Page 24 of Aaron

And the thing was, Aaron didn’t say stuff without meaning it. When he spoke, Brad had learned that he could count on the words that he said being true. Aaron had actually had a good time on this cheesy date, and it was then, maybe, that Brad started to admit to himself that he was losing his heart.

“Come back to my place.”

Aaron just nodded, and they got back in the car. A few more layers of the fortress that Brad had built, tall and strong, were stripped away from around his heart, and it seemed to him that it just might be the same for Aaron.

This time, they weren’t silent as they drove. This time, they chattered about the movies that they had watched together, and the conversation flowed so easily that Brad could barely believe it.

Something was happening, and it was something that was unthinkable or had been, to Brad just a few weeks ago. He wanted this man, and for more than just to warm his bed, too. Aaron was getting in, more and more all of the time.

Brad had had enough warning that he should have been able to stop it if he tried. So why wasn’t he trying? Why was he letting it happen, with all that was at risk?

For the first time, he tried out a new thought, just in the very secret, most private areas of not only his mind but also his soul, his heart. What if he had locked himself away for too long? What if, after all of these years, he allowed himself to think that someone might actually want him?

The thought was terrifying, but when he looked over at Aaron, he was very sure of himself suddenly. Very sure that this was going to happen, and that, more than that, he wanted it to.

Why not just go along for the ride, for once? He and Aaron held hands once more as they drove back to Brad’s house, and once more, their hands fit together like it made sense. Like all of this made sense, even though it didn’t.