Handle With Care

by Cari Z

  “No, that’s true.” He had to talk to her, but he didn’t have to make it easy.

  “Chrissy tells me you’re doing really well in Tennessee.”

  “Yeah, I am. I like my job.” And for the first time in a long while, Aaron really felt the truth of that, deep in his gut. He wasn’t just good at his job. He liked it. He liked helping the kids. He liked seeing families come together again if they could. He liked helping to make new families, and when he felt Tyler step up just behind him, a silent but reassuring presence at his back, he smiled. “I like it a lot.”

  “I’m so glad.” Lia was quiet for a moment, but Aaron let her gather herself, because he knew something else was coming. “Do you—would you believe me if I said I was sorry? Because I am. I’m so sorry. I can’t even tell you how much I regret everything I put you through.”

  Hearing it was a little like being stabbed in the stomach with a knife, but a very small one. It hurt, but he wasn’t about to bleed out. “I appreciate that,” Aaron managed. “It doesn’t really matter, though. You weren’t sorry enough back then to stop the drugs and keep us all together. The fact that I turned out okay, that Zach turned out okay—that’s not due to you. So I’m glad to hear you say it, but I think it’s probably more important for you to apologize than for me to be apologized to. But—I get it. Thanks.”

  Lia nodded. “My counselor—I’ve got a lot of them, but this one’s in charge of the addiction clinic—she said saying sorry usually means more to the offender than anybody else. I just wanted you to know, though. I was a terrible mother, but I’m trying not to be a terrible person.”

  If she needed a little validation, he could give it to her. “Good.” A very little bit.

  “Can I—is it okay if I friend you on Facebook? I don’t want to—Zach calls it lurking, I think? I don’t want to lurk, but I would like to know what you’re up to. I promise not to bother you there.”

  If friending his mother on social media was the most that was going to be expected of Aaron out of this, he’d take it. “Sure, that’s okay.”

  “All right, good.” Her smile was the mirror image of his, and it felt strange to have something of himself reflected back at him after so long. “Thank you, Aaron.” She glanced at Tyler, then turned and walked into the crowd.

  Aaron exhaled explosively. As conversations went, it was as benign as he could have hoped for. As for reactions…. Aaron wasn’t quite sure whether he wanted to shrug their brief conversation off completely, reflect on it for a while, or stalk outside like he had yesterday and yell at the sky for a while.

  “Is it just me, or was that really fucking Stepford?”

  Thank God that Tyler was around to distract him. “I think that was as good as I could expect,” he said, turning to face Tyler and not keep staring at the sea of people that Lia had blended into.

  “Yeah, I know. That’s why I don’t like it.”

  “You’d prefer tears and shouting and begging?”

  Tyler scowled. “I think you deserve a little groveling, all things considered. So she’s sorry, good for her, wants to be your buddy, fuckin’ hoorah. That doesn’t mean you have to let her.”

  Aaron shook his head. “I don’t want to dwell on her. Not today. This is Zach’s day. Maybe not any day, but definitely not now. And I don’t trust groveling. It’s too theatrical to be meaningful.”

  Tyler waggled his eyebrows. “Does that mean you wouldn’t like me on my knees?”

  That—would be a pretty picture. Aaron swallowed hard. “Not if you’re down there begging me for forgiveness. If you had another reason to be on your knees, though, I’d play it out.”

  Tyler groaned under his breath. “Tell me you have a condom stashed somewhere, and I will drag you to the nearest closet to blow you and God can just enjoy the view.”

  Aaron laughed, hard enough that he grabbed on to Tyler’s arm after a second to keep from swaying. He’d heard Tyler’s version of foreplay leveled at other people before, just not at him. It was refreshingly direct.

  “Sorry, no. But if you want to ask Owen for one, I’m sure he brought some in case he gets lucky with a bridesmaid.”

  Tyler squinched his face up with disgust. “Ew, fuckin’ no! I’ll handle a few more hours of celibacy, thanks. We should eat soon, right?” he added. “And then there’s speeches and dancing and then we can leave?”

  “You’re the one with all the wedding experience, you tell me.”

