Page 72 of Seasons of Love
"I do, but when there's something wrong with the love of my life, I'll fly, swim, run, walk, I'll do anything to get to you when you need me. Even when you don't tell me you need me."
"Wait…love of your…"
He widened his eyes and covered his mouth with his hand as he gasped.
"Oh my god, I totally threw myself at you last night, didn't I?"
"Uh huh." I pulled his hand down and replaced it with mine, tracing his soft lips. "And you told me you love me."
"I did…I mean…I do. I love you, Slade. So much."
I pressed my lips against his, feeling his warm breath on my skin. He put his hands on my face and pulled me closer, running his fingers down my beard. It was a tame kiss by all accounts, but it was by far the best kiss ever because it felt like coming home.
It was right, comforting, and it was Aiden.
"I love you too, Aiden. In case that wasn't clear by flying across the country to meet you or by telling you last night."
He laughed, and it was the best sound ever.
It was followed by my phone dinging with a message I hoped would help us get rid of Tiny Dick from Aiden's life once and for all.
28
AIDEN
I kept my eyes on Slade as he made the call to Connor.
My recollection of the night before was hazy at best, but I did remember declaring my love for him as soon as I saw him. I must have been in a state of delirium from overtiredness, but the words and the feelings were real. And he loved me too.
Now I could see how ridiculous it was that I ran away, but at the same time, acknowledging our feelings didn't make Richard's threat go away.
I had no solution for a way out other than give Richard what he wanted, as much as it would destroy me and Slade to do it. But maybe there was something.
Slade seemed to be speaking confidently to Connor, or maybe James. I couldn't get much from his side of the conversation.
"Babe, James wants to ask you some questions."
"Okay."
Slade passed me his phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Aiden, this is James. I'm really sorry this is happening to you. I'll do whatever I can to stop Pencil Dick from ruining your life. I just need some details, okay?"
"Sure, anything." I loved how everyone kept giving Richard those ridiculous nicknames. Under any other circumstances, I wouldn't encourage it, but it did make me feel like he had a little less power over me, just by the fact that no one respected him enough to ever use his name.
"I need to know a little about his shopping habits. Like what he buys online, what brands, etc."
"He likes to shop in person, but he will only buy socks from this online store that uses high quality cashmere. You can buy suits cheaper than a pair of those socks."
"That's great. Here's what we're going to do…"
I put James on speakerphone so Slade could hear it too.
The plan seemed fairly easy to execute, but the worst was that, in order for the plan to work, I'd need to have Richard over.
We ended the call after agreeing with James to lay low in the apartment and move my car so Richard wouldn't see it if he thought to come by. As far as he was concerned, I was still on the road, but there was no way to know if he’d checked up on the apartment or not. At least he didn't have a key, so he couldn't come in.
