13. Lars
THIRTEEN
LARS
“Ican’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Vi hissed at Charlie as they carried another box out to Aiden’s truck.
Lars bit back a retort. Last night, after their talk, Aaron had texted Charlie about swapping apartments.
She’d immediately jumped on board and had agreed to talk to her cousin.
Apparently, she’d accomplished their goal because here they were, packing and switching out Charlie and Aaron’s possessions in their new respective homes at ten in the morning.
Aaron had volunteered to drive the girls to school so Lars could go into work early for a couple hours before taking off to help.
They’d met at Aiden’s apartment an hour ago to get Aaron’s stuff.
Not that he had much there. He’d been storing most of his belongings since he and Charlie moved out of their place after the non-wedding.
So, here they were at Vi’s apartment, swapping things around.
And Vi had made it very clear that she was only doing this for Charlie and Aiden.
Not Aaron. Lars was struggling to keep his mouth shut each time she made a little barb at Aaron or a comment about not wanting him here.
Everyone else had forgiven him for the whole situation, except for Vi.
Lars didn’t understand why she, of all people, was the one to hold this grudge against him.
As if Aaron hadn’t been struggling with the weight of it already. He didn’t need her to add more guilt on top of that.
“Yikes,” Harper whispered, coming up behind him. “She really doesn’t want him to move in.”
Lars turned from the TV he’d been mounting above the dresser. “I know.”
“Maybe living together will force them to hash it out once and for all.”
He sighed and shook his head. “If she doesn’t kill him first.”
Harper glanced back to make sure no one had returned yet before whispering, “Did you talk to him about Saturday?”
“Yeah.”
Her brows raised, a small smile forming. “And?”
“And what?” he asked, not sure what exactly she was after.
“Was it a random hookup? Was it someone he’s been seeing?” She stepped closer. “Did he come out to you?”
Lars didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t about to air out Aaron’s business for other people, even a close friend. “I… I think you should talk to him if you want those answers. He knows you were there and saw him too.”
“But—”
“It was a random hookup,” Aaron said, joining them, making it clear he’d heard all of that. But his own smile remained in place. “And no, I didn’t come out to Lars.” At that, he sent a smirk Lars’s way. “Because he already knew I’m… not entirely straight.”
“Oh…” Harper looked between them with concern, as if she’d been the only one unaware. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Aaron waved her off, moving farther into the room. “No one else does.”
Something in her gaze shifted as she looked from him to Lars and back again, and Lars wondered if she was putting the pieces together. Especially when the corners of her mouth curled up. To Lars, she started to ask, “Are you—”
“Okay, I think that was the last of it,” Charlie said as she entered the room, effectively cutting off the conversation.
Lars could have hugged her in that moment. He was generally an open person, he didn’t care if his friends knew that he was pansexual, but he didn’t want to address the rest of Harper’s assumptions right now.
Even if they were probably correct.
Because the truth was, he and Aaron had experimented a lot together as teens.
It was a long time ago—before either were in any sort of real relationship—and they’d agreed to stop once Aaron and Charlie started going out.
And to never tell anyone. Honestly, he’d kind of brushed it off as just curiosity on his friend’s part.
Aaron had never talked about it; he’d never officially came out or anything.
But now, it was back out there, and Aaron was hooking up with random guys.
And no matter how hard he tried to tell himself it didn’t matter, that nothing had changed, Lars couldn’t help but think about it.
He’d thought about it all damn night. Now that he knew Aaron felt more spark while with a man and that he was a bottom, he couldn’t stop imagining it.
The guy from the bar had been big and muscular, hot as hell, and Lars could just picture him taking control of Aaron.
But each time the thought returned, the image changed to Lars being the one ripping Aaron’s clothes off.
Bending him over the edge of the bed and…
Good God, he had to stop. He was blaming it on the fact that he hadn’t had sex in six months. That one drunken night with Mel had been the only sex he’d had in over a year, and his hand could only do so much. He missed being with another person, holding them at night and waking up beside them.
That did not mean it was going to be his best friend. He needed to get those thoughts far from his head.
“You okay?” a soft voice asked, dragging him to the present once more.
He cleared his throat and met Harper’s questioning gaze. Nodding, he said, “Yeah, just have a lot on my mind.”
