Chapter 4
AARON
“Can we… um…” God, Oliver is adorable. He’s been tracing designs over the outside of my thigh for the last fifteen minutes. I’m not even sure he knows he’s doing it with both of us basking in the quiet afterglow.
He’s exactly my type if I’m being honest. At least I think so.
In reality, there’ve been very few men I’ve been attracted to over the years.
Less recently, though, I blame that on a lack of social life rather than anything else.
The only people I see are my work colleagues—which is a non-starter—and my friends.
Not a lot of room to fall madly in love with anyone of any gender.
I groan, internally, of course, because I’m not a monster.
“I’m not looking for a relationship right now.
” I wasn’t looking for anything, honestly, so the fact that I ended up in bed with a gorgeous man is a minor miracle.
Hopefully, he doesn’t mind me using the word gorgeous.
It applies in this case, with his dark hair and tan skin.
He’s got the perfect Mediterranean complexion, one that my pale Irish ass is jealous of.
There’s literally no amount of sunscreen that will keep me from burning in the summer.
“Oh, me either.” He lays a hand on my chest, and I stare at the place where we’re connected.
“Then what exactly were you doing?” I raise an eyebrow at him. “Meeting a guy from an app at a bar.” From the little I know, that particular one focuses on people looking for more than one night. Plus, from the little I’ve gleaned, Colt strikes me as a relationship guy.
“Trying to make friends.”
I snort-laugh and immediately regret it. Oliver’s face falls, and he pulls the blanket up a little further, covering more of his furry middle. I miss the sight of it immediately. “I don’t think apps are the best way to make friends.”
“Oh really?” I’ve clearly hit on a sore topic. He pulls his hand away and uses it to prop his head up. In this position, his lithe body is on full display. He’d be a great runner, the perfect body for endurance training. “Please, be my guest and tell me where the good places are to meet friends.”
Before I can open my mouth, he stops me. “Your answer cannot include work or school. I finished my degree years ago in another city, and no amount of money would get me to go back. I work for myself, so my only coworkers are the spiders that always seem to get into my apartment.”
Shit. He’s got me there. “What about a hobby?”
“You got any good hobbies?”
Touché. “I run.”
“With other people?” From his raised eyebrow, I’m guessing he knows the answer.
“Only when I can’t avoid it.” Barrett, one of my coworkers, is the only exception. Even that’s only in short increments. And I have a hard limit of once per week.
“Harder than it sounds, isn’t it? Finding friends in your thirties? Even worse, I don’t have kids or pets to bond with people over.”
He’s got me there. I’m lucky. My best friends are three guys I met during my sophomore year of college.
By some miracle, we’ve all managed to stay connected and in the same city for the last fifteen years.
And while I wouldn’t consider my colleagues friends, I do see them regularly and hang out with them.
“I’ve gone out of my way to try to make new friends.
I joined a knitting group, but they kicked me out for crocheting.
I tried to join a book club, but they aren’t taking any new members, at least for the one that reads the kind of stuff I like.
I even joined a gym.” He says the last part with such disgust that it takes everything in me not to burst into laughter.
“But everyone keeps to themselves and does the workout.” He shudders like he’s remembering a horrific experience.
“Even the classes, people run for the door the minute it ends.”
“Okay, I agree, it’s hard. What about friends from… Where did you move from?” If he told me the name, it fell out of my brain between beers.
“Northfield. I have a few friends there that I still chat with online, plus my siblings. Living near them was like having a built-in system of people to hang out with.”
“So why did you leave?” I couldn’t wait to get out of my hometown, especially after my parents all but disowned me.
Even before that, my goal growing up had been to get out.
It’s part of why I chose Cardinal Falls for school.
It was far enough away that I wouldn’t constantly be running into people I grew up with. A fresh start to my life.
“I needed to be on my own. I’ve been the baby my whole life. Everyone was always checking up on me and in my business. For once, I wanted to do it by myself. Prove I wasn’t the rambunctious child they still pictured me as.”
“And how’s that going?”
Oliver sighs and drops his face into his pillow. “Fffucking gfreaf.” I can’t really understand his muffled statement, but I get the gist.
“Look, it takes time. You’ve only been here a year.
