Chapter Five: Living

Chapter 5: Living

"Casse, they are done with breakfast. Do you remember how to get to the great room?" Chloe asked on her way past the kitchen, arms loaded with curtains. "I was going to go back up, but I have to get these done."

"Yes, I remember. Thank you." Taking off her apron, Casse left the kitchen by the back entrance. Up a winding staircase, used mainly by the staff, and out onto the second story hall.

The Great Room was just that. It was a large space with several different seating areas and a wall of windows. Directly in the middle of those windows was a small, temporary dining table. It has recently been laden with eatables but not only held the remainders of the tea she had prepared and a few crumbs of the muffins she’d made. There was nothing more satisfying to her than the sight of empty plates.

Walking across to clear the table, Casse noticed an article of clothing had been left behind. A burgundy jacket, high-end, tailored to fit someone with a broad build was left laying across the back of one of the chairs. Looking around to make sure she was alone, Casse slipped it on. It felt wonderful. It felt expensive. It was way too big, covering her past the tips of her fingers, but the stitching was perfect and the smell...

She stopped feeling the jacket and looked at it closely. It looked so much like Aiden's jacket from this morning, which was ridiculous because he'd be wearing it.

"Probably power walking through the office right now, stopping hearts, and starting fires and never even knowing it." She finished her thought out loud as she did most times at home by herself. Except she was neither at home, nor was she any longer by herself. Casse lifted the long arms of the jacket to her nose again, inhaling deeply.

"It does smell like him, though." She took it off and laid it back across the chair, stroking the fabric before turning away. Gathering the dishes in the basin she carried, she made her way back to the service stairway and down to the kitchen.

Chloe watched from the patio as Casse was clearing up the tea service. She wasn't sure if Casse knew what was going on, but having heard the conversation that took place at that table earlier, she sure did. She’d tried to get Casse up there before the breakfast had broken up by claiming she had to replace curtains. She had forgotten, however, how slow pregnant people walked tended to walk.

Back in the kitchen, Casse placed all of the dishes and utensils back in their places. She took pride in leaving that beautiful kitchen the way she found it. Clean. Pristine. Perfect.

"Grandma, I'm leaving!" She called up the stairs as she had been instructed to do. She started when the older woman came from the library off to her left.

"Oh, do you need a ride?" She asked the same question every night.

"Nope, this is the walking my doctor keeps telling me I need to do." Same response.

"Alright, have a good night."

"Will do." Casse paused on her way out the door. Looking back she could see the boss standing in her usual spot, but with a different kind of smile on her face. She didn't ask her nightly question either.

"Do you feel alright?" Casse asked.

"Yes, why?" Ms. Waterston pasted on a fake smile and smooth facade in an instant.

"You didn't ask me to make you something special....and you didn't tell me to make sure I take care of my babies." Casse squinted her eyes at the fake innocence radiating off of her employer.

"Oh, old mind. Make sure you take care of those babies." She smiled.

"Okay, what's going on? Am I fired? Did your grandson hate the muffins?" Casse was calm at the prospect of being fired, but really worried to think that someone hated her Breakfast-In-Bed muffins.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant to tell you that he loved them, dear. He takes after me in his descriptions. He thought they tasted very sexy." The older woman winked.

"Ok, Grandma, I'm leaving. Cut it out." She waved over her shoulder, and left quick in case the older woman remembered she hadn't told her what her male friend had said.

"Such a blessing." Casse stepped off the bus, and walked straight into the lobby of her building. All smiles and a wave to Mr.Gregory who sat, eating his dinner behind the front desk.

"Night, Mr. Gregory. Are you always here?" She pressed the call button and waited.

"No, I'm just getting here. I get here just before you get off the bus, and he gets in the garage." He pointed with his fork toward the doors where Aiden was just walking in. Aiden raised his hand in greeting.

He carried his jacket over his arm. The black shirt looked even nicer without the jacket, it highlighted the almost dramatic taper from broad shoulders to small waist and brought attention to the flecks of onyx in his ears. His hair was impeccably styled as always and she thought his naturally tanned skin...glowed maybe? She needed to stop. Pulling her eyes away, she stared at the elevator doors, waiting for them to open.

"Long day?" Aiden stood close enough for her to feel his body heat. She took a small step away and smiled up at him to hide her retreat.

