I Know What I'm Doing Ch. 02

I watched him talking and eating enthusiastically and for a moment let my guard slip; and imagined what it would be like to tell stories of memories we'd built together over the years.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to share his home, his laughter and his stunning coffee till the day he became too old to balance on that surfboard of his anymore? And I could definitely live with the thought of being held forever the way he had held me after Mark's phonecall.

That's when the total horror hit me, the irreclaimable catastrophe: I'd fallen in love with Aiden Montgomery. I'd lost my heart to a beautiful man who'd promised me nothing.

My breath caught in my throat and I nearly choked on a cherry tomato. Aiden looked concerned as he rubbed my back and handed me my lemonade.

"Could we go?" I asked between coughs and sips. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"Sure, no problem. I've got you." He went to go pay at the register, so we could leave immediately.

I didn't see Tannie Emma approach and gave a start when she slipped into the booth opposite me.

"You feel bad? The lunch is not good for you?"

I quickly shook my head. "Oh no, Tannie Em! It wasn't the food at all; in fact, the lunch was amazing. Thank you."

"Then it is the love?"

This time I choked without the cherry tomato. "What?" I rasped.

"Dis in jou oë, kind. I see love in the way how you looking at our Aiden. Now I think you feel it and cannot fight it, so it takes away your breath."

What do you do when the truth slaps you through the face; how do you deny it?

"I think I should keep my eyes to myself then. Soon your Aiden will find a nice girl to fall in love with and where will that leave me?"

"Or maybe he will find you."

I snorted, then coughed again and had to reach for the rest of my drink. "I wish."

The words slipped out so easily the full implication of my admission only hit when I looked up into Tannie Emma's twinkling eyes. "You can't tell him I said any of this."

"Don't worry, seun; I don't need to say a word. You must know already that there is so much what you both know without knowing."

I waited a few seconds for the sense in that last statement to reveal itself to me, but it didn't; so I chalked it up to a moment lost in translation. Aiden came back and, after a kiss on Tannie Emma's cheek from both of us, we left.

The Merc glided smoothly up the hill and Aiden played a Norah Jones cd which was an unexpected surprise. He was like a dormant volcano, so overwhelming; and I'd expected his taste in music to follow suit. I was reasonably mellow the whole way home, focused on pushing thoughts of my little chat with Tannie Emma as far back in my mind as I could. I failed.

I turned to Aiden. "What did you mean by 'marking your territory'?"

He smiled at me as he parked the car in front of the house and got out. "You're like a dog with a bone with that question. Come on."

I got out. "Because you won't answer me."

"I think you already know the answer."

"And I think I need to hear you say it before I make up my mind about what I know, Aiden."

"I have been telling you, babe. You're just not listening."

My lips and brow scrunched into matching furrows while he searched his pockets for his keys. Finally I gave a decisive shake of my head. "No, you haven't. Name one thing you said that's been clear about-"

"Well, how about this?"

His lips descended on mine. Lemonade and love, that's what he tasted like as he slipped his arm around my waist, leaned me against the door and set about leisurely exploring me. Oh sweet heaven, how was I supposed to resist a man who could kiss like this? I had just lifted my fingers to play in his thick hair when the door opened behind me. I would've fallen on my behind if Aiden hadn't tightened his hold on me.

"I thought I heard your - Yikes!"

Aiden and I jumped in shock and faced the redhead in the long, yellow, bohemian-style dress. I noticed that her feet were bare and her toenails painted a pastel blue. Somehow, it all came together to make her look radiantly summery. Her grey eyes took us both in as she quickly stepped out and closed the front door behind her. I stepped out of Aiden's arms awkwardly.

"Er, Aiden, it is sooo good to see you. Especially about ten seconds ago. Been up to much? 'Cause I can already tell that this is going to be the funnest Montgomery Christmas yet." She beamed up at the man beside me.

"Hey, Mike." Even the great Aiden Montgomery couldn't keep from blushing as he kissed her cheek. "I didn't know you guys would be here this early. I'd like you to meet Ethan Gray, my er... Ethan."

