Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
LARS
“Daddy, look!” Chloe shouted from the top of the slide. “I made it!”
“Good job, sweetie,” Lars said with a smile. He’d had no doubt she would find a way to climb with her cast, but it was still good to see.
“Is it time to go trick-or-treating?” Allie asked from where she swung next to Maddie. His dad was pushing both.
“Almost. When Aaron and Bri get here, we’ll start getting ready.” She gave him a thumbs up then went back to playing with Maddie.
Beside him, his mom chuckled. “Speaking of…”
Lars glanced her way before realizing what she was getting at. He slowly took a deep breath and nodded, knowing it was time. But more than that, he wanted to tell her. He needed to talk to someone about it. “It’s… complicated, but Aaron and I are kind of…”
“Dating?” She grinned, and it immediately put him more at ease.
He let out a relieved laugh. “I mean, we haven’t actually gone on a date, and we haven’t really decided on anything—whether we want to try or not—but yeah. We’re kind of together. I think.”
“How long have you known you were…” She trailed off, but he knew what she was asking.
“Pansexual, and pretty much forever. He and I did this back in high school for a short time in secret, before he started going out with Charlie and I went out with Mel.”
His mom slid her arm beneath his to wrap around his middle. “Did you feel like you couldn’t tell me?”
He shook his head. “No, it wasn’t that.” He glanced at where his dad still stood with two of the girls. “But I am worried about Dad.”
“Oh, honey.” She shook her head. “Don’t be. He loves you so much.”
“But he’s also very… traditional. He’s against Mel and I getting divorced, but he also hates that we’re living together to co-parent.” They’d finally had that discussion a couple days ago. After telling his mom, he’d felt like he needed to let his dad in on it too.
She stepped back enough to look up at him. “He disagrees with living together like this because he thinks it’ll be harder for you both in the long run.”
Lars’s brow furrowed. “But that’s not what he said. He said he didn’t understand our generation’s need to coddle—”
“Your father has a hard time expressing his feelings; he’s not good with words, I’ll give you that.
But he loves you and those girls more than anything in the world.
He’s just concerned.” She sighed and added, “We both are. I mean, what happens if you do go forward with Aaron? How would that work if you’re still living with Mel?
Or what if she finds someone? I love that you two both want to be so active in your daughters’ lives and that you don’t want to break apart your family, but you need to think about how this works long-term.
How do you both move on with your own lives? ”
“We’d figure it out.”
“And I’m not saying you can’t do that,” she said with a small smile. “It’s a wonderful concept, but you two need to sit down and talk about all these things. Figure out the logistics, especially where dating is concerned.”
He nodded, but she didn’t even know that wasn’t their biggest obstacle right now. Turning to watch the girls, he said, “That’s not the only issue…”
“What do you mean?”
Lars rested an arm against the deck rail before jumping in. “Mel isn’t just visiting a friend in London. She’s there for a job interview.”
His mom was quiet for a long time. Long enough that he finally gave in and looked at her. She simply stared at him, slowly shaking her head. “What… what does that mean for you and the girls?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“You can’t move to England,” she said, her eyes full of sadness. “This is your home, your babies’ home.”
“I don’t want to go, believe me. But this is her dream job, and I don’t want to fight Mel and try to take the girls from her.” Or worse, lose them.
“But you wouldn’t be taking them from her; she’s the one leaving. This isn’t fair to any of you.” She glanced at the swing set as Chloe went down the slide again. “What about Aaron? If all of you left, it would kill him.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” His words came out harsher than he intended, but he was so frustrated with this entire situation.
“Leaving him would kill me too, Mom. Even before we started whatever the hell this is, it would’ve been impossible to leave him.
He’s been my best friend since I was six years old—literally Allie’s age. ”
She stepped closer, putting a hand on his arm.
“I know you don’t want to fight Mel on this, but…
you deserve happiness too. This might be her dream job opportunity, but what about your dreams?
You put all of yours aside to support her and your girls, and for six years, I’ve admired that so much, even when it broke my heart, but this? This is too much, Lawrence.”
He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. You deserve happiness too. He couldn’t remember the last time someone told him that.
Except, that wasn’t true. Aaron had said something similar when he first found out too.
It had been so long since Lars put himself first—even longer since someone else put him first. He wouldn’t know how to do that.
But he was fairly certain with Aaron’s help, he could manage.
Because Aaron made him happy without even trying.
His mere presence had always made him feel better.
As if on cue, the back door opened. Lars whirled around to find Harper and Elliot, with Aaron and presumably Bri just behind.
“Elliot!” Chloe shouted as he walked down the steps toward the swings. She rushed to go down the slide once more, making Lars’s heart stop as she all but ran to the edge of the platform.
