Chapter 107 - Aiden's Theory
Aiden had far too much fun ribbing Cameron about his not-so-subtle crush on his neighbor in the cafeteria the day after Halloween.
How could he not? The first thing he did after sitting down was ask everything he knew about the girl, trying and failing to look nonchalant about it.
"Well, what do you know already? I don't want to repeat information unnecessarily," he said in a teasing tone.
Cameron sighed. "Literally all I know is that she knows how to dance, loves Halloween, is from Ohio, and got a parking ticket earlier this year."
"That's not much."
"I know, that's why I'm asking you," he said impatiently. "So?"
Aiden leaned back in his seat leisurely and stretched. "What will you give me in return?"
His friend scowled. "Don't be like Aaron; it doesn't suit you."
"I'm waiting," Aiden said in a singsong voice.
"I'll tell you what I heard from Keeley last night at the Halloween party that only deepens the mystery of our boss' love life. Happy?"
He rubbed his hands together eagerly. "I can't wait! But yeah, Jennica's a pretty straightforward person. She's a small-time actress but recently landed a decent role as an understudy Off-Broadway."
How else to describe her? She was sarcastic but also had a soft heart and was fiercely protective of her friends. She loved animals and had a bunch of pets growing up so she doted on Keeley's cat. Her favorite food was sushi.
Aiden honestly didn't know much about her since he saw her least often of all his across-the-hall neighbors. When she wasn't in a show, she spent most of her time holed up in her apartment. He saw Keeley and Valentina, who were always coming and going, much more frequently.
He told all of that to Cameron, who was only slightly appeased. "You've lived across from her for two years and that's all you know?"
"I told you, I don't see her much. She's a cool person though as far as I can tell," he said with a shrug. "So…what happened with Keeley?"
Cameron set down his sandwich before spilling the beans. "First of all, you were right. She's completely average—cute, friendly, and a little funny, but nothing worth obsessing over. Second…do you know of her friend Ryan?"
Ryan…the name sounded vaguely familiar. Aiden twirled his spaghetti around on his fork. "What does he look like?"
"Brown hair, hazel-green eyes, chipped front tooth."
He nearly jumped out of his seat. "That's the guy! The one I told you about; the one who went drinking with her after she stayed at Aaron's place!"
"Well, he seems pretty close to her. They danced together during the couples skate portion of the party and later he mentioned he knew something about her ex-boyfriend so she definitely trusts him. He knows her roommates well too."
Hmm. Aiden knew he was friendly with her roommates but the other things were news to him. Was Aaron aware of this guy's existence?
"Don't tell me that's all."
"It's not," Cameron continued. "She also used 'I never want to get married' as one of her truths during Two Truths and a Lie. Claims it's partly because of her ex and partly because she wants to focus on her career."
That…made a lot of sense considering what she told him in the elevator the night she got drunk.
"Not surprising. She told me not to ever fall in love because it isn't worth it on the day Ryan took her home from the bar. The real question is—"
"Who the ex is," his friend finished. "I know. Aaron's fighting for a lost cause. She still seems pretty hung up on that guy."
Aiden's brow furrowed. This didn't make sense. He watched her like a hawk when she was in college. As far as he knew, she never even went on a date. Mostly she hung around with Valentina or in large groups.
There was no way she had a boyfriend then and it seemed even less likely now that he was her neighbor. He never saw any guys around her apartment but Ryan and even that was only every few months.
Aaron fell for her in high school…the ex must have been from before then or Aiden would know about it.
A strange, unlikely thought hit him. "Do you think…it might be Aaron?"
"Impossible," Cameron scoffed. "You said she hated him from first sight and he's been chasing after her ever since. When would they have had time to date?"
He had a point. But…what if that wasn't their first meeting? What if Keeley hated him because she remembered him from earlier on? It would make a lot more sense for Aaron to be hung up on the one that got away than a random girl who always hated him.
"Hear me out—what if they dated before high school and we just didn't know about it? Wouldn't that explain a lot?"
Cameron thought it over. "I guess your theory could work…but it seems a bit farfetched…"
"I know Aaron's cocky but wouldn't his confidence that he'll win her over make more sense if she had already liked him once before?" Aiden asked eagerly. He was getting more and more convinced that they had met prior to high school.
"More to the point, Keeley's a pretty reasonable person. She wouldn't hate someone she just met for no reason!"
"You're overthinking this," Cameron said before taking another bit of his lunch. "He's Aaron. Not exactly the warmest person around. He probably pissed her off somehow during their first meeting."
Aiden didn't buy it. He knew Keeley. As far as he'd seen, there wasn't a single person in the world she disliked other than Aaron. She wasn't the type to hold grudges.
"Cam, listen! First impressions are easy enough to change. Especially with how much effort he's put into wooing her, wouldn't she have cracked by now if she didn't have an actual solid reason to hate him?"
"What would you consider an 'actual solid reason'?" he asked boredly.
If they were together before…what would be a valid reason to hate Aaron? In all the years Aiden worked for him he never saw his boss so much as look at another woman so there was no way he cheated. His unswerving loyalty was almost fanatical.
"I…don't know. Unless he dumped her? Girls get pretty pissed about things like that."
Cameron clearly thought he was nuts. "Why on earth would Aaron Hale, the coldest person we know, dump a woman and then decide he wants her back years later to the point of near insanity?"
That was a flaw in Aiden's theory. He frowned. There had to be more to it.
Ever since he first found out about the love of Aaron's life, he had been dying to know how such a normal person caught his fancy. His curiosity only grew over the years, especially once those two met again and Keeley clearly didn't like Aaron.
"You have a point. But I'll get to the bottom of it someday," Aiden declared resolutely before returning to his spaghetti.
Cameron simply shook his head at his friend like he was crazy.