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Chapter 21

Aiden

I watch as she leavesthe restaurant and heads back to work, but sit and enjoy the rest of my food before leaving. Hazel's house is not as fun to be in when I'm by myself, and without a job currently, I might be going a little stir crazy. My application has been put in with the fire departments around the area and waiting to hear back about a position. With my experience, I doubt I'll be overlooked, but never know these days.

A part of me feels like a mooch, living in her house, and not working, but it's not like I'm broke. I thought about looking for a house to buy, but then if things work out between us, we would both have a house here, and that would be pointless. I am keeping my house in Texas because when we visit my family or hers, we have a place to stay. It's already furnished and everything.

I know sometimes it takes a minute to find a job, but don't want that to affect our relationship? She hasn't said anything, but a part of me wonders if it bothers her? I almost asked her the other night but stopped myself. We are starting back in the groove of things and don't want my doubts of something stupid to hinder our progress.

After the bill is paid, I head back out to my car, and take off toward Hazel's house. Tomorrow, I plan on going out and exploring the city. Might as well take advantage of the downtime and learn where things are and what there is to do around here. If for some reason, I can't find a job as a firefighter, there is still my business degree. Yet, I'm going to hold out for a couple of weeks before jumping into a whole different profession. It's in my blood.

I see a car in her driveway, and when my car halts to a stop next to it, I can see someone standing at the door. The porch light isn't on so it's hard to make out anything.

"Can I help you?" I ask, walking up to the door and that's when I see a man, dressed in a suit, and holding a bottle of wine.

"I'm sorry, I must have the wrong house. She must've moved."

"Are you looking for Hazel? She still lives here."

"Oh, uh, who are you?" the man asks, eyebrows narrow.

"I'm her boyfriend, Aiden. I'll let her know you stopped by..." I stop, waiting for him to tell him his name.

"Roger. Just wanted to bring by a bottle of wine. It's our anniversary, well would've been."

Why the hell would he show up here? Hazel wants nothing to do with him. Maybe his mistress left him and now he's trying to crawl back to her.

"I don't think she's interested. You can go now," I say, brushing past him, unlocking the door, and then shutting it behind me.

Do I need to be worried about him? Hazel wouldn't ever go back to him, would she? And there go my insecurities, wondering if I'm good enough for her, and if this is going to work between us. It's a bitch. Of course, you see on television women talking about insecurities, but no one ever thinks about men when it comes to things like that. We might not voice them, but every man has something they are insecure about, believe me.

I plop down on the couch, and my phone dings. It's a message from Hazel warning me about Roger coming over. So, he is still trying to contact her, and she hasn't said a word to me? Okay, wait, back down a bit. You are not the over jealous type. I ponder over how to reply, because being a jealous person isn't something attractive.

Me: He's already been here and left. Didn't know you were dating anyone. I set him straight on that. Shouldn't show up again =)

I add the smiley face because, hopefully, that will make it seem less possessive. That's not who I am. Yet, the thought of him showing up angers me, and if he is smart, he won't do it again. Although, not sure he's that intelligent if he cheated on Hazel with an assistant. Dumbass. She is one of those that you hold on tight to and don't ever do anything to lose her. His loss, my gain.

I'm not going to let Roger coming here affect my relationship with Hazel. She's with me, and that's all that matters.

***

The door slams andI startle awake, realizing it's now morning, and I must have fallen asleep on the damn couch. She didn't even wake me up when she came home, but there's no telling what time that was either. She's hitting it hard, and she might have received pushback from her ex about how much she is working, but I think it's admirable what she is doing for her clients. She loses some of her home life to try and set them free. Hazel is one hell of a woman. How insecure of a person did Roger have to be to cheat on her because she wasn't home often? Honestly, I think he would have ended up cheating on her regardless.

My feet drag up the staircase, and I jump in the shower real quick and then throw on some clothes. I'm not going to sit around the house all day today, instead I'd like to get out and see some things. I've never been to Cambridge before and the only thing I know about the city is that it's home to Harvard.

The search engine shows there are many museums, but I'm not that type of person. Harvard Square seems to be close, and has restaurants and stores to gawk at and get out of the house. I can only sit in the house for so long without going crazy. Not working is not like me, but I don't regret moving here.

I take the spare key, and lock the door behind me, and jog over a couple blocks to where Harvard Square is located. It reminds me of a town's main street with local restaurants, small bookstores, and boutiques. The coffee shop is my first stop because I can never have too much coffee.

"A black house coffee blend with two creams and three sugars please."

She takes the two dollars from my hand and then hands me the cup. Coffee is nice and warm, and it's about sixty-one degrees or so outside with a breeze. I should have grabbed a jacket, but oh well. The door closes behind me, and I saunter down the street, looking into the windows and seeing if there is anything inside that might interest me. At the end of the square, I cross the street and go down the other side, stopping at a small bookstore along the way. Many don't know that I do like to read. I rarely have the time or energy too.

Upon entering, there is a short older gentleman, petting a cat, and standing behind the counter.

"Welcome to Sam's. Everything is one dollar."

Is it weird that giddiness takes over as I start looking over the shelves to see where the murder mysteries are located. My mother used to read them when I was little, and when she finished one, she would leave it on my nightstand next to bed for me to read next. I didn't get to read all of them, some were inappropriate for my age, but I devoured book after book. When dad passed away, she didn't get much time for reading. It's the first section I search for, and start grabbing books and reading the blurbs on the back. If it catches my attention, I turn to the first page and read it, if it still piques my interest, then I intend to buy it. This isn't a good idea because after about twenty minutes, there are already ten books tucked underneath my armpit and it will take me a while to finish these. I better go ahead and get these and then come back when I'm done.


Tags: Ashley Zakrzewski Rough Edges Romance