“They look like they’re getting along, don’t they?” Raj says, with a nod.

I follow his gaze to Noah and Ripley. The warm evening has turned chilly over the last few hours, so they’re both sitting on the edge of the jacuzzi with their legs dangling in the water. Ripley is leaning back on his palms, listening while Noah talks. We’re watching from the kitchen, but the door is propped open, and I can just make out what Noah is saying.

“I’ve only got one more space to fill in on this side.” He extends an arm to show Ripley the inner crook of his elbow, where there’s a circle of unadorned skin. “I want something that looks good when my arm is straight and when it’s bent, but I can’t think of anything. I thought it would be cool to do another cat, like this one.” He taps the inky tiger stretching down his shoulder. “But there’s not enough room.”

Ripley tilts his head to the side for a better look, and I turn back to face Raj and Aiden.

“I was hoping they’d get talking about Noah’s tattoos. I was going to bring it up, but I guess I didn’t have to.”

“Hmm.” Raj finally breaks his gaze away from Noah and sets his beer down on the counter. “You know, while they’re busy… I wanted to talk to you guys about something.”

“Both of us?” Aiden asks, taking a sip of his soda.

“Yeah.” Raj hesitates, and I use the moment to cast a searching look at Aiden, but he clearly doesn’t know where this is going, either. Raj suddenly looks serious, which is unsettling, because he just never is. “So… Noah and I had a - talk, recently.”

I resist the urge to catch Aiden’s eye again. “Okay…”

“He filled me in on this business with the guy who busted up his face. Ralph?”

I pause, then swing around to look at Aiden, who looks equally surprised.

“He told you?” Aiden asks, eyebrows arched. “Wow, Raj.”

“Seriously,” I put in. “He’ll barely talk to us about it.”

“He gave me the basics, anyways. And I’m not running my mouth, I wouldn’t do that, but you two already know all of this-”

“No, we get it, man,” Aiden says. “So - are you worried that Ralph might come around your house? Because-”

“No, I’m not. Noah told me that I don’t need to worry, because apparently Ralph already got the chin-check of the century. From you, Aiden. Which - no offense, but I literally can’t picture you doing that. Doesn’t sound like you at all.”

“Well, you’re new around here,” Aiden says, his gaze dropping to his soda. “But no offense taken. The opposite, in fact.”

“I just can’t believe anyone could look Noah in the eye and hit him.” Raj’s hand balls into a fist on the countertop. “I mean, don’t hit anyone, but Noah? His face is so fucking adorable, how could you ever do it? That Ralph guy must be operating on one-tenth of a soul.”

Raj’s angular face, normally taken up with a grin or laugh, looks so different when he’s being serious. He tosses his black curls out of his eyes, frowning. If he didn’t look so - this, I would definitely have made a comment about him calling Noah’s face adorable, but. Not right now.

Aiden, on the other hand.

“Oh, is his face adorable, Raj?” he asks, grinning, and Raj smiles again, thank god. He’d only stopped for a few minutes, but that’s basically an eternity, for him.

“Bro, I said what I said.” He points to the jacuzzi. “Objective fact. Look at it!”

We all turn to look at Noah, just in time to see him make an incredibly stupid, cross-eyed face, presumably in the middle of telling Ripley a story. Ripley laughs softly, pressing a hand over his mouth.

Raj shakes his head, his face filled with affection.

“Look, I’m only bringing this up because I wanted to thank you boys. It makes me fucking queasy, man, to think about Noah going through all that shit. From what I’m hearing, it sounds like you two helped him out of a difficult spot, even though he didn’t make it easy for you.” Raj slaps Aiden’s shoulder, leaves his hand there, and looks across the counter at me. His brown eyes grow serious again. “And, you know, having him around has been great for me. You really helped both of us, hope you know that. That’s all I wanted to say.”

Aiden and I look at each other. I grin at him, and he smiles back at me, his eyes thoughtful.

“Alright, enough of that stuff,” Raj says, releasing Aiden. “We should get going. My girl just texted, she’s done with the event she was working tonight, so-”

“No problem.” Aiden straightens up and finishes the last of his soda. “Where’s the recycling go, Raj? I’ve got these ones - Jamie, you want to go tell the others?”

I find Noah by himself at the jacuzzi with his head tipped back, staring up at the two or three stars visible through the clouds.

“Hey, Houdini. Where did Ripley go?”

Noah’s slate-grey eyes move to find me through the darkness. He yawns and pulls his hair into a knot.

“His mom called to check on him. Where-?”

“They’re getting our stuff together, we’re heading out soon.” I lean down and put my elbows on the rim of the jacuzzi. “You and Ripley having a nice chat?”

