Chapter 5

"So," he said, giving her a sidelong glance. "What about you? Anyone serious? Any strange tales of woeful breakups heralded from the Great Beyond?"

She shook her head with another laugh, blowing out a bit of a sigh of her own. "Oh, no no. Just the regular sort. You know, 'You work too much. You're married to your job. You don't have any time for us.' There were a few more colorful things tossed in, too." She shook her head. "I mean, maybe it was all true, but I didn't think working hard was a bad thing. Clearly, he thought otherwise, even though he worked just as much." She smirked. "Eric ended up being a little too traditional for my tastes."

"Ouch. When did all that go down?"

"Oh gosh," she breathed out, stalling a bit over how recently it had happened because she felt anything but upset over it and maybe that wasn't the best look, even if it was honest. "A couple months ago. He moved out the weekend I had my latest big project going on. Full three day thing. I come home at the end of night one and he's sitting there, bags packed, his furniture gone, to hand me the key and say his piece. That was a lot of fun to come back to," she said with sarcasm dripping from her tone. She gave a shake of her head and a sheepish grin. "But it was for the best. I didn't really see it going anywhere in particular, and I had enough on my plate without someone trying to ruin the thing I'd worked my ass off for, you know? Because that was his end game. Some big power move to get me to quit, to grovel so he'd take me back. Eff that!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, eff that!" Mitch agreed, with sincerity in his tone. "Seriously. No one deserves to be treated that way. If he really wanted to end things, he should have waited until your project was over. More than that, hypocrisy sucks."

"It does," she agreed. "And maybe that's why I feel so indifferent about it. We weren't together terribly long, about two years. But I feel like he pulled a fast one on me. Pretended to care about my career, successes, promotions, and then drop the act after we moved in and throw the mother of all temper tantrums when I didn't pick up on his passive aggressive clues. He really thought I'd become all domesticated while he handled all the earning and financial stuff just because we were sharing an address. Like what is that?" She rolled her eyes, working to remember not to ball her injured hand into a frustrated fist. "It was just… so dishonest."

"Honestly, that guy sucks, Aiden. I'm glad he revealed his intentions before you got more serious with him. That's some real narcissistic BS. And it's okay to be mad, but I hope you're relieved, too."

She cracked a smile at last, her usual sunny disposition breaking through the crease in her forehead and the set of her jaw as she gave a nod. "You know… I really am. I haven't exactly given myself permission to be because everyone expected me to be 'so upset.' But I am relieved. I feel like I dodged a bullet."

"Sounds like it." He gave a smirk. "If only we weren't driving. I'd toast to dodging bullets."

She had to laugh at that. "Well then. When we're not driving and have nowhere to be later, it's a date." Aiden had to give a smirk of her own at the way his grin lit up his face like Christmas, but she couldn't help the little flutter of excitement at his affirmative reply.

"I’m in. I'll bet Jess will want to catch up with Mom and Dad, so we should definitely hit up Red Sky later."

The rest of the drive went by almost too fast, the last hour and a half or so of miles eaten up with more congenial conversation and long-overdue catching up. It had already started earlier on, the surface of the ice broken with his quick and gentle repair of her injury; but the more they talked, the more the halting awkwardness of too long apart fell away until they were almost, almost back to their old selves. It felt good, so much better than she would have believed even yesterday, to break free of the self-isolation and distance and remember just how much she liked Mitch, even beyond the teenage crush. He'd been a fixture in her life for so long, but a subtle one, the sort you don't realize how much you miss until you're back in one another's company.

The time between them seemed to melt away as they delved far past the superficial pleasantries that had marked their previous encounters in recent years and, as the conversation smoothly transitioned from career talk to current interests, Aiden could scarcely believe it when they rolled up to the airport and he eased the old Jeep into an open space in the arrivals parking lot.

He took a quick glance at the dash, then stretched with a relieved breath of air with a grin flashed in her direction. "Looks like Jessie landed a few minutes ago."

"Does she know I'm in town?" Aiden asked as she unbuckled her seat belt.

"I don't think so, she was already at the airport when you got in. Looking forward to surprising her?"

"Hell yeah. Let's go!"

