Eventually, Aaron pulled the car to a stop in front of her house. All of the lights were out, and Cadence glanced at the clock on the dash. She'd had no idea it was 11:30. Despite her vow of silence, she decided she would have to speak eventually. She wasn't ready to get out of the car just yet, not as long as he was holding her hand. "Thanks for driving me home," she said quietly.
"Of course," he replied, obviously still lost in thought. He looked at her briefly but then directed his gaze back out the windshield.
"What time are we leaving tomorrow?" she asked, placing her free hand gently on his arm where it rested on the console.
He gave her his attention then, as if the simple question had brought him back to reality. "I want to make sure everyone is well enough to move, but probably in the early afternoon."
"Okay," she nodded. She glanced down at the floorboards then, wondering if her parents would be okay with not getting to see her very much.
"Is that all right?" he asked.
"Yes, it's fine. I just... it's so hard to be here. Nothing is what it was. No one seems to understand... anything. Yes, going home is a good idea," she explained, looking back at him then.
"I'm sorry it's been such a rough day," he apologized, carefully moving a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. "And I'm sorry I was a pain in the ass earlier."
Cadence chuckled. "I can't believe you shot Jack," she said, nodding and looking away again.
"He's fine," Aaron declared, his hand still playing with her hair. "It was just a flesh wound."
The pop culture reference was not lost on Cadence, but she was content to change the subject. "I hate arguing with you," she said most sincerely, meeting his eyes.
"Me, too," he replied. "But I'm sure we will do it again. Probably sooner rather than later."
"Why?" she asked, taking his other hand in hers. "Why are we both so stinking stubborn?"
"I don't know," Aaron admitted. "Just the nature of the beast, I guess. But you don't argue with me over stupid things, at least. It's just, we're both leaders, so we're going to butt heads sometimes."
"But I'm not a leader, not yet," Cadence reminded him, leaning in even closer to him.
"You will be; I'm almost certain of that. Besides, leadership isn't a position. You command the field when you're on it, and I'm not used to that. We'll figure it out." He leaned into her as well so that they were just inches from each other.
Cadence inhaled, breathing him in. He let go of her hand with his left and placed it gently on the back of her neck, his thumb rubbing her cheek. She became extremely hopeful that he was about to kiss her. "Okay," she said quietly. "I don't want to argue with you. Ever again."
"Then don't," he said, his lips grazing her forehead.
"But sometimes you're wrong," she said quietly, raising her lips to meet his. He kissed her, sweetly at first, and then more passionately. She parted her lips and tasted him hungrily. His lips moved to her ear and then her neck. She could feel the passion burning within her, and she wasn't sure how she was going to control it. "You can touch me," she whispered, her teeth pulling gently on his ear.
"I am touching you," he breathed into her neck. He pulled back just a bit, but Cadence caught his lips with hers and began to tug gently on his hand.
"That's not what I meant," she said, releasing his lips and attempting to put his hand exactly where she wanted it.
Aaron pulled back from her then. "Cadence," he said, still only inches from her face, pulling his hand away but placing it back on the side of her face. "I want to do this the right way," he said quietly.
She considered his words but couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. "Okay," she said, though it came out more of a question. She had planned to invite him in; now she thought that probably wasn't such a good idea. Still, despite his words, he was still staring into her eyes. He still looked like he wanted to kiss her. "What's the right way?"
"I'm not sure," he admitted, scooting back a little bit, "but I'm pretty sure it isn't in the front seat of a Lamborghini parked in front of your parents' house."
She smiled. That was probably true. "Do you want to come in?" she asked, holding her breath, almost wishing she hadn't asked.
His eyes widened. "I don't think that's a good idea," he cautioned.
"I mean, we don't have to do anything," she backpedaled, "I just... it's hard sleeping in there. You know, so many memories." She was looking down at the console and not at him anymore, hoping she hadn't said too much.
Aaron sat fully back in his seat now, leaving a good foot of space between them. "I know, Cadence. I'm sorry. But I don't think I could sleep with you again and not sleep with you," he said, no longer touching her.
Cadence considered his answer. This could actually be considered good news, depending upon how one looked at it. "All right," she said, sitting back in her seat as well, straightening her clothes. "I understand."
"I'm sorry," he said, glancing at her but not fully looking at her.
"It's okay. You're right. My parents... my sister.... It's fine."
They sat in silence for a moment. Cadence glanced at the door handle several times, thinking she should just get out of the car. But she couldn't seem to do it. Finally, Aaron spoke up. "Cadence, will you go out with me?"
