Chapter Twenty-three-2

“What? Why are you guys looking at me like that?” Aidan asks, furrowing his eyebrows as he heads towards the fridge to take an apple.



“I was just talking with Kenna about the town. It has been awhile since she’s been here and a lot has changed. Would you mind picking up some groceries and while you’re at that . . . show Kenna around,” Diana swiftly says, causing me to turn and look at her but her lips curve up into a smile; leaving me turn to look back at Aidan who starts to chuckle.



“Would you like me to show you around, Kenna?” He asks, like asking me on a date.



″I’d love that, Aidan.″ I reply, smiling.



I walk with him towards the back, seeing a Mercedes-Benz and an unknown covered car. My eyes wander to the car and Aidan seems to have caught my gaze as he walks towards it, “It’s an old truck. I’m not sure if it still works but we can give it a try,” He says, pulling the sheet off to reveal the truck.



He takes the keys on the wall before stepping inside the truck, me following afterwards. It feels nice but different at the same time as I’ve never been in a country truck before.



“Let’s just hope this baby starts,” He mutters under his breath as he puts the key in before twisting to start the engine. It fails for the first time but as he tries again and harder, the engine starts with a noise, causing both of us to grin.



Aidan drives down the road with both of the windows down, letting the wind blows onto my bare skin as I watch the trees we pass by. My lips curve up into a small smile, liking the experience.



“We’re going to pick up some groceries first,” He starts to speak. “Then . . . we can have breakfast before I can show you around town. There’s nothing much if you still remember from when you last came here but I guess it’s good to relive them.” He adds, making a right turn.



Silence accompany us once more but before it can, any longer, I start another conversation. “I saw you this morning. You were chopping wood?” I half-asked and half-said, not wanting to make him remember back about the tender he lost while we’re going out trying to spend time together.



“I’m sorry you had to see that side of me but I lost a project and I couldn’t resist the urge to express it. I wanted to fly back to New York and get the tender again but, that’ll be no use.” He replies, casually.



With every perfection he owns, there are certain flaws that comes along with it. Like anyone or everyone would say, nobody’s perfect.



“We’re here,” He says, gesturing for me to look around. “There’s not much country in Dallas but you’re still in Texas and this is it,” He chuckles at the end, as we both step out of the car; heading towards the nearest grocery store.



We walk side to side, eyes wandering inside the store before heading towards the aisles. I keep still, only eyeing things around while Aidan chooses the kind of canned beans he’d take.



“Uh, I forgot to bring something from home and I’d like to buy it here. Is it fine with you?” I ask, as he turns to look at me; frowning.



“Since when do you ask for permission when you want to buy something?” He smirks, tilting his head to the side. “Take what you need, Kenna. It’s what you always do when we go grocery shopping,” The way the words casually escape from his lips is somehow cute, knowing that we go grocery shopping all the time together but I’d pay for my stuff and he’d pay for his; even though he would always insist on paying but I can’t let him, we’d even argue all the time.



“Be right back,” I say before making my way towards the women’s aisle where they place pads and tampons, making me examine over to the same brand I use, ever since I started my period; never changed the brand.



Just as I turn, I see Aidan. “Mm, pads?”



“Duh, my period would start soon and I need them.” I reply before throwing it at him, causing him to look around as he holds the pads.



Aidan is cut off by someone calling out his name from behind which causes me to look at the figure, at the same time as Aidan turns around. “It’s really you! Wow, it has been years since we saw each other,” The stranger says as she smiles widely, surprised to see him.



He stands there, confused as he tries to remember if this woman in front of him has actually meant something in the past but nothing seems to come in his mind.



“It’s May,” She continues to smile. “I got my braces off and now I’m wearing contacts. I’m guessing I look different; that’s why you don’t seem to notice me anymore?” She raises an eyebrow.



“May? May Attwell?” Aidan asks, wanting to confirm her identity but as soon as she nods her head, happily; he lets out a chuckle, “Right . . . you were my summer friend. You’ve changed a lot,” He adds.



Oh, that May Attwell. The one who was friends with Aidan during the summer when we were fifteen because he had to back to Dallas for a week. She used to have braces and big thick-rimmed glasses when she was younger but now she looks more like a January than May, if you get what I mean.



“You too,” She exclaims. “I never thought you would turn out to be more good-looking than you were before but it’s funny how things work,”



Aidan places a hand on my back, “May . . . this is my wife, Kenna. And, Kenna . . . this is May. She and I used to be friends when we were teenagers but it was for one week,” He says while I smile at her, liking how Aidan introduced me as his wife.



“It’s nice to meet you. I heard that you got married and I even saw it on the news. Wow, congratulations.” She smiles, revealing her straight teeth; must’ve been from the braces.



“What do you do?“ She turns towards me, again.



“I’m a neurologist in New York,” I reply. “What about you?” My smile never fading away even though I swear this is tiring, I need to stop smiling.



“A neurologist? I would’ve never guessed that you’re a doctor! You look more like an actress or a model but I’ve never seen you before . . . which explains it, maybe.” She replies with a slight tone while I furrow my brows, “I work at a law firm,”



“Are you a lawyer?” I ask.



“I’m a secretary,” She answers.



As the situation starts to get a little bit awkward with all the smiling and glancing or gazing, I start to hear Aidan clear his throat; saving the moment. He grips harder onto the pads as he pulls me by the waist, “We have to get going . . . we got a lot more to shop,” He says, chuckling.



“Right . . . but why are you here in Dallas?” She asks, wanting to know.



“My parents want to celebrate their anniversary here. They’re throwing a party tomorrow night. Feel free to come,” He replies.