He laughed and dutifully unbuckled before they slid out of the car and Aiden gave a delicious stretch, mindful of pulling at the glue she had all but forgotten on her hand. "Six hours total in the car today," she said with a laugh. "It's been a minute."

"Oh yeah, you're not used to this anymore, are you?"

"Nope, but that's alright. Being home with some of my favorite people for a few days is more than worth it," she replied, feeling her back crack as she stretched one more time, then grabbed her handbag. They locked up and headed for the arrivals terminal, Aiden practically bouncing with excitement as Mitch worked to keep up with her. “Come on!” She exclaimed, before grabbing his hand to tug him along and another laugh escaped his lips at her enthusiasm.

In no time, they’d entered and made it to the baggage area, with Mitch scanning monitors for the flight they were waiting for. Before she knew it, Aiden could spot the familiar form of her best friend standing near the carousel a few hundred feet away. Her edgy new haircut, half shaved, with the dark longer locks pulled away from her pretty face, only did her delicate features high favor, but what had Aiden almost stopping dead in her tracks was the unmistakable sparkler on her friend’s ring finger. One attached to the hand resting on the smallest hint of a telling bump, clad in a hip jumpsuit. A surprised smile crossed her features as she glanced up at Mitch, but the fleeting look of shock on his own was unmistakable, confirming that he was just as unaware as she. Jessie reached for the arm of a man beside her, with a blissful smile firm on full lips, before she gestured at one of the bags coming down the conveyor belt and said something to make him laugh.

But all at once, she caught sight of her brother out of the corner of her eye before her gaze widened at the sight of Aiden beside him, and the smile grew into a squeal of delight.

“HOW IS THIS EVEN A THING RIGHT NOW?! I thought Mom was picking me up!!!” She screeched with joy as she ran up to both of them and threw her arms around first Mitch who gave an ‘oof’ and a laugh as he gave her a squeeze, then Aiden, not caring one bit for the ruckus she was making or the attention it was drawing. Aiden couldn’t help but to laugh; even if she wasn’t excited all on her own, Jessie’s mood was infectious and almost completely predictable.

“I’m in town today and ran into Mitch, so he invited me to tag along,” she replied, hugging Jessie tight.

“Man, and here I thought I had the best surprise,” she exclaimed, before her gaze drifted to the tall guy hanging a few feet back, standing almost awkwardly with the bags he’d retrieved. She reached for him and pulled him close with a fresh grin. “Guys, this is Jacob. My fiance… and baby Daddy. Jake, this is my brother, Mitch, and my best, oldest friend, Aiden.”

“Ahhh, I knew it!” Aiden exclaimed, hugging Jessie again. “Nice to meet you, Jacob. Congrats to you both!” Mitch echoed the sentiments, shaking Jacob’s hand and giving his sister another big hug before they started gathering up suitcases and bags. He was otherwise a little quiet, but Aiden knew him well enough to know he was processing and would have plenty of questions of his own once they were settled in his mind.

“Nice to finally meet you both, too,” Jacob said, adjusting his glasses with a smile touched with a hint of shyness. “Jessie speaks endlessly about you,” he added with a less hesitant grin, one Jessie returned with absolute stars in her eyes, before she finally glanced around at their surroundings.

“Security is starting to give us looks, so we should hustle,” Jessie warned, sliding her arm through Aiden’s before they each slung a carry-on bag over a shoulder and headed for the doors, the guys moving to walk ahead. Aiden was glad to hear them starting to make small talk as they headed outside and she and Jessie had a few minutes to catch up to themselves.

“You’re only here for the day?” Jessie asked, her voice neutral. Aiden could hear the ring of hope, though, and she was happy she could give her bestie the answer she wanted to hear.

“Well, I was. Until your brother scared the crap out of me this morning and I busted my hand,” she said with a laugh, holding up the injured one.

“Oh my gaaaaawd what happened?”

“Eh, I dropped a glass when he stopped by for your mom and I cut it. So now I’m parked for a bit longer than planned. Mitch said no driving for a few days at least. But I completely forgot you were coming in, and now I’m so glad it worked out the way it did!”

Jessie gave another light squeal. “Yes! I get you all to myself!”

“Yes you do! But first, you have to fill me in on Jacob and the BABY, Jessie! When did all that happen? You didn’t mention you were seeing anyone when I last visited! Do your parents know?”