips. "This is great." I flicker my eyes to Jo, giving her a deadpanned expression. "Not for you, really, but for me."

"Jo, you're not helping," Grace says, rolling her eyes. "But I do have to say, you guys dating is actually adding some spice to your love life."

"You guys are the worst," I groan. "And I wouldn't exactly say dating— more like testing the waters..." I hesitate to answer as I try to find the right words to call the relationship Aaron and I have at the moment. By the look on their faces, they don't seem to believe a word I'm saying.

"I'm guessing Ethan has no idea about you guys 'testing the waters,' or else Aaron would probably be six feet under by now," Grace jokes, pausing to shovel a handful of fries into her mouth.

Her statement causes me to falter. I put my chicken tender back onto the paper carton sitting on my lap. Yeah I joked about Ethan most likely killing him, but now that I think about it, it might be less of a joke and more of a probable reality. Ethan's made it clear on several occasions that, on his watch, I will grow up to be a lonely old lady whose only relationship is with her multitude of cats.

And his best friend, whom is off-limits to me, is definitely not an exception.

Not to mention, I'm more of a dog person.

Grace sees the look of doubt on my face, and panic crosses over her own.

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant to happen. You guys are so cute together, don't start questioning it now! Only Jo and I know, right? Neither of us plan on making his death wish come true," Grace sputters out quickly. She looks relieved once she finishes her spiel.

I suck in some air, and let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, about that. My mom might've, sorta, um, definitely seen Aaron dropping me off after our date. And by dropping me off, I mean helping me climb back through my second-story window. I've been avoiding her for the past two days, but she knows that I know that she knows something I don't want her to know, and that she knows something Ethan can't and won't know," I rattle on, confusing the fuck out of both them and me.

"Although that messed up my few remaining brain cells, I still vividly remember that you need to fill us in on what exactly happened on this date of yours. Last thing we knew, he blew you off and now you're talking about climbing out of a window?" Jo muses with a ton of respect.

Shaking my head at her, I start to tell the girls about the unexpected date, them constantly butting in to add their own remarks. But as I tell the story, I start to wonder, despite Grace's protests, if me and Aaron are rushing into something that has the capability of becoming something dangerous and real.

─────

The next couple of days go by as something of a blur. My connection to Aaron grows stronger, but I still insist we take things slow. He respects this, considering that what we have is my first, well, anything really. However, it's become much harder than I had anticipated. We've been taking it painstakingly slow. I can't help the attraction I feel towards Aaron every time I see him. But I know that we are playing with fire, and rushing into it is just asking to get burned. It isn't rocket science to know Aaron feels the same exact way.