The Rock Season (28 page)

“Whoa! TMI! He better stay covered up when we’re around, that’s just disgusting! I don’t need to see his hairy ass!” Peter was shuddering and Patrick was trying not to laugh.

“Whatever, I’m just glad you’re here, Stevie,” Patrick said and gave her a hug. She seemed surprised but grateful.

Peter hugged her, too, and then said, “Gretchen’s coming over to study. Can I go up and work out now that you’ve emerged from your stinkhole?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Patrick said he wanted to go as well. That left me alone with Stevie. She was finishing up the dishes and I was wishing I didn’t have this damn cast on for the 567th time today.

“You remember the first time you had breakfast with us and you did the dishes,” I asked her.

She smiled at me over her shoulder. “I do.”

I leaned back in my chair a little and watched her move. She had on jeans and a long-sleeved fitted shirt. Everything she wore looked as though it was perfectly made for her, hugged every curve perfectly.

“I wished I could just lift you up on the counter and take you right there. In fact, every time you’ve been in this kitchen, standing at that counter, I’ve fantasized about the things I want to do with you.”

She giggled a little and put the last dish on the towel to dry. “Kitchen fantasies, eh?”

I nodded as she sauntered over to me and straddled my lap. I had my leg propped up on another chair so she didn’t try to sit down, she just pressed up against me and ran her hands over my head.

“I have many kitchen fantasies. Frankly, I have many fantasies that involve you.”

She smiled down at me, her red curls framing her face. “I had a thought… You can totally say no,” she said.

I raised an eyebrow and said “Does it involve you naked in a kitchen? Because I would be totally up for that.”

She giggled and shook her head. “I love the way your mind works.” She leaned down and kissed me eagerly. It felt so good to have her back in my arms, I’d agree to anything!

“I was going to ask if you’d want to come stay with me at my place for a long weekend. I’ll work with your brothers until Thursday and then we can take off for a few days. You wouldn’t have to deal with stairs,” she said, nibbling my jaw. “I do have a kitchen and I could arrange being naked in it,” more nibbling along my earlobe.

I was starting to squirm. “God, yes! Let’s go now.”

She giggled against me and stood up just as I heard the doors shut on Pops’ truck.

“Thursday night. I need to get the boys started and don’t you need to go to the doctor soon?”  

How did she expect me to make coherent conversation when I was in this condition?

The rest of the evening went by in a blur, as did the next couple of days. We went to see my doctor on Wednesday and he said probably another five weeks, then a brace and physical therapy. He said I was incredibly lucky that we didn’t have to do surgery and had positive thoughts on my chances of full recovery of mobility. Stevie stayed with me and worked with Peter and Patrick during the days. We had dinner with the folks each night and listened to Mom and Pops tell stories about their vacation adventures. Stevie looked real dreamy when listening to the tales of Ireland. Got me thinking perhaps I should take her. Which then got me thinking about a honeymoon and anniversaries…

Stevie

Monday afternoon I packed up our stuff and loaded it into my truck.

“I’m convinced you just might be too cool for me with this badass truck,” Aaron joked. “Big change from your Bug. You diggin’ it?”

It took some maneuvering, but we got him up into the cab and relatively comfortable. I was amazed at how well he was able to get around with his giant cast. It spoke volumes about his athleticism. He was determined to start at least using his dumbbells when he got back to his place.

“I love it. I never thought I’d like a truck, but after driving your Pops’ truck, I was sold. Plus, it makes me more self-sufficient, you know? If I want to get something big, I go. If I want to buy plants, I buy plants. If I need to move, I move.”

Aaron had a contemplative expression on his face as we pulled out into traffic. Little did he know that this weekend away, while absolutely something I had been ecstatic about, was also diversionary. Ryan had some secret plans for while we were gone.

“It makes me feel better to know you’re driving something a little safer, too,” he said quietly.

We drove in mostly silence across the bridge, holding hands on the armrest. Over the past few days we’d settled into a nice comfortable rhythm and I was looking forward to seeing if it would continue.    

Our ‘getaway’, as Aaron liked to call it, was a total blast. We sat around all weekend and listened to music, watched movies, pigged out on takeout, and talked until the wee hours of the morning. And we made love. A lot. As much as Aaron’s leg would allow. It was my best weekend ever! When we weren’t acting out some naked fantasies, I spent time writing and Aaron even read one of my first novels.

“This is incredible, love! I really enjoyed it!” He asked me all about where I got the ideas and told me he thought I could have a real shot at getting it published.

“I made a list of publishers and I’m going to start sending out manuscripts in a week or so. It might work out. It might not. I just think it would be kind of fun.”

He agreed and said he would help out however he could since he was ‘stuck on his ass anyway’. I told him he could be my envelope sealer since he was so good with his-

“So I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said, interrupting my reminiscence about his talents. “When is your lease up?”

My heart jackhammered in my chest. “Um, I think in December? Or January, I can’t remember. It was a six-month lease.” I waited quietly for him to continue, nervous and excited and scared and-

“Stevie, am I out of line if I ask you to move in with me? I know my place is small-”

“Aaron, your place is fine! It’s not that-”

“So I shouldn’t ask-”

“That’s not what-”

“I just love this. I love being with you, Stevie! I love you sleeping next to me every night. I love-”

“I know,” I said quietly. “I love it, too.”

