A Date
"Hey," Aaron said, stopping in the row next to Cadence.
She looked up, smiling. "Hey! How are you?" she asked, smiling up at him in a way that made him think she was happy he had come to talk to her, and maybe a bit relieved.
He should’ve been there to greet her at the door, but he hadn’t wanted to arouse any suspicions from the rest of the team. It was bad enough that Elliott already knew what had happened the night before.
"I’m good, thanks. Sorry to interrupt," he said, looking at Jamie.
"No, it's fine," Jamie replied. "Actually, I needed to go ask Elliott about that new safety we were thinking about putting on the Glocks. Do you want to sit here?"
It was obvious that Jamie was being polite. He would have nothing to do with the after-market safety they added to their most popular weapons choice, but Aaron appreciated his politeness. "That would be great. Thanks, Jamie," he said.
Jamie slid out of the seat and over Cadence, who then moved over next to the window so that Aaron could have her seat. It was a bit awkward, but they made it work.
"Sorry about this morning," Aaron said quietly, aware that Laney and Laura could probably hear if either one of them really wanted to listen in. “I should’ve… picked you up.” He hoped she’d understand what he really meant.
"It's okay," Cadence said, folding her hands in her lap. "I know you're busy."
"I just wanted to make sure you knew it had nothing to do with... anything that happened last night," he said, cautiously.
Cadence looked down at her hands. "No, of course not," she said shrugging.
"Because it didn't," he continued. He wasn’t sure how much to say when other people could be listening in, though he was pretty sure no one was. He could switch to IAC, but he didn’t think that was necessary. Cadence understood what he was saying.
"It's not a big deal," Cadence replied, but he could tell by her expression she didn’t mean that.
"It is a big deal," Aaron replied, leaning on the arm rest between them. “It’s a very big deal.”
She took a deep breath and blew it out, not meeting his eyes. “Okay,” she mumbled, but that was all she said.
Was she regretting what had happened between them? He didn’t regret it at all, but at the same time, he knew they had put the cart before the horse, and now, they needed to slow things down before they got out of hand.
"It is a big deal. And as far as what happened in the car,” another topic he’d gone over in his head a thousand times, “I want you to know you can say anything to me and not have to worry about how I'll react. You really didn't have to take off," he insisted, finally catching her eyes.
Cadence stared into his piercing blue eyes for a moment before saying, "Okay. Thanks."
Aaron nodded, wishing he could reach over and take her hand but deciding against it. "Any idea where you want to go Wednesday?" he asked, changing the subject.
Cadence she let out another deep breath, clearly relieved to talk about something else. "No," she admitted. "Are places open on Christmas Eve in Kansas City? Are we going to end up at a Denny's?"
Aaron laughed "Places are open on Christmas Eve in Kansas City. I've got a few ideas though."
"Well, I'll let you --and Grandma--handle that, then," she teased, grinning at him.
God, she was so fucking cute. "Okay, sounds like a plan. We'll figure it out," he said, leaning back in his seat, reminding himself to put some space between them.
"Just let me know what I need to wear. You know, jeans or something formal. I don't want to wear heels to a rodeo."
He laughed. "Do I look like I go to many rodeos?"
"No, not even a little bit," she chuckled. "But you know what I mean. I want to be prepared."
"Okay, well, whatever you wear, I'm sure you'll look amazing," he said, glancing over at her. Images from the night before, how gorgeous her body was, came to mind, and he had to pull his eyes off of her. Now was not the time to be physically reacting to a coworker….
"Thanks," she smiled. "It's been a long time since I've been on a real date."
"Me, too," he admitted. Her hand was right next to his on the arm rest now, and so he gave in and placed his hand on top of hers, despite the fact that he was trying to be discreet in front of the rest of the team.
"Yeah?" she asked a bit surprised by his reply.
"Yeah, Eliza and I didn't really go out much, honestly. Maybe that was part of the problem," he said looking away, for a moment, this being the first time he had considered the possibility. But no, that definitely wasn’t it. He knew exactly what the problem had been with Eliza.
Honesty—or lack thereof.
"Anyway, I haven't been out with anyone since we broke up either, and that's been... a while."
She laced her fingers through his, seemingly reassured to be touching him. "Jack wasn't much for formal dating either. He'd rather just stay home and watch a movie. I went out with a couple of dudes in college, but hanging out at Taco Bell on a Friday night is not exactly my idea of a romantic time," Cadence explained.
"How about on a Wednesday night?" Aaron asked, looking at her, a mock expression of hope on his face. She shook her head. "Damn, plan B it is."
She couldn't help but laugh. "If you take me to Taco Bell, I'm afraid I might have to spend New Year's Eve with someone a little classier," Cadence teased.
"Is that a threat?" he asked leaning toward her. She nodded, not saying anything, and he was very aware of how easy it would be to lean in and kiss her. "Okay, I'll find something better, like a KFC."
"Oh, thank God!" Cadence said, smiling.
They both laughed, and once again, he wanted to press his lips to hers.
But he didn’t.
Looking away again, Aaron collected his thoughts for a second before broaching the next subject. He was still holding her hand and was hopeful that it would be enough to assure her that what he was going to tell her next really was no big deal. "So, Eliza is going with me to Phoenix tonight," he said, only looking at her when he was done speaking.
Cadence's eyebrows went up. "Oh?" she asked.
"Yeah, I know…. I didn't want her to come, but she made some good arguments, so I decided to take her."
"Okay," Cadence replied. She was quiet for a few moments before she finally said, "She just went with you to Billings.”
He nodded. “That was to get her away from you.”
Her head rocked back and forth, but rather than accepting his responses, she said what he figured she would say, eventually. “Tell me why it is that I can't go?"
He was prepared for the question, at least. “Mostly because I think you'll get involved. And they don't want us involved. Not directly. And I really want you back at LIGHTS, trying to talk some sense into Laura."
"What does Laura want to do?" Cadence asked, a questioning expression on her face.
"Leave," Aaron replied, honestly.
"Oh," Cadence said. "What about Giovani?"
"She thinks she can get him on her own," he replied.
"What about Jack?"
"Him, too."
"And do what with him?"
"I think you know the answer to that question," Aaron stated.
Cadence’s eyes widened in horror at the suggestion. She slowly shook her head. "What makes her think that they can do it alone when there's two of them when they haven't been able to catch just Giovani?"
"I don't know. But I need you to convince them to stay and work with us on this, okay?"
Cadence nodded. “If anyone was going to bring in Jack, it’s going to be me, and no one else.”
Aaron agreed with her. “I think you’re probably the only one who can.” But she had no idea exactly what he meant by that.
And when she found out..;. she might not want to hold his hand anymore.
