I had many students who struggled with being first generation immigrants. Their parents had really high expectations of them and they were just trying to fit in and find their way in a foreign place with completely different rules. Aaron had been lucky his mother was so understanding, which led me to another question. Aaron locked the door and we walked down the steps together.
“Aaron? Is your family Muslim? You and your brothers?”
He shook his head. “No. Well, yes and no. Grandma Samadi and Mom taught us about the Quran when we were young, me more so than them, but Mom did not practice the religion. We mainly went to the Catholic Church with Grandma and Grandpa McShane and Pops. Mom came, too, but never joined. She said she loved to learn about both religions so she could understand people better.”
I nodded, again seeing what an enlightened woman his mother was. I was in love with her already!
The drive to the store was over in a blink. Aaron dropped the boys off in the back and told them he’d be back later to pick them up, and to text him if they needed anything. He waited until they were inside before he turned to me.
“So, Miss Wilson. Now that I have you alone, may I steal just one more kiss before you point me in the direction of your home?”
He was so adorable, and maybe even a little unsure of how to be around me. I wanted to put him at ease. I took his face in my hands and kissed him lightly with the promise of more.
“Get on 92, go over the bridge, and turn right. Let’s go.”
His smile was full of excitement. Then his phone started buzzing. “Ugh,” he said, checking his texts.
“Schroeder wants to know if he has to feed them lunch, too. You mind playing secretary?”
I shook my head and he handed me his phone.
“Tell him yes and he needs to change their diapers, too. Nap time is at 1:00 and they get cranky if they have too much juice.”
“Hold on! I can’t type that fast.”
He chuckled as he pulled out onto Foothill, followed the business loop back onto Mission and then turned right on Jackson to catch the 92/San Mateo Bridge. I hadn’t spent any time over here so I was paying attention to my surroundings. I was enjoying the murals painted all over town and I asked Aaron about them.
“Yeah, they’ve come up in the past couple of years. The city is really trying to clean itself up. That’s why it worked out for us to open our shop downtown. It’s perfect because I’m still close to home.” He reached over and took my hand, kissing it before resting it on the center console.
“So the boys play sports?”
He nodded. “Water polo and swimming. They’re pretty damn good. I’m hoping it will help when it’s time for college. Putting two of them through is going to cost a pretty penny.”
I smiled, knowing I’d have something to talk to them about next time.
“I was a swimmer. Junior high through high school. Fly was my favorite, and medley relay.”
His eyes shot to mine and he laughed. “Individual Medley and 200 Free.”
My eyes bugged out. “How funny! That’s so cool!”
We talked about swimming for a while and I was excited to hear that he helped coach and everything! I told him I coached the JV girls at Paly and his smile just kept getting bigger and bigger. By this time, we were almost over the bridge so I gave him directions to my apartment complex. It was a non-descript high rise overlooking the freeway. Nothing exciting. He pulled into a visitor spot in the garage and we walked hand in hand to the lobby so I could get a spare key from the manager. It took just a few minutes for them to get me a new key. I told the receptionist to add the cost to my rent for the month as I didn’t have any cash and she just smiled and shook her head.
“No worries. Just bring it down when you have it. I’ll make a note in your file.”
I thanked her and led Aaron to the elevator. My apartment was on the third floor.
It hit me that I was about to have him alone, and that now was the time if I felt I needed to put any brakes on. A quick mental search found no reason to apply them. I was smiling like a loon as I unlocked the door and swung it open.
“Ta da,” I said, gesturing to a whole lot of empty.
His eyes widened and he barked out a laugh. “Wow,” he chuckled. “I had no idea what to expect, but furniture did cross my mind.”
I giggled with him as I shut the door and locked it. “Yeah, I haven’t gotten around to shopping. I kind of don’t really need anything else for right now so...”
I probably should have prepared him, but he was being nice about it. My fancy studio apartment contained a queen-sized mattress on the floor, a trunk with my flat screen on it, and my funky desk with comfy chair. I still had my music in boxes along with my books. My closet had some things hanging and the rest folded in piles on the floor. Maryland tried to force me to take a dresser from her spare room and I politely declined. When I was ready to settle down, I’d get the rest of my things from storage and have a real home of my own. I’d kept some things that belonged to my parents, their van, and some of the furniture from my townhouse, in storage for years now. They could stay awhile longer.
“As long as you have a place to sleep, I guess,” he said, his voice sounding concerned.
I wanted to get out of my grubby clothes so I said, “I’m going to take a shower and put on some clothes that don’t smell like gross. Make yourself, um, as comfortable as you can? There’s drinks and stuff in the fridge. I’ll hurry,” I said and he smiled, sitting down in my desk chair.
“Take your time, love. I’m yours all day.” He picked up my iPod and started flipping through it.
“Play something,” I told him. I smiled one last time before I pulled a long skirt and a tank from my closet and grabbed undergarments. Of course I was still debating coming out in a towel like he did. I was suddenly extremely nervous. I hurried through my shower, stifling a squeal when I nicked the back of my Achilles’ while shaving.
