When she uncovers his plan to lead an entirely uneventful life, Mia Evian is determined to teach Preston Maddox how to stop living like a ghost, but Mia and Preston have history, tension, and a lot of complicated feelings.
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It takes Aiden a total of five days to visit me in London, and I'm confident only fifty percent of it is an excuse to see Preston. Sucks for him because Preston is visiting his mum and brother in Cardiff this weekend, as he does most weekends.
I remind Aiden that I've told him this several times, but he categorically denies any knowledge of it as he lugs an offensively large suitcase through Paddington station. Anyone would guess he was staying for a month, not two nights.
'What was the reunion like?' he asks as we bundle into some bus seats. 'Hot, passionate, and sweaty, I assume. Please don't feel like you've got to spare any details for my sake.'
Despite travelling on a Central London bus crammed full of strangers, Aiden doesn't feel it necessary to lower his voice.
'Speak up, yeah?' I reply dryly. 'I don't think the old lady on the top deck quite heard you.'
'Holy mackerel, the man's wasted on you, Mia, honestly,' he whines. 'I totally get that you're an interim thing while he figures out his deep-rooted feelings for me—'
'—I'm not listening—'
'—but you could at least try to play along.'
By the time we arrive at our stop, everyone on the bus knows about Aiden's sandwich preferences in questionable detail, that the guy he hooked up with last night has six moles formed into a perfect circle on his right arse cheek, and that I'm a virgin. So that's nice.
As Aiden makes himself at home in my empty flat, I toy with prodding his brain about the events at Margot's party. More specifically, what to make of Preston's I killed a man statement. I settle on keeping the conundrum to myself, mainly because Aiden's in the process of trying to pile as many sofa cushions atop each other as possible.
'So this Margot girl lives with Preston? Are we meeting her at their place, then going to the bar? Have you seen his room? What's it like?'
I assume Aiden's questions are directed at me, but he's talking into the pillow tower.
'Y'know, Aiden, I think you're somehow more obsessed with Preston now than when you were sixteen.'
He finally turns his attention away from his pillow tower and flashes me a big, white smile. He juts his arms out with jazz hands, only for the pillows to crash from the sofa and onto the floor.
'Shit,' he mutters, then scratches his shaved head as he stares at his mess. 'I'll fix that.'
As he starts throwing the blue pillows back into place on the sofa, I answer his initial questions.
'Margot lives with Preston, we're meeting her at the bar, and no, I've not seen his room.'
'Weird. Would've thought you'd have used his room for your reunion se—'
'Piss off.'
Aiden starts giggling, and I warn him that if he makes one more Preston-related crude joke, he'll be sleeping in a tube station tonight.
