Setting boundaries

Natalie’s mouth fell open before breaking into a disbelieving smile. “Oh my god.” She pressed her fingers to her temple. “So I guess you’ve been here with a few girls.”

“It’s happened, but I’m usually by myself,” Aiden said helpfully, still laughing under his breath.

She pointed at him. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”

“In the spirit of open communication and honesty, like you’ve made it clear you want,” he teased, leaning forward, “I’m gonna go ahead and admit- it made my night.”

“I’m on a date with an idiot,” she said, though her lips betrayed her with a reluctant curve.

“And you’re glowing again,” he countered, smug.

“Keep it up and I’ll cancel your soda, lover boy,” she said, wishing she had her drink.

Aiden only laughed, looking way too pleased with himself. Natalie shook her head, half-laughing to herself as well as she opened the menu to study the list of sandwiches. She couldn’t ignore how warm her cheeks felt.

By the time the waiter returned with their drinks, she’d settled on a salad with grilled chicken and Aiden, unsurprisingly, ordered a burger and fries. The waiter scribbled their choices, collected the menus, and disappeared again, leaving them alone with the murmur of conversation around them.

Natalie took a small sip of her wine, then set it down and folded her hands. “Okay, now that Mr. Thumbs-Up is gone, back to what we were saying earlier. You said you’d go along with the rules, but you never told me what you need from me to make this work.”

Aiden leaned back in his chair, eyes going to hers before he glanced toward the lake. “I don’t know if I have a list or anything,” he said thoughtfully. “I guess I just need to understand… how this works. Around the apartment, I mean.”

“Like what?”

He shrugged. “Like… touching. What’s okay, what’s not. Since we’ve kissed. And… you know.”

Her brow lifted, catching the hesitation. “I know?”

He made a subtle jerking motion with his hand, lowering his voice. “Yeah. You know.”

It clicked. Natalie smiled faintly, biting back her amusement. “Right. That.”

“Yeah, that.” His grin was sheepish but genuine. “I mean, I’ve never exactly been someone’s… live-in boy toy before, so I don’t know the etiquette.”

Her laugh came out before she could stop it, loud enough that a couple at the next table glanced over. She covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head. “Aiden!”

“I’m serious,” he teased. “Do I ask before sitting next to you on the couch? Can I hug you if you’re having a bad day? Is kissing allowed sometimes, or only when we’re having a moment?”

Natalie took another drink, trying not to let her smile turn into a full laugh. “You really are overthinking this.”

“Maybe,” he admitted, “but I’d rather know the rules before I accidentally piss you off and get myself evicted.”

She swirled her glass and looked at him, still smiling, but with that faintly serious tone. “Okay, first off, you’re not my boy toy.”

He grinned. “Well that’s a shame. I kinda liked the idea of it,” he said jokingly. “What’s the title then?”

“Roommate,” she said firmly. “With occasional… complications.”

“That sounds like a movie.”

“It would win awards,” she countered, finally laughing again.

Aiden smirked, leaning back. “So basically, touch is allowed… selectively?”

“Selective,” she agreed. “And situational.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Meaning if I’m lucky?”

“Meaning we’ll figure it out as we go,” she said, coolly sipping her wine. “This is new for me too, so I don’t have all the answers.”

“Got it,” he said, his smile widening as he lifted his Coke to toast her. “Then I’ll make it my mission to test the limits in the pursuit of figuring this out, for the both of us.”

“Good luck,” she replied, clinking her glass to his with a smirk.

Natalie took another measured sip while Aiden drank his soda like it was a victory toast. The comfort settled back in, albeit a little charged.

“Alright,” she said, setting her glass down, “now that you’ve established your noble mission, tell me, what exactly do you think these ‘limits’ are that you’re planning to test?”

He grinned and leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “I don’t know yet. Guess that’s part of the research.”

“Research,” she repeated flatly. “So this is academic now.”

“Hey, I’m a college student,” he said, trying not to laugh. “Everything’s academic.”

“Mm-hm.” She shook her head, pretending to study the last of her wine. “Just make sure your research doesn’t get you expelled.”

He chuckled under his breath. “That depends on the professor, doesn’t it?”

Her mouth twitched at that, fighting a smile. “You’re getting bolder.”

“Confidence,” he corrected. “You told me to be honest. I’m being honest.”

“You’re being reckless.”

“Sometimes those overlap.”

She sighed, half amused, half exasperated, tracing her finger around the rim of her glass. “You do realize this whole thing could blow up spectacularly if we’re not careful, right?”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “But doesn’t that make it kind of exciting?”