“Slow down, Stevie. No need for you to have to get stitches. That will certainly delay things.”
When I turned off the water, I finished my routine quickly and left my hair to air dry with a little product to tame the frizz. I took a deep breath for courage and opened the door.
McShane
When Stevie closed the door to the bathroom, I thought I would combust from all the damn sexual tension. But then I bumped my elbow against her desk as I sat down and the screen woke up to display her blog. I looked first to be sure that it was public before I read it.
Oh, Stevie! She’d written about losing her baby. Damn, she was so strong! I had to control my verbal filter when she mentioned to me that the father didn’t want anything to do with the baby. What a fucking prick to not take care of her! If I had to guess, I would bet she went through the delivery alone as well as everything after. God, I wanted to cry for her. What she’d been through was so unfair. She deserved so much better.
I flipped through her iPod, laughing at how similar our tastes were. Her collection was timeless. Everything from Motown to 70’s rock, 80’s new wave to 90’s grunge. And so much Metal! I couldn’t believe it! There were even some bands and artists I hadn’t heard of. I stopped at a band I was semi-familiar with, Drowning Pool, but I hadn’t kept up with them after their first singer died. I turned on a song called ‘Over My Head’ and I leaned back in the chair.
I could have written these lyrics. They described my feelings about this situation to a T. I had a crazy thought that I should learn this song and play it for her one night at Open Mic. I thought of so many things I wanted to do with her, even some that didn’t involve us being naked. I was really relaxed and so deep in thought, I didn’t hear her come out. Next thing I knew, she was sitting on my lap.
“You startled me,” I laughed and she kissed me lightly. Her eyes went to her computer screen, then sharply to mine. “I made sure to look if it was a private blog before I read it.” She let her gaze drift away for a minute.
“You are so incredibly
brave, Stevie.”
She smiled sadly at me. “Thanks. Sometimes I don’t feel really brave.”
I let my hands roam her back and looked into her eyes. I couldn’t tell what she was feeling so I asked her.
“What am I feeling,” she said with a laugh. “Nervous and excited? It’s ok you read that. I’m kinda glad.”
I raised an eyebrow at her and said, “I’m curious to read your review. I’m wondering how close it will be to mine.”
Her eyes turned sultry again and she said, “I can say for sure it was my favorite time seeing Heart. I’ll never forget it. The encores, especially.”
My hands came up to her face. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
This time when I kissed her it felt different. It was like the proximity to her bed and the notion of the potentially uninterrupted hours we could spend there allowed me to slow down and really savor her.
She’d put on a fitted tank and a loose, gauzy, long skirt. I was dying to get a look at her legs. Hell, I wanted all of her. But I didn’t want to scare her. She seemed comfortable, so I was willing to follow her lead. She pulled back and rested her head on my shoulder.
“Did you sleep ok last night,” I asked her, concerned she might be tired.
She nuzzled my neck and said, “I did. I slept better than I have in a long time. How about you?”
How did I tell her I barely slept because I wanted to watch her, and not sound creepy?
“I loved having you in my bed. I loved holding you.”
She sighed and snuggled closer to me. “Aaron,” she whispered and I answered in a whisper, “Yes Stevie?”
She exhaled. “Last night I was ready to have sex with you and today I’m afraid.”
I frowned. Worried I’d done something to make her uncomfortable. I started to speak and she put a finger to my lips.
“No, let me finish, please?”
I nodded, worried for her to go on.
“See, last night, when we left the show, I thought you were wonderful and would be fun to sleep with. I knew you would be gentle and patient with me and that part hasn’t changed.”
I didn’t know where she was going with this and my worry increased.
“When I woke up with you this morning, and you held me through my meltdown, I knew you were even more precious. And then listening to your family this morning...Hell, I’m just smitten with you, Aaron McShane, and that scares me. Just like when you said you didn’t want to disappoint me, I don’t want to disappoint you, either. So what do we do now? Because I really wanted to come out of that bathroom in just my towel like you did this morning. I wanted to see what would happen.” She smiled at the end and I was floored. Smitten with me?
“Stevie, I don’t know what to say other than the only way you could disappoint me is if you would have walked away from me at the show and never came back. I want to know you, Stevie. I want to be your shoulder to lean on, just like you did at the shows. I want to take you places, do things with you...I don’t know! My head is spinning,” I laughed. “And I don’t know if smitten is a strong enough word for me, love.”
She stood up, taking my hand. I stood before her and waited for her to make the next move.
Stevie
His words significantly diminished my fear, so much so that I decided enough was enough. I had to have faith that this man had been put in my path too many times for me to let him pass me by. I needed to grab hold with both hands. Of his shirt. And pull it off.
His breath caught and his eyes looked pained. “Stevie, if you’re not sure-”
My hands on his waistband, pulling on his fly, put a stop to his protests. I unbuttoned and unzipped and was starting to slide his jeans down his legs when his pocket started to vibrate.
“Did you bring something to play with,” I teased. He chuckled, and then realized that it was his phone.
“Wha- Damn.” He pulled it out and we both saw Hayward Police on the screen. He cursed again and I shook my head.
