And You Sold Me

“Eric,” Aiden Rutherford mumbled softly, trying to crane her neck around the boy who was attached to it. She was trying to draw a sketch but the boy who had pulled her on his lap was keeping that from happening. “Eric, stop it. I have to do some work.”

“Baby come on, do it later,” he mumbled sweetly, biting the skin of her collarbone.

Aiden placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away. She looked into his blue eyes ignoring the pout on his lips, “Do you not take this seriously?—because unlike you, I actually have to worry about my job—or lack thereof rather. I need this internship, Eric, and you distracting me isn’t going to help me get it.”

Eric grunted and pushed her off of his thighs. She caught herself on the balls of her feet picking up the sketch book that she had dropped in the process. She tossed it down on the table and placed her hands on her dainty hips staring at the brunette boy, “Babe,” he spoke and she could tell he was upset. “I’m only in town for a week—a week that ends tomorrow I may add, so I’m sorry for wanting to spend as much time with my girlfriend as possible.”

“Don’t you guilt trip me, Halvorsen. It’s not my fault that I have work to finish! That’s why I was trying to do it when I figured that you would still be sleeping on your lazy butt,” Aiden spat back.

“My lazy butt?” Eric scoffed. “Do you not realize how tiring it is to go on tour? I was on a four month tour, Aiden. I am exhausted and all I wanted to do was fly out to Los Angeles where I could spend one relaxing week with my girlfriend who I haven’t seen in months. I’m sorry for wanting to see you, maybe I’ll just go.”

“How about I’ll help you pack?” She retorted, walking into her bedroom and grabbing his suitcase. She began picking up his clothes that she had discarded onto the floor during the past week’s nights and shoving them in sloppily.

Eric walked in the room just behind her, grabbing her hand as she packed the clothes. “Baby,” he said softly, gathering her into his arms. She tried to fight him but stopped after a few moments. Her small weight was nothing compared to his. “I don’t want to leave yet, Aiden.”

Aiden felt a blush creeping up her neck as his hands played with the silk of her night gown. She turned in his arms and smiled up at him as he smirked down on her. The room was beginning to light with the rising sun and the small window allowed the shine to cast a shadow on Eric’s features. She looked down sheepishly, “I’m sorry I keep packing your bag.”

Eric’s laugh rang out through the room, “You’re lucky I know how much you love me or else I may take offense to that.”

Aiden giggled softly, pressing up on her toes and burying her face into her boyfriend’s neck, “I don’t want you to leave, don’t worry. I’m sorry—I’m just getting really stressed. I’m trying to get this internship at Chanel this summer and I just—

“Honey, shh,” Eric smiled, holding her tighter against his chest as he saw stress cover her tanned cheeks. “Just calm down, okay? Do you want me to let you get back to work?”

Aiden bit her plump pink lip softly, before nodding her head slowly, “Go back to sleep for a little bit, okay? Besides it’s only five in the morning. I’ll wake you up at seven and treat you to breakfast?”

Eric smiled a bit and kissed her lips lovingly, “If you’re cooking naked.”

Aiden laughed and brushed his brown hair off of his forehead, “How about breakfast in bed, hmm?”

He yawned quietly before grabbing her rear, “Makes it so much easier for where we’ll end up anyways.”

She giggled gently before pressing her lips to his tenderly and pulling away. “I love you, now get some sleep baby. It’s going to be a long day when you wake up. I’m taking you out.”

Eric grinned sleepily before his eyes started drooping, “Sounds great honey. I love you.”

Aiden smiled as he walked his shirtless torso over to her bed and curled back up in the white sheets. She exited the room and walked into the living room of her condo where she picked up the sketch book that she had previously been working on. She traced the edges of the high-waisted skirt she had drawn, using a pink colored pencil to color flowers that she imagined on the pattern.

She drew intently clearing her mind, but every so often her thoughts would drift to the boy sleeping in her bedroom. What would she do when he was gone?

Arizona was far away from here and she, no way in Hell, would be returning with him. Tempe was the bane of her existence and she promised herself since the day she escaped it she would never return—not even for Eric. She knew it was selfish, but she had a life here in L.A. She loved the city lights and the constant sound of cars honking and roaming the streets.

She loved seeing celebrities as she walked down the street and shopped in all the stores she was now able to afford after a few photo shoots and she loved the fact that with all the people around she never was alone long enough to feel abandoned. Being surrounded all the time allowed her to avoid the thoughts that had been trying to plague her for years.

L.A. was the perfect runaway.

*

“Well, that was interesting,” Eric commented as he held Aiden’s hand tightly.

