How this Hippie Fell in Love

Chapter 6

I pulled into the long driveway with flowering trees lining either side. The long driveway expands at the top, circling a three tiered fountain and ends at beautiful stone steps.

The Gray house is larger than most in our town, a few thousand square feet, six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large finished basement converted to a movie theater, and an inground pool. I never understood the appeal of a house this size, especially for a family their size. That's William Gray though, he is nothing if not flashy.

I sat in my yellow Beetle steeling my nerves.

A solid five minutes must have passed by with me just staring at my fingers, willing myself to knock on the door. A tap on my window startled me from my reverie.

"Don't just sit there, Carter, we got s**t to do!" Aidens deep voice called through my window.

Aiden stood next to my passengers door peering in. He's tall, 6'3 with a slender but muscular build. He has sky blue eyes and short blond hair that he keeps spiked in the front.

I rolled my eyes and opened the car door. "It's not like either of us want me here anyway." I said slinging my bag over my shoulder.

An expression I can't read passed over his face before he straightened his shoulder and said "Let's just get this done."

Aiden walked up the stone steps and opened the door. I have been inside here before, the Gray's host parties that for some reason we are always invited to. My assumption is Mr. Gray likes to remind my dad what he gave up by working non-profit.

The inside of their home is just as beautiful as the outside, but much less warm and inviting.

The bottom floor of the house has white marble flooring and white walls. There's a literal red carpet leading from the front door and up the stairs immediately across from the entry way. Sheer red drapes hang from the windows and a vase of red roses sit on a circular table just to the left of the stairs. A large glass chandelier hangs from the high ceiling. The red accents are all that save your eyes from the blinding whiteness.

I always dislike the parties I was forced into attending. "Don't be rude, Emma" they'd say. "We were invited" they'd guilt.

The adults always stayed in the parlor drinking and talking, while the "children" entertained ourselves.

Aiden led the way upstairs.

"Where are we going?" I asked, having never been in the upper floor.

"My room." Aiden explained nonchalantly

"Why can't we just work on it down here?" I asked feeling uneasy with the idea.

He ignored me and kept walking.

"Be real for a second. What are the odds you're going to kill me?" He turned and smirked.

"What? And get blood on literally the whitest house in America?" He rolled his eyes and made a right at the top of the stairs.

The red carpeting ran down both sides of the long hallway.

His bedroom was at the last door at the very end.

He placed his hand on the doorknob, paused, and turned to look at me.

"I know entering my bedroom has probably been a lifelong dream of yours, but no photographs and keep your hands to yourself." Aiden's confident, crooked smile punctuated his words.

I crossed my arms and perched on one hip, clearly not in the mood for his antics.

He opened the door and I was surprised by the amount of personality his room held. His walls were painted a charcoal gray, with the exception of the blue accent wall behind his bed. He has football posters and half naked women on skateboards and rollerskates.

His king sized bed was across from his private bathroom and on the opposite side of the room was a walk-in closet.

"You can sit there." He stated nodding to the plush office chair by his desk.

I sat down and grabbed my pink laptop from my bag.

Aiden shook his head and smirked.

"What?" I asked a little taken aback.

"Such a f*****g hippie." He said laughing at the dove and peace sign stickers adorning my computer.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

"What do you want to do our project on?" I asked "Feet binding, neck elongation,toxic masculinity, plastic surgery…?" I continued, trailing off when I noticed the gleam in his eyes.

"How about we look at beauty standards from the Renaissance." Aiden suggested

"That seems like an oddly specific and distant time frame. You don't want to do something more recent? Maybe something you'd be more interested in?" I suggested motioning to the scantily clad women decking his walls.

He shrugged his shoulders and whispered "I'm far more interested in curves and the softness of non-silicone body parts." He finished with a wink that sent a shiver down my spine.

I composed myself and said "Funny, I didn't think Callie had any real body parts left."

"Touché" he said laughing and shaking his head. "The wifi is AJ is awesome and the password is AJ rocks. Both A and J are capitalized."

"Of course it is." I sighed.

The rest of the afternoon passed quietly. Both of us doing our own research on our respective devices and only speaking to ask a question.

Aiden is smarter and better at research than I expected, there was information and pictures he found that I wasn't able to. He plays the dumb jock role so well I may have misjudged him a little… but only "may" and "a little".

"Who are you going to homecoming with?" Aiden asked out of the blue

My head snapped up to look at him. "What?" I asked surprised

He shrugged his shoulders "Who are you going with?" He repeated

"Um no one." I responded shaking my head

"What? Why?" Aiden practically demanded sitting up on his bed.

"No one has asked." I admitted quietly

"Yeah, I don't have a date either." He agreed

I scoffed "Not for lack of options."

"For a lack of viable options." He countered looking affronted. "I'm sick of girls like Callie, who use their looks as a crutch. Girls who wouldn't be caught dead reading 'Where the Crawdads Sing'." He explained standing from his bed making me nervous.

"I want someone with substance. Someone I can have a real conversation with." He continued moving closer to me.

"I have to go." I whispered, packing my things away.

I stood and tried opening his door but a large hand held it closed.

Turning around I was acutely aware of how close Aiden's body was to mine. Regret was staring back at me.