“Please, it’s important, Aaron. I’m not going anywhere.” I kissed his cheek as he answered the phone.
“Aaron McShane...Yes, they’re my brothers...Yes, they told me what happened...When? 4:00?” We both looked at the clock. It was already noon. He let out a breath. “Yes...Yes, I’ll be there...My mother is working and my father is not well. I am authorized to act as their guardian for school, will that work? Fine...I’ll have my mother join us...Thank you, Detective.” He squeezed his eyes shut and slid his phone back into his jeans.
I pulled him in for a hug. I knew he was stressed.
“I wish I could tell you that these interruptions were an anomaly but-”
“Aaron, listen to me,” I said with my hands on his face, forcing him to look at me. “One of the many things I find attractive about you is your commitment to your family. Please do not ever apologize to me for that.”
He gave me a small smile and then pulled me back against his warm body.
“I just really wanted some we-time.”
I snorted and he laughed, too. “You’ll have it. Let me do this. I’ll make an appointment online at DMV, print out the confirmation, it’s as good as a license, right? We can hurry and pick up my car, and then you can go to your mom and explain before you all go to the police station.”
His face had a far off look, like he was trying to visualize all the things he needed to take care of.
“Shit! Grandma Samadi’s medication,” he said, exasperated. “I need to pick that up, too.”
I grabbed his shirt and went to hand it to him, but I didn’t let go.
“How about I go pick it up and take it to her? It gives you one less thing to worry about.”
He blanched. “You would do that? Purposely subject yourself to more of her machinations?”
I giggled and straightened his shirt before reaching up to pull it over his neck. “I would, if um, maybe I could be there for you when you returned from the police station? I could take you to dinner or just be there with a cup of tea?”
His eyes were wet. He looked like he was fighting to keep it together.
“Aaron? I just want to be there for you.” I grew very afraid that I’d overstepped my bounds. Until he pulled me into an asphyxiating hug. He buried his face in my neck and I felt him take a shaky breath and let it out.
“Stevie, you are unbelievable. I cannot tell you how much it would mean to me for you to be there when I got back. But I need to warn you. You keep this up? This being perfect? And I’m going to fall in love with you. I might have already, because you’re really killing me right now.”
I laughed, shocked at his pronouncement. Did he really have no one just for him? Stupid, of course he didn’t! “So do we have a deal? You take me to get my car, I go get your grandmother’s medicine and bring it to her, and I’ll wait for you to take care of your brothers?”
He raised an eyebrow and said, “Will you sleep over again? Just so I can hold you, I promise. Nothing else needs to happen. It’s just that last night went by too quickly and I’m not sure I did it right. I might need more practice.”
My cheeks were about to break from smiling so wide. “Ok. But this time, I’m bringing my hair stuff. I don’t want to go to breakfast tomorrow with crazy hair.”
He bit down on his lip for a minute and then he was smiling. He scooped me up in his arms and kissed me deeply.
“You’re incredible,” he said against my lips.
I smiled at him. “You’re pretty incredible yourself. Now put me down so I can pack and make my appointment. We’ll go get my car and then you’ll have to give me instructions on where to go to get her medicine. I have Kaiser, too, but I don’t know where her pharmacy is.”
He pulled out his phone and texted me all the information, including directions back to his place, while I threw some clothes and toiletries in an overnight bag. When I came back over to him at the desk he had the DMV website up on my computer screen. He handed me his grandmother’s card as he was saying,
“It looks like the soonest appointment here would be next week Friday, or there’s one in Hayward on Tuesday.” He wiggled his eyebrows up at me.
“Well, heavens, I wouldn’t even begin to know where that was! It’s too bad I don’t know a Hayward resident who could point me in the right direction.”
He laughed and shook his head at me. “You know, you could have anything you wanted if you keep looking at me like that.”
I winked at him and threw a couple more things in my bag before turning to him.
“Let’s get a move on, McShane. Grandma Samadi needs her medicine.”
His smile warmed my heart. I was determined to keep him smiling like that. It reminded me of the smile his father gave his mother this morning at breakfast. Full of love and affection and the promise of more to come. I could really dig that.
We left my apartment holding hands, Aaron carrying my bag. He put it in the back seat of the Camry and came around to open my door. I kissed his cheek before climbing in and I noticed him touching the spot where I’d kissed him as he walked around the front of the car to get in. The drive to Shoreline took a while because of traffic on 101 South. We spent the drive talking and learning more about each other. I asked him about coming to see the shop and he said he was working tomorrow and that maybe I’d want to hang out for a bit.
“I don’t want to monopolize your time, Stevie. I know you have a life,” he said quietly and I turned to face him.
I placed my hand on his thigh and said, “Aaron, it’s actually the opposite. I told you, I took this time off so I could spend some time figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. Right now, this is what I want to do so I’m doing it. You’re the one who’s going to have to kick me out when you get sick of me.”
He linked fingers with me on his thigh and said, “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.”
I rested my head on that perfect shoulder and just breathed in and out. That’s what life was telling me I needed to do at that minute.
The Rock Season Page 13
