He exhales seeming to relax a little more. “And that’s why I adore you. You put everything into perspective.” He kisses me softly as he pulls my hands to his. “He is an arrogant ass, isn’t he?” he states, making me smile.
The music is turned up louder as Sarah and the girls transform the deck into a dance floor. More teens and twenty-somethings turn up as do the guys from work. One by one I introduce them to Aiden. The guys from the repair shop, including Bob—who he’s already met—and finishing with Tim. I was a little anxious to see how this would pan out. I’ve seen Aiden’s jealous side when he had his little squabble with Chris. It’ll be interesting to see how he reacts to my banter with Tim.
“Hey, Timmy,” I chime as he walks up to greet me.
He smiles brightly. “Hey, Jeni.” He blows me a kiss as he eyes Aiden.
“Tim, this is Aiden, my boyfriend. Aiden meet Tim.”
Aiden narrows his eyes as he reluctantly places out his hand.
Tim looks at Aiden’s hand. “Boyfriend, huh?” Tim asks, then abruptly walks off, ignoring Aiden completely.
I jerk my head back in shock as I watch Tim walk away without saying another word. “I’ve never known Tim to be rude. He’s always so happy and playful.” I look at Bob feeling confused as I raise my eyebrow.
Aiden curls up his lip, leaning into me. “I don’t think he’s happy about us. But more importantly, I’m not okay with him flirting with what’s mine,” Aiden grunts quietly.
“Tim has always thought you had a thing for him,” Bob offers an explanation.
My eyes widen as Bob’s announcement is a revelation to me. A really sobering, awkward, and unpleasant revelation to me. “Really? Tim? God, no! He’s like an annoying little brother who persistently irritates me,” I admit, feeling like every action, every conversation we’ve had has led to this. Maybe letting him blow me kisses in the lunchroom wasn’t playful banter after all?
I led him on without even realizing.
Oh, God—I did this!
“He talks about you a lot in the shop. I think his ego might be bruised today,” Bob states as Aiden wraps his arm around me, staking his claim.
“Okay…. I honestly had no idea. I don’t understand... I didn’t mean for this…” I glance at Aiden with regret.
“I understand perfectly. You underestimate your appeal, Jeni,” Aiden replies, kissing my forehead.
Bob weakly smiles at me while gently gripping my arm. “Tim will be fine. He’s a big boy. Don’t stress about it.”
I nod, even though I feel like an idiot for not reading the signs.
Chris and Sarah make their way back to us after dancing up a storm on the makeshift dance floor. After the tension, I could do with simply sitting and relaxing. So, we all move to sit at the rectangular table.
“C’mon, guys, let’s get this grill started,” John calls out. Aiden, Chris, and the guys from work all stand—it’s a good excuse to drink beer and talk guy shit.
Aiden kisses me hard showing not only Tim but all the guys that I belong to him. I grab his hand as it brushes my shoulder. “Love you,” I tell him.
“Love you, too,” Aiden replies, knowing he belongs to me as much as I belong to him.
Sarah turns to me with her arms crossed over her chest with a great big dirty smirk on her face.
“The ‘L’ word, already?”
I smile at her, feeling content. “Yeah, he told me on Wednesday.”
She turns her full attention to me. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“You were at Chris’ place at the time. I was freaking out because I have these bottled-up emotions, which I thought were way too early to feel, but apparently he’s feeling the same way.”
She gnaws down on her bottom lip in excitement. “You look happy. I haven’t seen you this happy for a very long time. I’m so excited for you.” She leans in holding my hands.
“He makes me undeniably happy.” I can’t hold back my smile as my eyes wander over to him standing by the barbecue with the other men looking deliciously gorgeous.
I take a sip of my wine as Chris’ sisters come rushing for Sarah again. She grimaces, and I giggle. “They’re not that bad, are they?”