Jay willed himself to calm down. While Aaron had correctly interpreted his reaction as a compliment, Jay didn’t want to cross into creepy territory. Taking a few deep breaths, he joined Aaron by the crop tops.
“I don’t think you’d look ridiculous in the skirt,” he said in a low, gravelly voice full of leftover desire.
“I figured.” Aaron shot him a radiant smile. It wasn’t his usual smirk, but something genuine that calmed Jay’s worries.
They spent a few more minutes browsing. Aaron paused by a harness made up of belts and chains, mesmerized by its complexity. Jay bit his tongue and looked away before his imagination ran away with him. Again.
Fuck, Aaron would look hot as sin in that strappy contraption.
Finally, after petting a leather cuff engraved with vaguely Celtic designs, Aaron announced he was done. “I’m going to start with the skirt, see how that goes, and come back for more.”
Tank was in the same position when they came up to check out, his scowl slightly softer.
“Do you need a different size?” he asked.
Aaron peered at the small linen label sewn into the seam. “Nope, this is perfect.”
“No returns if you change your mind,” Tank grumbled. “Only if there’s a defect.”
Aaron made a noise of acknowledgment and paid with a credit card, unfazed by the price. Jay wasn’t surprised—he didn’t know Aaron’s salary, but the man had dropped a small fortune on furniture last week without flinching. He seemed like the type to save his money for practicalities and rare luxuries rather than spending it frivolously.
“I might come back for one of those cuffs,” Aaron mused as they walked out of the shop. “Those designs were incredible.”
“I think Tank does a lot of his own embossing.”
“Tank contains multitudes.” Aaron’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I should know better than to judge a book by its cover.”
“Are you going to take that out for a spin tonight?” Jay nodded at the linen dustbag in Aaron’s hands.
“I can’t,” Aaron said. “I wanted to see your surprise and hang out, so I kind of ran out in the middle of working on a presentation that’s due tonight. I’m going to grab some takeout and head back to the office.”
Tender warmth stirred in Jay’s chest. Aaron had left work, something time-sensitive and important, just to be with him. It had been a long time since Jay felt like anyone’s first priority, and the realization hit harder than expected. He swallowed the urge to get emotional, keeping his voice even. “I’m glad you had a chance to escape for a bit. I’ll drive you back.”
“Can you stop somewhere for food? I’m sick of the places that deliver to our building.”
“Sure. How about Thai fusion? Spicy Lotus is a few blocks away, and they don’t deliver, so you wouldn’t have tried them yet.”
Aaron clapped his hands in excitement and rushed to the car. “Yes, please!” Jay followed, glad he could make Aaron smile.
Rush hour traffic slowed them to a crawl. After a few minutes of barely moving, Aaron pulled out his phone and excused himself to check emails. Jay turned the radio volume down and gave him some space, patiently following the car in front of them until Aaron groaned and threw his head back in frustration.
“I don’t understand why people don’t read emails and then ask questions they’d already know the answer to if they would justread the email.”
“I’ve met a few of those,” Jay commiserated, checking to make sure Aaron was off his phone before asking something thatweighed on his mind. “Your job seems really involved. You’re always working early mornings, late nights, weekends… Is it worth it?”
“Not gonna lie, it’s awful right now,” Aaron admitted. “I’m the biggest proponent of work-life balance you’ll ever meet, so this schedule is completely off-brand for me.”
“So why are you doing it?”
“I joined right in the middle of a major reorg, so there were a ton of moving pieces to manage. Every department was restructuring, vision statement and goals were completely overhauled, IT was implementing new technology platforms. The whole thing was a complete mess. I got a hell of a signing bonus to jump straight into the chaos.”
“Sounds intense,” Jay said, taking advantage of the stoplight to look at Aaron. “I keep forgetting to ask you—when we had lunch, you told me about the whole thing with getting people to take you seriously. How’s that going at this new job? Is everyone completely charmed by you yet, or are you still working on it?”
“The jury’s still out.” Aaron scrunched up his face. “Kelly, the COO, loves me, but she’s the one who offered me the job after we met at a conference. The other executives say they like the direction I’m taking, but David, our CEO, is really hard to read. I have a feeling he doesn’t think my position is necessary.”
“He’s an idiot if he doesn’t see how amazing you are.”
Heat crept up Jay’s neck as soon as the words were out of his mouth, and he concentrated on the road to avoid eye contact. Could his crush on Aaron be any more obvious?
