Joshua cooked for her.
She knocked on his apartment's door, and found him wearing a full chef's uniform. It was all white, like a doctor's, but he had a dark blue apron on top, which Sierra bet he knew made him look ten times hotter.
Girls do love men in uniform.
She blushed when he smiled.She still couldn't believe he was the same little kid who picked his boogers and cleaned them off on his shorts.
"Welcome! Please come in" he said moving aside.
Sierra hesitated for a second, thinking about Aiden's words. She didn't want to feel sad. She hasn't talked to Aiden in two weeks. It felt like a lifetime. She shook her head pretending to touch her hair and walked in.
Joshua's apartment was exactly how she imagined it would be. It had low cream ceilings with small lights, dark blue walls on the sides and a soft green on the back wall. His living room was small, and next to it was a small hall that led to the bedroom. To her right was a bamboo screen that created the illusion of two separate rooms.
The other side had a small four person table and an even smaller kitchen. Sierra looked closer and started noticing all the neatly placed kitchenware. There were knives hanging on a side of a cupboard, two shelves dedicated entirely to spices and herbs and things Sierra didn't recognize. There were pans on the walls and an island with fruit on top. She wondered what was inside the cupboards.
The next thing she noticed was the smell. It smelled like she imagined the set of Chopped smelled like. She recognized the scent of chicken and vegetables, but everything else was intoxicating and new.
Joshua lightly placed his hand on her back and showed her her chair. "I'm so glad you came today" he said walking back to the kitchen, "can I get you something to drink?"
Sierra said that whatever was fine, so he opened a bottle of white wine.
Fancy.
Sierra felt like a grown up, which was both cool and scary.
Joshua asked questions while finishing their dinner, and Sierra had to make an effort to listen because looking at him cook was distracting.
The dinner was glazed chicken with steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes with pieces of bacon and something else, all covered in a delicious gravy.
Joshua was amazing.
Sierra enjoyed the dinner and the conversation.
They had catch up in their previous dates and via text, but there was still so much to say. So much to know.
Still, Sierra felt something was off. As if there was a mosquito flying in the back of her mind.
When dinner was over, Joshua brought out coconut ice cream and asked if she wanted to sit on the couch.
They ate ice cream, watching re runs of friends, which made her think about Aiden. This was their deal. Sit down and eat ice cream watching re runs of either Friends or How I Met Your Mother. The thought made her stomach turn. She didn't want to be sad now, so she commented on the episode and concentrated on Joshua and Joey.
Joshua kissed her on the couch.
His mouth was cold and sweet. She forgot about everything for a moment. She felt good with him. Joshua knew what he was doing and Sierra just followed. Even if the kiss was great, there was still something bothering her.
After a while, she said it was getting late and and she went home.
She didn't sleep well that night. Sierra couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. The next night, right before going to bed, someone knocked on her door.
**
Aiden hasn't slept in two weeks.
The day he and Sierra fought, he stormed out of her house and into his car. He drove away not really knowing where he was going.
He wrote and deleted tons of messages to her, never sending one. He panicked when she was online, and after two days, he decided he wouldn't think about her anymore.
Which of course didn't work.
Clara and Gwen kept telling him that he needed to apologize, but he didn't want to. He missed her, but he knew he was right. They didn't know Joshua, he was going to hurt her. He'd kill him if he does.
They went on two dates, Clara told him, before the date in his apartment. Aiden said he didn't care, but he spent an extra hour at work and two hours in the gym that day. He was jumpy all day and had a terrible headache. He held himself in for a day, but he needed to make sure she was okay. He wished she had texted him when she got home.
The next night he collapsed. He waited all day to call her until he couldn't take it any longer.
He called her.
No answer.
Maybe she's not paying attention to her phone.
He called again.
No answer.
Maybe she's in the bathroom.
He waited ten minutes before calling again.
Nothing.
He couldn't take it any longer. Without really thinking it through, he grabbed his car keys.
**
Sierra was startled.
It was almost 10:00 pm. She walked to the door and asked "who is it?" while looking around for something she could use as a weapon.
"Sierra" Aiden said, finally breathing. "Where the hell is your phone?!"
"Aiden? What are you doing here?"
Sierra was suddenly scared. Did something bad happened? Was everyone okay?
"I just..." Aiden couldn't find the right words. There was so much he wanted to say. "I just needed to make sure you were okay" He rested his forehead on the door.
Sierra didn't know what to think. What to feel.
She knew he wanted to make sure she was okay because he didn't trust Joshua, which made her mad. But also, he drove all the way here to check on her because he cares.
She opened the door. "Do you want ice cream?"
They sat on the steps outside her house eating cold pizza she found on the fridge (probably her brother's) and sharing the last scoops of vanilla ice cream. Neither of them knew what to say.
Sierra rested her head on his shoulder. A simple, yet bonding thing they do when they talk about deep personal stuff.
"I'm sorry" Aiden whispered.
"I'm sorry, too"
"What are you sorry for?" He slightly bounced his shoulder so Sierra's head would bob.
Sierra shrugged, "For being too proud to talk to you first. Sooner."
Aiden sighed, "I'm sorry for that too. And for being too judgy about Jason"
"Joshua"
"Doesn't matter"
They chuckled and it was all a little better.
"How's your girlfriend?"
"I don't know" he answered. "We broke up last week"
Sierra couldn't hold back a smile. She started laughing a little. Then a lot.
Aiden started to laugh as well. Neither of them knew exactly why but it felt really good.
Sierra pushed him playfully and when he pushed her back their faces were inches from each other.
Aiden didn't hesitate this time.
He leaned forward and kissed Sierra, feeling all his worries being lifted from his shoulders.
Sierra felt sparks. It felt like winning a race or the lottery. Like a volcano erupted inside her chest. She realized it was a simpler, shorter kiss than her kiss with Joshua, and yet she felt so much more.
Aiden paced a rhythm and Sierra followed like clockwork. She has been wondering how this would feel like for months, so her expectations were pretty high. It did not disappoint.
Aiden wondered how long he has been wanting to do this. How long has he been wanting Sierra like this. He felt better than he ever felt with anyone else. He ran his fingers through her hair, moving closer to her.
And then she laughed, breaking the moment.
"Why" He sounded hurt but was still smiling.
"We're pride and prejudice. I was proud and you were judgy"
"Would that make me Mr. Darcy?" he flirted, placing an arm around her.
"I think you're more Lizzy. That's what's funny" She laughed harder.
"Hey" he said, pressing his free hand to his heart but then started laughing too. "Not true read the book again. I am Darcy so shut up"
She laughed more.
After a few seconds, their eyes met and she calmed down.
"I should go" he said, eyes glued to her.
"Okay" she answered. He gave her a peck on the lips. Sierra's stomach kept fluttering.
"I'll call you tomorrow"
"Okay" Sierra leaned forward this time. She couldn't form full sentences. He kissed her again.
"I'm going to kiss you again"
They both blushed.
"Okay"