by Andi James
Liam cleared his throat. "What are you having?"
Right. A different bartender had waited on Aiden when he'd first sat down, so Liam needed a drink order. Aiden quickly looked up and into Liam's eyes, which were crinkled at the corners from the easy smile on his face.
"Seltzer with lime."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "No alcohol tonight?"
Aiden gave a dry laugh. "I don't know how many more of these dates I'll have to go on. I figured I should give my liver the night off."
"I see." Liam chuckled as he added more ice to Aiden's glass, then started making his drink. "Who knows, maybe your Prince Charming will appear tonight."
Aiden glanced at his phone. "I'm starting to think he might not show at all. He's officially twenty minutes late."
Liam winced. "Ouch. Maybe he's stuck in traffic?"
"Yeah, could be." Aiden thought maybe he should be embarrassed to tell Liam he might be stood up, but he wasn't. Liam was easy to talk to, and honestly, Aiden would be fine with Rain not showing. "I figure if he's not here by the time I finish this drink, I can leave."
"Sounds like a plan." Liam set Aiden's drink on the bar. "Want anything else while you wait?"
Aiden smiled at Liam. "Nah, I'm good for now. Thanks."
Liam nodded and headed down the bar to wait on other customers.
Aiden got lost catching up on news stories on his phone, and before he knew it, another twenty minutes had passed. He hadn't even realized he'd finished his drink until he went to take a sip from it and came up empty.
Aiden looked around the bar, then craned his neck to scan the tables. Still no sign of anyone resembling Rain, so Aiden mentally declared the night an official bust. He stood, pulled a twenty out of his wallet, and tucked it under his glass, then decided it was best to use the facilities before heading home.
Aiden headed down a hallway that had a Restrooms sign above it. There were two doors marked as universal stalls, both decorated in large, ornate holiday wreaths. Aiden tried the first one and found it locked, so he moved to the second. As he was reaching for the handle, the door flew open, and a set of shimmery jingle bells made contact with Aiden's head.
Aiden stood there, stunned, as a laughing couple spilled into the hallway — the same couple he'd been observing earlier at the bar. He slowly lifted a hand to his temple and rubbed the spot that was already forming into a knot, not surprised to see blood on his fingers when he inspected them. He could feel a drop of it crawling down his face.
"Oh god, are you okay?" the shorter of the two people asked. "Fuck, you're bleeding. I'm so sorry."
They looked to the other person. "Can you go get a manager or something? He probably shouldn't be walking around a restaurant dripping blood."
The taller one nodded and took off. Aiden tried to wave away the person peering up at the spot above his left eyebrow. "I'm fine. I'm sure it looks worse than it is. Head injuries always bleed a lot."
"Still, it doesn't look great. I'm really, really sorry."
Aiden gave them a small smile. "Please don't worry about it. Accidents happen."
"Here, let me at least get some paper towels from the bathroom before it gets on your shirt." They turned and walked into the stall, the door closing behind them.
Aiden slumped against the wall and let out a deep sigh. He started practicing the speech he was going to give Chelsea about how dating was physically harmful to him, so he obviously had to stop doing it, holiday party or no.
The bathroom door inched open before the person inside slipped out and shoved a wad of wet paper towels into Aiden's hand. They gestured at their own jaw. "It's like, down to here."
Aiden nodded and started wiping off the blood. "Thank you."
Movement from the hall entrance caught his eye, and he saw Liam striding toward him, his brow wrinkled.
"Aiden? Are you okay?" Liam stopped in front of him and gently grabbed Aiden's wrist to pull his hand away from his head, exposing the wound. Liam winced when he saw it. "Well, that looks painful. Come with me, and I'll get you fixed up."
Aiden just wanted to go home, take some Tylenol, and crawl into bed. "It's fine. I live just a couple of blocks away. I'll clean up there."
Liam shook his head. "I'm afraid I have to insist."
The look on Liam's face made it clear Aiden wasn't going home right then.
He pushed himself off the wall and nodded.