  It turned out that Tyler’s timeline was off, by quite a bit. Jeanette was determined that her daughter make an entrance, so the bridal party didn’t even show up for another forty-five minutes, to great fanfare from the DJ. The meal was buffet-style, but no one would have known it given how slow people were to actually get up, get their food, and sit down again. There were speeches from the respective parents, from several people in the wedding party, and even a few minutes where the microphone got passed around to random people who had well-wishing they wanted to throw out there.

  By the time Aaron was up, people were already shifting in their seats and all the glasses were empty from toasting.

  He considered all the things he could say, threw out 90 percent of them, and went with, “Zach and Becky deserve every happiness together, and after getting to know both of them better this past week, I’m convinced they’re going to have that happiness every day for the rest of their lives. I’m honored to be a part of their celebration and look forward to having a place in their future together. To Zach and Becky.” He lifted his champagne flute—sparkling cider for him—in his brother’s direction, pleased that both he and Becky were smiling, and drank.

  Then came half a dozen special dances, from father-daughter and mother-son to the money dance. By the time the DJ turned on his portable disco ball and played the electric slide, it was dark outside and Aaron had had enough food, drink, and socializing for the day. Possibly the rest of the week.

  It was a lot more bearable with Tyler sitting there beside him, holding his hand like their palms had been welded together.

  He rubbed his thumb over Tyler’s knuckles, then nudged his leg. “Hey. You ready to get out of here?”

  Tyler put down the beer he had been nursing with an adamant thump. “Hell yeah. I say we hit the road before Jeanette decides she wants us around for cleanup too.” He got to his feet and held out a hand to Aaron, who took it. Tyler pulled him to his feet and into his arms, his face lighting up with a mischievous smile. Before Aaron could react, he leaned in and kissed him on the mouth, under the strobe lights, on the sidelines of the crowd of their family and friends.

  The only attention they garnered was from Grandma, where she was dancing with a trapped-looking Owen on the dance floor. “You get you some, honey!”

  “Planning on it!” Tyler called back to her.

  Owen tried to roll his eyes but winced when his swollen, bruised souvenir from his fight refused to cooperate.

  Tyler laughed. “Closest thing we can get to parental approval, right there.”

  “It’s nice that we don’t need it. Come on.” Aaron led the way to the annex exit. “Let’s get out of here.”

  AARON had never thought of himself as a particularly patient lover. He didn’t usually even think to draw things out—he wanted to come, he wanted to make his partner come, he wanted them both to be satisfied, but there was no point in dwelling on it, right? Why linger, when you could be just as happy getting to the point and moving on?

  Tyler made him seriously rethink his stance on taking things fast, because seeing him splayed out on the cheap polyester sheets of the guest bed, long limbs akimbo and moving restlessly as Aaron worked him over, and the way he called Aaron’s name, how happy and desperate he looked—it was ridiculously appealing. Aaron was transfixed, playful, wanting to make sure Tyler enjoyed himself while at the same time indulging in everything he wanted to do to the man. Fortunately those were almost entirely the same things, but after sharing a shower, then twenty solid minutes of sucking Tyler’s co
ck without letting him come, both of them were getting a little edgy.

  Aaron relaxed his jaw again and sank down, as low as he could get, until Tyler bumped the back of his throat. He filled him, solid and warm in his mouth, welcome despite the taste of latex. Soon, he thought to himself, no condoms. He wanted to taste the salt of Tyler’s skin, feel the way it rubbed against his tongue like velvet. Aaron stayed flush to Tyler’s groin until Tyler finally wove his hands into Aaron’s hair and pulled him off with a groan.

  “How the hell do you hold your breath that long?” he asked faintly, his eyes wide and bright as he stared down at Aaron.

  Aaron grinned. “Practice.”

  “Gah.” Tyler flopped his head back against the pillow. “Don’t make me feel all jealous and appreciative at the same time. My brain can’t take it.” His hips twitched abortively, little motions that begged for attention without being too pushy. Aaron wanted pushy, though. He leaned in again and fondled Tyler’s tight balls in his hand, tugging down on them until Tyler whimpered.

  “You can hold me in place.” He pressed his head up into Tyler’s hands. “Fuck my mouth. Do it until you come.”

