“Hello?” Quinn said after only two rings, and Aiden took a deep breath.
“Hey, Quinn, it’s Aiden.”
Quinn laughed, and it caused Aiden’s heart to clench in yearning for him. “I know that. I have a thing called Caller ID. It’s very useful,” he teased.
Aiden managed a smile. “True.”
Quinn chuckled, before asking. “What can I bring tonight? Perhaps wine? I can stop off at the store before I get to your place. Just name it, and I’ll bring it since you’re doing the cooking.”
Aiden felt even worse. “Well, you see… the truth is that something has come up, and I’m going to have to cancel our plans.”
Quinn sucked in a breath followed by a long moment of silence. Aiden gnawed at his lip as he waited for Quinn to say something…anything, and when he didn’t, Aiden had to ask, “Are you still there?”
“Uh yeah… I’m here,” Quinn’s voice was low and tight. “So, something came up?”
“Yeah, my brother showed up out of the blue. He’s had a rough time lately and he needs someone to talk to”
“Oh, okay. I understand.” Even though Quinn said he understood, Aiden could hear the disappointment in his voice.
He was about to tell Quinn to come over. Jack could wait a couple of hours. Besides, he didn’t mind Quinn meeting his brother. That could be a good thing, actually. His thoughts were shattered by a voice hollering down the staircase.
“Hey, Aiden, wanna go out on the town tonight?”
Aiden cringed and held up his hand when his brother walked into the room so that Jack wouldn’t say anything else. “That was my brother, he just walked in.”
“I’m sorry, Aiden, but I gotta go,” Quinn said woodenly. “One of the kids just called for me.”
“Oh… okay. See you tomorrow, right?” Aiden asked.
Again, another long pause ensued before Quinn spoke. “Uh, yeah… I’ll be there at eight.”
“Okay. See you then.” Aiden had barely finished speaking before the call was disconnected by Quinn. He had a sinking feeling with how that all had gone, but he would introduce Jack to Quinn tomorrow. Hopefully, that would help with making things right and the omega wouldn’t be too upset afterward.
“Who was that?” Jack asked.
“A... friend,” Aiden replied, not really wanting to discuss it right now.
“Ooohhhh… a friend or afriend?” His brother waggled his eyebrows and exaggerated the second friend.
Aiden laughed, but there wasn’t much humor in it. “Well, kind of working on a version of the second.”
Jack gave him a puzzled look and opened his mouth, but Aiden spoke up, cutting him off before he could ask any of the questions that must have been boiling up in his mind.
“As for your earlier question, although we could go out, I think I might feel better just staying in and enjoying the evening while you tell me all about what’s been going on with you. We can order pizza.”
Jack agreed, and while he would have much rather been staying in with Quinn, he was actually looking forward to spending time with his brother and catching up with him.
* * *
“Do you want another slice?”Aiden asked as he held up the box.
“Seriously?” Jack patted his stomach. “I’m stuffed.”
Aiden put the box down on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch. “Me too.”
He glanced over at the clock and saw it was just after eight. He could only envision the things that Quinn and he would have been doing at that very moment once they were finished up with supper. He groaned and tried to dismiss that thought.
“So, anything you want to talk about?” Aiden studied his brother. “Like… your mom, perhaps?”
