Chapter 139 - She's A Witch
Cameron stepped across the threshold and looked around. This apartment clearly belonged to a hardcore gamer. The furniture in the living room consisted of simple pieces that were almost all black but there were framed posters everywhere.
Vintage ones depicting games from the 80s and abstract art of famous video game characters were equally spaced on the walls. In the corner of the living room about a foot away from the entertainment center was an actual arcade machine that featured both Ms. Pacman and Galaga.
He wandered over to check it out and saw that it didn't require quarters so he decided to play until Aiden was done. He forgot how hard this game was; he died without even completing the first level. Stupid Blinky!
When he did, the high scores flashed across the screen. All belonged to NMLE, a shortened version of Aiden's hacker handle, and the lowest one was 134,450. He couldn't even imagine how many hours this high score list had taken to accomplish.
The video game addict in question exited his lair then and flopped onto the couch. "What's the news?"
"Jennica thinks Ryan likes Keeley."
"Do you think she's right?" Aiden asked worriedly.
"I'm not sure…they looked like just friends to me while I was over there but they do seem awfully close. She was teasing him by elbowing him in the ribs and stuff like that."
"That's just how Keeley is. But she wouldn't do that if she wasn't comfortable with him. I'm not worried that she'll reciprocate if he does like her, I'm worried that—"
"Aaron will go on a rampage and every person in Hale Investments' main branch will freeze to death? Me too," Cameron said with a sigh.
But what could they do? They couldn't stop Ryan from seeing Keeley; they had been friends for a long time. His place in her life was probably more solid than Aaron's at this point.
"The only thing Aaron really can do is try to become more important to her first but I don't know how much luck he'll have; she's so guarded," Aiden mused. "They do seem to have made some progress though. Haven't you noticed he's been a lot happier lately?"
"His version of happy you mean? Where he seems more like a real person than an ice demon?"
"Yeah that. I think she's warmed up to him a lot."
Even if that were true, Keeley didn't like Aaron enough to invite him over to make cookies. That was reserved for her closest friends. He still had a long way to go.
"She has but is it enough? He won't be satisfied being just friends forever."
Aiden smiled wryly. "No, but he's patient. You think he's obsessive now? He went five and a half years without speaking to her because he wanted to protect her while he consolidated his power. He knew exactly when to make his move."
Cameron couldn't imagine waiting that long for a girl. He saw Jennica, liked her, and asked her out. Simple as that. Life was too short to wait and waste chances.
Aaron didn't have that mindset though—he seemed to operate on a different plane of existence than everyone else. It was almost as if time was meaningless to him. He believed in long-term plans and he hadn't failed at one yet.
Sometimes he wondered if the man was omniscient. He always seemed to know exactly when and how things were going to happen and was one step ahead of the curve. Everything about him was strategic, even the way he pursued love.
Love wasn't supposed to be strategic; it was supposed to be spontaneous and unpredictable. Cameron certainly hadn't predicted that he would feel close enough to a woman to want to spend the rest of his life with her after less than two months but here he was.
"What exactly do you think goes on in Aaron's head?"
"No idea but I bet it's terrifying," Aiden predicted. "He's cold, cruel, and rational when it comes to anything but Keeley. I wonder if he like, flips a switch or something inside his brain going from Regular Aaron to Lovesick Aaron. Because they're practically different people."
Different people…that was a good way of putting it. Around Keeley, all of his hard edges seemed to be sanded away into something smooth and approachable.
Love could do that to a person. Cameron believed people could change for the ones they loved—he hadn't been a fan of show tunes before Jennica came along but now he had sat through a dozen Broadway musicals because he liked seeing the way she lit up during them. He was officially whipped, just like Aaron.
"Do you think Keeley knows she has him wrapped around her little finger?"
"Trying to figure out what's going on in that girl's head is even harder than figuring out what's going on in Aaron's," Aiden said flatly. "I haven't got a clue."
"She has to know at this point, I mean, he's practically at her beck and call. You don't think she's taking advantage of him, do you?" Cameron asked, feeling sorry for his boss if that were the case.
"Nah, she's not the type. Remember, just a few months ago she wasn't at all shy about telling him to get lost. If she doesn't like someone, she wants nothing to do with them. He's probably worn her down and manipulated her into friendship by now."
He thought it over. Aaron wasn't stupid, even if he wasn't the most emotionally astute person around. He had dealt with schmoozers all his life; he would know if he was being tricked.
"Manipulative describes him to a T so you're probably right. Have you ever seen those two interact though? I haven't and I'm dying to know what he's like in front of her; we only see him afterwards."
Aiden's expression grew mischievous. "Would you like to find out?"
Cameron grinned. "No way. You have security footage?"
He nodded wickedly. "Yep. Almost every day for the past month Aaron has brought Keeley dinner right outside of her lab at NYU's medical school. They happen to have a security camera at the end of the hall. The audio might not be so great but the video quality is alright."
"You've watched them before?!"
"Remember the other day when Aaron almost murdered us for not telling him about Ryan? I sent her a text giving her a heads up he was in a bad mood and was curious how she would handle it. Let me tell you; it was beautiful. She had him eating out of the palm of her hand."
This he had to see. "Show me."
Cameron peered over Aiden's shoulder inside his lair, which was covered in more video game posters. Little character figurines littered his desk and the tops of his other pieces of equipment. An enormously elaborate hamster cage sat in the far corner.
Aiden worked his magic, typing away furiously until a window playing a video popped up.
Aaron walked up to the door, looking seriously pissed off and holding a bag of takeout. Keeley greeted him with a bright smile and hugged him, instantly thawing some of the ice. Then she actually patted his head! Aaron Hale's head!
He melted like a cube of butter in a microwave and was soft and pleasant the rest of the conversation, patting her head back later on in the video. It looked like a chat between two completely normal people once she calmed him down.
"Unbelievable," Cameron whispered. "She's a witch."
"I know! Can you believe how different he is with her?"
That was astounding but what struck him most was that Keeley seemed comfortable enough to teasingly touch him, just like Ryan. Maybe Aaron had a chance with the woman he loved after all.