Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
LARS
Heart hammering, Lars held on to Aaron, trying to catch his breath as the car passed by with a honk. “What. The. Hell?” he asked in between breaths. “Why did you leave on your own?”
Aaron blinked up at him. “You saved me.”
Lars sighed, suddenly exhausted. “Aaron.”
“I needed to go home but didn’t want to ruin anyone’s night.”
“Okay, but you’re clearly drunk. You shouldn’t be walking home alone.” He was tipsy too, but at least he was sober enough to stay upright.
Aaron pushed away from him and headed down the sidewalk, looking more alert than before. “I’m fine. Vi shouldn’t have sent you after me.”
“She didn’t,” Lars said as he caught up. “I saw you leave and followed because I could tell you were upset about something. And I’m glad I did. Otherwise, you’d be splattered on the road right now.”
“I would’ve moved.” Even he didn’t sound sure.
Lars rolled his eyes. Ignoring that, he said, “What is going on? Why are you so upset?”
Aaron turned the corner; they were near the apartments now. “Nothing. Just… go back to the bar. That woman you danced with seemed interested.”
“Okay, well, that makes one of us.”
Aaron paused and glanced at him for a second before continuing. “Fine, then go back to Harper. You two seem to be getting along great.”
They made it to his front door, and he fumbled to get his keys out and in the lock. With another sigh, Lars grabbed them and opened the door for him. “We are. She’s been a great friend.”
Aaron made a noise in the back of his throat, something akin to a scoff, as he pushed past him into the apartment.
“I thought you liked Harper?”
“Not as much as you, apparently.” Taking out his phone, he started texting while heading to his bedroom. Lars let out a groan as he shut the door and followed after him. Even on his night without kids, he was still babysitting.
Aaron practically slammed the bedroom door at the end of the hall. Lars opened it again without hesitation. Tossing the keys onto the desk, he asked, “What is your problem?”
“I don’t have a problem,” he said, setting his phone on the nightstand.
“Then, why are you mad at me?” Lars had watched him grow more tense by the hour. He’d been off all evening. “I did everything you suggested tonight.”
“I know.” He huffed and faced Lars.
“So, why are you mad at me?” he repeated.
“I’m not.”
“Clearly.” Lars crossed his arms and raised a brow. “It was your idea to go out tonight.”
Aaron shook his head. “It was Vi’s—“
“You seemed to be having fun in the beginning,” Lars went on, ignoring him. It didn’t matter whose idea it had been initially; Aaron had seemed all for it throughout the day, even making plans to act like a wingman. Which he never did.
“I was,” he said. “I just…”
“What, Aaron?” He groaned again, tired of this passive-aggressive bullshit. “I even flirted with that woman who asked me to dance, like we’d discussed earlier. I did exactly what you wanted.”
“Well, maybe it’s not actually what I wanted.”
Stepping closer, heart racing, Lars echoed Aaron’s words from the other night, “What do you want?”
“I don’t know!” Aaron threw out his arms to the side. “But I hated watching that. I didn’t want to see you dancing with that woman, let alone taking home some random person, so I left.”
“You sound jealous,” Lars said, trying not to let his hope show too much in case he was reading this situation wrong.
“I am jealous, Lawrence.”
They both froze. Lars wet his lips, letting those words process. Did he mean them like it sounded?
Lars waited. He needed Aaron to keep talking, to tell him what he was really thinking.
Because it turned out, the second they’d arrived at the bar tonight, Lars had realized the truth: he had no desire to flirt with strangers or to find one to hook up with.
Not when this man occupied all of his thoughts.
“I know we agreed the other night didn’t mean anything,” Aaron continued, “but I think it did to me. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I know that’s not what you want though. You just ended a long-term serious relationship—”
“So did you.”
“And you want to date around and find a random hookup—”
“No, I don’t,” Lars said, struggling to breathe normally. This was really happening.
“So, I get that jumping into bed with a friend you’ve known basically your whole life isn’t what you’re looking for—”
In two strides, Lars was standing in front of Aaron, grabbing his face, and kissing him. Aaron stilled beneath his touch for all of two seconds before his arms wrapped around Lars and he parted his lips.
Pulling back, Lars met his gaze and whispered, “I don’t want to sleep with some random person.
