Chapter 3: Chapter Three: Future
Chapter 3: Future
Pulling his t-shirt over his head, Aiden dismissed a recurring thought of his more than pretty, pregnant neighbor. Her amazing hair. Her full beautiful lips and huge medium brown eyes set in perfect darker than tanned skin. Her roving eyes. He shook his head. He had to stop.
Aiden turned on the flatscreen in the bedroom, more for the noise than entertainment and began to do his nightly routine. Push ups, sit ups and burpees. Standard bedtime routine, which was always followed by a sandwich and/or cookies.
"All things in moderation." Aiden flexed his well toned body as he spoke to his reflection on his way into the kitchen.
After finishing his dinner/sandwich and finding only one cookie left in the pack, Aiden pushed all of the day's garbage into a grocery bag and headed for the door. His reason for moving into the building was once again brought to the front of his mind. Closing his door behind him, Aiden once again thought about the meeting he'd had earlier arguing over improvements to the building. For starters, he wanted to install garbage shoots on every floors. As it was, every other floor had them, but the alternate floors deserved access too.
Walking in the hall in his slippers, he headed for the garbage shoot which was located beside the elevator. Improving on this building would be easy, it wasn't too bad to begin with. It was still in pretty good shape, which was much more than he had hoped for when his father gave it to him. The tenants seemed to be pretty okay with everything, which really only meant they weren't complaining loudly. He'd moved in to see for himself and thankfully, also had no real complaints. Maybe dear old Dad, hadn't set him up too badly. Throwing the bag down the shoot, Aiden sighed to himself. Maybe this really was an opportunity to make something better.
Aiden stopped and sniffed deeply. What on earth was that?
Someone was cooking...no, baking. Someone was baking something. His one, lonely cookie seemed like it had made its disappointing trip down into his stomach ages ago.
"No choice but to order in." He decided. He was too hungry now to sleep. He didn't know what the smell was, or where it was coming from, but it had gotten his appetite going. Dropping the little door to the hatch, he breathed deeply on his way back to his apartment, trying to decide what to order.
Music poured into the hall as Casse's door opened. She propped it with a shoe and headed for the garbage shoot. Dusting flour off of her over-sized nightshirt and singing along to her favorite mix of Bollywood movie songs, she didn't even look up as she danced along.
Watching her mixture of dancing, walking and dusting, Aiden stepped out of her way when she got to the shoot, twirling with her eyes shut. She pushed her bag in and spun dramatically, did a hand twist, a hip shake, a weak attempt at the choreo and started back to her apartment.
The smell was pouring out into the hall along with the music.
"Are you baking?"
Aiden's deep voice made her jump, and almost turn... almost. She remembered that she was essentially naked and kept her back to him.
"Yes. I'm working on a new recipe." She tried to speed walk to her door without letting her body move too much.
"It smells great..." He left the sentence open, hoping she'd get the hint.
"Thank you..." Almost to the door.
"I was just throwing away today's garbage. Could have done it yesterday...didn't realize there was only one cookie left in the pack..." He didn't know how far he'd have to go, but he wanted to taste whatever was smelling up the hallway.
"Just one cookie, huh...?" Her walking had slowed. He walked back toward his apartment, thankful he had to pass hers along the way.
"Yup, store bought." He could see her wavering. He slowed his walk to a meander...a slow meander.
She shook her head in disapproval. She really didn't like store bought cookies unless they were made in the deli, then they tasted more like homemade.
"You bake often?" Aiden was standing in front of her apartment. His hands were in the pockets of his blue flannel pajama bottoms, and he wore a plain gray, v-neck tee. His long, bare toes wiggled in his Nike slides. The veins stood out from his tanned forearms without even trying. She didn't mean to notice...but there it was.
She looked up at him from behind her partially closed door. He stood still smiling, comfortable looking and hair still partially damp from a shower, she refused to think about. Not gelled or styled, his hair completely covered his forehead and the tops of his ears.
"Aiden..."
“You know my name, but you haven’t told me yours.”
“Casse.” She shrugged a little and waved it away.
He already knew. Gregory, at the front desk, knew everyone in the building and had not hesitated to tell him not only Casse’s name, but most of her personal business.
Yes, she was single.
"I only want to taste it." He interrupted, tilting his head to one side and turning up the wattage on his smile.
"It's an experiment." She still stood in the doorway, but the door hadn't closed any more. She was enjoying the view, but also didn't want to be seen. Her hair was a mess, again. It was pulled into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck, then ran unchecked to the middle of her back. She had on no bra, no pants, and no underwear. Her oversized tee was dusted with flour and just a little suggestive. The graphic on the front was two, cute bears sitting side by side, covering their eyes. The caption read 'Don't Stare At My Teddies’....it had been a gift.
"That means you need a taste tester." He grinned, pointing to himself. It was as good an excuse to let him in as any.
"Okay...no judgement okay. I've been at work all day. The shirt was a gift. And...this is pretty much fully dressed for home." She fully opened the door, let him in and closed it behind him, still trying to stay out of full sight.
