Page 48 of Mr. Naughty List
RJ was looking through the little tree of coffee cups, smirking. “French vanilla, cinnamon bun, hazelnut, vanilla nougat…got any plain old coffee? Ah, here we go. Dark roast. Perfect.”
“I have a whole case of that beneath. It came with the machine. I don’t drink it.”
“Write my name on it, then,” RJ said. “I’ll be glad to drink it for you.” He met Aaron’s eyes hopefully. “I’d like some more mornings waking up here with you.”
Aaron looked away. Truth be told, he’d like that too, but that was a lot to ask. Too much ofeverythingwas wrapped up in agreeing to something like that. His mom, his job, his family out on the farm, and RJ was leaving anyway. He’d go back on tour. No reason for Aaron to let his body or mind or stupid heart want anything more than another fuck.
Because he did want that. At least one more fuck.
More like ten.
“How long are you in town for?” he asked, crouching down to pull the dark roast box of Keurig cups out and broaching the easiest concern first. May as well set clear expectations now.
“Until the new year.”
“Consider this your box until then.” Aaron’s tummy fluttered. Was he making a mistake? He thought he probably had, until he caught RJ’s expression: vibrant, alive, intense. RJ came at him then, wrapping him up against his tall, firm body, holding him tight.
“Thank you,” RJ whispered.
“You don’t have to keep doing that,” Aaron said.
“What?”
“Thanking me for everything.”
RJ pulled back, touched Aaron’s chin gently, and forced their eyes to meet. “Babe, I’ll thank you every time you give me something, because you deserve that gratitude. And as long as we’re doing this, whateverthisis, I’m gonna give you what you deserve. It’s part of my honor code.”
Aaron swallowed, his dick stirring. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
The sound of the Keurig filling the mug behind them broke the spell, and RJ let him go, gathering the mug of dark roast between his big palms and taking a closed-eyed sip.
“Ah. Perfect,” he said again. He leaned his hip against the counter and chuckled when Constance walked back into the room, went to her food dish and started to eat with a little chirrup of joy, like she hadn’t just disdained that meal a few minutes before. “She’s something else.”
“What are your plans today?” Aaron asked, a wad of weird feelings balling up in his gut. He didn’t know what he wanted RJ to say, but he wanted to know as soon as possible so he could get on with his own plans. He’d need a distraction if RJ wasn’t sticking around, lest he fall into a pit of post-sex shame and post-fight-with-his-mom stressing.
Aaron supposed he could take his father up on his recent request for a visit. That would take up most of his day and would keep him out of his mother’s crosshairs, since cell reception wasn’t great on the farm. He wondered what RJ might think of the Danvers Farm. It was a pretty piece of land…
“I have a show tonight. Before that…” RJ shrugged. “I need to go into my friend Chip’s recording studio and talk to him about a demo I want to make. How about you?”
Aaron was glad he had a ready answer. “I was going to head out to Strawberry Plains to visit my father. He mentioned some sort of gift he wanted to give to me before Christmas, so I thought I’d go see what it is.” Disappointment welled up. He hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted RJ to stick around for the day, or that he’d planned to ask RJ to come out to his dad’s farm with him. Or that he’d wanted RJ to say yes.
“Chip’s studio’s in Strawberry Plains,” RJ said, surprised delight coloring his tone. “Weird, huh? There’s not much out that way, but we both planned to go there today.” He raised his coffee in a toast and winked. “It’s almost like the universe is setting us up.”
Aaron raised his brow. “Meaning?”
“How about this…” RJ paused, took another swallow of coffee, and motioned at the coffee cup tree. “What do you like? Cinnamon bun?”
Aaron felt a rush of pleasure. “Actually, that’s my favorite.”
“I knew it.” RJ winked. “Okay, so how about this…” He started the Keurig for Aaron’s mug. “We go out that way together. I’ve got this cushy SUV I’ve been forced to borrow—long story—and so I might as well use it.”
“Oh. Well.”
Yes, a part of Aaron had wanted to ask RJ to go out to the Danvers Farm with him. But now that it could actually happen? His gut twisted up with anxiety.
He’d never taken a man out to his father’s place before. All or some of the cousins might be around. He’d never explicitly told any of them that he was gay. Not even his dad. Though, Aaron assumed his dad knew. He was sure that his mother had thrown it in his dad’s face during one of their incredibly rare and always toxic interactions.