“I - think so?” Noah shrugs. “I was just kind of talking at him, and then he wouldn’t say anything, and I would feel like I should stop, but then he’d just - ask me a question, so I’d start again?”

“He wouldn’t even ask a question, before today. You’re doing better than you think.”

“Hmm. Good to know.”

Noah hauls his legs out of the water and heads off to see if the others need help. I wait by the pool until Ripley walks around the side of the house, pushing his phone back into his pocket.

“Hey, man. We’re gonna roll soon. Probably need to get you back, anyway, right? School night, and all.”

A crooked smile rises on Ripley’s face. There’s something almost - devious, about it? It’s just the tiniest lift to the left corner of his mouth, but combined with this fiery look in his eyes - he suddenly reminds me of Kasey. He chews the inside of his cheek for a moment before he answers.

“I’m suspended.”

I stare at him.

“You’re suspended? From school?”

“For three days.”

“Oh. A bit early in the semester for that, isn’t it?” He doesn’t respond, and I take another look at that little smile on his face. “You… don’t look like you’re sorry.”

The smirk grows wider. “It was worth it.”

I assume that this will be the last surprise from Ripley tonight. I’m proven thoroughly wrong only a few minutes later, when Raj offers him the aux cable and he actually accepts it. He plugs in his phone and picks a song. I twist to look at him as Dancing’s Not A Crime starts playing through the car’s speakers.