Liam wrapped his hand around Aiden's bicep and guided him farther down the hall, then around the corner. "My office is this way. I have a first-aid kit in there."
Aiden let Liam position him so he was sitting on what he supposed was Liam's desk. He watched in silence as Liam retrieved a decent-sized kit from a cabinet, set it on the desk, and started pulling on a pair of gloves from it.
"You really don't have to—”
"Aiden, you were hurt in my bar. Humor me for a minute, okay?"
Aiden sighed, but then Liam's words registered. "Wait. Your bar? As in you own the place?"
Liam let out a soft laugh. "Yep."
"I hadn't realized."
Every time Aiden had seen Liam, he'd been dressed like all the other employees and had been working behind the bar. Until two minutes ago when he’d learned Liam had an office, he'd just assumed Liam was a full-time bartender.
Suddenly, Liam's insistence on seeing to Aiden's head made more sense.
Liam unwrapped an antiseptic wipe and took Aiden's chin between his fingers. His eyes flicked from Aiden's to his injury and back. "This will probably sting."
"Noted."
Liam dabbed the wipe on Aiden's cut, seeming to take care not to press too hard. Aiden found himself watching Liam's face, which was scrunched up as if he was concentrating on performing a delicate surgery.
"How'd this happen?" Liam asked. "The customer said you got hit in the face with a pinecone?"
Aiden shrugged. "It might have been the jingle bells, but yeah, that's an accurate summary." He recounted the accident to Liam, who stopped what he was doing and frowned at Aiden.
"Both of them were in the bathroom? I'll have to talk to them about that the next time they're in here."
"It doesn't mean they were doing anything they shouldn't have been." Aiden wasn't sure why he was defending the couple.
Liam resumed cleaning Aiden's cut. "Maybe, maybe not. A quick word with them won't hurt anything either way."
"I guess that comes with the territory of being a bar owner, huh?"
"Yep." Liam tossed the wipe into a trash can by the desk and unwrapped another. "They wouldn't be the first people I've caught in there, and they won't be the last."
Aiden chuckled. "I believe that."
Liam cupped Aiden's jaw with his hand. "Tilt your head back for me a little. Yeah, like that."
Aiden bit back a wince when Liam hit a tender spot. “What made you decide to open this place?”
“I don’t know, I mean… I just love it, you know? Life is hard sometimes, and I feel like a great bar is somewhere people can get away, escape life for a while and just have fun. As a society, we don’t focus on fun enough.” Liam chuckled. “Listen to me, on my soapbox.”
Aiden smiled. “It’s fine. I admire your passion, to be honest. I never thought of it that way, but you’re right. It’s not like when we were kids and we would hit the batting cages when we needed social interaction or to blow off some steam.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m at The Umpire Strikes Back at least once a month.”
Aiden could just picture easygoing Liam swinging for the fences. "So, do you own other bars too?"
"No." A smile spread across Liam's face. "This is my first, and it's more than enough to keep me on my toes right now."
"It does seem to always be busy. Which I'd guess is a good thing."
Liam laughed. "Definitely a good thing. I think I might have lucked out. Kind of a right place, right time situation."
Aiden thought about it for a second. "Timing might play some role, but you'
ve got a good thing here. It's nice while still feeling comfortable. The kind of place people can easily spend hours in."
Liam's eyes met his. Aiden hadn’t noticed the flecks of gold in them before.
"Thanks. That was my goal. I didn't want something too pretentious."
"And as someone who lives in the neighborhood, I thank you for it."
Liam laughed. He threw away the second wipe and got out a bandage. "How's your head feel? Are you dizzy or nauseous? I probably should have asked you that earlier."
Aiden was distracted for a bit, watching Liam's forearms flex as he opened the bandage packaging. "Um, no, nothing like that. I've had a concussion before. This is just a bump to the head."
Liam tsked as he applied the bandage with a tender touch. "Not gonna lie, it's definitely a bump. I’d like you to put some ice on it for a bit before you leave here.” Aiden groaned, and Liam laughed. “Or, we could take you to the hospital and you could ice it there? Good news is, the cut really isn't that bad. It's almost stopped bleeding. I don't think you need stitches."
