"So you two are competing for the full time position?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "At the end of these three months the choice will be made. Me or him."

"Wow," she said.

Aiden reached over and placed an arm across my shoulder.

"We try to keep things cordial,” he said, patting my back.

I turned to glower towards him and he gave me a quick wink, that infuriating smile plastered across his face.

Ohhh paalease.

When our meals were finished and we had all pushed our empty plates away from us, my mother piped up once more. "You know what I have never done? I have never walked along the beach at night. What do you say the three of us do that?"

Not the beach again.

Last time it lead to his place.

"It's getting late, mom,” I said.

"Nonsense," she said while brushing her hand through the air. "I'm only here for a few more days. Let's go."

As we exited the restaurant Aiden held the door open for the two of us. Our eyes met briefly as I stepped past him.

My mother and I reached the car and he opened the front passenger door for my mother. Earlier they had both insisted that she take it to have more leg room. Of course she had said that she didn’t want to cause a fuss, but in the end she had taken the seat.

I began to wonder if Aiden would somehow always be there, in my life. It seemed as if our fates were intertwined and no matter what I did or where I went he would be everywhere. My mind drifted back to the night we had spent together. As much as I had tried to suppress the memories, I had replayed the events over and over in my mind.

The feel of his touch.

The excitement I had felt.

The way we had known just the perfect way our bodies connected.

I hated to admit it, but I hadn’t been able to get him out of my mind, to get that night out of my mind, and despite everything I wondered how long I could go before admitting that I longed for it to happen again.

It felt strange having my mother here with Aiden. It reminded me of childhood even more than anything so far. Every moment with Aiden had taken on a surreal quality, like the moments of long ago when we had sat at our kitchen table, Aiden and I cupping our hands around hot mugs of cocoa while our piles of snow drenched clothes hung melting in the causeway. Mom would be hovering around the counter, stirring the pan of hot water on the stove, smiling over our grinning red faces.

I couldn’t recall the exact moment I had met Aiden. It must have been through school. I tried to remember. There had to have been a moment, two small awkward children saying hello for the first time.

We stepped onto the beach as the last vestiges of sunlight faded against distant horizon. We walked along, my mother holding the arm of Aiden to steady her footsteps.

Still being a gentleman.

He had to be faking this.

He had always been there to the best of my recollection, and I was beginning to wonder if he would always be there. Then I began to wonder if I would mind him being there. They had walked up ahead a few feet, and the echo of their laughter drifted back to me. We had been friends, and now we had been lovers. I couldn’t decide which I preferred more.

A week later my mother and I stood by the ticket desk at the airport. We had spent the week laughing, shopping, eating, and exploring. The time had been a much needed break for me, and the timing had been perfect. Though the court date still loomed a few weeks away, I felt recharged, refocused and ready to face anything. After gathering her tickets, we stepped over to the security to say good bye.

"It's been good to see you Mom," I mumbled into her hair as she hugged me.

"I feel much better having seen you out here,” she said. "It seems as if you’re making your way. You're doing well for yourself."

"Thanks Mom,” I said. She held me at arm’s length giving my shoulders a squeeze as she spoke.

"Keep taking care of yourself."

"I will."

"Make sure you eat well. I don't want you wasting away into nothing."

"Don't worry, Mom,” I said, rolling my eyes.

"And Blair, be nice to Aiden."

"Mom!" I said.

"I mean it. He's a good boy."

"He's twenty-seven. Just like me. He's a little bit more than a boy."

"Listen to me, Blair,” she said, taking her best no-nonsense-mom tone. "You’re a very driven young lady, and I have no doubt that you will excel at whatever life has in store for you. But don't forget to take time to play. Pay attention to things around you. You might be surprised what you’re missing."

She said everything but Aiden’s name.

"Okay,” I said. "I get it and I will. Call me when you get home, okay?"

"Of course.”

She gave me one last hug, kissed me on the cheek and headed off towards security, rolling her carry-on bag behind her. I watched her make her way through the gate and up the stairs, where she turned and waved one last time before disappearing down the hallway to her gate.

I smiled, feeling a tinge of sadness at her absence. I turned walking towards the exit, sliding my sunglasses over my face as I pushed through the revolving door and into the bright light of the parking lot.

The days between the case dates had mostly been half days as we had a lesser work load, and I had been able to take some time off during my mother's stay. Other than the night we all went out, I hadn’t seen or spoken to Aiden during her visit outside of work.

When I returned to work the next day I felt more than eager to get back into the swing of things. I arrived and took my seat across from Aiden. Mr. Mahoney and Ms. Klein arrived within a few minutes of each other.

"We are still on course for the current court date,” Ms. Klein announced once we all got settled that morning. "The client has been remanded to family, under our advisement. The prosecution fought it, but the judge saw things our way in the end."

"That's good," I said. "It's comforting to know that he is with family and not locked up needlessly."

Aiden gave me a quizzical look. I kept his eyes for a moment before looking down at the files I had in front of me, deciding that I would much rather focus on the work than worry about Aiden's responses. I had my reasons, and he had his, for doing things the way we did. We had already determined that our work methods might be quite different from each other. It was up to the partners to decide which might be a better fit for the firm.

We all dug into our work, confirming and discussing the elements of our statements, strengthened by the collected evidence. Our client was innocent, and I stood by that knowledge as we worked. We finished just before lunchtime, and the senior partners gave us the rest of the day off. I knew that once the full time schedule kicked in there would not be so many leisurely days. Now we were working on one case, a big one but only one. Whoever received the full time position would be working on several cases at once, and have to be available most of the time. The schedule would be sporadic and hectic. Days off would become a luxury. This kind of schedule appealed to me, as I had a tendency to get antsy if I didn’t have enough to do, as my mother pointed out while she had been here.

"Blair," Aiden caught up with me at the elevator. "What are you doing for lunch?"

"I was heading back to my apartment,” I said, trying to avoid an invitation. "I've got some things I need to work on."

The elevator door opened and we both stepped inside. I still had difficulty keeping my mind from wandering when we were in this close proximity. In the office I could stay busy with work. When away from him I could keep busy and occupy my mind on something else, but in these quiet moments between activities, if I found myself with him my mind began to wander, weakening my resolve as much as I hated to admit it. I still hadn’t been able to shake my recurring thoughts on the night we had spent together as much as I wanted to forget it.