Page 211 of The Compass Series

AIDEN

“ H oly shit!” Hailee hollered as she walked out of the bakery the morning after our two-people-considering-a-friendship-again date, which, by the way, was a success.

“Sorry, did I scare you?” I asked.

“My gosh, Aiden. Are you insane? You scared me shitless!” she said, swatting my chest with her hand. “What are you doing here? How long have you been standing out here?”

“Not long.” That was a lie. I’d been there for forty-five minutes.

I stood outside of the bakery the following morning with a carrying tray holding two coffee cups.

Coffee that was probably cold. In my other hand was a brown paper bag with two croissants.

And on my head? The IT clown mask. I didn’t want to risk her having to be seen with me in public.

“Oh no, I just so happened to be walking by. So weird running into you. I was just picking up my morning coffee and croissants.”

She gave me a deadpan expression. “Wearing an IT mask?”

“There might have been a small hope that I’d run into you, and I didn’t want people seeing us together—per your request.”

“That was very thoughtful of you, you weirdo, but I have to get to work.”

“Yeah, of course. By all means.” I gestured to the sidewalk.

She started walking in the direction of the inn, and I followed alongside her. She stopped her footsteps, and I stopped mine. “What are you doing, Aiden?”

“Walking.”

“I see that. Why are you walking near me?”

I shrugged. “We must be going to the same place.”

“I’m going to work.”

“That’s funny. I was just heading to the inn.” I lifted one of the cups of coffee and held it out toward her. “Coffee? Is your order still a caramel latte?”

“It is.” She narrowed her eyes at me but took the cup of coffee.

She started walking again, and I continued next to her for a while.

I hummed a tune as I moved beside her. Every now and again, she’d glance at me with that grumpy grump look she loved to sport early in the morning, and then she’d look forward again.

That went on for about three minutes before her grumbles grew in volume, and she let out a growl.

Was that a growl? Did Hailee Jones just growl at me?

“What are you doing? And no wise-guy stuff, either. Tell me why you’re following me!” she ordered.

I cleared my throat. “Well, last night, you said you were lonely. You mentioned you wake up alone, go to work alone, come home alone, and go to bed alone. I just wanted to cancel out some of those lonely moments. And I figured you wouldn’t want me to wake up with you, but I mean, if you want me in your bed in the mornings, by all means… ”

“Aiden. Focus.”

“Right. So since I can’t wake up with you, I figured I could at least walk you to work.”

She huffed. “That’s stupid.”

“I’m dumb.”

“You’re not wrong.” Her eyes shifted to the brown paper bag in my hand. “Do you have an extra croissant for me?”

“I just so happen to have one, yes.”

“Give it.”

“A little demanding, aren’t we? You know, some men are into that kind of thing .” It’s me. I’m some men.

She rolled her eyes, and my cock twitched. Geez, this woman didn’t even know how much she affected me.

She held her hand out toward me for the croissant, and I gave it to her. As she took a bite, she moaned with delight.

Do that again, Hails.

“You didn’t moan like that when I had you on the steps,” I complained.

“Yeah, well, you weren’t slathered in butter.”

“Note to self, bring sticks of butter next time Hailee has me over to her place.”

She laughed. “You need to get the idea of us doing the tango together out of your head because it’s not going to happen.”

“A man can dream. And trust me… I’ve been dreaming about that a lot.”

“Yeah. A few of your fangirls overheard your daydreams.”

“How does that feel knowing that I was thinking about you as I did it?”

“I refuse to answer that.”

“Want to know how long it took you to mentally get me off?”

Her cheeks rose and reddened. “Having a guy in an IT clown mask asking me that question makes it extremely ridiculous.”

“Five minutes.”

“You shouldn’t wear that as a badge of honor.”

“What can I say? The Hailee in my mind just turns me on so much that I can’t hold out. Just like the one in real life.”

“I don’t think that’s the flex you think it is, buckeroo.”

I laughed. “Give me another run at it, and I’ll show you how long I can keep going. That was a first time in a long time for me. I had to knock it out.”

“I’m sure you’ve had plenty of women in Hollywood to keep you busy.”

“No one since you.”

She raised a brow. “I was your first and only back then. I’m sure you’ve had?—”

“No one since you,” I repeated, this time a bit more serious.

Her breath caught as she paused her steps. “Say swear.”

