Chapter 38
THIRTY-EIGHT
AARON
Aaron heard shouting before he even reached the front door. But this time, it wasn’t in anger. He pushed inside and grinned down at Chloe as she bounced on her toes with her arms raised.
“Unc Aaron!”
“Little Monster!” He lifted her, tossing her up in the air slightly. Her squeal of joy, followed by giggles, warmed his soul. Holding her close, he shut the door and walked farther into the house.
“Happy Fankgivin!”
He laughed and kissed her cheek. “Thanksgiving isn’t until next week.”
“But we make turkey hands,” she said, holding one hand in front of her.
“A turkey hand?” he asked in mock surprise. He adored how she mixed words around. “That’s fun. Can I see?”
She pointed to the kitchen and kicked her feet. Aaron obliged, carrying her to the other room, where Mel was helping Maddie with a hand turkey—or rather, making it for her while Maddie played with a piece of paper, flapping it around, twisting it, tearing it. Allie sat at the table, coloring hers.
“See, Mommy, it Unc Aaron!” Chloe announced.
Mel smiled, looking up from the construction paper. “I’m the one who told you he was here, silly. That’s why I said you could go to the door.”
“Uncle Aaron, look,” Allie said, holding her creation in the air.
He moved closer to see. “That’s so good.”
Chloe pointed to the mess beside Allie’s spot. “Mine.”
Aaron set her in the chair and leaned over, grinning as he looked at the hand turkey she’d scribbled all over. It also had three googly eyes glued to it.
“I think he has too many eyes,” he said, ruffling her hair.
She shook her head and beamed up at him. “He a monster like me.”
He laughed again. God, he loved this little girl. “Where’s your dad?”
“Upstairs,” Allie said. “He was stinky after work.”
Snorting, he glanced in that direction.
“Go,” Mel said, and he looked back at her. “Tell him to get his behind down here. He promised us tacos.”
He nodded, appreciating her blessing. It had been a week since she’d called, begging him to come help because Lars was having a full-blown panic attack. Aaron hadn’t seen him get that bad in a long time. It had scared him.
Knocking on the master bedroom door, he slipped inside and went to the bathroom. That door was partially open, with Lars drying off his hair with a towel on the other side… only wearing a pair of gray sweats. It was a great view.
He looked over with a start as Aaron entered.
“Hey,” he said with a grin as he leaned over to kiss Aaron.
Aaron returned the smile, stepping closer. “Hey, yourself.” He moved to stand behind Lars, wrapping his arms around him from behind and resting his chin on Lars’s shoulder. “Mel said to come down and get to work on the tacos.”
With a soft chuckle, Lars nodded. He turned in Aaron’s arms, and Aaron traced his fingers around to the man’s flat stomach.
His once-defined abs had softened in the years since he quit baseball, but only just. He was still fit as hell, and Aaron wished he could replace his fingers with his mouth, his tongue, as they touched his hip bone above his low waistband.
“You’ve got to stop looking at me like that,” Lars said, wrapping his hands around Aaron’s wrists and drawing them up to his chest.
“Like what?” Aaron smirked.
Lars kissed him once more before whispering, “Like you want me to bend you over this counter right now and forget about dinner.”
Lifting one shoulder, Aaron said, “Maybe I do.”
He stepped impossibly closer, pressing their hips tightly together and making Lars groan.
“Aaron, I swear, if you make me hard, I’m going to make you take care of it before we go downstairs.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time, baby.”
Lars released his hands to grab either side of Aaron’s face and kiss him hard.
He turned them so Aaron was against the counter.
“You’re killing me.” He kissed him one more time then stepped back, swiping his T-shirt from the counter.
As he pulled it over his head, he said, “I’ll also make you handle the four hungry girls downstairs. ”
Aaron laughed but agreed that now wasn’t the time. Together, they made their way back down to the kitchen. While Lars began the tacos, Aaron helped Allie wash her hands so she could cook with him, then he played with Chloe and Maddie as Mel cleaned the table.
It was strange being here like this, but mostly because of how normal it felt.
He’d spent so much time in this house with this family that he knew their routines and habits, had a regular seat at the table, and knew exactly how each girl wanted their food.
This had been his life for years. The only difference now were the sneaky glances between him and Lars throughout dinner and how Lars’s foot kept rubbing his shin beneath the table.
“Are you staying the night?” Allie asked as they finished eating. “I miss you staying here…”
“Yeah!” Chloe climbed to her feet on her chair, clapping her hands. She’d grown so used to the cast on her arm at this point that it was like it wasn’t even there. “Sleepover with Daddy!”
Aaron choked on his laughter and reached for her before she could fall. “I, um…” He glanced from Lars to Mel. “I don’t know.”
Mel gave him a small smile. “I mean, if you wanted to help in the morning, I wouldn’t say no.”
“I can definitely do that,” he said, tickling Chloe’s sides. “All right, Monster, I’ll stay. You ready for bath time?”
She giggled and nodded, then he looked at Allie who agreed as well. Getting to his feet, he slung the toddler over his shoulder and held a hand out to Allie.
Pausing, he asked Mel and Lars, “Want me to wash the dishes or these yahoos?”
“I not a yahoo!” Chloe squealed.
He chuckled. “Baby girl, you’re the definition of a yahoo.”
“What’s a defalition?” Allie asked.
“Like a meaning,” he said, loving her constant curiosity.
“You can take them if you’re up for it,” Lars said as he stood and stacked plates. “Mel?”