"Yes." Aiden didn’t try to hide his happiness. He let her lead the way to the kitchen, trying to give his attention to the subtle ambient changes to the apartment. The lights were dimmed and the oil burners were going. The smell coming from the over, blended well with the flowery scent coming from the oil smoking on the white clay stand. The oil burner stood in the center of a low, round table. It was currently the only piece of furniture in the room. The music, an Indian mix was his best guess, was also suited to the whole scene. It made the space feel less empty. He gave the apartment his full attention, trying not to stare at those Teddies.
In the kitchen, Casse plated a muffin. She was aware of Aiden taking in the changes in the apartment. The smells, the music. He nodded slightly and she felt a bit better. Edmund had always hated her idea of what was calming, and didn't like anything ethnic. After years of listening to him trying to change her, she had been confused as to why he had pursued her in the first place.
"Those look great." Aiden's voice from so close made her jump again. She needed to get a hold of herself. He stood looking over her shoulder at the muffins. She felt the heat coming from him and the heat coming from the muffins, distinctly. She leaned toward the oven hot muffins. Their heat somehow seemed less dangerous.
"Thank you. If you will sit at the table..." She tried to keep her voice light, not startled sounding as she had been, or panicked sounding the way she was now.
"In the living room?" He pointed at the table and she nodded.
"Can I carry the tray?" He reached out to take it, but she slapped his forearm lightly. She pointed to the living room, not looking at him, steadily adding little things to the tray.
"Okay, I'm going. I just feel bad having a barefoot, pregnant lady serve me fresh baked goodies." He stared at her, matching her straight face for straight face.
"Okay, you're done. " She pushed him towards the door.
"I'll stop. I'll stop!." Aiden, laughed out loud. He spun out of the way of her shoving hands and headed toward the living room, grinning at her over his shoulder.
"I shouldn't bring you anything." Casse tried not to laugh, but failed.
"I'll be good." Aiden placed his left hand over his heart and raised his right, chuckling again when Casse rolled her eyes and disappeared back into the kitchen. Periodically he could see her, if she crossed in front of the window opening from the kitchen to the living room, but she mostly stayed in the same place. He could hear her quietly talking to herself or periodically to her babies. He couldn't stop himself from smiling when he saw the top of her head slide past the window. She was tiny.
"What are you doing, now?" The song changed and he moved his feet to the beginning drum beats, his long legs stretched out in front of him, leaning back and resting back on his arms.
"Seasoning this tea. My taste buds might be off, but I can't get it lemony enough." She stood on tiptoes to look at him through the window as she spoke. Her eyes moved over him, top to toes, she blushed, and disappeared back into the kitchen.
Aiden smiled to himself. He knew he was handsome, and her reaction to him was making him feel it more-so. He was immediately glad he'd done his evening workout before coming out.
"Okay, you can help now." Casse called from the kitchen.
Aiden hopped up and sprung lightly the dozen steps it took to reach the kitchen. Casse handed him a tray with a pitcher of tea and two short glasses. The tea was aeromatic and light colored with fruit slices floating in it. It looked very refreshing.
Casse carried a wooden tray with the muffins laid out beautifully. There were two split, on separate plates and a shallow bowl that held 4 more.
After Aiden had placed the tea service on the table, Casse handed him the tray she carried and used the table to aid her into a cross legged sitting position. She pulled her t-shirt down to cover her knees, even though the low table covered almost everything. She leaned back to stretch her back and rub her belly.
"You good?" Aiden asked, brows raised in concern.
"All good." Casse rubbed her belly and tried not to smile. Edmund had never asked how she was doing. Through morning sickness, and emotional outbursts and flash depression...he had never seemed to care. But, all of that was in the past.
"Do you want to tell me what it is, or is it okay if I just eat it?" Aiden was already clued in to her type of personality. She was detail oriented and maybe even a little obsessive, but she tried not to be.
"You can just eat it...I'll explain the concept while you chew." She laughed, as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Her inner self beat her head against an imaginary wall. How is it that she was sitting, half dressed, across from her ideal guy...pregnant with some other man’s, a loser's baby. She sighed, and shook it off.
Aiden looked up at the sound of her heavy sigh, caught a look of regret pass over her face,and raised his brows in question. His mouth was full so he couldn't speak. She covered her concern with a smile and handed him a napkin. The thoughtful expression left her face as he began to chew and slowly closed his eyes.
Easing himself onto his back on the floor, he finished chewing and swallowed.
"You are crazy." Casse laughed out loud, completely pleased at the effect her food was having on him.
"I think I might have just died." He looked over at her from his position on the floor and the smile on her face was everything. Her big brown eyes crinkled at the corners, her full lips turned up at the corners and her shoulders shook as she laughed at him. Her shoulders and...
Checking the bedside clock again, Aiden cursed under his breath. The LED readout told him it was 2:47...am. Well past time for him to be in a deep sleep, but no. He was trying to shut off the past 5 hours of his night. Well, he should have been trying to turn them off. He just re-lived it over and over again. Even now.