She chuckled softly, tucking a blonde strand of hair behind her ear, “You don’t have to like it, honey. I understand that you may not—just like I honestly am not a huge Beatles fan. You don’t have to like my artsy crap.”

“I still don’t understand how you don’t like The Beatles. They revolutionized rock and roll,” he said shaking his head softly from side to side.

The couple walked away from the art exhibit where they had looked at hundreds of photos that Eric viewed as confusing and pointless but meant everything to Aiden. She had always been able to find the beauty in everything around her without a second glance. Meaning was in the eyes of the beholder.

Aiden wrapped her arm around Eric’s as they walked down the busy road that lead back to her condo. The lights from the skyscrapers above them lit up their eyes and they loved one another’s company. She smiled as he turned to face her with a pout on his lips.

“I am Gregorio Velasquez,” Eric spoke in a moody, pouty, cliché fashion designer voice. “Who are you wearing, Miss Aiden Rutherford?”

She smirked, stifling a giggle, “Why don’t you take a guess?”

He smirked at her and brought her in front of him, tickling her waist. He placed his lips at her ear, speaking seductively, “Something I plan on taking off as soon as we enter your apartment?”

“Gregorio!” Aiden exclaimed, slapping his arm playfully, “How inappropriate of you.”

“Mm, Gregorio can’t help himself. He just wants to devour you,” Eric smiled, picking up her waist and carrying her small frame up the stairs and to the elevator doors that were closing quickly. He caught them with his hands and walked them in, Aiden’s laughs echoing in the halls of her community building.

“Gregorio! Put me down at once,” she laughed. “I have a boyfriend, sir!”

“Oh you do, huh?” Eric asked, placing her on her feet and cornering her against a wall. “Well, haven’t you always dreamed of having a love affair, darling?”

Aiden smiled, narrowing her eyes, “Only with you, honey.”

Eric grinned before leaning down and pressing his lips onto hers, pressing her against the wall of the elevator. They pulled away gasping for air as the doors opened and the bell rang, announcing their arrival onto the eighth floor.

They walked down to condo four and Aiden opened the door as Eric began pulling her blazer off her shoulders and kissing her neck softly. As she shut the door behind them she was soon being pushed against it forcefully, her boyfriend towering over her with a smile on his lips.

She bit her lip before wrapping her arms around his tan neck and bringing his mouth crashing down onto hers. Their tongues found each other instantly and their breathing became constricted. They left a trail of clothes on the way to her bedroom, falling against the walls as the practically sprinted to her bed. Within a short matter of moments he was on top of her and in-between her, their moans in synchronization. They switched positions multiple times, practically falling off her bed a few times, and after many more moments they collapsed next to one another with their chests heaving.

Eric turned to her and smiled, pressing his lips to her sweaty forehead, “I love you, Aiden.”

She kissed him back sweetly, enjoying his minty taste, “I love you, Eric.” They laid there for a few moments in silence just holding tightly to each other, their legs mixed under sheets. Aiden pouted as she thought of the day in front of them, “Baby, don’t leave me tomorrow.”

Eric’s smile turned to a grimace as he looked at the frown on his girlfriend’s lips, “Aiden, can I ask you something?”

“Of course you can, Halvo—you know that.”

He smiled softly, “I like it when you call me that…anyways, I—would you come home with me? I really want you to meet my parents.”

Aiden’s stomach tightened. Instantly she was met with feelings of the hot sun beating down her neck and making her feel sick. “Eric,” she warned quietly; he knew what she would say but it didn’t mean he stopped asking her.

“Aiden, I really want you to meet my family…they want to meet you too. You know they can’t come out here, and you have all the time in the world right now and I just—I’d really appreciate it. And plus, I’m sure your mom would love to see you sometime,” he said gently, trying to convince her of what she desperately despised even thinking about.

“Why is this so important all of a sudden, Eric? Just a few months ago it wasn’t that important if I went to Arizona,” she said softly, trying to keep tears from her eyes.

“I—I, look I’m going to be straight forward, okay? I plan on marrying you one of these days, Aiden Rutherford, and I want to make sure my parents have the chance to love you as much as I do and that you guys well, click. I need to make sure it’s all perfect, you know?”

Aiden couldn’t help but to blush as he spoke so truthfully to her and she knew that she would regret her next words more than anything, “I’ll have to come home immediately if I get the internship you know?” She mumbled.

Eric grinned and his grip on her waist tightened, “I love you, Aiden. Thank you.”

“I love you too, Eric,” she whispered softly, trying not to let her ultimate fear get the best of her.