"Yes. Rolls, biscuits and banana bread. Each enough for a week. And then, her grandson messed up my count." She shook her head, thinking back to the redistribution process.

"Really? Was it bad?" His eyes danced with amusement as the elevator doors opened and they got in.

"You don't know this about me, but I have a problem with things being off. Way off, is okay, but a little off bothers me." She shook her head, at the thought.

Aiden coughed into this jacket to hide his laughter. She was a mess. A perfect mess.

"Okay." She spoke out of nowhere and placed her hand on her stomach, her brow furrowed.

"What?" He looked down at her belly as well. Had it grown?

"I think it's just Braxon Hicks." She wrinkled her nose in discomfort and handed him her tote so she could rub both sides while she practiced some relaxation breathing.

Taking the tote quickly, he shifted his jacket and exposed the bag of takeout food he was carrying.

"Whatcha got?" She smiled, up at him, cutely. Still rubbing her belly, now also blowing out through her mouth and squinting with one eye.

"No. What's happening?" He was frowning down at her as the doors opened onto the 3rd floor. Mrs. Metz got on holding her 2 year old granddaughter's hand.

"Hello, young people." She pushed for the 5th floor. She was heading to her daughter's apartment to return her grandchild.

"Hi, Mrs.Metz." Both said, in unison. Casse was still rubbing her hard belly.

Without asking Mrs. Metz reached out and touched Casse's stomach, pressed around a bit and nodded.

"Braxon Hicks." She nodded, to herself. "If you was married, like the universe intended, your husband could rub that out for you." She didn't look at Casse until the elevator stopped and she got off.

"But, you don't." She turned her sour face to her grandchild and smiled sweetly, walking the little girl to her mothers door.

As the doors closed, both Aiden and Casse still looked after the old woman.

"I hate her guts." Casse said. Her cramp was gone, but now she rubbed her stomach because she felt protective.

"What the hell just happened?" Aiden was still shocked.

His shock broke the tension, and allowed Casse to laugh at the situation. The elevator doors opened onto their floor as she explained to him Mrs Metz's belief system and her need to let others know what she was thinking, right then and there. She didn’t care if they wanted to hear it or not.

"So basically, I'm lustful, hell-bait and I deserve whatever pain comes my way." Her summary ended when they got to her apartment.

"That's ridiculous. You don't deserve to be in pain and I don't believe you’re hell-bait." Aiden's eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Get outta here." Casse laughed and pushed his arm, fully aware of the part he'd left off.

"I will, because you asked me to. I was going to share my dinner with you...but I'll go." He lifted the takeout bag that she had forgotten and the smells coming from it filled her nostrils.

Swinging her door open wide, she walked across the apartment to the bedroom.

"I can't eat in my uniform. I'll be right back." She gave him the full wattage smile over her shoulder and maybe switched her hips a little more than normal.

He watched her leave the room then gave himself a mental shake.

"Get it together."

After changing 4 times, Casse decided on red and black mickey mouse joggers and a black tank top. She felt it was modest without being weird, but it also showed her figure...in a good way.

When she came into the living room, the food containers, chopsticks, forks, water bottles and napkins were already on the table. Aiden was at the mantle trying to choose which of her cd's to put in the player. She stood next to him and laughed, as he rolled his eyes repeatedly at her selection.

He held up one case in particular and groaned. Kpop.

"Really?"

Casse laughed, as she lowered herself to the floor beside the table.

"They are awesome, I'll have you know."

"Right. Because you just follow them because of their music." Aiden, began opening containers, doing all he could to keep his mind off of all the places Mickey Mouse was and how well that tank top fit her.

"No, not exclusively. I am a lover of all things aesthetically pleasing."

"See, Mrs. Metz is not all wrong about you." He laughed as he dodged a fortune cookie.

"No. She's a nut."

They ate their meal, without music. They talked and laughed about everything from their worst work related experiences to their worst relationships. Her ex-husband Edmund was definitely hers. His was a woman he wouldn't name, but said he still sees often but doesn't speak to. Casse made a face at that and drank some water.

"Jealous?" Aiden asked, a hopeful expression on his face.

"How? You're not mine to be jealous over." But she didn't look at him and busied herself opening a fortune cookie. She read the little slip of paper that came free as she chewed the crunchy, tasteless shell. Your Future Is Right In Front Of You, Claim It. Blinking with surprise, Casse looked at him and tucked it under her leg.