Ripley flashes a grin at me, just for a split second, and turns away to face the window.

~~~~

Fresh out of Aiden’s shower, I dry off and slip into the shirt and pajama shorts he left for me. I take a second to survey myself in the mirror, feeling ridiculous. I’m practically swimming in his clothes. I pull the shirt off again and tighten up the drawstring of the shorts, finger-comb my hair into some semblance of sanity.

Much better.

It’s cold outside, and Aiden has all of the windows open, so I make a dash for the bed. He lifts up the covers to make room for me, and I curl up against his side, sprawling a hand on his broad chest.

He's an island of warmth.

“Hi,” he says, tracing his fingers through my wet hair, messing it up all over again.

“Hi.” I give his neck a gentle kiss before I settle down. “Are you sure you don’t mind me staying? I know you like alone time, and I’ve been sleeping over a lot recently.” His hand slips from my hair to rest on my back. “Seriously, if you want me to leave-”

Aiden’s fingers drift in small, tight circles along the bare skin of my shoulder. “Please don’t.”

My heart skips a beat or two.

“Okay. Fine. Whatever.”

He draws back to give me a look, but neither of us can hold our snark faces, and we dissolve into drowsy laughter.

I had a great time today, honestly. I think Ripley enjoyed himself, too, even though it’s hard to tell for sure. I mean, I’ve never seen him laugh before, but Noah took a pool noodle to that barrier and absolutely shattered it. And Ripley was way quicker to laugh in general, after that.

Today was both fun and productive, but I’m tired all the way out, and I can tell that Aiden is, too. He tilts his head to rest on top of mine, and I nestle down into the warm spot at his side. It feels good to lay like this, skin against skin. I take a deep breath of his neck, that body wash smell that clings to him when he’s fresh out of the shower.

Some time passes this way. Aiden is quiet, but I know that he’s not asleep.

“You’re thinking about what Raj said, aren’t you?” I murmur.

“Yes. And what you said.”

“What I said?” I brush a soft kiss onto the ridge of his collarbone. “What did I say?”

“You said - that I don’t take enough time to think about the people I’ve helped. Spend too much on the people I’ve failed.”

I stop and prop myself up on my elbow.

“Aiden. I never said that you failed anyone.”

“No, sorry. That’s my word, not yours. But you know what I mean.” His blue eyes blink up at me. “Why do you look so mad, all of a sudden?”

“Because. That's - not the right word for it, okay?”

“Okay. I’m sorry.” He reaches up and traces a hand down my jaw.

“Don’t be sorry to me, be sorry to yourself.”

“Alright. I’m sorry, me.”

“Good.” I drop my head back down onto his chest, snuggle up again. “But yes, I meant what I said about that.”

“It’s sort of...” Aiden fades off. There’s a silence, and I wait, listening to the trees rustling in the wind outside. “It’s hard for me to think about it that way. Growing up, it felt like failure was right around every corner. Waiting for me to be too late.”

I lift my head to look at him again, my heart twisting.

“Well - we’re just gonna have to work on that, aren’t we? Good thing you have a Companion Plant.” I bend to kiss his cheek, but he tilts his head and catches my lips with his. Pushes his hand into my hair and holds me there until he’s good and done.

I’m a little dazed by the time I pull back, and also surprised to learn that I can be this tired and still be turned on. I let my hand travel down Aiden’s body until it slides over the fabric of his pajama shorts, then smile to myself.

He makes a soft noise, catches my hand, and lifts it to his mouth. Presses a kiss into the tender skin of my wrist. “Too tired for that.”

“Oh, really? Because, based on what I’m feeling-”

“I mean I’m too tired to stop myself from breaking something, you demon.” He smiles as I settle my head back onto his chest. “Pretty sure Kent’s house is the worst place for us to make that mistake.”

“Not the worst place.”

“No?”

“No. Kasey went to a place called the Museum of Glass, once. She said it’s full of these giant glass sculptures worth millions of dollars.”

Aiden’s low chuckle vibrates his chest. I feel it against my arm, and my cheek.

“Okay. That’s the worst place. Kent’s house is a close second.” He pauses. “But... I think I’m getting better at not destroying everything, when we do this.”

“I think so, too. Practice, huh?”

“Mmm.” His fingers tangle in my damp hair again. “I’m ready for training camp to be over. I want to get on the field and really play.”

“Don’t know what that means, but it sounds cute,” I tell him, closing my eyes - only to find myself dragged by the hair up into a rough, deep, hungry kiss. My heart flies into my throat, and I intend to reciprocate just as forcefully, but suddenly all of my limbs are melted, useless. I can only cling to him and let him kiss me however he wants - fine with me, honestly, because God, this feels good-

Aiden seals it with a sharp nibble on my lip, drawing a breathless little sound from me.

“Cute is not going to be the word for it,” he murmurs, his voice dropped low and husky.

“Okay,” I stammer. I flop onto my back and stare at the ceiling. “Okay. Okay. Okay.”

He laughs and curls up against me, our previous positions reversed. I like it when he lays his head on my chest - it’s heavy, but strangely grounding, and his hair is soft. I fold my arms around him, my hammering heart slowly evening out again. Chilly air rolls in through the windows, pulling some of the heat from my cheeks. Aiden hooks a thumb into the waistband of my shorts and fits it into the divot of my hip, but moves no further.

It’s a long moment before I calm down enough to unscramble my thoughts.

“Aiden,” I whisper. “Are you still up?”

“Mmm.” He shifts against my chest, and when he speaks again, his voice has hit a new level of drowsy. “What’s up, Energizer Bunny?”

I laugh quietly into his chestnut hair. “I don’t actually have any energy, right now.”

“More than me, though.”

“I don’t know, I’d say that was quite the little burst of energy you just got.”

He chuckles again.

“You want me to move so you can sleep?” He starts to shift away, and I immediately tighten my arms around his head.

“No, don’t move, and I mean ever.”

He smiles. I feel it in the way his cheek shifts against my skin.

“What is it, then?”

“It’s like - really gonna be fall, soon. I was thinking about it tonight. I bet that was the last warm night we’re going to get this year.”

“Sorry, are we - talking about the weather?”

“Yeah. No. I mean.” I skate my fingernails gently across his scalp. “I’ve just been - doing a steady series of summer flings, the last few years. Ending it when summer is over.”

Aiden lifts his head and looks at me, suddenly awake again.

“Okay…”

“So… feels like… tomorrow… I’m hitting a bit of a milestone. Or we are, I guess.”

Aiden releases a held breath and cocks his head to the side. “You do know we haven’t been together the whole summer?”

“No, I know, but…” I run my knuckles over his stubbled jaw. “I’ve been wanting you all summer.” I blush under his gaze and shrug. “That’s a long time, for me.”

Aiden stares at me for a moment, blue eyes wide, then lets out a tiny, incredulous laugh.

“One summer?” he asks. “That feels like a long time to be wanting someone?”

“Well - yeah?”

He drops his forehead onto my chest, burying his huffing laugh into my sternum. It tickles a little, giving me goosebumps. My toes curl beneath the blankets.

“Oh, my God, Jamie.” One of Aiden’s huge hands rolls me onto my side. He fits his body up against mine and settles an arm over me. Presses a kiss into the spot just behind my ear. “You know what? We’ll celebrate our milestone tomorrow. I promise.”

When I’m sure he’s passed out, I wiggle free and flip over to look at him.

I’m having another one of those moments where the way I feel about Aiden is too big for me to hold. I desperately want to ask him about the true extent of his feelings for me. I know that he’s been interested for a long time, but have I just been a vague, nagging memory in the back of his mind, or... was it something more than that?

The fact that he has the poem suggests the latter, but I want to know. I want him to say it.

Like Ripley, Aiden needs patience. I’m just going to have to wait until he's comfortable enough to share that part of himself, uncoerced and on his own. Maybe it’ll come in bits and pieces, but that’s okay, too.

He can take all the time he needs. I’m not going anywhere.