Page 39 of Kiln Me Softly

As Aiden slid onto the stool beside the woman he’d set his sights on, he locked eyes with Juniper across the bar.

She was already talking to the autumnal goddess, as she’d phrased it, arms stretched against the back of the stranger’s chair as though they’d known each other for years.

When the woman looked at her phone, Juniper mouthed something that resembled, I scream with wine .

He assumed it meant ice cream is mine and shook his head slowly, only then realising that the woman he’d come to chat with was staring at him, equal amounts disturbed and curious.

Probably because he had stuck his face between her and her friend, having meant to say something before Juniper distracted him.

‘May we help you?’ asked the man.

Aiden stuttered his words for a moment. ‘Well, possibly. Maybe. I was just wondering if my friend over there can buy you a drink?’

The man waved a hand. ‘Sorry, mate. Not interested.’

‘Not you, unfortunately.’ With a sympathetic pat on the man’s shoulder, he swivelled to the woman. ‘You.’

She smirked, casting a glance over her shoulder to view their table. ‘Well, that depends. Which friend are we talking about?’

‘The woman currently chomping on ice…’ Aiden winced. Tilly was gorgeous, but with her cheeks full like Cerberus’s at mealtime and water dribbling down her chin, she wasn’t exactly looking her best. ‘Across from our green-haired friend.’

She hazarded a look at her friend, who shrugged and hopped off the stool. ‘I was about to head off, so I’ll leave you to it, I s’pose. Enjoy.’

And then it was just the two of them. Aiden slipped onto the abandoned stool and held out a hand, trying to work his practised charm. ‘I’m Aiden, by the way. Sorry for interrupting, it’s just sort of urgent.’

‘Coco.’ She narrowed her eyes, but shook his hand. ‘Why urgent? Is she dying?’

‘God, no! No, she’s just terribly lonely.’ He scratched his head. Again, probably not setting up a good impression of Tilly. ‘In a very non-desperate way.’

Coco cleared her throat. ‘Well, I’m not feeling all that into desperation myself, so…’

‘Okay, I lied. It’s me who’s desperate.’ He pointed to Juniper across the bar, who now had her back turned. ‘I’m trying to out wingman my girl… my friend ,’ he corrected quickly, ‘over there, and I made a very good argument about why you would be the perfect match for Tilly.’

‘Hm.’ Coco smirked. ‘So, you’re trying to impress your girl, in other words.’

He pinched his thumb and index together. ‘A little bit. For a good cause, though.’

‘Well, that is kinda cute.’ She sighed and grabbed her drink from the bar, a tall, thin glass garnished with a slice of lime. ‘Fine. You’ve caught me in a curious mood.’

Aiden jumped off the stool and then motioned politely for Coco to go ahead, silently cheering once her back was turned.

However, it didn’t last: he caught Juniper approaching with the redhead at exactly the same time, and he could do nothing short of pushing Coco into the table to win the battle – which, as a gentleman, he obviously did not consider doing. At all.

Juniper was quick to put her hands on her hips, blocking their path. ‘Hello, Aiden. Who might this be?’

‘I’m Coco?’ She said it as though it was a question.

‘Coco is very impressive at… the thing she does, which is…’ Aiden realised he probably should have asked for some details before dragging her over here.

‘I’m a small business owner,’ Coco supplied.

‘Well, my girl here is a waitress, like me!’ Juniper beamed. ‘You did say you wanted a Juniper, Tilly.’

‘And what is your girl’s name?’ Aiden lifted his brows expectantly, enjoying the way Juniper grew flustered. ‘Terrible wingwoman, really, not even asking her name. I’d never do such a thing.’

Tilly rolled her eyes and stood up. ‘This was a big, big mistake.’ She looked at both suitors. ‘I’m so sorry. I don’t know how I didn’t predict that my friends would turn this into a disaster.’

‘Yeah, I’m not really into this, so… bye.’ The autumnal goddess marched off before anybody could stop her, and Aiden couldn’t blame her. Still, a flare of something warm brightened inside him. Friends . Plural. He was one of them now.

‘That means I’ve won.’ He clapped like a giddy kid, then gave Coco a high-five, which was accepted reluctantly.

‘I’m walking away now.’ Tilly locked eyes with Coco, a small smile dimpling her face. ‘Could I maybe buy you a drink to say sorry for all this?’

‘Don’t forget my sundae,’ Aiden reminded, grinning when Juniper stuck his tongue out at him. As soon as their backs were turned, he flashed the shape of an L with his thumb and finger. ‘Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll share with the loser.’

‘You’re intolerable. I can’t stand you.’ But she was trying not to laugh as she collapsed back down next to Luc. A stark contrast to the way she used to say it, chest puffed out and mouth twisted in disgust.

So, when Tilly slammed a chocolate sundae down onto the table soon after, he grabbed two extra spoons for her and Luc, and they all dipped into the ice cream.

Luc took a few bites and then called it a night, claiming their social battery was officially drained.

Aiden would have to make extra effort not to bother them back in their room tonight.