He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. She had definitely kissed him first. He sprang up in his bed, and sat still staring toward his covered windows, replaying the night again in his mind.
She'd told him she was calling them 'Breakfast in Bed Muffins'. He said something to the effect of, if you serve these, you wouldn't be getting out of the bed. She smiled a little shyly, no longer meeting his eyes or even looking in his direction, and continued on to how they were made. All of the best ingredients, yada, yada, yada. Filled with a spoon of cream cheese and your choice strawberry preserves or orange marmalade (he'd had the strawberry first). The concept was, everything that you'd put on a breakfast muffin, but already baked inside, hot and ready to spread. It worked on so many levels.
The tea was delicious and not too sweet, it helped to cleanse the palette for the orange marmalade muffin. He'd taken a bite and stopped. He blinked and stared at Casse from across the little table.
The hope on her face began to falter, as he had stared at her. But he hadn't noticed. His eyes were open, but he could only see what he was tasting.
"Too much, marmalade? It's okay, you can spit it out. I won't be offended." She had handed him a napkin and gone to get a glass of water. On her way back with a filled glass, he could hear her working the recipe under her breath.
He'd called her name to get her to focus on him and then he said it. In that moment, it was 100% true and was the only thing he could think to say.
Aiden lay back on his pillow, rubbing his hands down his face.
He could have said they tasted perfect. He could have said they tasted like a whole f-ing orchard, slathered with cream cheese and warmed by the summer sun. But no, he had to be himself. He had to be basic.
He repeated the words he actually said, out loud, right to her beautiful face, while holding her obsessive little hands to stop her from cleaning up the little table out of agitation.
"They taste like sex."
Casse's face had gone through so many changes. Considering, confusion, contemplation, remembering. All trying to decide if his comparison had been a good thing.
The night had gotten worse as he tried to explain his word choice. They both ended up embarrassed and he offered to go, before he ruined the fledgling friendship. She agreed that he probably should.
He sat up in bed again, eyes staring at his bedroom door, but seeing the past events that happened at her front door clearly.
"Sorry, about making it weird. It really was the best analogy I could think of." He felt like he was 18 instead of 28 and had said the word erection in front of a hot 17 year old girl. Embarrassed, but not really sorry.
"It's okay. It's just because we don't know each other that well yet. Later on, we'll laugh at stuff like this." She was still not meeting his eyes, still blushing a little.
"Let me know what description you come up with, when you do eat one." He stepped out into the hall.
"Wait." Casse stopped him with a hand on his arm, but still didn't look at him. She bit her lip, thinking deeply, deciding. Aiden waited.
"Food is like this..." She stood up on her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek. Not a peck, but a squarely placed kiss.
"It's something that is given freely and enjoyed between people or families. It's definite and enjoyable. Lingering even, but rarely life changing."She still hadn't met his eyes. She took a step back from him and let go of his arm.
His back felt like someone had poured hot water down his spine. His central nervous system was awake and talking to all of the nerves in his limbs.
He reacted.
"Agreed. Most food is like that. But what you just made, is like this..." He watched his memory play in front of his eyes like a dream. He had stepped close, wrapped his left arm around her waist, tilted her chin with his right hand and kissed her full on the mouth. He'd deepened the kiss and grazed her bottom lip with his teeth, then softened the kiss again and pulled away. For a split second her eyes were closed. Her right hand was flat against his chest and her left was at his waist, balled around a handful of his t-shirt.
Casse opened her eyes and pressed her hand lightly against his chest. Aiden moved away a step, stopped only by her hand that had not yet remembered how to let go of his shirt.
She pulled her hand away and tucked it behind her.
"Sorry." She had spoken first.
"Don't be." He was still close enough and tall enough to still be actively looking down.
"So...that's the comparison then?" Casse tried to sound businesslike. She cleared her throat.
"Yeah. It’s like that." Aiden, watched her. She nodded silently, still looking everywhere but at him. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and her hand made it halfway to her mouth before she was aware and tucked it behind her back again.
"Okay, thank you." she stepped back into the apartment and closed the door to just a crack.
"You're welcome." He smiled, his machismo meter running to red. It was good to see that she was as affected as he was.
"Good night." She closed the door and he heard the locking mechanism chime.
"Good night." He called through the door, hoping she was still close enough to hear, and turned to go to his own apartment.
Laying back against his pillows and arranging his limbs in a semi-comfortable position, Aiden tried to dismiss the whole situation. He had definitely only responded. She had questioned their boundaries first, and he had responded with the best answer he had. He silently hoped that she was getting as little sleep as he was.
Casse woke a little to readjust her body to a more comfortable position. Her mind revisited the kiss, not hers, his. Her hand made it halfway to her face, before sleep took her again, dropping the floating hand silently to the bed. Sleeping in its proper time had stopped being a problem for Casse from the day she conceived. Even troubling thoughts or memories that stirred feelings she hadn't used in ages, had to wait until she was awake.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone