08-07-2018, 02:23 AM
Sage didn’t really look at the beer upon picking it up. Aiden owed it to not having a preference. Nothing wrong with that. He didn’t really have much of a preference until he started drinking the stuff regularly; he had also lost that preference when he switched to whiskey. Nowadays he just tried craft brews, some thought that pretentious, but Aiden loved the variety. Imagine his shock when he discovered chocolate beer! Most would turn up a nose at the combination, but Aiden loved chocolate and he loved getting intoxicated. Why not marry the two?
The somber mood that had taken Aiden ebbed away as Sage touched his hand. He looked directly into Sage’s eyes and just smiled. He appreciated the gesture. It wasn’t a sexy, daring move; Sage clearly wasn’t trying to impress him; he had already seen to that with the whole techno-magic show that had taken place in Aiden’s study. That was damn near charming. Well… Almost. He really could have done without those shadow monsters.
This wasn’t sexy. This was charming. It rendered Sage slightly vulnerable in Aiden’s eyes; and complex. Earlier, it had seemed like Sage was putting on a show. He had come across as cocky and brazen, and maybe he was those things. Aiden didn’t know. But all of that could’ve just been a thick skin to wear against the world. He wanted to know who the ‘Wicked-Truth’ was, but it started to appear that the answer to that question was more complex than Aiden could have guessed. Good thing he liked a challenge.
Sage slipped in a few more choice words that made Aiden smile again. The food arrived, two ‘big, fat piggy platters.’ Aiden wouldn’t even finish half of this, but he enjoyed having a little bit of it all. He’d take the leftovers, though. Either pass those along to Sage’s household or force Cooper to bring it home for his wife and kids. The serving portions here really were ridiculous. Aiden had to laugh at it, “I’m sorry, Sage. I really did forget how huge the sampler was. Please, don’t feel pressured into eating more than a forkful, really, we can take the rest home.”
Three different types of ribs with different sauces each, barbequed chicken breast, buffalo wings, pulled pork, hotlinks, rib-tips, collard greens with bacon, triple mac-and-cheese, jalapeno cornbread, roasted corn with garlic butter, texas toast, and pork-n-beans. All of that sounded heavenly, but both trays took up the entire table. Aiden probably could’ve finished his, but he left his Mary Jane at home and the munchies didn’t just manifest on their own.
“I’m glad you liked the movie and that one hot guy,” Aiden said between bites of toast, “but you don’t need to humor me. I was overzealous when I took the role. Shouldn’t have accepted a part in a movie before I even got out of the hospital bed… Doesn’t help how I feel about the whole situation though. I appreciate it, though, Sage. You’re the first person outside of my immediate family to say something nice about it.”
His ears pricked at the mention of hacking, “Oh? That much of a voyeur are we?”
…I knew I shouldn’t have told Dimitri to buy me that fucking webcam, Aiden thought.
“I’m sure I’d be curious,” Aiden said after a long swig of his beer, “Can’t be that much if you just realized today that I can… you know… The fireballs happen almost every hour when I’m at home, and as I’ve said, I don’t often leave home… Then again I don’t have all of my security cameras installed yet.”
Aiden made a mental note to add that to Dimitri’s list. He had nothing but time. Maybe he found a groundskeeper since Aiden left.
Maybe just a quick text after dinner… I really wouldn’t be surprised if he did hire one.
“Okay then, smartypants, what don’t you know about me? I’d hate to bore you by going over personal details you apparently know already… But you have to tell me things I don’t know about you,” Aiden said to Sage. A wolfish grin appeared on Aiden’s face as he took another drink from his bottle.
The somber mood that had taken Aiden ebbed away as Sage touched his hand. He looked directly into Sage’s eyes and just smiled. He appreciated the gesture. It wasn’t a sexy, daring move; Sage clearly wasn’t trying to impress him; he had already seen to that with the whole techno-magic show that had taken place in Aiden’s study. That was damn near charming. Well… Almost. He really could have done without those shadow monsters.
This wasn’t sexy. This was charming. It rendered Sage slightly vulnerable in Aiden’s eyes; and complex. Earlier, it had seemed like Sage was putting on a show. He had come across as cocky and brazen, and maybe he was those things. Aiden didn’t know. But all of that could’ve just been a thick skin to wear against the world. He wanted to know who the ‘Wicked-Truth’ was, but it started to appear that the answer to that question was more complex than Aiden could have guessed. Good thing he liked a challenge.
Sage slipped in a few more choice words that made Aiden smile again. The food arrived, two ‘big, fat piggy platters.’ Aiden wouldn’t even finish half of this, but he enjoyed having a little bit of it all. He’d take the leftovers, though. Either pass those along to Sage’s household or force Cooper to bring it home for his wife and kids. The serving portions here really were ridiculous. Aiden had to laugh at it, “I’m sorry, Sage. I really did forget how huge the sampler was. Please, don’t feel pressured into eating more than a forkful, really, we can take the rest home.”
Three different types of ribs with different sauces each, barbequed chicken breast, buffalo wings, pulled pork, hotlinks, rib-tips, collard greens with bacon, triple mac-and-cheese, jalapeno cornbread, roasted corn with garlic butter, texas toast, and pork-n-beans. All of that sounded heavenly, but both trays took up the entire table. Aiden probably could’ve finished his, but he left his Mary Jane at home and the munchies didn’t just manifest on their own.
“I’m glad you liked the movie and that one hot guy,” Aiden said between bites of toast, “but you don’t need to humor me. I was overzealous when I took the role. Shouldn’t have accepted a part in a movie before I even got out of the hospital bed… Doesn’t help how I feel about the whole situation though. I appreciate it, though, Sage. You’re the first person outside of my immediate family to say something nice about it.”
His ears pricked at the mention of hacking, “Oh? That much of a voyeur are we?”
…I knew I shouldn’t have told Dimitri to buy me that fucking webcam, Aiden thought.
“I’m sure I’d be curious,” Aiden said after a long swig of his beer, “Can’t be that much if you just realized today that I can… you know… The fireballs happen almost every hour when I’m at home, and as I’ve said, I don’t often leave home… Then again I don’t have all of my security cameras installed yet.”
Aiden made a mental note to add that to Dimitri’s list. He had nothing but time. Maybe he found a groundskeeper since Aiden left.
Maybe just a quick text after dinner… I really wouldn’t be surprised if he did hire one.
“Okay then, smartypants, what don’t you know about me? I’d hate to bore you by going over personal details you apparently know already… But you have to tell me things I don’t know about you,” Aiden said to Sage. A wolfish grin appeared on Aiden’s face as he took another drink from his bottle.
Russian Dolls and Broken Gods, a new Fantasy novel by best-selling author, Aiden Finnegan, out this December! Preorder online and instore today!