"Oh come on, *, get your ass over here!" He laughed loudly. "We’ll be waiting on you!"
After Dixon hung up on me, I ran up to my room and slipped on a pair of dark wash jeans, exchanged my wrinkled pretzel crumb T-shirt with a fresh white one and pulled a gray college sweatshirt over my head. Taking a quick glance in the mirror, I groaned at the auburn mop on top of my head. After running my fingers through my hair a couple of times, I gave up. Grabbing my keys and cell phone, I was out the door.
I arrived at Dixon’s place about thirty or so minutes later. Laughter seeped through his door and heavy footfalls sounded just before the large white door swung open.
"Jesus, what took you so long?" Dixon grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into the apartment, shoving a beer in my hand.
"You are so full of shit!" I walked in just as Phoebe yelled at a tall, dark skinned guy.
"I am not! It’s true, she was totally trying to get with me and I didn’t do a damn thing with her." He argued.
"I’m not buying it either, Sean." This time it was Lilli, who sat with her arm around Phoebe.
"To hell with you both," he laughed, "I don’t have to prove it to you."
"Hey, Aidan-O," Phoebe greeted me.
"Hey." I sat in one of the oversized chairs next to the couch.
No matter how expensive my apartment was, Dixon and Lilli’s place felt so warm and cozy. Furniture a family member probably gave to them, given the worn but loved look, framed photos from their childhood on the walls and candles burnt down to almost nothing.
"Aidan-O?" Lilli looked between Phoebe and me. "Is that like a pet name between lovers?" She wiggled her brow.
Phoebe smacked her, but smiled.
"So what brings you over to our humble little get together? No dates tonight?" Phoebe teased.
"Nope, not till tomorrow." When I winked at her, she shook her head.
Lilli stood up and walked across the room. It was then I noticed the tight blue cotton workout pants, the kind I’ve seen women wear to yoga classes, and a light blue, long sleeved, cotton shirt that was tight fitting. She had a killer figure. Phoebe brought me out of the trance Lilli’s curves put me under.
"So then…what’s up Aidan-O?"
"First, I’m not too thrilled with the nickname," I stated.
"Really? I would have never guessed." Lilli’s voice full of sarcasm, she sunk back onto the couch with a bowl of cereal.
"Is that Lucky Charms?" A smile already creeping on my lips.
"Maybe." She narrowed her eyes.
"I haven’t eaten those since I was…oh God, I can’t even remember," I grinned and shook my head.
"Well, old man, if you want to take a trip down memory lane before you get further along in your Alzheimer’s, the box is still on the counter." With a smirk, she winked.
Dixon was right, very witty sense of humor.
~
A few months passed by, months filled with work and reoccurring dates with Elora. It was beginning to look like a promising match, though a feeling has been nagging at the back of my head. And I wouldn’t lie, something seemed missing—for both of us. My family was happy, at least my Uncle Henry was happy, her family was thrilled and everyone waited on pins and needles for the announcement of our engagement. But the very thought of proposing to Elora felt wrong. My head knew it would be a perfect resolution, but my gut instinct revolted against the idea.
"Aidan this is a perfect match." Uncle Henry, James’ father, boasted as he entered my office, pulling me from my thoughts. "I think you need to act quickly before something has the chance to ruin it."
I put my head in my hands as I leaned on my desk.
"This is my situation to deal with and I will deal with it when and how I want." I growled.
"Aidan—"
"Henry leave the boy alone for God’s sake." Liam interrupted.
"Well, I think that it’s ridiculous to wait any longer. Get married and conceive already so that we all can rest a little easier at night!" Henry was now shouting.
"Father, back off." James grumbled from the other end of the couch.
"You stay out of this James," Henry glared at him. I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on, but James had become very distant from me lately and he argued much more frequently with his father.
"I’ve got work to do," I growled. "So, how about everyone gets out? Except Liam," I spoke as they were all leaving the room, still grumbling with each other.
"Yes son," Liam sat in the chair across from my desk.
"Please tell me what to do," I sighed.
"I can’t do that. This is your decision." He smiled reassuringly.
"I know that this would be a perfect match but I can’t say that I want to spend the rest of my life with Elora. I mean I can’t say that I want to spend my life with any one person, ever." I ran my hand through my hair.
"You will someday."
"How do you know that?"
"Your father was the same way, until he met your mother." He smiled warmly.
"Really?"
"Oh yes. If it had been up to our father then he would have married Penelope Varron."
"Mrs. Varron?" he nodded. "Wow."