I spent all of Sunday recovering from a late night at Aiden's apartment again. I'd fallen asleep on his carpet on Friday night a little after sunrise. Aiden woke up a little after me, informing Lydia that we'd be coming in to work around noon, so we both could be well-rested. Somehow, I had missed my ride with Aiden and had to take the bus, which wasn't so bad considering peak hours were over. We spent all day holed up in Aiden's office again, working till my spine was dead and my butt resembled pancakes. I only got enough of a break to make dinner and take a shower before I was back in Aiden's apartment, still going through the files.

If the merger was this complicated, I would simply not do it. It seemed an incredible waste to have the CEO spend like a billion hours on a single project. I knew he did other things during the day that he was currently ignoring and a lot of his work was pushed aside while we worked on this. On top of everything, the merger wasn't appearing all that profitable to me either. Aiden was taking a company off the hands of one of his father's old friends as a gesture of goodwill as far as I had figured out, but I still didn't think it was all worth it anyway.

The terrible sleep schedule had taken a toll on my body, and I all but passed out in my bed once Aiden gave me the green light to go home. Nothing had felt better than recovering from a whole day on the marble floor than a fluffy bed. Except for...

I had to try out the bathtub. With enthusiasm, I turned the faucets on, adding a cup of bubbling liquid according to the instructions. The water turned purple first before disappearing under bubbles. Music from my favourite new artist started playing as I stripped out of my clothes and tied my hair up, ready to sink my toes in the steaming and inviting space.

A moment short of dipping my toes in, the doorbell rang, making me scream in frustration. What the fuck now?

Tying my robe around my waist, I stomped to the hallway, ready to rip a new one to whoever was bothering me now. I just fucking needed some time to myself. Was that so hard to come by?

With the force I used to open the door, it might as well have been off the hinges. And my anger did not stop even for a second to see Aiden standing there, the Mallory case file in his hands.

"I figured out the thing about-" He started, words disappearing into the air as he appraised my situation. "Oh." He cleared his throat.

"What is it?" I leaned against the door, so mentally drained having my life revolve constantly around this case.

Aiden cleared his throat one more time, looking deep in thought, "Uh- you can, you can come over once you're done."

"No," my reply shot out before I could stop it, making Aiden cock his head to one side.

"Honestly, I am sick of this file." I said, my sleep-deprived brain not knowing what a filter is, "I need a break today or I will literally collapse in the office tomorrow. If it doesn't happen naturally, I will bang my head against the walls in your office till it does."

"That's not ideal," he pursed his lips.

"Exactly. So, I'm going to take a nice bath and then I'm going to order a pizza and watch a movie with a nice facemask healing my skin. You're welcome to join." I shrugged, before realizing I had welcomed him to join my bath. Or had I made it abundantly clear that he was welcome to join us for pizza and facemasks?

I clarified anyway, keeping no room for any doubt, cheeks heating up, "The pizza and stuff. You can take a shower in your own house."

"I told you, I don't take breaks until-"

"Yes, yes," I cut him off, rolling my eyes, "Whatever about the hospital and the tubes attached. You do realize your brain is not able to function correctly when you overwork it? Just because you can't see fatigue doesn't mean it's not there."

I saw Aiden's eyes forming some kind of an argument but I was quick to stop him, "You can continue working if you want, but I'll be in here watching Wild Child and eating pizza for the rest of the night. Enjoy having a foot in the grave." He was polite enough to step back when I slammed the door, going back to my bath.

The water wasn't steaming, but still hot enough to relax my body. My playlist was drawing to an end so I looped it, determined to stay in for at least half an hour before getting out. I pampered my skin with some nice smelling body lotion the sales lady at Sephora had sold to me and picked out the facemask I would use after picking my pizza. With my trusted hoodie from GAP securing my warmth, I walked out to the living room, phone in hand to place the order finally. The pizza and garlic bread I was ordering seemed enough to feed three people, which was the only appropriate food portions for a twenty-five-year-old who wanted to eat her heart all the way to high cholesterol and early death.

Making sure the payment went through, I checked in the freezer to make sure I had enough ice and brought out a blanket to cuddle into while watching the movie. Despite my best attempts, I wasn't able to stop myself from wondering if Aiden would show up, after all. There would be hell to pay tomorrow when I would be in his arena at work, but for tonight, all I cared about was being ridiculously jealous of Poppy Moore.

I wish I had the sass of a 2000s teen movie.

Poppy was only walking out of her car and seeing Mount Abbey for the first time when the doorbell rang, making me jump in excitement. Pizza! I fixed the length of my hoodie before opening the door, smile diminishing on seeing Aiden standing there instead, with the same damn file in his hands.

"I just want you to keep it away from me," He defended himself, "I'm trying to relax at home."

I raised a brow, not very convinced.

"I'm watching a documentary on Animal Planet," he added, making me narrow my eyes even more. That's absolutely bull crap. Aiden had no interest in animals, and I had picked it up on several of our meetings in restaurants that were pet friendly.

The elevators opened and the signature red shirt of the pizza delivery place greeted me, hiding behind two large pizzas and three garlic bread and a large bottle of coca-cola.

"Theodora?" He confirmed my name before handing off the order to me and running away.

"Are you going to eat all of that?" Aiden asked when the elevators moved downwards.

"You could help me finish it," I shrugged innocently, "I promise I'm more interesting than Animal Planet." It didn't seem like a fair bargain anyways, and Aiden didn't have much of a fight to put. "I'll join you in a minute."

I left the door open while Aiden settled his affairs at home, keeping the file in my room and grabbing another blanket. Aiden looked hilariously out of place on my grey couch, staring uncomfortably at the aesthetics I'd chosen for the place. I had used minimal dark tones to make space look more open and there was a lot of fairy lights that seemed to be begging me to turn them all. Alright, guess I'll be pulling all the stops for a movie night.

I turned on the lights in the back and near the window, before turning the main lights off. I chomped through my pizza and garlic bread like a boss, happy that the coke was cold and I didn't have to get up for ice frequently. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aiden fold his pizza like a heathen and eat it slowly as if expecting it to be poisoned or something. Poppy Moore was about to kiss Freddy when Aiden snorted, "Stupid."

I only smiled, happy that he was invested in the movie. For a thirty-something man, I really didn't think he'd be able to fully enjoy a teen classic, but if that small comment was any inclination, he was immersed in the experience.

I didn't give Aiden much of a choice as I quickly scrolled through my library, picking out Fist Fight to watch next. Without much romantic subplot, it was easily one of the best movies of all time whenever I needed a good laugh. My eyes were heavy and the blanket was warm, but I was laughing throughout the movie, a buzzing feeling under my skin when Aiden chuckled too. He gasped when the girl on stage started singing, I don't fuck with you, and his reaction made me laugh more than the comedy of the scene itself.

"Is that an actual song?" He asked incredulously, making me laugh harder.

"How have you not heard it before? The song was everywhere! I think it still comes on the radio sometimes."

"I don't really listen to the radio," he shrugged, "But that song was... wow."

I wiped the tears forming in my eyes, playing the movie from where I'd paused it again. With the comfort of the timeless movie along with the carb coma rising, my eyes felt heavier than ever. Before the credits rolled, I was already in deep sleep.

Quick question: which two movies would you have picked? Now that I think about it, 10 things I hate about you sounds like a nice idea too.