The Unexpected

Chapter 26

I don't know, this just seems kind of awkwardly written to me. I did my best to fix it, but it's still just... eh.

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Chapter 26

By the time I showered, changed into a sundress and flats, and re-curled my hair, it was twenty till ten, when the party was supposed to start.

I skipped down the stairs, humming to myself. At the bottom of the staircase the front door opened, and Aaden walked in. I stopped, watching him.

He pulled of his black hoodie- the one I insisted on buying him since his sweatshirt had been torn to pieces. He still didn't know how it had been shredded. Even though he knew a little about X, I had neglected to tell him that I wasn't the only one who had been threatened.

He hung it over the mud bench in the front walkway, next to my own jacket, and glanced up at me. “Do you mind? It’s dripping wet and I don't want to track anything in.”

“Don't worry. The maids will clean it up,” I said, stepping off the stairs, but my grin slowly disappeared. “How did you get in?”

Aaden shook his head free of water. I raised my eyebrows, imagining a wet dog doing the same. When he was done he answered. “Rose came by the cafe a couple of days ago. ‘Ricki is having a party Tuesday night', she said. ‘Did she invite you?'”

“What did you say?” I wasn't at all surprised.

“I said, 'No, ma'am', and she told me the times and basically handed over the spare house key.”

That caught me off guard, and I gaped at the key he was holding up. “She just gave you a key to my house?”

“Not exactly gave,” he said, looking like he could hardly believe it himself. “She put me through this little interrogation- have you ever been in trouble with the law, are you going to college, do you have a girlfriend. Random stuff.”

“Trust me, it wasn't random. Rose's favorite pastime- other than pestering me- is trying to play matchmaker.” I shook my head, wondering what Rose was thinking. I know she wanted me to get a boyfriend, someone she approved, but figuring out my... interest, and giving him access to my house? That wasn't okay. Thankfully it was Aaden and not some random guy she only thought I knew.

I sighed. “So, did you bring the cake?”

He motioned to a DC cake box on the bench before lifting a Braum's grocery bag. “I grabbed ice cream on the way, too.”

My face lit up at the words ice cream and he raised an eyebrow. “You and your sweets.”

I shrugged, taking the bag from his hands and bringing it to the kitchen. He trailed after me and helped me empty the contents into the freezer.

“Hey Aaden?” I said, eyeing the chocolate chip cookie dough distractedly. “I'm pretty sure you know by now that I'm not going to heed your oh so gentle and not at all blunt warning from this morning, right?”

He did that grunt thing most guys do, and I said, “And you're not mad?”

Aaden exhaled, straightening. “A little, yeah. And then the whole smelly cat incident- that didn't help.”

“Oh.” My heart sank a bit. “The why did you come?” I wasn't going to admit it out loud, but I was glad he was here. The fact that he still brought the cake, and even threw the treat I was always craving, made me think that maybe he was over it. It's not that I expected him to be, but still.