Until May (Until Her/Him #11)(61)



“So what did he say?” Toya asks when I walk over to where she’s standing.

“He said yes, then gave me a hard time about him not meeting you yet.”

“I already like this guy.”

“There is a lot to like,” I tell her honestly, and she gives me a soft smile.

“All right.” She claps her hands. “Let’s get these kids packed up so we can get out of here. I need a drink and food.”

“Me too,” I agree, then I call out to everyone in the gym and let them know it’s time to start putting stuff away and that we will get back to it tomorrow after school. It takes some time for everyone to get packed up, so I end up getting home later than I thought I would, and when I arrive, Aiden is standing on the front porch, waiting for me.

After I park my car, I grab my bags off the passenger seat, and he opens my door, taking them from me before I even have a foot on the ground. “Fuck, I missed you today.” He hauls me against his body as soon as my ass is off my seat, and I wrap my arms around him.

“Is everything okay?” I ask softly and feel him nod.

“It was just a long fucking day.”

“It was,” I agree, tipping my chin up as he lowers his mouth to mine. “Are you sure you’re up to dinner with Toya tonight?”

“Yeah, doll, I’m sure.” He takes my hand and walks with me up to the front door. As soon as we get inside, both Cooper and Dozer come to say hi, and I take a minute to give each of them some love before standing to take off my jacket, resting it on one of the chairs at the island.

“I need to change, then we can go.”

“All right, I’m going to send a few emails while I wait for you.”

“Five minutes,” I tell him, and I catch his soft look before I head for the bedroom, where I spot Bella and Blue asleep on the end of the bed. I stop to give them a cuddle, but neither of them are happy with my attention, so they take off out of the room, probably to go annoy the dogs, which seems to be their new favorite thing.

It takes me less than five minutes to change into a pair of jeans and sneakers, so when I walk into the main room, Aiden is still on his computer. I expect him to take the time to finish whatever it is he’s doing, but as soon as I walk out of the room, he shuts the lid on his laptop and smiles at me. “Ready?”

“Yep, have you been to Miller’s before?”

“I haven’t.”

“You’re going to love it, it’s one of my favorite places in town.” I put on my jacket while he grabs his from the coat closet, then pick my purse up off the counter before we head for the door.

I send a text to Toya, letting her know we’re on our way, and she messages back that she and Tony are pulling into the parking lot at Miller’s and that they’re going to go in to see if they can get us a table. The drive takes less than five minutes, and when we arrive, I unhook my belt, then look over at Aiden when I realize how quiet he is.

“Babe, what the hell is this place?” he asks, looking at the metal building with two huge silos out front.

“You’ll see. Just trust me.” I hop out of the truck, unwilling to wait for him to come around and open my door and meet him at the tailgate. “Come on.” I grab his hand and drag him through the parking lot, then down the sidewalk to the glass door of the building. As soon as we step inside, Tony is there to greet me with a bear hug that lifts me off the ground.

“I’ve missed you, girl.”

“Okay, okay, let her go before her guy hurts you,” I hear Toya tell her husband, and he laughs, placing me on my feet, then I feel Aiden’s hand meet my lower back.

“Guys, this is Aiden.” I look between my two closest friends, then tip my head back to introduce Aiden. “Honey, my best friend Toya, and Tony, her husband.”

“And May’s friend.” Tony reaches out to shake Aiden’s hand, and Toya rolls her eyes.

“Listen, if my husband gets to manhandle your girl, I at least get a hug from you,” she sasses, giving him a squeeze he returns with a chuckle but without hesitation.

“Did you guys get a table?” I look around. Not surprisingly, the place is packed, not just with people our age but with couples with kids, and groups of old men hanging out, standing around tables, and drinking beer.

“Not yet. There are tables in the back that are empty, so I figured we could just put in our orders and get our drinks before we go find one,” Toya says, heading for the bar.

“So this is a restaurant?” Aiden asks me as we get in line.

“Kind of, but kind of not. You order your food at the bar along with whatever drinks you want, and they give you your drinks, then send you a text when your food is ready. And you pick it up from there.” I point to the food truck that is set up next to the front door. “During the day, this is a working brewery.” I show him the silos in the middle of the building and huge industrial shelves that line the walls stacked with cans of beer. “They ship their beer all over, and I don’t know who thought of opening it up to the public in the evenings and serving street food, but they were a genius. I’ve never seen this place empty. It’s just a cool environment that isn’t a bar but also isn’t a restaurant.” I shrug, then look around when I hear someone call my name.

“Oh, Lord,” Toya mutters, and I see why when I spot Zach getting off his stool at the table he’s sitting at with a woman and start coming our direction, the medical boot on his foot hardly slowing him down.

Aurora Rose Reynolds's Books