Page 42 of Check You Out

Things have been somewhat awkward since last night. I thought that Aidan wanted to kiss me, but he ran away shortly after the debacle. He said he was ok afterward, but I still feel like we’re in a gray area.

If this keeps up, I’m going to have to resort to picking petals.

He likes me.

He likes me not.

Heat builds in my belly, and my mind starts to wander.

It doesn’t help that his hair is a bit mussed and his chin is peppered with stubble, accentuated by his messy mustache. I wonder what his jaw will feel like under my fingers, what his lips will feel like against mine, what his arms will feel like around my body. Does he taste like coffee and cinnamon?

“I don’t mind getting arrested,” Karen offers, breaking my daydream about making out with Aidan.

“Please have someone on hand to bail you out, Jane Fonda,” I remark with a smirk.

Nicole sniffs. “Who’s Jane Fonda?”

“An actress who has been arrested multiple times at various protests,” I explain.

“While looking absolutely fabulous,” Karen adds.

“Right,” I continue, “so, we’ve got our list of people open to being arrested. Now back to where we’re going to have this protest?”

“What about here?” Johnny asks, tossing his hands to gesture to the library. “It’s relevant to our cause. Also, we’re up on the hill, people can see us.”

“We might not get enough traffic here,” Aidan quips. “The traffic that we do get will be the people who already support the library.” He leans back in his chair, tapping his pen on this notepad. “Main Street could be good, but I don’t know the permit process. What about the County Council office? There’s a designated spot for protests.”

I nod. “Good idea.” I turn to him. “How do you know about all this stuff?”

A small smile reaches his face and a dimple flashes, but it’s Xander who leans over the table and declares, “He may or may not have researched this earlier today.” He claps his hand to Aidan’s back.

Flashing a broad smile, Aidan replies, “You mentioned it as an agenda item last week. I wanted to be prepared.” My core melts at both dimples on display.

The grin reminds me of something my dad would do when he surprised me with something. Whether that was bringing home an Advanced Reader Copy from a favorite author, or a box of pastries from Triple C.

I also thought a lot about my dad last night after Aidan left. Hearing him talk about his father brought me back to the events of six years before.

Constantly checking my phone, waiting for a call from the nurse, the doctor, or my mom. Sleepless nights, where I couldn’t even see him. That last Zoom call.

Shaking my grief away, I give Aidan a thumbs up. “You are now my favorite person.” I lift the London Fog and flash a wink. “This helped too.”

“Hey!” Nicole cries, looking wounded. “I made you croissants!”

I swivel toward her. “Co-favorite person?”

She crosses her arms and emits a low, “Fine.” Her smirk betrays her true feelings.

I glance down at my hastily written notes. “To recap, we’re protesting on June 14 at the county offices, spread the word.” My gaze travels to the others before resting on Aidan.

Our conversation shifts to the rest of our committee’s progress. We talk about how many people have signed the petition. Johnny reads the first sentence of his speech, which really consists of a Rage Against the Machine quote. We workshop that sentence to see if we can find something a little more appropriate. Lisa G. and Lisa W. reveal a T-shirt design they’re working on. Aidan volunteers to help set up lawn signs with me. When my London Fog is empty, and the croissants are nothing but flaky crumbs, we plan to meet here again in a week and end the meeting.

As Aidan is packing up his notebook, I grip his elbow and get up on my tiptoes. “Walk me home?” I whisper in his ear.

He rests a hand on mine. His skin is soft and warm against my cold and dry hand. “I was just about to ask,” he murmurs, and we walk out into the damp night.

Does he like me?

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