I stepped in front of her and pulled up my mask so our eyes could lock. “Swear.”

“Pinkie promise?”

I linked my pinkie with hers. “Pinkie promise. What about you? How many suitors have been lining up at your door since I left?” The second the question left my mouth, I regretted it. Truth be told, the last thing I wanted to know was how many people she had been with since I’d been gone.

Ask stupid questions, get stupid answers.

Any answer other than none was the wrong one.

“We just renewed our friendship, Tom. Don’t push it.”

“What can I say?” I bent down and took a bite of her croissant. “I’m a pusher. I’m not going to lie, though. These are some of the best croissants.”

“I swear, my parents have the best bread in the world. I know I’ve never been to Paris, but I bet these give them a run for their money.”

Before I could reply, I started greeting and chatting with passersby on the sidewalk, holding full conversations with the individuals. After they left smiling, I turned back to Hailee.

She smiled. “You do that a lot, don’t you? Talk to people.”

“I find people fascinating.”

“Are you looking at us all as some kind of characters you can play one day?”

I laughed. “No, but good idea. Every person is some kind of character, I suppose.” I gestured around toward the random people on the street.

“We have background characters. Side characters. Main characters. Villains, heroes, fairy godmothers. The whole world is one big film if you really think about it. And a lot of the footage is just mundane stuff, but sometimes, you get some amazing moments that create a great story. I’m still debating if it has a happy ending or if this turns into some kind of zombie apocalypse thing. ”

She licked her fingers as she finished her croissant and then tilted her coffee cup toward me. “Here’s hoping for zombies.”

I held out the croissant I got for me to see if she wanted it. She shook her head, so I dove in.

“What kind of character am I?” she asked. “What’s my story?”

“You’re definitely, definitely the gravedigger. The weird one who lurks in the shadows,” I joked. Luckily, she picked up on my teasing and shoved me.

“Jerk.”

“A little.” I took a sip of my coffee before saying, “Main character.”

She huffed. “I’m no main character.”

“That’s exactly what every main character would say. Any person who said they were the main character would never truly be the main character. They’d probably die in act two.”

“Oh, how I wished I would’ve died in act two.” She sighed, tossing her hand up in dramatics.

“Ah, yes. You’re the dramatic main character. It’s clear as day.”

“I know who you are, too.”

“Oh? What’s my role?”

“You’re like the person who randomly gets hit by a bus when they step into the street, and they are never seen or heard from again.”

I laughed and hovered over the curb of the sidewalk toward the road. “Don’t tease me with a good time, Jones.” I hopped off as a car was coming my way, and before it could get too close, Hailee grabbed the sleeve of my jacket and pulled me back onto the sidewalk.

“Are you insane?!”

“Maybe a little. The right amount to make it charming.”

“You’re not charming. You’re annoying. You’re like the annoying person who never goes away,” she told me. “If America knew how annoying you were, you’d never be Superman.”

“Am I giving off Clark Kent vibes? Because that counts, too.”

She rolled her eyes, her favorite hobby to do with me. My new favorite hobby to watch. “No. You’re more like Goofy from The Goofy Movie .”

“I know you meant that as an insult, but honestly, that’s one of my favorite movies.”

“I already knew that.”

Of course, she did.

We reached the inn, and I held the door open as she walked inside. “What time are you off work?” I asked.

“You’re not walking me home.”

“Of course not. To be honest, this was more than I thought you’d allow me to do, but if I just so happen to be walking around the same time you’re heading out…”

“For a famous Oscar-winning actor, you sure lack a life.”

“It’s a moment of stillness.”

“And how’s that going for you?”

“I feel the best I’ve felt in a very long time.”

“Good.” She smiled. “I have to work. Leave me alone.”

“Have a good day, Jerry.” I opened the door to leave the inn, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Wait. Did you honestly just come all this way with me just to leave right away? You’re not going to your room?”

“No. I have a session at the gym in a few. I’m a little late, so I better hit it.”

“The gym is right next to the bakery shop where you were.”

“Yes.”

“Right. Okay.” She frowned as if confused by why I’d walk all that way with her only to turn back and leave. She walked over to the counter and pulled out her chair to take a seat. “Six thirty. I’m off work at six thirty.”

I tried to hide my thrill from her comment. I nodded once toward her. “I’ll see you then.”