14. Aaron
FOURTEEN
AARON
Aaron was half asleep on the couch when the front door to the apartment opened, startling him awake. Vi stumbled in, her face attached to another woman’s. The stranger grabbed her ass, and Vi let out a giggle.
Slowly sitting, Aaron tried to figure out how to get to his room without them noticing. But before he could, the woman was lifting Vi up and pinning her to the wall next to the edge of the hallway. Vi wrapped her legs around her waist and moaned as the other girl rolled her hips. “Oh God, yes.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Aaron muttered under his breath.
“What the—” The woman whipped around, nearly dropping Vi. Her wide eyes were filled with both fear and anger. “You have a boyfriend?”
“No,” Vi and Aaron said at the same time.
Aaron stood, shaking his head. “Sorry. I’ll just go to my room.”
He quickly rushed past them. The second his door was shut, he leaned against it with a sigh. He’d thought living here would be better, even knowing Vi was in a casual hookup phase. He’d thought that since it wasn’t Aiden and Charlie, it wouldn’t be as awkward.
He was wrong.
Frustrated, he went to his bedside table to search for his earbuds, hoping they were charged. It was going to be a long night.
He’d just found them when he realized he’d left his phone on the couch. Trying to figure out what to do, he heard the front door close again. His brow furrowed. Had they left?
Quietly, he went to open his door and peek out. But just as he turned the knob, it opened fast, smacking him in the face.
“Ow, shit!” He backed up, holding a hand to his nose.
“Were you trying to listen?” Vi said. “Perv.”
“What? No,” he said quickly. “I thought I heard you leave. I was just checking because I left my phone in the living room.”
Vi glared at him for a moment, crossing her arms.
“I’m sorry. I… I can leave for a bit,” he said.
It was only late afternoon, so plenty of places were open.
He could find somewhere to chill for a while.
When she still didn’t speak, he let out an exhausted breath and tossed his earbuds onto the bed before sitting.
“Okay, why did you agree to let me move in when you clearly don’t want me here? ”
She continued staring at him.
“Violet!”
She slowly shook her head, the corner of her mouth twitching. “You’re really incapable of sitting in silence, aren’t you?”
He clenched his jaw, wanting to prove her wrong. But he couldn’t. “Can you just, I don’t know, yell at me or something? It’s been over eight months of this, Vi.”
Scoffing, she turned and walked away. Aaron wasn’t done though. He was sick of this and wanted to get past it once and for all.
“Violet.” He followed her to the kitchen, his voice rising. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I hurt everyone.”
She whirled around and yelled, “You wouldn’t even answer my texts or calls!”
Aaron stilled, tilting his head in confusion. “What?”
“Charlie wasn’t the only one you walked out on,” she said, shaking her head.
“You left and didn’t tell anyone why or where you were going.
You might have messed with their relationship directly, but they weren’t the only ones hurt and abandoned.
You and I have been friends just as long, and you didn’t once answer after disappearing.
I wasn’t just mad, Aaron; I was worried about you. ”
He didn’t know what to say. Swallowing past the lump forming in his throat, he tried to come up with the right words. He’d had no idea she felt that way. She was always so sarcastic, so intense. he acted like nothing bothered her, like she didn’t care much.
Was it really all an act?
“I’m sorry,” he said, taking a step closer.
She shook her head again, her now-pale lavender hair swinging into her face as she backed away. He saw the tears lining her eyes, and it broke his heart. He closed the remaining distance and hugged her short frame tightly. Her head barely reached his chin.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated. He could count the number of times he’d seen her cry on one hand. “I… I didn’t even think you cared, honestly.”
“We’ve been friends since we were toddlers; of course I care, you idiot.” She sniffled, and he ran a hand up and down her back.
Aaron smiled. After a moment, he glanced around at the quiet apartment. “Where’d your date go?”
With a chuckle, she playfully shoved him away. “I asked for a raincheck because I had to deal with my annoying roommate.”
Nodding, he considered everything that had happened in the past week. “Can… can I ask you something?”
“What?”
He had to look away and take a deep breath. “How did you know you were bi?”
She was quiet so long that he lifted his gaze once more.
With a smirk, she turned and opened the freezer, grabbing a pint of chocolate chip ice cream.
Plucking out two spoons from the drawer, she handed him one then led him to the living room.
They sat on the couch together, sharing the ice cream as she said, “I’ve just kind of always known. Even before I really knew.”
Aaron nodded, though he didn’t really follow the vague explanation.
As if reading his thoughts, she added, “Like, I had crushes on girls as much as boys. I kept it to myself because I didn’t know that was even a thing; I didn’t know if that was allowed.”
And just like that, he understood. Their small Midwest town didn’t exactly have a thriving LGBT community.
It was getting better, but she was right.
He hadn’t known about anything as a kid either.
He was eight before he saw his first gay couple—two dads of a baseball player Aaron played against. At least, that was the first couple he remembered.
The first he’d seen when old enough to understand.
He could still remember going home that night and asking his mom about them.
Because he’d had crushes too, and he’d never said anything because until that point, he’d only ever seen hetero couples. He’d assumed that was what was expected. Allowed.
“Aaron?”
“I went home with a guy from The Tavern on Saturday,” he whispered before taking another bite. Vi stayed quiet, like she sensed he needed patience to get this all out. “I’ve always kind of known, but that night…”
She tensed beside him, and he looked up to find her eyeing him suspiciously. “Knew what, exactly? Were you with other men while dating Charlie?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Never. I swear. Once in that relationship, I was in. That was real; I loved her and was happy with her. I had no desire to be with anyone else when we were together.” Setting his spoon in the half-empty pint, he said, “I… experimented with someone before Charlie, but we didn’t do a whole lot.
