“Well...” Aaron had told Mark about Jay briefly, but hadn’t let on the extent of his feelings. “I think I might have found him.”
“The guy you hooked up with?”
Aaron closed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah.”
A sudden yelp startled him. When he looked over, Mark was gripping both sides of his rocking kayak, his eyes wide with surprise.
“What are you doing?” Aaron asked incredulously.
“I was trying to dramatically get your attention by reaching and almost flipped over.”
“Okay…you have my attention now.”
Mark glared at Aaron. “I could have died!”
Aaron rolled his eyes. “As Rachel pointed out, it’s four feet of water.”
“Fine. If you like this guy, what’s the problem?”
“I don’t know. I like him too much? He’s young, gorgeous, experienced, fun…and what am I? Old and divorced, completely new to the whole lifestyle, and getting attached despite our arrangement being just sex.”
“Has he said any of that to you?”
“No. But he also hasn’t asked me out or hinted at anything.”
Mark let out an exasperated sigh. “And haveyou?”
Aaron thought back on the time they’d spent together, but analyzing their interactions through an objective lens was tough, his own emotions clouding every moment. They flirted, yes, but playful flirting wasn’t evidence of anything. When people had sex, some flirting was bound to happen along the way.
“I don’t think so. Should I?”
“If you’re already falling for him, you don’t have much choice.”
Aaron hummed in reluctant agreement. Mark was right—his feelings for Jay would only keep growing. If Jay didn’t want him romantically, it was better to find out now, even if the idea of Jay rejecting him filled him with trepidation. “Maybe I’ll call him tonight and ask him on a date.”
“Good.” Mark gave him a cheesy grin, then squinted at the lake. “I think Rach is coming back.”
“Oh, I wanted to take a picture of her being a badass so far out in the water.” Aaron set the oar across his lap and hiked up the life vest to reach into the pocket, wiggling in his seat. After a few moments of awkward struggling, his fingers finally closed around the phone.
The kayak wobbled.
“Shit.” He lunged forward, grabbing the oar with both hands before it rolled out of reach. His triumph was short-lived, a sharpplunksparking him with cold panic.
Aaron peered over the side. There it was. On the sand at the bottom of the lake. His phone.
“Well, fuck.” Mark followed his gaze. “Please tell me you’ve started backing up your contacts to the cloud.”
Chapter 24
JAY
Aaron hadn’t answered his text messages in two days. A wave of disappointment rolled through Jay every time he picked up his phone to check, which was becoming more and more frequent. He’d gone over and analyzed every single message from the past week, reading between the lines, trying to puzzle out where things went wrong.
Aaron sent a picture on Friday—a handsome man with a beard and a striking redhead pressed into him and beaming at the camera. Mark and Rachel. They didn’t look like the nebulous villains Jay had secretly imagined. Their smiles were open and earnest, their affection for Aaron evident even through the screen.
There was a steady stream of texts over the next few days. Aaron ranted about museum crowds, and Jay suggested a few less popular tourist spots. They swapped selfies—Aaron wearing a corny baseball cap, Jay squeezed in between Cyrus and Darius before soccer practice.
On Monday, Jay told Aaron he’d finally taken his boss’s offer of the promotion and got multiple celebratory texts back. Mostly exclamation marks and party popper emojis, but also a few heartfelt encouragements.
