Free We Shouldn't and Yet... by Stephanie Witter

seen his father do. “Yeah, I’m with her. Listen, we ordered pizza. Want to grab a bite with us at her place?’’ He frowns and slides a glance my way before he focuses back on the TV. “No, it’s all good. I’ll text you the address. Laters.’’
    I sit upright, my heart beating faster. “Is he coming?’’
    “Yeah, apparently he cancelled his plans earlier today. He was about to go back home.’’
    “Great. I mean, that’s good, I guess. You need to spend some time with him if you two want to connect,’’ I blabber with a sudden bout of nervous energy.
    He shrugs and turns the sound up louder on the TV, oblivious to my change of mood. Apparently, he’s more mad at me for not wanting to talk than I thought. But I’m more concerned by Jensen than Hal’s petty anger. My cheeks are already getting hot. I don’t know if I’m going to manage and play it like nothing happened today. If only Jensen wasn’t Hal’s father I’d be able to talk about this with my best friend.
     
    ***
     
    JENSEN
     
    When Aideen’s door opens I’m not prepared to feel myself react to her so quickly. But seeing her huge eyes, her parted lips and the pink hue in her cheeks make it all the more difficult to keep it in my pants and to keep my hands in my pockets. I’m back to being a damn horny teenager. At my age it’s fucking laughable.
    “Hey, come in,’’ she rushes to say, jerking away from me when I take a step inside her small apartment. If that doesn’t scream ‘back off’ I don’t know what does.
    I’m aware I’m scowling already, but I can’t help it. This woman is driving me up the fucking wall. I’ve spent HOURS thinking over that kiss and now seeing her react this way… I briefly clench my teeth. “Thanks for the invite.’’
    “It’s all Hal.’’
    I nod. “That doesn’t surprise me.’’
    She narrows her eyes at me, her lips once again pursed. “What does that mean?’’ she asks me lower, her voice tight.
    “Nothing, but—‘’
    “What are you mumbling about over there?’’ Hal calls from the couch where he’s sprawled out watching some mindless movie on the small screen of the TV.
    “Pizza! He was just asking for the pizza.’’ Aideen rolls her eyes away from Hal’s probing eyes, but I see it and I can’t help the chuckle. The poor girl is as flustered as I am. At least, that’s comforting.
    I look around and I’m glad to see that her apartment isn’t the dump I feared it’d be. It’s clean with modern furniture that actually matches. The shades of light brown don’t clash as far as I know when it comes to decorating and she seems to have everything she needs for a start. Also, the building is located in a good, quiet part of town, which is reassuring for a young woman living on her own.
    I follow her in to the small living room and sit in the only armchair, leaving her to go back to Hal on the couch, who smiles softly when she presses against his side. I focus on her, intent. She doesn’t have to sit so close to my son since the couch can sit three people, but she is almost plastered against him. Does that mean something? Probably not. I mean, if Hal had made his move and they’d been together he’d be touching her more intimately. I sure would. And Hal wouldn’t have invited me over.
    “I’m sorry I can’t offer you a beer. I have yet to go grocery shopping.’’
    I shrug and lean back in the armchair, hoping that the muscles in my back would stop bothering me. I’m aching pretty much everywhere today and I don’t know what is real and what comes from my shitty mood. I massage my bad shoulder with one hand and touch my bruised cheek with the other.
    “What happened?’’ Hal asks me with an amused curiosity. The kid is always having a blast when I tell him some story of shoplifting.
    “Some punk ass kid thought it would be fun to punch a man three times his size when said man is stopping him from leaving the mall with an unpaid video game. Fun