"Emma, I'm sorry." Aiden breathed leaning down to rest his head on my shoulder. Instinct took over and I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders.

It's in my empathetic nature to comfort those around me. Somehow this felt different though. Something about Aiden felt different. He genuinely felt remorse for everything he had said and done over the years.

He stood up straight and ran his fingers through his hair. "Follow me." He commanded opening the door behind me.

"I don't think…" I stuttered, backing away.

"Emma please." Aiden pleaded. He said my name with a desperation I wasn't ready for. He grabbed my hand and led me through his massive hallway, downstairs, and into his garage.

A part of me feels uneasy but in the same breath I felt like he wasn't going to hurt me.

Aiden backed out of his garage and turned around in the driveway so he could pull out to the road. We spent the drive in silence. I didn't dare ask questions and he didn't feel the need to explain.

I watched the trees and houses pass by my window- a familiar path I have trekked my whole life. We're heading to the trails. Probably to easily dispose of my body.

"Don't be stupid, Emma!" I mentally chided myself.

"Um, the lot is over there." I said nervously as Aiden pulled on the side of the road.

"I know what I'm doing, Emma." Aiden chuckled.

He stepped out of the car and all I could do was sit there frozen. I rested my head on the headrest, eyes closed and popped each of my knuckles individually trying to ease my nerves. After my fifth knuckle I could hear footsteps in the dirt and rocks outside Aiden's Jeep. The door opened and I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"This is the part where you get out." I looked to my right and saw him leaning in with a smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes and pushed passed him to get out.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, my arms crossed defensively.

"You'll see." He said dismissively

"I don't want to see, I want to know!" I demanded, sounding more confident than I expected.

"Do you trust me?" Aiden asked seeming a bit annoyed.

"No." I answered bluntly. He looked a little dejected at my honesty. I don't trust him and I will not lie to him and say otherwise.

He sighed and said "I guess I deserve that." While rubbing the back of his neck. "You don't trust me, but will you at least believe I won't hurt you? I know I have no right to ask it…"

I thought for a second and going against my better judgment, I nodded and signaled for him to keep walking.

He led me through a dense section of trees and white flowering bushes. The green leaves were just starting to change to various shades of yellow, orange, and red. I'm not super coordinated so walking on ground this uneven was precarious.

We walked for a solid thirty minutes, sweat was collecting at my brow, making me glad I wore comfortable clothes. I held a stitch in my side trying to focus on the leaves and flowers instead of how out of breath I am. I glared at the tall figure ahead of me who seems to be having no difficulty maneuvering the rough terrain.

Another couple minutes passed with my glaring at his back when my counterpart came to a stop.

He turned and smiled at me, his blue eyes dancing with excitement. "This is my secret spot." He said, stepping aside to show a beautiful grassy, flowering field on the banks of a small waterfall.

I sucked in a breath at how beautiful the scene was.

Aiden stepped closer to the water, removed his red Nike high tops and socks, sat on the bank and dangled his feet in the water. He had the foresight to wear khaki shorts so he didn't have to worry about rolling up pant legs.

I, on the other hand, wore jeans so I did have to roll them when I took a seat next to him looking at the falls. We sat in silence, listening to the sound of running water, and wildlife buzzing and chirping around us.

"How did you find this place?" I asked finally. I looked over and saw him looking intently at me, a foreign emotion playing at his eyes.

"I was really just wandering around, not really wanting to go home, I parked my Jeep and did my best to get lost for a while." He shrugged, looking at his feet in the water.

"This is your secret spot?" I asked and he nodded looking straight ahead. "Then why did you bring me here?" His jaw tensed a little but his expression didn't seem to change.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I lifted my feet in and out of the stream, admiring the way the sun made my pink nail polish shine.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aiden smirk at my actions. "What?" I asked, nonplussed. He just shook his head.

"I have spent our entire lives being so mean, so cruel to you and I don't fully know why." He started to explain. "There's nothing wrong with you. There's no reason for me to not like you." He sucked in a deep breath just as I realized I was holding mine.

"William and Winifred are assholes, Emma. The older I get, the more I realize it." He continued. "My parents hated those 'hippie losers' and tried to instill those values in me." He used air quotes around the slur, leading me to believe those were not his words.

"I don't hate you, Emma. In fact, I really like you. You're beautiful and smart, you are so smart, funny and just nice." He continued. "You are just so nice to everyone, even when they don't deserve it. I envy you." He admitted. "You are free to be this free spirit. You can pursue your passions and not care what anyone, your parents especially, think of you." He finished, but I felt like there was more he wanted to say.

"I'm so sorry, Aiden." I said staring into his blue orbs.

He shook his head and laughed. "Why are you apologizing? I have been nothing but a d**k to you for fourteen years and you apologize?" He asked.

"I'm sorry that you had to grow up in such a toxic environment." I explained "I'm sorry that your dreams and passions were crushed. The Aiden I was friends with, as brief as it was, in preschool was sweet and funny." I rested my head on his shoulder, something just told me it was the right thing to do. I felt him kiss the top of my head and I knew things were different now. I have no idea what Monday morning will bring, but at least at this moment, we're okay.