‘And then there were two.’ Aiden clanked his spoon against hers, forcing her away from the soft squares of fudge. ‘Oi! Don’t pinch the best pieces!’

It was too late. Juniper gathered a big heap of them, moaning smugly.

He might have reprimanded her, but he was too busy watching her tongue swirl around the fudge-coated spoon.

She must have noticed, because one of her brows arched.

‘Who’s the loser now, Whittaker? Look at you, getting all hot and bothered over me licking a spoon. ’

He rolled his eyes, twisting the stem of the bowl around so she had better access to the fudge.

He’d meant what he’d said, that he’d do anything for her, even if he usually hated to share good food.

‘You have to admit, I was good at that. Might drop out of RACA to pursue matchmaking duties full time.’

‘It surprises me,’ she said, then paused when instinct drove him to reach out.

The pad of his thumb swiped gently at the sticky blob of chocolate on the corner of her mouth, lips parting as though she’d forgotten how it felt for him to touch her.

Maybe she had. Maybe he wanted to fix that: but there was no chance tonight.

He was sharing with Luc, she with Tilly.

So he showed her instead, bringing his thumb to his mouth and watching as her chest fluttered just a little big higher than the breath before.

‘What surprises you?’ he asked, sticky sweetness dissolving on his tongue.

‘That it mattered so much to you. If you would have told me I was battling with Aiden Whittaker for the sake of our mutual friend’s dating life in high school, I would have thrown a fit.’

‘Oh, did you not like me back then, or something? I don’t think you’ve mentioned it before,’ he retorted sarcastically.

She chuckled, the sound light and melodic with just a hint of huskiness. It was the first time he’d heard it that way since before Christmas, and he hadn’t realised how badly he’d missed it.

That was why he decided to offer her the truth, even if he didn’t realise that was what it was until he said it aloud. ‘This is the first time I’ve ever had the chance to actually have friends. Proper friends who don’t give a shit about the superficial stuff. So, yeah, it matters.’

She propped her chin in her palms, eyes glittering.

In the yellow light, she’d never looked so beautiful, irises a warm, whisky-brown and lips a deep pink from the cold sundae.

He imagined this was their life, their every evening: coming to the pub and laughing, because she didn’t hate him anymore, and because they cared about each other.

He could see it, almost. Beyond the ever-growing line of hurdles, there were flashes of something better for them.

‘Where d’you think Chris will take us tomorrow?’ she mused.

And there it was. One of the many obstacles in his way. His stomach plummeted all over again at the thought of seeing his dad, but he tried not to let it show. ‘I need to ask you a favour, actually.’

‘Yeah? What kind of favour?’

‘I need to head to Manchester for a few hours. Can you cover for me? Tell Chris I’ve got a migraine or something?’

‘Okay.’ A little divot formed between her brows, hands edging closer to his across the table. ‘Am I allowed to ask why?’

‘Dunno. Are you? You’re not my girlfriend, after all, as you love to keep reminding me.’

She scoffed, making to lean away, but he caught her fingers on the scraped, lacquered wood. ‘I’ve got to show my face for a lunch with my dad, otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it.’

Concern remained etched in her, enough to make him fall for her again, again, again. She could keep lying to him, but she cared, and she was as bad as he was at concealing it these days. ‘Will you be okay? Isn’t he, like, awful?’

‘Whatever gave you that impression?’ His cheeks cracked with the force of his feigned smile.

She saw right through it, thumb gliding over his knuckles. ‘Was he even there to support you when you were struggling?’

He was afraid that if he spoke, his voice would betray how much it hurt, so he only shook his head.

‘You don’t have to go. You don’t have to do anything for him if you don’t want to,’ she said.

He wished that were true. He squeezed her hand, admitting, ‘I sometimes hope one day it’ll be different. That he’ll accept me. I’m sure I’ll stop torturing myself at some point, but I’m not quite ready to cut him off completely yet.’

‘I get that.’ She surprised him by bringing his hand to her mouth and kissing his knuckles, the coolness of her lips leaving him tingling. And then she mimicked biting him, causing him to laugh again. She was always good at that. ‘I’ll be here when you get back. Okay?’

‘Okay.’ He leaned closer, dragging her chair around, and her with it. Her breath caught in her throat as their foreheads knocked together. ‘I’ve been wanting to kiss you all night. All year, really.’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘A New Year’s joke? Really?’

‘Really.’ His nose nestled against hers, lips inches apart, and he could already feel his cock stirring. ‘I miss you, Juni.’

She kissed him for not nearly long enough, then replaced her lips with a finger. ‘I can’t.’

‘You say that a lot.’

‘Because it’s true.’ And yet her knees were still slotted between his, her breath fluttering on his lips. ‘Kissing is never just kissing with you, and we don’t exactly have much privacy here.’

‘Never stopped us before.’ He looked up, finding Tilly and Coco making out at the bar. ‘Isn’t stopping them, either.’

She giggled upon seeing them, then pecked his nose just once before finally opening the distance between them again. ‘When we get back to London. Maybe. I’ll consider it.’

Fine. He could wait for her.

It felt like something he’d been doing his whole life.