Engines, Radiators, and Gaskets Oh My

While Aiden worked on the popcorn I sat down and started perusing the movies. I couldn't believe how many were on his DVR. The microwave dinged just as I picked one of my favorites. He came and sat down on the other side of the couch putting the popcorn between us.

"So, what are we watching?" He asked as he got adjusted.

"One of my all time favs A Very Merry Mix Up." I could have bounced in my seat from excitement.

"That's one of my favorites too. Alright let's get it started." I pressed play and tucked my knees into the hoodie. Halfway through the movie warm and cozy from the cocoa and the hoodie, I snuggled into into the couch and dozed off. It was the first night in months I didn't have that dream. In fact I didn't have any. I woke up comfortable and well rested with light filtering through the windows. Yawning I stretched and took some time to analyze my surroundings. I was at Aiden's....I was in Aiden's bed. I sat up a little more than confused, I was pretty sure I had fallen asleep on the couch during the movie. Then a bulking form on the couch stirred and rolled over. It seemed as though he had carried me to the bed and slept on the couch. My heart melted at the gesture and I figured the least I could do was buy him some coffee. Besides I had told Frankie I would go to the diner that morning anyway. I changed into my clothes from the day before and donned my jacket but before leaving I left a note on the coffee table in case he woke up while I was gone then headed out. I had one thing on my mind...breakfast. This time when I walked in no one turned and stared. I took a spot at the counter in front of Frankie.

"Good morning doll. How did it go last night?"

"It went really well actually. Aiden was very respectful and accommodating. Also I hadn't had a good night of sleep like that in months and now I'm so ready for some food."

"Well we love to hear that. I'll bring you out something good." She winked and walked away. I trusted her to bring me something absolutely delicious. In a blissfully short amount of time she came back with some good old fashioned biscuits and gravy with eggs and bacon, and I couldn't be happier. One bite and I could tell the gravy was homemade and the biscuits were light and flaky. The eggs were fluffy and seasoned, the bacon was crispy but not so crispy that I would worry about cracking a tooth. I scarfed down my food and ordered two coffees to go. "You in a rush hun? You practically inhaled your food." Frankie looked at me with an odd expression on her face and a glint in her eye.

"Oh no I'm not, the food was just so good I couldn't help it. Food is life for me" I chuckled "Now I'm just getting Aiden some coffee for letting me stay last night." She gave me another weird look and nodded.

"Mhm. I like you. I'll go get that coffee so you can be on your way." I couldn't understand what that was about but I chalked it up to small town eccentricities. She handed me the order showing me which one was Aiden's because it was just how hw liked it and I headed back to the shop. Walking up the stair I could hear him walking around so I opened the door gently and announced my arrival.

"I'm back." I closed the door behind me and turned around to see Aiden buttoning the top buttons of his flannel. The ability to speak and every thought in my head flew away.

"Is one of those for me or do you have a coffee problem?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh uh sorry. To answer your question yes and yes. Here this is for you" I said as i handed him the coffee. "It's for letting me stay last night also yes I have a problem." I laughed.

"I can respect that, I do too." He started to roll up his sleeves drawing attention to his forearms and hands. He stopped and stared at me signaling he had been talking.

"I'm sorry I zoned out what were you saying?" I felt so silly and rude for staring. It was like a guy staring at a girl's chest.

"I was just saying if you wanted in a minute here we can go to your car so I can take a look at it and if you need to grab anything you can."

"Yeah that would be great!"

"Alright let me grab my jacket and we can go." We walked out to his truck and hit the road to my poor car. When we arrived I couldn't believe my eyes. All of my doors were open and my things were strewn all over the ground, covered in a layer of snow from the previous night. I was unbuckled and opening the door before he had come to a full stop. I hopped out, stumbling while running to my car. Dropping to my knees I started uncovering and picking up my life that was so callously thrown about. After checking everything and looking in the car I didn't see that anything was missing. The crunching of snow alerted me that Aiden had walked up. I looked up at him from the ground trying not to cry.

"Who would do this? Why would they do this?"

"Maybe no one did it. Is anything missing?"

"No I don't think so. How could no one have done it?" He thought about it for a second and looked in the car before responding.

"Well there are wrappers from some snacks, maybe a bear smelt the food. They're known for opening car doors to get to food, then it left when it didn't find anything."

"No I'm sure I locked the doors."

"Well there's not a lot we can do seeing as nothing's missing. How about I help you pick everything up and you can grab what you need, throw it in the truck and then I'll take a look under the hood for a quick inspection." I nodded my head an we got to work. The cleanup was quick with the two of us and in no time at all I was putting my stuff in the truck. Aiden popped the hood and fiddled about for a bit, once he was done he closed it and gave me a prognosis. "Alright so you have a cracked engine block, a cracked radiator, and a leaking head gasket."

"Oh my." He chuckled at my poor attempt at a joke.

"It's going to have to be towed for a better and more thorough look through. I need to check and see if there's any damage to the frame." I deflated at the thought. Suddenly Aiden's head snapped up and he looked behind me. He grabbed me by the hand and started dragging me to the truck and tossing me in. He yanked the drivers side door and jumped in putting the truck in reverse. He rushed to turn us around and sped back to town.