The second I started dancing with that girl, I realized I had no interest in dating around or putting myself back out there.
That’s why I went to talk to Harper, who’s very much just a friend.
She understands what I’m going through, especially with the kids.
But that’s all it is. I’m pretty sure she’s in love with Colby, or at least on her way there.
” Lifting a hand to Aaron’s cheek, he slowed his ramble to add, “For the most part, I really love my life as it is right now. And a large reason is because of you, Aaron.”
Aaron’s gaze softened. “Really?”
“Really.” Then, he kissed him again.
When Aaron reached for the hem of his shirt, Lars broke apart just enough to rip it off over his head. Aaron kissed him once before saying, “Wait.”
He rushed to shut the bedroom door again, and Lars chuckled, remembering what he’d told him about Vi coming home with her date the other day and forgetting he was there.
“No interruptions,” Aaron said as he pulled off his own shirt, crossing the room back to Lars.
Lars gripped him by the waist and tugged him closer, slanting his lips across Aaron’s, needing to taste him more. “No interruptions,” he whispered against his mouth.
His hands worked their way up Aaron’s spine, along his sides, up his chest. Even after years of no longer playing sports, both were still in good shape, but Aaron had kept more of his muscular definition.
Lars wanted to lick every fucking inch of him.
That thought startled him, but he didn’t let it stop him this time.
Though, he pulled away to meet Aaron’s gaze as he said, “I’m sorry about the other night. I just… freaked out.”
Aaron shook his head. “It’s fine. Really. I get it. I’ve been freaking out since then.”
Lars smiled, kissed him once, then shoved him onto the bed. “I believe I owe you.”
“Oh yeah?” Aaron grinned, some of the light returning to his hazel gaze that had been missing for far too long.
Taking off Aaron’s shoes, then his own, Lars nodded. “Definitely.”
He knelt onto the bed and began unbuttoning Aaron’s pants as he kissed the side of his jaw down to his neck. The second he had them open, he palmed Aaron through his boxer briefs.
Aaron let out a sound of approval.
Lars chuckled. “Lift up for me.”
Aaron did, and Lars shifted to yank his jeans and briefs off in one swift movement. He took his socks off too, tossing everything to the floor.
“I’ve been dreaming about this for weeks.” Lars wrapped his hand around Aaron’s length.
“Seriously?”
Nodding, Lars stroked him. He loved the feel of him hardening in his palm, the fact that he had this effect on him. “Ever since I saw you making out with that random dude from the bar.”
Lars leaned in and licked along the side of his cock. Aaron’s soft moan, made his own dick twitch. He was already straining against his pants. But right now, this was about Aaron, not him. Aaron reached down, threading his fingers through Lars’s hair.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Aaron said, pausing to gasp as Lars took him fully in his mouth, “this is already better than that night.”
Lars raised up to meet his gaze, using his hand to continue pumping Aaron’s cock. “Yeah?”
Aaron gave him a small smile. “Yeah.”
Climbing up over him, Lars kissed him again and again. Then, he trailed his lips down his body until he was kneeling between Aaron’s legs and swallowing him whole once more.
“Oh fuck.” Aaron’s hand returned to the top of his head, gripping his hair tightly. “Lawrence.”
Lars usually hated people using his full name. His entire life, he’d been correcting everyone. But hearing it come from Aaron’s lips… it felt different, intimate. Something shared just between them.
He swirled his tongue around the head of Aaron’s dick, tasting the saltiness of precum. He pulled off to say, “Up.”
Understanding, Aaron raised his knees to his chest. “We should get in the shower so I can—Oh God.”
Lars choked on Aaron’s dick, gagging slightly.
He was a little out of practice, but Aaron didn’t seem to notice.
He lowered to lick his balls, fondling them, before moving lower.
While continuing to jerk Aaron’s cock with one hand, he put a couple of his other fingers in his mouth to wet them before circling Aaron’s tight hole.
It might have been a while since Lars had done this, but going by the moans and curses leaving Aaron’s mouth, he still liked it.
“Lars, I… I’m…” He sucked in a breath as Lars eased a finger gently into his ass just a bit. “God, yes. More.”
Lars slowly pushed his finger in and out, loosening him up. He wondered if Aaron let the other guy do this, if he really let him fuck him. But he quickly shoved those thoughts aside. He didn’t care what Aaron did in the past. All that mattered was this moment.