She nodded and pushed to her feet as well. “I can do the dishes since you cooked. You get Maddie.”
With a big smile, Lars lifted his youngest daughter from her highchair and kissed her on the cheek. “Sounds good.”
And just like that, things were fairly back to normal.
They were like a well-oiled machine after all these years, falling into their routines and splitting up tasks, just as they had from day one.
Aaron had gone to Maslair for college, but with it less than two hours away, he’d returned whenever he could.
Over the weekends, he’d gone home to do laundry, but the majority of his time when not at school was spent in the tiny apartment Lars and Mel moved into after getting married.
Back then, Mel’s mom still lived in town too, so with her and Lars’s parents, they had a great support system. But it hadn’t stopped Aaron from crashing on their couch and taking care of Allie as a baby.
Thinking about those early days, Aaron carried Chloe upstairs, holding on to Allie’s hand.
Ten minutes later, both were in the bathtub, splashing and playing with bubbles.
He laughed as he played with them, listening to their stories and nonsense.
He helped them make bubble beards and piled more suds on their heads, and by the time they were actually washed and pruny, his clothes and the floor were beyond soaked.
And he didn’t think he could have been any happier.
“You sure this is okay?” Aaron asked, entering the guest room later that night. The girls had long since been asleep. He had changed into some of Lars’s clothes and hung out with him and Mel downstairs for a bit, before they decided to head to their separate rooms for the night.
This past spring, Lars had slept in the master bedroom with Mel while Aaron stayed in the guest room for a few months, but usually when Aaron stayed the night, he just slept on the couch.
Tonight though, Lars insisted Aaron stay with him. So, here they both were, climbing into the guest bed. Aaron’s heart hammered in his chest, his stomach fluttering with nerves he didn’t understand. This was his first time sleeping here in almost two weeks, but not their first time sharing a bed.
“Yes,” Lars said as he settled in next to him. “Mel is okay with us being together, and the girls are already asleep. They’ll never know, but even if they did, they wouldn’t understand.”
“They’d think we were having a sleepover.”
“Exactly.” Lars chuckled and turned off his bedside lamp.
Aaron followed suit before shifting to lie closer. He kissed the underside of Lars’s jaw. A hand tightened on his waist in silent encouragement. Aaron moved to straddle Lars, rocking his hips gently as their lips met. It was a slow kiss, softer than earlier. One that held promises of more.
Lars slid a hand up to the back of Aaron’s neck. The kiss grew deeper, and Aaron wondered if this would really work out. Because he could no longer imagine a future without this rush of emotions careening through him just from the feeling of Lars beneath him.
Wrapping an arm around Aaron’s waist, Lars rolled them so that he was on top. And suddenly, he was everywhere. Aaron felt entirely enveloped by Lars, by this new love between them, this new passion he’d never truly experienced.
Grinding against him, Lars kissed his way down the side of Aaron’s jaw and throat.
Aaron gasped, tightening his legs around Lars’s hips.
Then, it was a blur of movements. Their clothes were ripped off, landing somewhere on the floor as they became a tangle of limbs.
When Lars lowered, sucking Aaron into his mouth, Aaron clenched his jaw to keep from moaning out loud.
“You were such a tease before dinner,” Lars whispered, using his hand to continue pumping Aaron’s length. “I wanted you so badly all evening.”
With a smile, Aaron said, “Then, take me. Show me exactly what you wanted to do.”
Lars gave him a wolfish grin, and the next thing Aaron knew, he’d been flipped onto his stomach and Lars was eating him out from behind.
Aaron buried his face into his pillow to muffle his groans and panting as Lars worked him open.
He’d prepared for this before coming over just in case, and now he was glad.
When Lars finally sank into him what felt like an eternity later, Aaron’s eyes rolled back. Lars laid over him, sliding an arm beneath his chest to hold him close and nibbling on his ear. “You feel so fucking good.”
Aaron was speechless as Lars began moving, rocking his hips in short, slow thrusts.
Deciding to forego the condoms after both got tested to be safe, Aaron reveled in the feel of him.
Lars kissed Aaron’s shoulder and quickened his pace.
He filled Aaron so completely, stretching him to the point of pain, but Aaron loved it. He wanted—needed—more.
As if reading his mind, Lars pulled Aaron up onto his knees.
He pushed Aaron’s head down into the pillow as he really started thrusting into him.
Aaron gripped the pillow, fighting to stay quiet with everything he had.
Lars reached around to jerk Aaron as he continued fucking him, and Aaron couldn’t catch his breath. It was too much.
When they eventually came together, Aaron was on his back once more, staring up at Lars in the darkness.
Only the faint moonlight slipping through the curtains lit the room, so it wasn’t enough to really see each other, but Aaron could make out some of Lars’s face.
And he knew he would find love in those green eyes if they turned the light on.
Once cleaned up and back in bed, they curled up together like it was the most natural thing in the world. Aaron wondered if it should feel strange shifting their friendship like this so suddenly, going from zero to a hundred in a matter of days.
Because it didn’t.
At all.
For so long, Aaron had felt lost. Even with Charlie, that guilt about Aiden had always been there, like a shadow over their relationship, making it difficult to really feel like everything was okay.
With Lars, it was as if he’d finally found exactly where he belonged.
Like this was where he was meant to be all along.
But he knew they’d had to take the long way here. If they hadn’t, those three precious girls down the hall wouldn’t be here. They’d needed to work their way back to one another, and now that they had, Aaron had no intention of ever letting this man go again.
Even if it meant moving to London and starting a new life together there with his girls.