“Chloe, slow—”
She plopped down at the last second, barreled to the bottom, and tumbled off the end. Lars started toward her, reaching the yard just as she jumped up giggling. With her usual grin, she raced for Elliot and showed him her cast and the stickers she’d put on it.
Lars braced his hands on his knees, trying to calm his pounding heart. A hand touched his back, and he knew it was Aaron without having to look. Straightening, he said, “She’s going to be the death of me, I swear.”
“She’s okay,” Aaron said, and Lars turned toward him before glancing around at the others still on the deck. Following his gaze, Aaron led him up to them. “This is my sister, Bri.”
“Hi, Bri.” Lars smiled at the young girl. Despite Aaron’s initial doubts, there was no denying they were related. She looked so much like him and Aiden. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m glad you decided to come trick-or-treating with us.”
She grinned and kept looking to where the rest of the kids played.
“You can join them if you want.” He pointed to where Chloe was still excitedly rambling to Elliot about how he could draw on her cast like Allie had. “That’s my daughter Chloe.” He pointed to the swings. “My oldest is Allie, and she’s pushing Maddie. They’re excited to meet you.”
When she hesitated, Harper stepped forward. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
That seemed to put her at ease. As they walked down to the yard, it also gave Lars a moment with Aaron. Gripping him by the arm, he dragged Aaron toward the door and told his mom, “We’ll be right back.” Over his shoulder, he said louder, “Five more minutes, then it’s time to get into costumes.”
He didn’t wait for a response, and he ignored his mom’s knowing, amused look. Pulling Aaron inside, he didn’t stop until they were through the kitchen and rounded the wall separating it from the living room.
“What is going o—”
Lars spun around and kissed him hard. Aaron didn’t hesitate to return the kiss, instead gripping his waist to hold him close. He parted his lips, letting Lars sweep his tongue into his mouth, tasting him, breathing him in.
When he trailed his lips down the side of Aaron’s neck, Aaron chuckled and said, “Not that I’m not thoroughly enjoying this, but there are five kids out there who are going to run in here any minute.”
“I know. I just needed a second with you.” Lars kissed him once more, sliding his hand up to cup his jaw. “I don’t want to move to London.”
Aaron tilted his head slightly. “Did Mel call—”
“No. No, I just… I want this. I want you so fucking bad it hurts,” he said quietly. “And I don’t want to move four thousand miles away, not before we even have a chance to…”
Aaron’s small smile filled him with hope. “I want that too. And honestly, the thought of you all leaving makes me physically ill. Even if we decide to just be friends, I don’t want to lose you.”
Lars leaned forward to kiss him again.
“Dad?” Allie called out just before multiple little footsteps padded across the kitchen floor. “Can we dress up now?”
“Told you,” Aaron whispered.
Both chuckled as they parted and stepped into the kitchen. Lars scooped Allie up and spun her around. “Yep. Let’s get you ready, Miss Elsa.”
Her grin widened. Setting her down, he watched as she raced upstairs with Chloe and Bri.
He glanced at Aaron to see him smiling at the sight of his happy sister.
Yesterday had been absolutely terrifying, and Lars knew it had done some heavy damage to Aaron.
He’d had a rough week between Chloe’s fall and Bri going missing.
So, seeing him like this was relieving, to say the least. Lars hated to see him suffer like that.
“Okay, I’ve got Chloe and Bri,” Aaron said, moving to follow them up.
Lars gave a nod. “I’m going to go help Allie. Mom, you’ve got Maddie?”
“Of course.” She held his youngest daughter beside his dad, and he was glad they decided to come along tonight.
“And I’ve got Elliot. Obviously,” Harper said with a grin, picking up her son.
“You can use the spare bedroom if you want,” Lars said. “It’s upstairs, first door on the right.”
Everyone went to their respective areas.
Lars helped Allie into her dress and wig while Aaron helped Chloe.
He’d found a green long-sleeved shirt to put under her parrot costume, which would cover her cast and keep her warm.
The temperature had dropped again. Not too horrible, but it would be a chilly night.
As they worked, Bri went to the bathroom across the hall to change into her witch dress.
Once all three were relatively ready, Lars and Aaron went into the master bedroom to change into their own costumes—Aaron as a pirate and Lars as Kristoff from Frozen. When Aaron stood in front of the tall mirror in the corner, Lars wrapped his arms around him from behind.
“I still think we all should’ve kept to the theme. Chloe would’ve been an adorable little snowman,” Lars said.
Aaron turned in his arms. “Yeah, but she’s also a super cute parrot.”
“She is.” Running a finger along the deep V of Aaron’s pirate shirt, Lars said, “And you make a pretty good-looking pirate.”
“Think we can share a bed again tonight?” he asked before kissing him. “Maybe this time without a toddler between us?”
Lars let out a laugh and nodded, then he led them toward the door. “Absolutely.”