Aiden could barely feel the cut over the pounding where the knot had formed. Honestly, icing that area would probably at least dull the pain, and he’d do pretty much anything to avoid a trek to the ER.
"There you go." Liam stepped back and removed the gloves. "All set. Hang tight, and I’ll grab you that ice.”
Liam slipped away, and Aiden took a moment to scope out the little office. It was cozy, but didn’t feel crowded. The desk was covered in papers and unopened liquor bottles and several small, framed photos. Aiden was leaning closer to get a better look when Liam came back in.
“Luckily, ice is something of which we have an abundant supply.” He stepped close to Aiden and gingerly placed a white towel full of ice on Aiden’s head.
Aiden winced, and Liam cringed.
“I’m sorry. I know that hurts.”
Aiden reached up and took the ice from Liam, holding it to his own head. “I’ll be fine.” He gestured to a white book on Liam’s desk. “I loved that one when I was a kid.”
Liam grinned. “Me too. Well, still do, obviously.” He reached for the copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends.
Realization dawned on Aiden. “Is that where you got the name for the bar?”
Liam’s eyes widened. “Yes! No one has ever put that together before.” His smile was contagious. “Seriously. Not even my parents, and I was kind of obsessed with those books as a kid.”
Aiden smiled back. “Me too. I read them all so much they started to fall apart.”
“Same. I even named my pet turtle Shell Silverstein.”
Aiden’s heartbeat quickened. “You had a turtle?”
“Still do. Shell is kind of my partner in crime.” He shrugged. “I’ve just never really connected with more conventional pets.”
Aiden had never met someone who thought that too. “Well, it’s a brilliant name.” He cleared his throat. “For a turtle and a bar.”
“Thanks, Aiden.” Liam paused. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Is it about my uncanny ability to be wounded by festive decorations?”
Liam chuckled. “No, but that is a talent that impresses me.” He looked intently at Aiden. “What’s up with the dating marathon?”
Aiden looked away.
“I mean, I know you said your friend was setting these up for you, and that’s really nice of her. I was just wondering why.”
Aiden sighed. “The short answer is that I have a holiday party I’m required to attend for my company on Christmas Eve.”
“And the long answer?”
“That my ex and his new boyfriend will be there.”
“Oh.”
“I’ve been doing a really good job of avoiding talking to him even though he works at my firm now, but I don’t think that will be an option at the party.”
“And these dates are… what?”
“My way of trying to find someone to go to the party with me. Kind of cushion the awkwardness.”
Liam was silent.
“Chelsea thinks it will help.”
“But what do you think?”
Aiden wasn’t sure what he thought anymore. He sighed.
Liam’s lip twitched into an almost smile.
“What’s that smirk? What do you think?”
Liam shrugged. “I think you’re going to a lot of effort to accommodate someone you aren’t with anymore.”
Aiden knew he was, but the idea of facing Justin alone — and whoever Justin was calling baby now — still gave him a rash.
“Well, I hope you find someone, if that’s really what you want.” Liam looked at his watch. “It’s been about ten minutes. I think you’re good to go.” He took the ice from Aiden. “You should ice it again when you get home.”
Aiden stood. "Thanks, Liam."
Liam smiled at him. "You're welcome. Just do me a favor and give all holiday decor a wide berth on your way out, okay?"
Aiden chuckled. "Will do."
He started to walk out of Liam's office when Liam said, "And Aiden?"
Aiden turned around. "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry your Prince Charming didn't show."
Aiden nodded and left, realizing he'd practically forgotten he was ever supposed to meet with Rain in the first place.
Chapter 6
Aiden opened his front door, glared, and tried to close it before Chelsea could come inside. He was too slow though. She managed to squeeze past him, acting like it was perfectly normal to strong-arm her way into someone's residence.
For her, it probably was.
She turned to Aiden and smiled brightly, holding up a bottle and multiple brown paper bags. "I brought takeout from Jade's. And yummy wine."