Natalie stilled at that, caught by how easily he said it. The words shouldn’t have made her tingle, but they did. Because part of her agreed, and that terrified her a little.

Before she could answer, their waiter returned, sliding plates in front of them with a cheerful, “Burger for you, salad for you. Need anything else right now?”

They both shook their heads, and the waiter left again.

Aiden picked up his fry and pointed it at her like a pointer. “So, to recap, rule number one: we’re not a couple. Rule number two: no jealousy. Rule number three: it’s private. And rule number four…” He smirked. “We’ll figure it out as we go.”

She stabbed a bite of chicken, glancing up at him through her lashes. “And here I thought you were too busy making jokes to pay attention.”

“Hey, I’m invested in understanding the terms of my employment,” he said around a grin.

“Employment?”

“Live-in boy toy,” he said innocently, mouth full. “I’ve decided I’m keeping that title.”

The shift was small but clear. The teasing moved to two people figuring out how to enjoy being around each other again without the tension running everything.

Aiden took another bite of his burger and nodded toward her plate. “How do you live off that? It’s mostly just made up of food for my food.”

Natalie smirked. “I like it. Some of us don’t need everything deep-fried.”

He grinned. “You’re missing out.”

She reached across the table and stole one of his fries before he could react. “I’ll live.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “Unbelievable. You don’t steal a man’s fries.”

“Call it quality control, and you barely qualify as a man,” she said, popping it into her mouth.

“Har har,” he replied.

They ate for a while as he wolfed down the rest of his food, and she enjoyed her salad. The conversation turned toward his classes, her latest project at work, and how she couldn’t stand her boss’s habit of saying ‘circle back’ every time he didn’t want to make a decision.

“Doesn’t all that stuff make you want to quit?” Aiden asked.

“Sometimes,” she admitted. “But then I remember the bills.”

“Fair point,” he nodded, chasing a fry through ketchup.

When the waiter returned, Aiden looked up. “Can we get a dessert menu?”

The man nodded and left to grab it. Natalie looked over at Aiden. “You can’t seriously be hungry still, or are you trying to drag this out?”

He met her look easily. “Can’t it be both?”

She gave a shake of her head. “How can you eat that crap and still stay in shape?”

“Honestly? I have no idea, but I figure as long as I can get away with it, I’m going to,” he said. “Maybe it’s just being twenty and invincible. I’m sure I’ll pay for it someday, but today’s not that day.”

“Twenty and invincible,” she repeated, watching him shove down another fry.

“What?” he asked, looking up

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head, “I guess I just didn’t take you for a dessert guy. I just realized I never see you eat sweets at home.”

“I’m not, usually,” he said. Then he smiled. “But I’ll make an exception tonight.”

The waiter dropped off two dessert menus and left again. Natalie picked hers up, scanning it. “You realize if you keep this up, it’s going to start looking like a date.”

Aiden shrugged. “I don’t mind that.”

She looked over the top of the menu at him. “Just remember what we talked about.”

“I remember,” he said. “I’m not trying to change anything. I’m just enjoying this.”

The answer was simple enough, and she had to admit, she was enjoying it too. Natalie closed the menu and leaned back in her chair, watching him for a moment before smiling. There was definitely something different about being on a date with someone his age that made things feel a bit more carefree, and less like there was a need to perform.

“Alright, pie it is,” she finally said.

He grinned. “You can never go wrong with a good pie,” he replied, wagging his eyebrows at his own lewd joke.

All she could do was roll her eyes, remembering the flip side of dating someone his age.

The waiter came back a minute later, and Aiden ordered. Natalie asked for her water to be refilled, and they handed back the menus.

“You know,” she said once the waiter was gone, “most people try to reserve their bad jokes until at least the second date.”

Aiden smiled. “I’m all about managing expectations, and setting the bar low. Makes it easier to impress you later.”

She shook her head, amused. “You really think this is going to turn into a second date with jokes like that?”

He tilted his head, pretending to think about it. “You’re still sitting here, so I like my odds.”

It didn’t take long for the pie to arrive, as the waiter set the small plate between them. After refilling her water, the waiter left. Aiden slid the fork toward her. “You first.”

She gave him a look, then took the first bite. “It’s good,” she said after a second.

He nodded. “Told you. You can never go wrong with pie.”

“Except when you talk about it like that,” she said dryly.

Aiden laughed, leaning back. “You like me anyway.”

Natalie stirred her coffee slowly, trying to hide her grin. “We’ll see about that.”

They shared the pie between them, trading small bites and quiet conversation. It wasn’t flirty, but just casual conversation. By the time the check came, neither of them seemed in a hurry to leave.

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