He squeezed my hand and exhaled. I hated that we were having this conversation while I was driving. I wanted to look in his eyes when I told him my fears. 

“You said once before that you wanted to keep me with you permanently. Do you remember what I said to you?”

I glanced over and he was frowning. “You said you didn’t want me to regret it. But Stevie-”

“I don’t want you to regret asking me. I need you to be totally sure that I am everything you want, and that the things you don’t want you can live with. I don’t want to wake up one morning two years from now and hear you tell me to get out.” My breath caught in my chest and I felt a sob coming. I wasn’t sure I could keep driving if the floodgates opened. I pulled over in the Nation’s parking lot and stopped the truck.

“Hey, Stevie, don’t,” he said, trying to lean over and hold me. Frustrated, he lifted the armrest between us and said, “Get over here, love. What are the tears for?”

I crawled over to him and curled up against his chest. His arms came around me and he held me as I sobbed. As soon as I could get it together, I tried to speak.

“You already know what happened with the baby, but I never told you much about my relationship with Ben.”

I felt Aaron take a deep breath. “You don’t have to-”

“Yes. I do. See, Ben asked me to move in with him after we’d been dating for a little over a year. I knew he didn’t want kids and I guess I just blew it off thinking, ‘It’s not that big of a deal.’ The longer we were together, things came up that were kind of a big deal and I just shrugged and said, ‘This is fun. He’s fun. We’re having fun.’ And he did the same. As long as I was ‘Fun Stevie’ we were fine. I knew he didn’t love me, and I was ok with that. Until Nancy. When I left, it was because he presented me with papers and told me movers were scheduled to take my things out, that I had five days to find a place to live.” I took a minute to let that pass, feeling Aaron stiffen under my hands.

“The bottom line is that I gave up a lot to be with him. I haven’t given up anything to be with you. I’ve gained a whole new family and a wonderful partner that I love desperately. It would kill me if you ever asked me to leave.”

He was really quiet. I could feel his jaw working on top of my head. I pulled back to look at him. It was like a storm had crossed his eyes. They were so dark they were black. He’d let go of me and his fists were clenched. I started to scoot back, frightened. His expression softened some and he reached for me.

“Stevie, there is so much about what you said that infuriates me. Knowing what happened… Knowing Ben and finding out what he did…I swear, I hope our paths don’t ever cross again.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “But the part that angers me the most besides how much you were hurt by it, is that it has darkened the doorstep of our relationship. There is no doubt in my mind, love, that I want you beside me for the rest of my life. The fact that you are worried means I need to work even harder to prove that to you. And I will. Because I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you that I had to have you for my life to be complete and I’ll be damned if I let anything or anyone get in the way of that. That includes my idiot self!”

I couldn’t help but smile. He really sounded so determined. Faith and Trust. And Prayer. I looked into his eyes and said, “Ask me again after the first of the year. You’ll have your cast off by then, you’ll be able to get around on your own, and you won’t need me. If after that, if you still feel this way, let’s talk again. So far our relationship hasn’t had much breathing room. When you’ve had some, ask me again.”

Aaron cursed under his breath and looked out the window.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I want to be with you, Aaron! If I felt like you knew me well enough to make this decision, I-”

“Why? Why do you get to decide whether I know you well enough? I’ve seen you at your lowest, Stevie. I’ve held you as you cried and I would do it every day if you needed it. I’ve watched you with my family and my brothers. You’ve handled everything that’s been thrown at us amazingly well. Much better than I did! Why can’t you believe me when I say that this is what I want? Maybe you aren’t sure.”

That statement jolted me and I sat back. “I am too sure! You are my Savior, Aaron! Being with you has made me happier than I’ve ever been in my life! You get me, and you put up with me! Of course I want to be with you!”

He snickered at me. “Your Savior?”

I rolled my eyes and huffed. “Yes! You saved me from falling on my face the first time we met and ever since then you’ve helped me crawl out of my darkness and brought light into my life! I know that sounds corny-”

He grabbed me and kissed me hard. After my initial shock, I clung to him and kissed him with the same amount of conviction. His hands tangled in my hair and he pulled me in so tight. Our teeth clicked together, he sucked hard on my lip, and our tongues fought wildly. I was practically on his lap before I remembered.

“Oh! Baby, I’m so sorry.”

He was sitting there panting and wincing. I’d managed to put too much weight on his thigh. He started chuckling and before long we were both giggling.

“I cannot wait to get this damn thing off,” he said.

We sat looking at each other for a few minutes, catching our breath. Finally he took my hand in his and kissed it.

“I’ll wait, love. If you need me to wait, I’ll wait. But my mind’s made up.”

I smiled at him, not quite 100% sure of his words, but I was going to have Faith and Trust, and I was going to Pray!

