Chapter 9 Nick
nine
Nick
My place is weirdly quiet and empty after Kit and Aaron leave.
I putter around straightening up the couch and washing dishes, distracting myself from the feeling that something is missing.
It isn’t until I’m confronted with my empty bed that I realize it’s because I’ve erased all trace that Aaron was in my apartment, and that feels wrong in a way I don’t understand.
The blanket is neatly folded on the end of the bed, and I wish Aaron had left it exactly as it was when he woke up.
I wish I could see the imprint of where his body had rested so I could see if it matched the image I’d had in my mind as I sat at my table a few hours ago and tried to get some work done while distracted by the thought of him sleeping below me.
Overwhelmed by the tiredness I’d been keeping at bay since Avy, Min, and Sash arrived at my door the previous night and basically kidnapped me, I crawl into bed and pull the blanket over myself.
It smells faintly of Aaron. Or, at least what I imagine Aaron smells like because I haven’t been close enough to him to be able to identify which of the scents I detected were actually his.
That lack of knowledge suddenly seems like a tragic loss, and I gather the blanket around me, wrapping my hands in its thick pile and drawing my knees up into the position I’d imagined Aaron had been in.
I sleep and wake mid-afternoon to a message from Ty that we’re doing brunch at Boogaloo’s on Valencia at one the next day. Grinning, I text Ty privately and tell him that I might have a plus one who’ll be joining us. Ty texts back a heart emoji.
It’s not like that, I type back, but I pause before sending it because that isn’t exactly true, is it?
It isn’t like that, but I think I’d like it to be.
So, I settle for: he might bring a friend who’s a PITA because that is true.
Kit is not for the faint of heart, and I secretly hope that if Aaron joins us the next day, Kit will have something else already planned.
Got it, Ty responds, and I send a thumbs up. Then I invite Aaron to brunch and tell him where and when to find us the next day if he wants to meet Ty. And then I get my day going. There’s work to do, and I need to distract myself from looking at my phone to see if Aaron had replied.
As usual when my friends get together, there’s lots of hugging and excited greetings as if we don’t see each other on the regular.
Cam’s best friend, Marney, is there with Iris, her girlfriend, so we’re a big group to accommodate and still sorting out seats when Aaron arrives.
With Kit. I leave everyone else to figure out seating and go greet them.
It’s a little awkward because my first instinct is to hug Aaron, but I don’t know how he reacts to physical contact, so I end up with my arms held out and settle for placing my hands on his upper arms. I have just enough time for the solidness of his biceps to register before Kit snorts and rolls his eyes.
“Come on over,” I say and turn to the corner where our group is taking off their coats and settling into their seats.
Several sets of eyes stare at me curiously, and Min is actively looking between me and Kit and then Aaron.
She’s got to recognize Kit from the other night.
I know she’s trying to do the math, and it’s not adding up in a way that makes sense to her, which kind of cracks me up.
“Everyone,” I say as soon as we get close enough I’m not broadcasting to the entire restaurant. “This is Aaron.”
“And I’m Kit,” he says before I have a chance to introduce him.
“Some of you met me the other night. I just want to say that was not my finest hour but thank you for looking out for me. Nick here’s an absolute prince.
” He leans in and kisses me on the cheek, then gives me a sly wink, and I fight not to laugh because that will give my friends something else to think about.
We have to reshuffle the seating a bit so that Aaron and I can sit next to each other.
Kit winds up across from us between Dan and Sash.
Fortunately, Ty is next to me, so I introduce him to Aaron, who turns an adorable shade of pink as he stammers out how much he loves Undercover Ops.
Cam practically preens with pride as Ty thanks him, and I pick up my menu to hide the smirk on my face.
Before any of us have a chance to look at the menu and start discussing what we’re going to order, a server arrives with two pitchers of mimosas and begins filling our champagne glasses.
“We didn’t order this,” Dan says.
“Hush, honey,” Kit tells him. “When a mimosa appears in front of you, you don’t ask why it’s there, you drink it.”
He lifts his glass, but Ty and Cam both stand up, which immediately gets everyone’s attention. Even Kit, who lowers his glass back to the table.