” He let out a breathy laugh, remembering.
“Neither of us had any idea what we were doing.”
“Someone I know?”
He met her gaze with a smile. “I’m not telling you.”
“So, yes.”
“It’s not my secret to share.”
Vi reached over for his hand, nodding in understanding. “Thank you for telling me. I know that’s not always easy, even when telling someone else who’s already out.”
“I’ve never actually said it out loud.”
Her gaze softened. “I think you should. It feels great.”
Licking his lips, he nodded again. “I’m… bisexual.”
Grabbing the ice cream, she set it on the coffee table then practically lunged at him. He laughed and hugged her just as tightly. He’d missed his obnoxious friend.
After a moment, they returned to eating, and she asked, “Pizza and movie night?”
“What about your date? You don’t want to catch up to her?” He felt guilty for cockblocking her… or whatever the female version of that was.
She leaned into his side. “Nah, this seems more important. I’m sorry for holding a grudge so long. It just sucked feeling like you didn’t think about me throughout any of that.”
He almost laughed. Not at her but because of the implication. “Well, it’s been brought to my attention a couple of times in the past week that I can be a self-centered asshole. So, that’s on me.”
“What? You?” she said in a mock-surprised tone.
He nudged her with his elbow. “Shut up.”
Vi chuckled. “If it’s any consolation, you’re not the only one. When we came in just now… I forgot you were here. Just completely forgot that you’d moved in yesterday.”
“Seriously?” This time, he did laugh.
“Seriously.” She shrugged, taking a bite of ice cream. “So, you’ve hooked up with a girl and a guy in the last week?”
“How—”
“Charlie told me about the woman.” She shifted on the couch to pull her feet up under her. “Which did you enjoy more?”
Rolling his eyes, he reached to scoop out another spoonful of ice cream. “The guy.”
“Are you going to see him again?”
Aaron had thought about it, but the truth was, beyond the physical, he had no desire to.
He wanted something more. He wanted to fall in love, to have someone to simply hang out with all the time, to start a family.
And while they hadn’t really talked much, he didn’t get the impression that Evan wanted that.
He’d made it pretty clear he wasn’t looking for a relationship right now.
And despite everything, despite people suggesting Aaron go out and have fun exploring, he wanted to settle down.
He liked comfortable. But he wanted some of that fire too.
He just needed to find someone that had both.
But he didn’t tell Vi all of that. He didn’t think she would understand. She was going out with different people every few weeks and seemed to love it. So, with a sigh, he said, “I don’t think so.”
“What about a pirate?” Aaron asked a little while later as he scrolled through his phone, searching for a Halloween costume.
He and Vi were still sitting on the couch, now with a movie playing in the background that neither were paying attention to.
Vi grinned. “That could be fun. You know Chloe would love to be one too.” She sat up straighter all of a sudden.
“Oh! Or make her a parrot to sit on your shoulder. That’d be adorable. ”
“It would be,” he said, easily imagining it. “I wonder if she already has a costume. Hold on; I’ll text Lars.”
He shot off a text, and when twenty minutes passed without a reply, he sent one to Mel too. He was too eager not to figure this out now.
His phone started ringing. Seeing Mel’s name, he answered it with a, “Hey. What’s up?”
“Sorry, this is quicker. I don’t have time to text,” she said, sounding out of breath. “Chloe hasn’t decided on a costume yet. She kept changing her mind at the store. Lars is supposed to get one this weekend—if there are any left.”
His brow furrowed at her winded voice. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, fine. Just running through the airport, trying not to miss my flight.”
Time seemed to come to a halt. Aaron pushed to his feet. “You’re going to the interview?”
“Lars didn’t tell you?”
He shook his head before remembering she couldn’t see him. “No.”
“Yeah, he came to talk after helping you move. He said I should do the interview and we’ll figure things out if I get it.”
Aaron was struggling to understand. Why in the hell had Lars done that?
“I really need to go,” Mel said. “But hey, can you do me a favor? Check in on him from time to time while I’m gone the next couple weeks? I know he can handle the girls, but I also know his anxiety is probably going to be high.”
“Of course,” Aaron said. “Have a safe flight. Let us know when you land.”
“Will do. Thanks, A-A-Ron.”
He laughed and hung up, all the while his mind reeling. She was doing this. Glancing down at his phone, he realized Lars still hadn’t replied to his text. Unease settled in him. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it in his gut.
Looking at Vi, guilt coursed through him.
She’d blown off her date to stay with him.
They were supposed to order food and watch movies, reconnect after months of barely speaking.
He didn’t want her to think he was running out on her again, but he needed to make sure Lars and the girls were all right.
“What?” she asked when he hesitated.
He quickly filled her in on the situation. “But I don’t want to just leave you.”
“It’s fine, Aaron.” She stood to push him toward the door. “I promise.”
“Are you sure?”
She scowled at him when he faced her once more. “I’m a big girl. I’ll be fine.”
“But we were catching up.”
“We’re good now. Our friend needs help with those three demons by the sound of it.”
He nodded but said in a serious voice, “Don’t talk about my babies like that.”
Vi laughed. “You literally call Chloe a little monster.”
“Yeah, but she’s my little monster.”
She smiled with something else in her gaze he couldn’t quite read. “Go take care of your family.”
As he grabbed his keys and rushed to his car, he kept replaying those words in his head.
With each mile closer, he realized how much he wanted them to be true.
They weren’t his daughters, but he loved them more than anything in this world.
And he would do everything in his power to stay in their lives. No matter what.