McShane

I don’t know why I didn’t suspect something was up when Stevie rushed me out the door Thursday, earlier than we had planned. Or why she was looking at the clock so much today and delaying our departure for little things like painting her toes and fingers. I mean, since when does it take two hours to dry your nails? I certainly didn’t mind staying. I loved our getaway and was plotting our next one. So when we pulled up in front of the big house and she parked so I couldn’t see down the driveway, I was really confused.

“Why don’t you just pull in back, love?”

“Oh, I hate for your parents to have to park up here. It’s fine. Let me come help you out.”

She seemed really nervous for some reason. I slid out of the truck and pulled her into me. “I had a great time on our getaway.”

She smiled up at me with that dreamy look she sometimes got. “I loved it. Every minute of it.” She kissed me and grabbed my bag from the back seat. “Let’s go say hi and then we can take your bag upstairs.”

I was bummed that she wasn’t staying tonight, but she’d already told me she didn’t want to get too comfortable over my place, and with the discussion we’d just had fresh in my mind, I wasn’t going to push her. If I had my way, she’d be climbing the steps to my apartment and that would be that. She’d stay. I sighed and swung myself up the steps and into the house.

“Son! Welcome home! Ye look more relaxed. How’s the leg?”  Pops clapped me on the back and I fought to laugh at the paint all over him.

“Um, Pops? You got something on-”

He chuckled and called out for my brothers and Mom to join us. “Come on back, you two. We’re just about ready for dinner.”

Stevie smiled at me and bounced down the hallway. I heard Mom squeal when she saw her and they hugged tightly in the doorway.

“Oh, Aaron, I’m so glad you got away. Did you two have a restful weekend?”

Stevie blushed a little, so I answered, “Yeah. It was great. So what’s going on? Because if Pops is covered in paint I know you guys have been up to something.”

They were all grinning like a bunch of lotto winners.

Mom looked to Pops, who nodded, and then began. “Son, we wanted to do something for you. Your father has been planning this for a while-”

“Come have a look, Son.” Pops gestured for me to go out the back door. I looked between them all and noticed a guilty expression on Stevie’s face as well.

“You too?”  

“I was sworn to secrecy,” she said, pressing her lips together to keep from smiling.

I raised an eyebrow at her and she couldn’t help but giggle.

Pops led the way and the rest followed behind me. I made the climb up to my apartment with a little less strain than before and when I got to the top, I gave Pops a questioning look.

“Have a look,” he said excitedly.

I opened the door and gasped. Luckily I had my crutches to keep me from staggering and falling over.

“What do you think,” Mom asked softly.

I couldn’t answer her as I was completely in shock.

“But… How? Why?”

Everyone laughed. I couldn’t believe it.

“Go on in, Son. It’s not finished completely. I have a contractor coming in tomorrow to get started on the bathrooms. That was a bit much for me to take on, but we got the framing and the drywall up. I textured…”

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, nor could I believe that Pops was physically up to what I was seeing. My studio apartment had been transformed into a true apartment. The wall between the two apartments was gone. My little seating area was now expanded and a bedroom had been created on Aziz’s side. Our bathrooms had shared a common wall and I could see that my Pops was planning to make a larger bathroom where Aziz’s kitchenette was.

“Pops, this is incredible! But why? My place was fine.” He and Mom looked at each other.

“For a bachelor, maybe. But you’re a grown man, not a college student. You should have a grown man place!”

Everyone laughed, but my eyes shot to Stevie’s. She knew about this, and yet…

“Stevie?”

She stood in front of me and wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Your father had this planned and I told him I’d get you outta Dodge for a couple of days. He said you would have fought him on this if you stayed.” She shrugged, smiling brightly at me.  

“Mom?”

Mom smiled at me and said, “Your father is right. Besides, we’ve always hoped that you’d stay close and since it seems you’re becoming a pair, we thought you might need a little more space. And we weren’t above bribery. Besides, we hoped that someday you would start a family and move into the big house. This way we can stay close by.” Mom’s words floored me. They’d obviously put a lot of thought into this.

Patrick and Peter were also covered with paint.

“And you guys…?”  

They looked at each other and shrugged. “It’s part of our school. Pops calls it Contractor 101. He wants us to learn manual labor so we’ll appreciate it more when we go to college next year.”

I was speechless. So many changes. My little brothers were about to graduate in a few short months. My Pops had been spared an early grave and was fighting for his future with Mom. Stevie and I were hopefully going to embark on a future together. I needed to sit down.

“Whoa, hey babe,” Stevie said, catching my weight.

Peter and Patrick each took a side and guided me over to the canvas-covered couch. I wiped my hands over my face and looked at my family smiling down at me.

“I don’t know what to say,” I managed to croak out. “I can’t believe-”

Mom knelt down next to me and said, “Son, you’ve taken care of everyone else for so long. Let us take care of you.”

And they did. They had moved my stuff into Grandma Samadi’s room. Movers had already come and moved her’s and Aziz’s things to the condo. It seems that Nasreen was nervous about being in a new place alone and wanted her there. Pops figured it would take a few more weeks to get my place finished and he showed me all he had planned. A full kitchen, half bath and full bath with large, separate tub, walk in closet…The works! It was going to be amazing. I just hoped I wouldn’t be living there alone for long.