"Wait. Show me." He held out his hand.

"No. Read your own." She picked it up when he reached for it.

"I'm going to read mine, but I want to see yours. It's gotta be good if you are hiding it." He started to crawl over to her side of the table. He looked dangerous coming for her in his suit trousers, and earrings. He'd loosened his first 2 buttons of his fantastically fitted shirt.

"What are you doing?! Stop...no!" Casse knew she couldn't get up fast as she was laughing outwardly and panicking inwardly which made her all but immobile. Her babies weren't helping either.

She put the slip of paper down her shirt and stared at him.

Aiden sat back on his heels and looked from her face to her cleavage.

"I could still get it." He held her eyes for a second, then winked and crawled back to his side of the table.

“Whatever.”

Casse began to straighten things up around them. All the containers went into bags and bottles went into other bags. Then she saw another container on the floor.

"We missed one. What's that?"

"Oh, this is a dessert. It's for you." He put the styrofoam clam-shell on the table in front of her, his eyes fixed on her face.

"You wanna share?"

"No, I already had one. Thanks though."

Casse smiled at him. Her eyes stopping on his hair, pulled back from his face, still styled for the work day. His black shirt, expertly tailored to his body, covering everything and leaving nothing to the imagination. Thankfully he was sitting with his knees drawn up. She mentally shook herself. Must be the hormones.

Aiden grinned as she tore her eyes away from him. She had openly ogled him and didn't even know it. This was not the first time. More than becoming used to it, he was starting to look forward to it.

He watched her open the container and her fork paused. She cut it in half and looked at the muffin inside with open confusion.

"This is mine." She said as she opened it to see the cream cheese and orange marmalade in the center.

"I know." Aiden crossed his legs and leaned forward resting his elbows on the table and his chin on the backs of his hands. Across the low table, they were directly at eye level with one another.

"But where did you get it? I made these at work today for my boss and her..."Casse's eyes snapped up to meet his, then to the door where his jacket hung on the knob.

"Surprising, right?" He was still watching her, waiting.

"No. You said your last name is Choi."

"My mom's name. It's a hyphen thing."

"My boss is your grandma?!" She was struck dumb for a second and then it hit her. She had told his grandmother the whole story about her man friend tasting her dessert and telling her what it tasted like. Her boss' last remark about her grandson getting his descriptive words from her, saying foods can be sexy. It all came back to her.

Casse leaned back, supporting herself with her arms, and inadvertently turning Aiden's attention to not only all of the smiling mickey mice, but also back to her cleavage. Her eyes followed his and she tried to change position quickly.

"Ow!" The cramp caught her off guard. She couldn't sit up properly to rub it out because she was already leaning back when it started. Aiden slid behind her.

"Relax. You can lean on me. Tell me where." He reached across and placed his hands lightly on her belly. The heat of her came through the thin cloth of her tank top instantly. Her belly was like steel wrapped in silk...soft, but very hard underneath.

She put her hands over his, and started massaging in small circles. Her breath hitched at times, and he tried to focus only on the circles. After about 30 seconds, her belly softened and the babies pushed back against his hands. He went perfectly still.

"How am I going to face her tomorrow?" Casse, tried to cover the fact that she was trying to move away from him with a groan. Aiden leaned down and rested his chin on her shoulder, linking his fingers just below her navel as if he were accustomed to it, effectively holding her in place. He was not letting her get away.

"I have a better question?" His breath was warm against her cheek, traveled down her neck and into the low neckline of her shirt, raising all the small hairs in its path.

"What? What's your question?" Casse stammered, then her voice came as a whisper.

Aiden left one hand on her belly, and used the other to turn her face to his. He locked eyes with her while the hand that still rested on her belly began to move, slowly tracing a line back and forth with his thumb. He leaned close enough to kiss her but stopped there, looking in her eyes for his answer.

"Do you promise to tell me the truth?" His hand on her face, also took up the slow strokes that his hand on her belly started. She felt the rhythmic movements all the way to the soles of her feet.

"Yes. What...?" He stopped her question with a very light kiss. Her lips were soft and warm against his. He pulled back and waited until she opened her eyes.

"Cassiopeia Mariposa King, did you look?"