Aiden rolled his eyes at her obvious attempt to butter him up. Still, he took the bags anyway and set them on the island in his kitchen. He wasn't going to turn down food from his favorite Chinese restaurant.
Chelsea had been out of town for a couple of days on a girls’ trip she’d planned months ago and had texted Aiden an hour earlier letting him know she was on her way over. They had work to catch up on for a big case, but Aiden knew none of it would get done that night, just as he knew the real reason Chelsea wanted to stop by — to grill him on all the details of his most recent dates.
She'd tried getting information out of him through texts while she’d been gone, but he'd sidestepped all of her questions. He was still holding a little bit of a grudge over her response to his story about getting hit in the head by the wreath on the bathroom door. She'd wound up laughing so hard she'd fallen out of her chair, and every time she'd caught sight of the bandage on Aiden's temple after that, she'd started humming “Jingle Bells” under her breath. He hadn’t found it nearly as amusing as she did.
Aiden began unpacking the many food containers, and Chelsea leaned against the counter next to him. "Hey, your head is looking a lot better. It's almost entirely healed."
Aiden glanced at her. "Thank goodness. It's been really fun to explain to the last three guys you set me up with."
She put a hand over her mouth, obviously trying to hide a laugh.
"It's not funny, Chels," Aiden whined. "None of this is."
She patted his arm. "I know. Except… it actually is funny at times. Like, a lot of the time."
Aiden grabbed two plates and handed one to Chelsea, then started scooping sesame chicken and lo mein onto his.
"I'm so glad you're finding amusement in this. But I'm not in it for the laughs, Chels. I'm just trying to get through being single during the holidays for the first time in years. And that includes this awful holiday party for work."
She started to interrupt, but he continued.
"Yes, I know. I agreed that bringing a date was the right thing to do, and that means finding a date. I get it. I just didn't realize what the reality of that would be like."
Chelsea opened the bottle of wine and poured two glasses. They settled onto the stools, and Aiden dug in. He was star
ving, having only had time to inhale a protein bar for lunch that day.
"I know it's been a while since you've dated, Aiden, but have you really forgotten how awful it can be? Sometimes you have to go through a lot of duds to find someone even halfway reasonable." Chelsea reached past Aiden for more soy sauce. "And we're in a time crunch here, so you're getting all of those duds one after the other."
Aiden sipped his wine, a refreshing, chilled pinot gris. He usually wasn't much of a wine drinker, but Chelsea had good taste and rarely brought something he didn't like.
"I don't even know if duds is the right word. I would ask where you're finding these guys, but I already know. I think you need some sort of stricter screening policy because I have nothing in common with them."
Chelsea waved him off as she swallowed a bite of spring roll. "Sure, if everyone told the truth on their profiles. But they don't. So I've been selecting men who have cute photos and sound like they can at least attempt to carry a conversation." She laughed. "Consider yourself lucky you haven't had to deal with all the dick pics I've sorted through."
Aiden pointed his chopsticks at Chelsea. "You better not be choosing my dates based on dick pics. I mean it, Chels."
She batted her eyelashes at him. "I'm not! I swear. Only one so far."
"What? Which one?"
"Oh, I'm definitely not telling you that. But I think you'll know if things go far enough with him. So if they do, be sure to report back to me."
"Chelsea." Aiden put as much warning into his tone as he could. "I swear to god. These have already gone bad enough. At this rate, I'm not even going to kiss any of these guys, let alone do more with them."
Chelsea was quiet for a few minutes while they ate. She pushed her plate back and put her elbow on the counter, resting her head on her hand. "Aiden. You know you're not looking for like, a husband, right? Just a date to a holiday work function?"
"Yeah, I know." Aiden sighed. He did know he wasn't looking for some serious relationship. Or… he knew he wasn't supposed to be. It was hard though. Every time he met up with one of Chelsea's dates, he couldn't stop himself from wondering if he could have more with that man than the one blind date. And as soon as the answer was no, Aiden lost the will to put in more effort.