“I’d love to come but I have a date, tomorrow. It’s kind of like a first date so, I’m pretty excited about it but we’ll see, if I can make it, I’ll be sure to see you there.” She smiles, placing her hand on his shoulder while I look like I’m third-wheeling but as she turns to smile at me, “It was nice meeting you, Kenna.”



“Likewise,” I reply as she walks away.



“Let me guess, she has two sisters named June and July?” I raise an eyebrow at Aidan as he bursts out laughing; immediately grabbing people’s attention but he doesn’t seem to mind that, much.



“No . . . she’s an only child but sure, why not if they’re named June and July? Might as well take August with,” He smirks, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as we walk side to side, heading towards the different aisle.



--



We place the groceries in the truck before walking towards the nearest café, the smell of coffee and butter overwhelming my senses. My eyes wander around to see people having their breakfast here, chatting away rather than being busy with their smartphones like in New York; everyone would be holding their phones and communicate through there which is a lil’ bit rude, if you ask me.



You ask someone out for breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner but you end up playing with your phone; then, what’s the point?



“There’s an empty table,” Aidan gestures for me to follow behind him as he grabs onto my hand, passing through the amount of people.



“May I take your order?” A woman walks by as she looks down on her notepad before gazing up to Aidan and I but as soon as she does, her eyes widen in surprise at the sight of him, “You’re Aidan Ashton!” She exclaims, causing the whole café to grow silent.



Aidan clears his throat, “Excuse me?”



“I’m so sorry but I notice you from the internet. I also follow you on Instagram, you are by far the most successful man in New York; I mean, the youngest man to be as successful as you. You’re actually my inspiration,” She smiles, widely.



“That’s good to hear,” He looks at me with a confused look, not really knowing what to say. “I’m just handling my family business . . . it’s not like I’m the founder or anything,”



“But you have made it more successful than before. By the way, my name is Rosie. Can I take a picture with you? If you don’t mind,” Her cheeks are slowly turning red as she tries to calm herself down while I stare at them as if I’m not even here.



“Sure,” Aidan replies with a smile as she takes out her phone, giving it to me. “By the way, this is my wife, Kenna.” He introduces me, trying to cheer me up than just faking a wide smile with wide eyes, hard not to burst into sarcastic explosions.



“Cool. So, can you take our picture?” She continues to urge me on taking their picture so I grab onto her phone, slowly zooming in to her face before clicking a couple of times.



“Oops, one more.” I grin as I zoom out, taking a proper picture of them; mostly liking how Aidan looks extremely attractive but I also find him looking at me instead of staring at the camera which causes me to clear my throat before handing back her phone.



“Thanks!” Rosie says with a wide grin before turning to Aidan, “I just want to say that you’re by far the best thing that has ever happened to the world. You are an inspiration to me and I’m sure to others, too. Can I be a lil’ bit honest with you?” She asks.



Aidan chuckles, “Sure. Why not?”



“I started following you on Instagram because you are very handsome. Everything about you screams perfection, your hair, your face, your lips and even your voice. So . . . I started stalking you everyday and then I realised that you’re the CEO of Empire and I had to make you my inspiration.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear while I keep on repeating the same word on the menu before placing it on the table, looking up at Rosie; our supposed to be waitress for the day but she’s more interested in Aidan.



“Thank you, Rosie.” He replies, shortly; trying to find the words on trying to make her leave as she continues to talk about how he has made her go on with life when she feels down, he has been an inspiration but mostly because he’s handsome.



“So, Rosie . . . I’d like to order,” I say which catches her attention.



“Can you give me a sec?” Rosie says without even looking at me as she continues to mumble on and on and on, nonstop.



Just as my anger starts to boil, I immediately stand up as I slam both of my palms on the table. Everyone in the café starts to look at me including Aidan and Rosie; surprised at my sudden action. Slowly, my lips curve up into a smile, “Look, Rosie, the reason why I’m here with my ′husband′ is because we want to have breakfast together and when a waiter or a waitress comes to our table, we would like to order instead of listening to you going on and on about how amazing he is because for god’s sake, Rosie, I know how amazing my husband is and he knows how fucking amazing he is. You have got to stop reminding him of something he knows because you’re annoying me and you’re also annoying him. You’ve got a picture taken and you’ve got a chance to talk to him but now I’d like to order some food so I can get the hell out of here!” I say while I said the words husband and like a little bit louder than intentional.



Aidan looks up at me in surprise but slowly, his lips begin to curve up into a smile before chuckling.



I sit down but the people won’t stop looking at me as I try my best to control my emotions from going all over the place. Rosie, on the other hand, has been dead silent ever since I stood up. She has her left hand holding onto her notepad and her right hand holding onto her phone, her eyes never leaving me.



“I . . . I don’t know what to say,” Rosie mutters.



“How about you start by taking our order?” I ask, pointing at the menu before smiling.



--



“You were bold,” Aidan chuckles as we both walk side by side after leaving the café, “I’ve got to admit . . . I didn’t expect you to burst out like that.” He adds, bumping onto my arm, purposely.



“Well, she annoys the hell out of me. What was I supposed to do? Sit quietly and wait for her to finish talking because by the looks of it, she wasn’t going to stop.” I reply with a smirk, not really expecting him to find it funny because it’s more likely embarrassing.



Aidan surprises me by grabbing onto my wrist, causing me to stop as he stares onto the glass window by the shop. I follow his gaze, reading:



It’s a flyer, promoting a funfair tonight which causes Aidan to smile, instantly letting me know that he has plans for tonight and it has got to do with the damn funfair but I don’t mind.



As long as it doesn’t involve obsessed fans.