"What?" she said, turning her head sharply, not sure she had heard correctly. "You mean, like, on a date?"
"Yes," he confirmed. "You know, like regular people. Are you busy Wednesday evening?"
Cadence thought for a second. It really didn't matter what she had planned on Wednesday. She would find a way to be free. Then, she realized what Wednesday was. "That's Christmas Eve," she replied.
He nodded, obviously already aware. "I know. It's just, I have to go out of town tomorrow evening, and I won't be back until Wednesday. So, I won't be available until..."
"Yes, Wednesday is perfect," she chimed in emphatically, not giving him a chance to change his mind.
"Are you sure?" he asked, puzzled at her quick change in direction.
"Yes," she said smiling.
"Well, okay then," he replied, returning her smile. "Wednesday it is, then."
She suddenly couldn't meet his eyes again. The gleaming door handle recaptured her attention, and she felt that it would be very smart to get out of the car. She stayed. "Where are you going tomorrow?"
"Phoenix," he replied. "Same song, different verse."
"Rogue that the locals can't catch?" she clarified.
"Yep, pretty much," he said nonchalantly.
"Are you hunting or consulting?" she asked, finally turning to fully face him.
He was looking at her again now, too. "Consulting. I try not to get too involved when we go out of state."
"You mean, like, when you come to Iowa?" she asked, giggling.
"Well, that's a little different. That was very close by. Besides, protecting you was something I was charged with many, many years ago." She looked at him, eyes wide. "We'll talk about that some other time, though," he said, glancing at his watch as if the time on the dashboard might not be correct.
"All right," she said quietly. She had a feeling it had something to do with her grandparents. But the questions could wait. "I guess you have a date to plan then," she said, her eyebrows raised.
"I guess I do," he smiled back at her.
"You need a secretary," she offered. "I don't know how you schedule all of the things you do."
"Well," he started, looking at her out of the corner of his eye, "most of the time... my secretary takes care of all of that."
"You have a secretary?" she asked, shock evident in both her voice and her physical reaction.
"Yes?" he questioned, almost afraid to admit that he hadn't ever told her.
"Why didn't you ever mention her before? It is a her, right? Is she hot?"
Aaron burst out laughing. "You're gonna regret that question. I don't know. It never came up. She's retired, and she works from home, so it's not like I should have taken you into my office and introduced you or anything. I do have a receptionist, too. Also a nice older woman."
Cadence shook her head slowly. "Last names and secretaries. All in the same day. Who is she?" she asked, but then the answer occurred to her on its own. "My grandma!" she exclaimed. "That's how my parents always know everything, isn't it?"
"Maybe," he replied, giving her an impish look.
"You're lucky you're so damn cute," she said under her breath. "Anything else I need to know about?"
"Not that I can think of," he said after a pause of consideration. "There's just too much information for us to dump it on newbies all at once."
She nodded in agreement. "It is a lot to take in." Once again, she found herself drawn to the door handle. "Well, I should probably go," she said taking a deep sigh.
He nodded, saying nothing.
"Thank you, for everything today. Well, not everything. I mean, not for shooting Jack." She wasn't looking directly at him, but she was pretty sure she heard him snicker. It did sound a bit humorous when she said it in that context. "But thank you for everything else." She was looking at him again now. "Thank you for going to Kash's house with me, for driving me around, for helping me get through that speech." Her mind lingered on the words of the speech for just a second before she continued. "Thank you for being there for me."
Aaron gave her a small smile and nodded. "Of course."
"Okay," Cadence nodded, trying not to look directly at him for fear she might lose control of herself again. Again, she thought about what Jack had taught her, the lesson she had tried to reiterate in her speech today. Her hand was on the door handle. She knew common sense said, "get out of the car now!" And yet she did not. "You know how, in my speech, I talked about how Jack was always trying to spread around 'the good?'" she asked glancing at him to see if he was following. He nodded and so, against her better judgment, she continued. "I just... I've lost a lot of people lately. Sometimes we don't get a second chance to do, or say, something that we really feel like people should know. And, even though it's not a big deal--it really doesn't have to be a big deal--and I don't want you to say anything back--I really don't--I just think you should know--I want you to know. That I love you. Okay, then. Good night," and with that, she bounded out the door, not even giving him a chance to respond.
"Cadence!" he yelled after her, a few seconds after he realized precisely what she had said. But she was quick and out of sight before he could even contemplate chasing her down. It was probably for the better, however, because, try as he might, he could not come up with a suitable response.
