Page 67 of Check You Out

28

Aidan

16 Days until the Council Meeting

I wake up the next morning with sore cheeks and a hard-on. Charlotte and I made out multiple times last night on our way back to her apartment. It was nearly midnight when we finally parted with one final kiss, and she slipped into her apartment, leaving me grinning outside her door.

I wasn’t halfway home before she texted me, asking for a third date and inviting me to visit the store the next day.

After I take care of that hard-on in the shower, I float all through the morning. Even Xander notices my joy and grumbles into his Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but he smiles when he thinks I’m not looking.

It’s mid-morning when I get a text that crumbles it all down.

Dan: Can I see you today? I found something about our friend Gott.

Dread fills my stomach, and I must frown or scowl or something because Xander remarks, “You ok, man? You look like you might go punch a wall.”

“I want to.”

“Please don’t. I don’t know how to fix drywall.”

“I don’t want to break my hand.”

I show him the text on my phone. He reads and nods, his brow furrowing. I’ve kept him up to date on everything. “Well shit,” Xander says while tapping his fingers against the kitchen island. “I wonder what he found.”

I shrug. “I don’t know. It can’t be anything good if he wants to meet in person.”

He leans back in the chair and crosses his arms. “I had nothing planned today except yard work, which can wait. Want me to go with you? That way, if it’s something bad, then you’ll have backup.”

I nod. “I’d appreciate that.” My phone vibrates and I read my father’s message. “He can meet us at Triple C in thirty minutes.”

We find my father leaning against the railing of Triple C’s exterior stairs. He’s wearing his typical weekend uniform consisting of tan khakis and a navy polo. A leather satchel is draped over his shoulder. I introduce him and Xander. He doesn’t give any indication of being annoyed or even surprised that my roommate has joined us. He only greets Xander warmly.

“Ah,” Dan remarks with a gleam in his eye. “You’re the three bean soup guy.”

My roommate snorts but doesn’t say anything.

“So,” I say, eager to know what my father wanted to share with us. “What’s up?”

“Let’s get some coffee. We might need it,” he remarks without any indication of what he found, and the anxiety builds in my stomach.

“That bad?” I ask. “Or is the coffee that good?”

Dan grips my shoulder. “I’ve been dreaming of that maple cinnamon latte all week.”

I can’t help but chuckle. One thing we have in common is our addiction to coffee.

Unfortunately, neither Liam or Nicole is working today. The barista who takes our coffee order is an impatient dark-haired woman with a name badge that says, “Angie”. She interrupts our order with outbursts towards the other barista. My gaze keeps darting to Dan, expecting and hoping him to say something like, Miss, if you didn’t yell at Darren so much, we’d be drinking coffee by now. But he seems preoccupied with something on his phone.

“Sorry,” he remarks with a somewhat sheepish tone. “I’ve got a client who’s a little anxious.” I study him as he frowns over whatever he’s reading.

We get our coffees and find a quiet four-chair corner table upstairs. Xander and I sit on one side, while Dan sits across from us, placing his satchel in the empty chair.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” I ask once we get settled, anxiety makes my stomach do somersaults.

Dan takes a sip from his coffee and smacks his lips together. “That is good coffee.” He sets the cup down. “How are you?”

I bite back a groan. “Anxious about what you found.”