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“Obviously, the fact that I am dating you,” he points out. “Maybe it’s not smart to introduce you as my boyfriend so early, when we only went on one date, but whatever…“ He shrugs. “It felt right.”

Somehow, his words make me happy. It seems like he just claimed me as his new boyfriend without overthinking it. He felt it and then went for it. For someone who is so obviously an overthinker and a perfectionist, it has to mean something.

“Here you are,” A tall, young woman approaches us. She seems to be around Aden’s age, but it’s hard to tell. She could be a little older or younger.

“Lynn!” Aden smiles. His stance remains relaxed, unlike when other people had approached him throughout the evening. With her, he doesn’t slip into his professional mode. “She is my best friend,” he tells me. “She basically does most of the marketing and HR related stuff.”

“Oh, you told me about her a lot!” I smile at her. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“That’s Noel,” he tells her. “My boyfriend.”

“So that’s your name!” she exclaims while looking at me. “Everyone is already talking about the beautiful guy with Aden Randall.” She eyes Aden curiously. “Very unlike you, by the way.Up until five minutes before the exhibit, I thought you were joking about coming with a plus one.”

“I know,” he says.

To my surprise, Lynn looks happy. “Sometimes it’s worth taking a risk.” She grins. “Man, you must be a true minx,” she tells me. “Aden never introduces anyone to us. You are the first date he’s actually brought to such an event since,“ she pauses, “since ages, literally.”

Her pause alerts me. What did she truly want to say? Since when… or since who? Even I know, however, that there is a right time for such a question, and it’s certainly not now. Instead, I decide to be a good boyfriend and make conversation.

Boyfriend…

Fuck, even thinking of myself as a boyfriend gets me. No one ever treated me like that! I have no idea what to do now. How does a boyfriend act?

Well, there is no time to think about it now because his best friend is here, and ready to strike up a conversation with me.

“How did you two become friends?” I ask. “In college?”

“Not really,” Aden says. “Lynn is a couple of years older than I am and was pretty much already done with her studies when I started.” He pauses. “I guess our friendship just happened.”

He is being evasive. In my job, I have learned to read people’s expressions and tones, and I can tell there is something he is holding back. Once again, it strikes me that Aden is a very private man and is very closed off. He might have opened up a little to me during our first date, but he said so himself; he doesn’t like talking about himself or his past a lot.

Well, neither do I. So, I shouldn’t judge.

“What Aden isn’tnotsaying,”—Lynn grins, fortunately deciding to reveal the ‘secret’—“is that I am his brother’s ex.”

“No way?” I exclaim.

“It’s true,” Aden admits. “My oldest brother, Oliver, was her boyfriend back then, and I met her occasionally.”

“During family meetings,” Lynn adds. “Well, Aden and I often fled to the terrace together. I’d have a cigarette, and he would just like the silence. Then, years later, we realized we pretty much are in a similar field of work.”

I try to take in all she says, and also the things she didn’t say. Aden must have more than one sibling if he emphasized that it was his oldest brother. And once more, he is awfully evasive right now. He lets Lynn talk, but doesn’t add anything, and I don’t feel like Lynn is saying an awful lot either.

“When Oliver and I broke up, Aden and I coincidentally met during a vernissage once. Aden was still painting, back then, but wanted to get into the business. And I was looking for a new challenge as well.”

“To both of our surprise, we work pretty well together,” Aden adds.

“Aden was surprised,” Lynn tells me. “I had the feeling it could work. He is a perfectionist, and I am too, just with more sense.”

Aden frowns at her words. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that I know when to stop harassing everyone around me about the exact details,” she grins. “Admit it, you need me and my people skills!”

“You have people skills?” he asks.

“Well, more than you do!”

I am in awe listening to their talk. Aden has his guard down around her completely. He must totally trust her. I feel a twinge in my chest. This time, however, not out of jealousy; there is nothing sexual between them, and Aden has been out as gay for ages, but it’s the familiarity between them. The way he talks to her and answers her teasing.