Avoiding Aiden by Chris Cole

Author:Chris Cole [Cole, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14: He Almost

The next day, I set out to Carter’s duplex. I wanted to make a good impression, so I trimmed the hair around my ears, as well as my pubic hair.

Don’t ask me why I wanted my pubic hair nice. I did that before any major event, clearly for no reason.

Okay, so you may think the reason is that I was expecting to sleep with him. But I was not going to sleep with my ex, and help him cheat on Jude. And where I might normally waffle about a decision like that, I was fully prepared to confront him with the truth—that I knew he was seeing someone, and that I saw them together at the university.

Because, of course, ulterior motive. Single Jude is better for me.

I really didn’t want to confront him. That would mean Carter likely mentioning me in name to Jude, who would realize I was Carter’s ex. Then he would be in the awkward position of telling me or hiding it from me. That wasn’t a test I wanted to put him through.

All this was running through my head as I pulled up out front, yet I felt fairly calm. I felt like I could handle it. I kept thinking about being on antidepressants. Were they to blame for this confidence, or was it entirely a mind game I was playing with myself that, because I was taking medication, I expected to do better?

I walked up and rang the doorbell. I looked around the neighborhood as I waited. Carter lived in an area that used to be a separate city and was absorbed into the town. Most of the city of King was established around the railroad, so the roads were all aligned to the northeast and southwest. But Carter’s place was on a road facing actual east and west. The streets were wider, too.

I learned all about it during the time I spent with Carter. He was big into history—it was his minor, after all. He’d spent hours at the library, pouring over all the old documents regarding the land acquisition from the Native American tribes. Well, he called it “acquisition.” I called it “government theft,” but whatever.

Carter opened the door. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

He’d grown a beard since I’d seen him last. It made his jawline look even stronger. It also made him look like he had a chin. I was surprised the news station had let him grow a beard.

“Well, come on in.” He stepped aside and held out his arm, and I stepped into the familiar room that had changed quite a bit.

“You got new furniture.”

“Yeah, my old couch finally bit the dust. I got a deal on this one and the chair, so I got rid of that ottoman, too.”

The walls had been a standard white, but he’d made them a mint green. He’d changed the drapes to go with the new color, and added an accent rug to the hardwood laminate.

“It looks good in here.”

“Thanks. I…I needed a change.”

“Where did you find all the time?”

He shrugged.

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