The sounds his friend made were enough to bring Lars to the edge himself. Unable to take it anymore, he reached down to unbutton his own pants and tug them down enough to free his erection. He gripped himself as he returned to sucking Aaron’s dick.
“Hold on,” he said, turning to kick off his pants.
Aaron lowered his legs as Lars knelt once again and brought their cocks together in his fist. Aaron held his gaze as they climbed higher and higher together.
Lars leaned down, bracing himself at an angle on one arm to kiss him as he continued stroking them both.
“I’m going to come,” Aaron said before moaning loudly.
“Come for me, baby.” Lars kissed his jaw, nibbled on his earlobe. “I’m right there too.”
Mere seconds later, both men exploded, coming on Aaron’s stomach with soft grunts and groans.
Lars pulled on their cocks a few more times until they finished and only the sounds of their ragged breathing filled the apartment.
Lars leaned forward again, resting his forehead on Aaron’s shoulder as he rolled to the side.
“Holy shit,” he hissed.
Aaron turned his head to kiss Lars’s brow in a sweet act that made him smile. “Just for the record, way better than my dates last week. By far.”
Lars grinned. “Good.”
They lay together another moment before Aaron got out of bed and went to the bathroom to clean up.
Lars followed to pee and wash his hands.
When he returned, he found Aaron had shut off the big light and turned on the small bedside lamp instead.
He sat in bed under the blankets, drinking from one bottle of water and offering a second to Lars.
It was such a cozy scene. He couldn’t help but compare it to his own past. It had been so long since he felt the kind of fire that burned between them tonight.
And while it terrified him, he also couldn’t help but realize how natural this felt.
“Thanks,” he said, taking it and climbing into bed beside Aaron. He paused though. “Is… is this okay? Or do you want me to sleep on the couch?”
“Don’t you dare leave this bed.” Aaron finished his water, crumpled up the plastic bottle, and chucked it across the room to the trash can.
Lars laughed when it missed. “How are you so bad at that? You were great at throwing baseballs.”
“Well, for one, crumpled up water bottles are very different from baseballs.” He slid down in the bed, lying on his side. “And two, I’ve had like… four tequila shots and… I don’t remember how many beers. So, you know… not exactly seeing straight.”
That made Lars freeze. “Shit.”
“What?” Aaron asked in a concerned tone.
Lars put the lid back on his water before setting it on the nightstand, then he lowered beside Aaron, rolling to face him. “You’re drunk.”
“So?”
Sighing, Lars draped an arm over Aaron’s side, needing to feel him. Lying with him like this, cuddling, just felt right. He wondered if it should feel more awkward. But he focused on the current issue. “So, we probably shouldn’t have done that.”
“Are you… Did you not want to?” A line formed in his brow.
Lars slid closer and kissed him gently. “Of course I did, but you—”
“I’m not that drunk,” he said. “I’ve wanted this for days. And you were drinking too. Stop worrying.”
“But I shouldn’t ha—”
Aaron raised a hand to cover Lars’s mouth. “You didn’t take advantage of me in any way. I’m sober enough to know what I’m doing. Especially after the incident on the road.” He removed his hand to kiss Lars once, twice. “Thank you for saving my life.”
Lars opened his mouth to say he was glad he’d been there, but Aaron spoke again before he could, effectively ruining the moment.
“And for sucking my cock.”
Letting out a breathy chuckle, Lars shook his head. “You’re ridiculous.”
Aaron’s smile shifted from mischievous to something sweeter. “Drunk or not, I wanted this. For real. And I know it complicates things—”
“Let’s not worry about that right now.” Lars just wanted to enjoy this moment, this night with his best friend.
With a nod, Aaron curled up closer. “Turn off the light.”
Lars rolled his eyes but twisted to reach the lamp behind him.
Once it was off, he wrapped his arms around Aaron and reveled in the way they fit perfectly together.
Being with Aaron did complicate matters, especially regarding the London situation.
But other than that, he couldn’t think of a single reason why they couldn’t give this a shot if they both wanted it. Even if it did low-key terrify him.
Because giving it a chance meant putting himself out there again.
It meant opening himself up to the possibility of getting hurt again.
And he didn’t know if he could handle potentially losing Aaron.