"Nice to meet you, Aiden's Ethan." The woman seemed to glow and light up the space around her. "I'm Michaela - Mike, the sister-in-law. Aiden might've mentioned me during one of the moments when his tongue wasn't down your-"

"Mike!"

I tried to talk, really I did. "Um. Um. Uhhh..."

Michaela's head cocked curiously to the side. "Oh dear. Is he alright, Aiden?"

"Yeah." he rubbed my back as they both watched my meltdown. "He does that sometimes."

I finally got a sentence out, "He's not gay!"

Michaela's eyes widened before she let out the most musical laugh. "I'm sorry, gorgeous, beautiful though you may be, even I can tell that You are no girl." Her smiling eyes dropped to the obvious bulge in my pants, "Nope, definitely not."

My shame heated all of me and every visible patch of skin turned maroon. I instinctively turned to hide my face in Aiden's shoulder. He put a large palm to the back of my neck and held me to him.

"Enough, Mike. Where is everyone? Obviously I'm going to need to tell them... something about all this. But you leave Ethan alone until I do."

"Aw, it's ok, gorgeous," I felt her hug me from behind. "This'll be a helluva wowzer for everyone, believe me. But we Montgomerys tend to roll with shockers - you should too. We've been worried about him, but I think this may be a very good sign. I mean, it's quite obvious that Aiden lo-"

"Mike. The family. Where are they?"

"Out on the back verandah, guzzling all your ice tea. All except for Gram and Gramps. She said something about going down to the beach; he followed to make sure she doesn't pick up any young studs in her new purple swimsuit... Oh thunder, I should warn you: your ex-betrothed is here."

I felt a chill trickle down the entire width of my back as Aiden stiffened against me. "What?" His growl was black and unreadable. "Why the hell is she here now? She knew the family would be here today, that's why we agreed that next week would be a better time for her to come."

"She told us you wanted her here; and asked if she could come along with us. Sorry, bro."

Aiden grunted something inaudible, speaking over my head as if he'd forgotten about me already. Michaela didn't get to respond as children's shrieks and laughter bounced around on the other side of the door just before it swung open again.

"Mom? Uncle Aiden!" A dark-haired boy and a red-headed girl nearly bowled me over as they flung themselves at Aiden. Then I found myself in a group hug they didn't seem to mind sharing with me.

"Aiden, is that you?" an older woman's voice called from inside.

"Guess we're going in." Aiden's composure seemed to have returned a little. Seeing him in control calmed me too somewhat.

Michaela gave a gleeful clap, but subdued herself when Aiden ordered, "You. Quiet."

"No fair. How come?"

"Because anomalies like 'funnest' and 'wowzer' readily fall from your lips when you part them."

"Funnest isn't a real word. I told her so, Uncle Aiden," the boy stated sombrely.

Aiden was bundling the children and me through the door and towards the kitchen. It would appear that quite a clan had made the trip from Cape Town to Aiden's verandah.

Aiden's mother, a slim woman with blonde and white hair that glinted in the afternoon sunlight, rushed forward to kiss him. I was surprised when the bear of a man beside her, obviously her husband, kissed him too before hugging him. Then a slightly older-looking, less muscular version of Aiden hugged him before stepping back to smooth the creases in his chinos. His grandparents entered the backyard via the gate that opened onto the private beach. They were in phenomenal shape, especially his grandmother. She was an almost exact copy of his petite mother, only with completely silver hair and a deeper tan. Her husband's eyes were a lighter shade of jade than hers.

Everyone was laughing and talking at once and they even hugged me hello, which I thought was a mistake in all the chatter and excitement, then realised it was just the way Aiden's family was. Them of the blazing green eyes. Well, all except for Michaela.

Speaking of whom, "Hey, Aiden, you cretin. Aren't you going to introduce your Ethan to everyone?" Her smile sparkled as she winked at me.