Don’t give up on it yet.” He doesn’t move, his face still buried, body unmoving.
I give him a second, hoping he’ll roll over and face me again.
When he stays that way, I start to worry about him suffocating.
“Look.” Fuck me. This is against all my better judgment, but I feel sorry for him.
If I moved somewhere new at this point in my life, I’m pretty sure I’d become a recluse, only leaving the house to go for a run.
“We could hang out again. Sometime.” I tack on the last word in hopes of keeping me from overcommitting.
My work schedule is inconsistent, and my running plan is rigorous.
It’s part of why I don’t date often. Neither of those things is negotiable, which most people aren’t too keen on.
That does it, Oliver rolls to one side, kicking the blankets off of him as he splays his legs. “Really? You aren’t just saying that out of pity? Because I know I’m being dramatic right now, but that will pass.”
“I’m serious. I’d love to get together.” It’s the truth.
In general, I don’t like many people. It’s different from Matthias, Nathan, and Tyler.
I’ve known them a long time, and they’re used to me.
Everyone else tends to be the problem. Oliver’s different, even if I can’t put my finger on how.
I’ve genuinely enjoyed spending time with him—even the parts where we had our clothes on.
“Perfect, I—”
“As friends.” As great as tonight was—and it was fantastic—I’m already getting myself in trouble.
With Oliver lying next to me, his big brown eyes pleading with me, it’s easy to forget this is the guy Colt was on a date with a few hours ago.
The guy who sent Nathan into a downward spiral. The guy Matthias nearly punched.
Being friends with him is going to cause enough problems. Sleeping with him was a bad idea. Doing it again? Disastrous.
“Right. Friends.”
“That’s what you said you were looking for, right?” I watch his face for any sign that I’m getting this whole thing wrong. The last thing I want is to wind up hurting him. He deserves to be cared for and adored.
By someone who’s definitely not me.
“Yeah, friends sounds perfect.”
OLIVER
Friends is not perfect. Aaron has the most perfect body I’ve ever seen, and I only scratched the surface of things I’d like to do with it. I was hoping there’d be a repeat where I’d get to sink my cock into his incredible ass. Or the other way around. I’m not picky.
Seriously, that ass is carved out of marble. I might not have gotten to play with it, but I had my hands on it a few times, and holy shit. I’m pretty sure I might die while fucking him, but it’d be worth it.
“Oliver?”
And once again, I’m completely lost in my head.
“Yep.” Hopefully, I didn’t miss anything important.
“What did you say?” People who are around me enough get used to the whole zoned-out thing.
I’d say it’s not my fault, but it is. Or at least it’s the fault of my ADHD.
I like to pretend it’s a whole different side sometimes, to make myself feel better.
“I said I should probably get going. I have to be up early in the morning for a run before work.”
I wrinkle my nose because what kind of crazy person gets up early, on purpose, and then spends that extra time exercising? Running’s the worst kind of exercise. “Okay, well, I’ll walk you out.”
We spend the next several minutes pulling on our discarded clothes in silence.
Honestly, there’s not much to say once a guy tells you that he’s only interested in being friends.
I walk him to the door, wondering what the protocol is here.
An hour ago, my dick was in his mouth. Now, what am I supposed to do? Give him a handshake?
I lean in for a hug, deciding that it’s the perfect happy medium. Except Aaron has something different in mind, leaning in for a kiss at the same time. We wind up butting heads, which, honestly, is the perfect end to this discussion.
“Shit.” Aaron rubs the side of his head, grimacing. “Well, I’ll see you around.”
“I’ll text you,” I say. Even as the words leave my mouth, I hate myself for them. Aaron literally just finished telling me how he doesn’t want to be in a relationship, and I immediately became needy. “Or not.”
He gives me a bit of a confused look, then smiles and shakes his head. The next few seconds go by so slowly it’s like watching an old movie.
Aaron opening the door.
Aaron walking out the door.
Aaron closing the door.
For a minute after he leaves, all I can do is stare. No matter how hard I try to talk myself out of it. He’s just a guy I met at the bar. A one-night stand. Whatever I’m feeling right now is the effects of an orgasm and a couple of drinks. Nothing more.
By the time I move, I’ve almost managed to convince myself that it’s true.