“Has she decided?” Aaron asked, and Lars realized the three of them were alone again.
“No, she has until the end of the day. She said she’ll call me before telling them.” He sighed, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Wait, what are we talking about?” Harper opened one of the boxes and began pulling out piles of clothes. As she started putting items away—like she knew where Aaron wanted them—Lars filled her in on the London job. It was getting easier and easier to talk to her about these things.
Aaron kept grabbing clothes as she placed them in drawers and put them where he actually wanted them. But he didn’t tell her to stop. Lars could see the amusement in his eyes as they worked around each other.
“That’s…” Harper trailed off, evidently at a loss for words. “But this is her dream job, right?”
“Yeah, it’s a huge deal,” Lars said. “That’s what makes this so hard.
I don’t want to tell her to turn down that sort of opportunity.
Not when it means so much to her. But I’m terrified that if she gets it and decides to leave, she’ll want the girls to move with her.
There are just so many possibilities that it’s hard to imagine this will end well. ”
Harper stared at him for a moment, as if considering the predicament. “So, you want to support her. You’re just scared of what it means for the rest of the family.”
It wasn’t a question, but Lars nodded and said, “Exactly.”
“Have you told her this?”
He hadn’t in as many words, but surely she knew, right? When he didn’t respond immediately, Harper groaned.
“Ugh, men.” She tossed a pair of pants in a drawer—which Aaron moved, rolling his eyes—then faced Lars. “You need to tell her how you feel before she makes a choice. Even if that means telling her you don’t want her to go. Be honest.”
Lars looked at Aaron who nodded in agreement.
“Trust me, you don’t want to wait until it’s too late,” Aaron said. “Let her decide knowing how you feel.”
Thirty minutes later, he was walking into the small office Mel worked in. Right now, she was an assistant to an event planner, but she did a majority of the work and everyone knew it. He greeted the receptionist, Katherine, who smiled and told him he could go on back.
A pink-striped wall behind the receptionist area separated it from the rest of the office space.
Pushing through the sole door, he found Mel sitting at one of the tables in the center of the large communal area.
She had her laptop open in front of her, a binder and tablet on one side, and what appeared to be an untouched muffin and coffee on the other.
Her co-worker Shauna sat at a separate table, but their boss was nowhere to be found.
Mel looked up as he entered and gave him a hesitant smile. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
“Just thought I’d stop in on my way back to work. Aaron’s pretty much all moved in.” He paused beside her. “Can we talk?”
He wasn’t sure if Shauna knew about the other job, and he wasn’t about to spill that tea. Mel stood and led him to her boss’s empty office before shutting the door. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said when she faced him. “I just… thought we should talk before you give them your decision.”
“Lars—”
He lifted a hand in front of him and shook his head. “Wait. Please. Just hear me out, okay?”
She hesitated a moment then gave him a nod.
The whole drive here, he’d planned what he wanted to say.
He’d rehearsed it in his head over and over, figuring out the gentlest way to ask her not to do this.
But now, seeing her here in this job she loved but wasn’t appreciated in…
When he opened his mouth, his practiced words didn’t come out.
Instead, he whispered, “I think you should do the interview.”
Her blue eyes widened in the same shock he felt. “What?”
Lars took a deep breath. “You need to do the interview at the very least. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”
“And if I get the job?” she asked so quietly he barely heard her.
Clenching his jaw, he closed the distance between them and took her hands in his. “Then, we’ll figure it out together. Just like we always do.”
Mel stared up at him, tears lining her eyes. “You’re serious?”
“Yeah.” He leaned forward to rest his brow against hers. “Go to London. You need a vacation anyway. Take a few extra days to visit Carla and her sister while there.”
Mel pulled her hands free to wrap her arms around him. She let out a shaky breath, crying into the curve of his neck. “Thank you.”
“I’ve only ever wanted to support you,” he said into her hair. “No matter what, that’s never going to change. I know how important this is to you.”
For a couple minutes, they simply stood there holding on to one another. When they finally released each other, she snatched a tissue from the box on the large white desk. As she dabbed at her cheeks and swiped beneath her eyes, she asked, “What about you and the girls?”
He shrugged with a smile, acting as if it wasn’t a big deal. “We can handle a week or two on our own. Everything will be fine.”
When she raised a brow in disbelief, he should have trusted her gut.