I don’t expect him to hang around, since he was up late last night and still has to work tomorrow, but like last night, he hangs out with a few of the local guys, playing pool and alternating between soda water and root beer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him order a beer that didn’t have root attached to it, and the story Allie told me last night sort of explains why.
The crowd starts to dissipate around eleven, and instead of keeping me until close tonight, Louis has Audrey stay, since there are still at least half a dozen tables open and the bar has quieted.
Aaron is still hanging around when I cash out, so he walks me to my car. I can’t decide if I want to invite him back to my place again or if I should wait to see if he brings it up. I frown when I notice one side of my car sits lower than the other.
“That doesn’t look right,” I mutter.
“Oh shit. You’ve got a flat.” Aaron rounds the side of my car and bends to look at the driver’s side tire. He has to use the flashlight on his phone since the lights in the parking lot aren’t that bright. “That tire is going to need replacing.”
“Do you think someone did this on purpose?” I bite my fingernail. My car stands out in this lot. Mostly it’s work trucks and older cars. There aren’t a lot of BMW convertibles on this side of the lake.
Aaron arches a brow. “Not likely. It’s probably a nail or something. That kinda thing happens all the time around here.”
“You’re sure? You don’t think I made someone mad? Maybe I need to trade in my car for something less”—I motion to the convertible—“pretentious.”
“You’re literally the friendliest person on the face of the earth. Everyone here loves you,” Aaron says.
“Right. Okay.” I blow out a breath and drop it. This isn’t the city, where people slash tires because they don’t like the make of your car. Or the fact that your younger brother is a convicted felon. “I have a spare. It’s in the trunk. Should we put it on?”
“I can do that for you,” Aaron offers.
“Maybe you could show me how?” I’d like to be able to change my own tires.
“Yeah, for sure I can, but it’d probably be better in the morning, when we can see what we’re doing.”
“That makes sense.” I’ll either have to call a cab in the morning or have Dillion drop me off, and walk here after my shift at Bernie’s to pick up my car.
“You wanna stay at my place tonight? It’s real close by. We could come back before I go to work, and I’ll show you how to change the tire. You’ll still have plenty of time to go home and shower before you need to be at Bernie’s, if we get up early enough.”
“Are you sure?” This is the first time Aaron has invited me back to his place in the weeks that we’ve been seeing each other. I don’t want to pass up the opportunity, but I also don’t want to make this his problem.
“Yup. It’s right on my way to work.”
“Let me check to make sure I have what I need.” I pull the rolled-up pants and shirt I always carry around in my purse out and hand them to Aaron.
“Not sure pink is my color,” he jokes.
“Ha ha. I always bring an extra set of clothes, especially after a night at the pub, since there’s a solid chance I smell like stale beer and french fries.”
He steps in close and drops his head, nose skimming my throat as I rummage around in the side pocket of my purse, checking to make sure I have my extra medication with me. I fumble around and tip my head to the side as he inhales and murmurs, “Nope, you don’t smell like beer and fries, you smell like dessert, and I can’t wait to devour you when we get back to my place.”
I lean back into him, body already warming. “Is that one of your cheesy pickup lines?”
“It’s not cheesy, it’s true.” He nibbles my earlobe.
I elbow him playfully in the side. “We’re in a parking lot, not your bedroom. Cool it.”
“We’d be in my bedroom a hell of a lot sooner if you stopped searching for the closet to Narnia in your bag.”
“I need to make sure I have one more thing.”
“I have extra toothbrushes, so you should be good there.”
“I need to make sure I have my prescription.”
“You can’t skip it for one night?”
I shake my head. “I have to take it at the same time every night, or it throws me off.”
“Right. Okay. We don’t want that,” Aaron says.
I typically carry enough for a couple of days in my purse, in case of unexpected situations like this. I finally snag the little case and give it a shake. It makes a rattling sound, which tells me I’m right: I have what I need. “Yup! Looks like we’re all set. I can stay at your place tonight.”
“Great.” He grins and laces our fingers together, leading me down the next row, where his truck is parked.
He wasn’t lying when he said his place was close. It’s only a short drive from the pub. Aaron turns down a bumpy side road and then down an even narrower driveway. It widens after about fifteen feet, opening up to a circular driveway. A small log cabin sits in the middle of the clearing, and to the right is a garage, or maybe it’s more of a shed. It doesn’t look big enough to house the truck, but I imagine it’s where he keeps his tools. The moon hangs low in the sky, reflecting off the water in the distance.
It’s too dark for me to see where exactly we are on the lake, but we’re a fair distance from Van’s place. Which reminds me: I should send him a message so he doesn’t worry when my car isn’t in the driveway in the morning. I let him know that I won’t be home until tomorrow after work. He gives me a thumbs-up in response and follows with a message:
If Aaron is tired tomorrow I’m blaming it on you. Play safe.
“Everything okay?” Aaron asks as he turns off the engine and pulls the key from the ignition.
“Yup. Just letting Van know I won’t be home until tomorrow.”
Aaron flips his keys around his finger and motions between us. “He cool with this?”
“He’s my brother, not my dad, Aaron. And I’m a grown-ass woman. I can do what I want.”
He chuckles. “I’m aware that you’re a grown-ass woman, and I’m also aware that you can, and do, do what you want. I just mean, he’s not giving you grief or anything? It’s not like he doesn’t know about my reputation around here.”
“Van doesn’t pay much attention to gossip, and if he had a problem with it, he would have said something already. He’s not in the habit of getting involved in my personal life.”
“Just making sure.”
I feel like he wants to say more, but instead he unbuckles his seat belt and opens his door. I do the same, then jump down from the passenger side. I close the door and meet him around the front of the truck, falling into step beside him as we make our way down the stone path and up onto a platform deck that seems to wrap around the entire cottage.
He unlocks the front door and ushers me inside, hitting the light to the right of the door, illuminating the space. It looks a lot bigger on the inside than it does from the outside. The kitchen is to my left; one wall of upper and lower cabinets, a wall oven, a fridge, and a dishwasher take up the space. The other side has a gas cooktop and sink built into an island.