“You’re right,” Ty tells Dan. “You didn’t order it. We did.” He snuggles into Cam’s side. “Because we’ve got an announcement.” He looks up at Cam, and the adoration in his expression makes my throat close up. Then he glances at the rest of us. “We’re engaged,” he says.
There’s a moment of stunned silence, and then we all leap to our feet and swarm them with hugs and congratulations. We’re all laughing and crying, and I’m breathless by the time I sit back down next to Aaron.
“That was unexpected,” I say.
“Yeah,” Min shouts across the table. “We were all thinking Valentine’s Day. Like, we couldn’t even do a pool because everyone picked that day. What happened?”
“You weren’t wrong,” Cam says. “Turns out we were thinking the same thing.” He smiles at Ty.
“But…” Dan waves at them.
“We chose the same jeweler and ran into each other at the store,” Ty says with a shrug. “Cam got down on one knee and proposed on the spot.” He hugs Cam even tighter. “And then we chose our rings. Together.”
“Of course, you did,” Dan says, and we all laugh.
“I told you all it was going to be one of those really cute proposals,” I say, but then look at the happy couple and tell them congratulations again, which starts another wave of congratulations and the clinking of champagne glasses.
I don’t know who starts it, but we end up tapping our forks against our glasses, and cheer when Ty and Cam kiss. Everyone in the restaurant cheers or claps along with us even though we’re probably being obnoxiously loud and distracting.
Eventually, we settle down, open up our menus, and discussion turns to what everyone’s going to order.
I notice that Aaron’s gotten quiet, and at first, I think it’s just the overwhelm of our group.
We can be a lot to take in, especially when something exciting has happened.
Ty’s the first of us to take that next step into a committed relationship, and even before this latest development, Cam’s inclusion in our group changed the dynamic.
It also increased our numbers because we’ve folded Marney and Iris in as well.
Even without Aaron and Kit, we take up a lot of space, so I can understand that Aaron might feel a bit lost.
After we place our orders, Sash looks around the table and asks who we think is going to be next now that we’ve shoved the first penguins off the relationship ice floe to test the waters. Everyone laughs, but there are quite a few glances around the table.
“Well, we sure as shit know it’s not going to be Nick,” Avy says, which makes everyone laugh even harder.
Beside me, Aaron shifts uncomfortably in his seat. I ignore the continuing comments about my lack of enthusiasm for committed relationships and nudge Aaron with my shoulder.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” His voice is quiet, almost a whisper, but I don’t have any problem hearing him.
“You sure?”
“I’m fine.” He gives me a small smile, but it doesn’t hide the sadness in his eyes. At least not from me.
“Do you want to get out of here?”
He shakes his head, but he’s not telling me the truth. Whatever’s going on for him, I want to make it better for him if I can.
I stare at him a moment longer before making up my mind. I put my napkin on the table and stand up. “Hey, guys, Aaron’s not feeling too great at the moment, so I’m going to give him a ride home.”
There’s a chorus of disappointment and wishes for him to feel better. I say goodbye to Ty and Cam and congratulate them again. As I turn toward the door, I catch the smirk on Kit’s face and the wink he gives Aaron as he follows me away from the table.
Once we’re outside and away from the restaurant’s windows, I tell Aaron that I actually didn’t drive. “I just wanted to get you out of there.”
“Yeah. It was just…I got caught up in thinking about Zack.” Aaron gives me a rueful smile. “I wish it hadn’t blown my chances for really meeting Ty.”
“Eh. I’m sure I can arrange another one. Maybe at a time when it’s not such a huge group.”
“That would be good. It was cool to be there for his announcement, though.”
“They are the world’s most annoying couple,” I say. Without saying anything to each other, we begin walking down Valencia. “If they weren’t so perfect for each other…I don’t know, I might have to reconsider my friends.”
Aaron laughs, and I can’t help but grin at the sound.
We’re moving in the direction of Hayes Valley, so I say, “My place is about a half hour walk from here. If you want, we can grab something to take back there. Or we can find somewhere else to eat if you’re hungry.”
“I don’t know. What would you—”
“Nope. This is about you. What do you need right now?”
Aaron closes his eyes and draws in a deep breath, and I watch as his shoulders slowly loosen. When he opens his eyes again, he smiles. “I would like to go back to your place,” he says. “And order something in.”
“Sounds good,” I say and get a genuine smile in return.