"Yes, uh... Mom, Dad, this is Ethan Gray. He's, uh, my guest. Ethan, my mother, Gwen; and my father, Greg. My grandparents, Karin and Shaun. This is my brother, Chris; you've met Mike; and these are their kids, Kyle and Melanie."

"I'm almost eight!" piped up the little girl. "My brother's eleven, but he's had his birthday already. Mommy says mine is gonna be soon, after the holidays. Do you like the Power Puff Girls? Daddy said I can have a Power Puff party - you can come if you want."

"Don't be silly, Melon." Kyle interjected. "Boys like superheroes, not girly cartoons."

"And Power Puff also! They can, can't they, Uncle Aiden?"

Michaela petted her hair sweetly, "Of course boys can like the same things that girls like, Melon. It happens all the time. Now, how 'bout you two go and get your pyjamas ready? It'll be bath-time soon." She smiled innocently up at Aiden as the kids ran past us.

"So, Ethan, how long have you and Aiden known each other?" Gwen Montgomery seated herself beside her husband, while Chris went to make sure his kids didn't cause mayhem inside.

"Um. Um. Uhhh..." Oh, for the love of English!

Michaela touched my hand.

Aiden pushed me into one of the chairs and took the one next to me. "It's complicated, but we met 5 years ago. It's a long story - one we do need to talk about."

"Bloody hell, five years?" his grandmother was dusting sea sand off her bare feet. "Why have we never met him before, boy?"

"That's exactly what I need to talk to everyone about - in private. Dad, could we-"

"Hello, my darling. I didn't realise you were home."

A stunning brunette was standing behind us in a silk blouse tucked into tailored pants. Confidence and elegance poured off her as she leaned down to wrap her slender arms around Aiden from behind and kiss the corner of his mouth. This had to be his fiancée. I couldn't believe the audacity she displayed, considering the line she had crossed.

Aiden had tensed up at the sound of her voice, but I didn't exactly witness him fighting her off. I couldn't breathe. Maybe she knew what she was doing after all. Her large chocolate eyes were possessive as she rounded the chair and planted her supermodel-type tush in his lap and leaned in for another kiss. I almost knocked my chair over as I jumped up.

"I- I- will go." I needed to before I strangled this flawless bitch who clearly felt Aiden was hers to kiss. And definitely before I burst into tears.

"Ethan, wait. Carolynn, you haven't said hello to Ethan. Ethan, Carolynn."

My stomach coiled and turned inside out as I looked at them together, the picture of complementary sensuality and beauty. Upon seeing her, I realised that there was a strong chance that she would get Aiden to forgive her. Who wouldn't forgive such a stunning creature and fall for her every time they saw her?

She looked disinterested as she nodded at me. I was used to that reaction from good-looking, confident people. They were quick to see that I was no match for them and immediately dismissed me. Well, except for Aiden; and his family.

"Hi... Um, Aiden," I could barely meet his eyes. "I really think I should go. Pack, that is. Maybe Dan could help me find another place to stay?"

"No." He seemed irritated as he pulled Carolynn's arms from his neck and stood. "You're staying."

I balked at the thought of having to watch Carolynn touch him whenever she wanted and win him back, treating him the way I could only dream of doing. It was going to be bad enough fighting images of them in bed together when I'm out of this place. "I don't think that's a good idea. Your family will need to use the guestrooms; and I truly don't mind-"

"I said no. Not with what you're dealing with. I'll figure out the sleeping arrangements."

"I, for one, don't mind sharing." Carolynn's purr verged on the obscene as she pasted herself to Aiden and ran her fingertips along his stomach.

"Yes, we know." Karin grumbled. Carolynn's eyes were two furious slits as her cheeks turned red. Karin's husband hushed her with a stern look while Mike's eyes watered with the effort it took to bite back a smile.

"There's more than enough room, son." Greg Montgomery stated, "Besides, it's only for tonight. Tomorrow we're off to the Eastern Cape until just before Christmas."

"I'm not." Carolynn's gaze was like a laser, peeling away at my flimsy defences. "I'm exactly where I want to be."

I left without a second thought.

***