  “Son of a bitch, finally.” He pushed Aaron back down and Aaron went, sucking Tyler deep again and using his hand at the base of his long cock, moving with the motion of Tyler’s push-pull, getting harder and faster until he came a bare ten seconds later, cursing and quivering as he did. Aaron sucked until Tyler’s noises became plaintive and his hands relaxed, then let him go. Before he could take care of the condom, Tyler tugged him up and forward, until Aaron was sprawled across his chest, having the life kissed out of him.

  “You’re so fucking good,” Tyler whispered against his lips. “So good. I knew you would be. Fuck, what can I do? I’ll do anything.”

  It wasn’t going to take much at this point. Aaron was leaking precome, and one tentative stroke of his cock was enough to make him shudder. “I’d let you fuck me,” Tyler said, and Aaron bit his lip so hard that his teeth cut through the tender skin. “I want you to.”

  “There’s no way I’ll last that long.”

  “Then just—wait—” He pushed up and rolled over under Aaron until Aaron was flush against his back, his cock thrust between Tyler’s thighs, which he clenched tight. “Like this? Is this okay?”

  It was tight, with not enough lube to make the glide comfortable, but Aaron was sure he’d never felt anything better. “Yeah.” Fuck, was that his voice, breathless and hoarse and so turned on, it could have lit every light in the house? “It’s good.” He thrust a few times, the head of his cock nudging Tyler’s balls, rubbing over his hole, and the punched-out sound he made, oh fuck, it was so good—

  Aaron came in a rush, thrusting through the pleasure, through the new slickness easing his path, through the intense rush of having exactly what he wanted, exactly as he wanted it. God, it was everything and barely anything, just the start, just the beginning….

  He fell over onto his side and took Tyler with him, wrapping his arms around Tyler’s shoulders and probably holding him too tightly, but Tyler didn’t seem to care. “Damn.”

  “Yeah, man.” Tyler sounded a little smug. “Awesome. I knew it would be.”

  Aaron hid his grin in Tyler’s hair. “How many times have you thought about this?”

  “More than I can remember. I carried my torch a long time.”

  Aaron shook his head. “I can’t help but think I’m going to be a disappointment in some ways, after years of fantasies.”

  Tyler huffed. “Yeah, maybe if I didn’t know you at all. I do, though. I’ve lived with you, Aaron. I’m not gonna get blindsided by how weird you can be or surprised when you fart in bed or anything. There’s no disappointment to be had.”

  “Tell me if there is, though.” Tyler started, but Aaron cut him off, splaying one hand over Tyler’s heart. “I’m serious. We know each other, but we’ve never had this kind of relationship before. We have to talk to each other about things before they become stumbling blocks. You said you were worried about things not working out. I am too, but it’ll go better if we stay honest.”

  “Gotcha.” He was silent for a moment. “In the interest of honesty, then, I have to get this condom off my dick before it dries in place. And my thighs are gross, man. How long have you been saving that up?”

  Aaron chuckled and kissed the back of Tyler’s neck. “Fine. Cleanup. We might as well take advantage of the shower again as long as no one else is here.”

  “You read my mind,” Tyler said, then rolled away and held out a hand to Aaron.

  He took it without a second thought.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “YOU should take some food for the road.”

  “I don’t think we’re going to need any,” Aaron said. He and Tyler hadn’t delved too deeply into the snacks they’d set out with originally, and they didn’t have an actual timeline for getting to Chicago. New York City, they’d decided, would wait until Tyler didn’t have to telecommute. “Sometime within the next few days” seemed like plan enough, and knowing Tyler, they’d be stopping at every weird, themed restaurant or monument along the way. There’d be plenty of time to eat.

  “No, hon.” Chrissy crossed her arms. “You’ve seen the state of my fridge. It’s worse now, worse, since I got wedding food to bring home. I swear, Jeanette must think I can’t cook, but I couldn’t exactly tell her no when she offered it.” None of them were very good at telling Jeanette no. “So you’ve got to take some of it with you. Save me from myself, Aaron.”

  “The groomsmen—”

  “—are already gone! Matt drove Simon to the airport this morning, and Owen’s dragged himself back off to his uncle’s hole in the ground. They got away before I could give them any of it.”

  She had a point. And Aaron certainly hadn’t been sad to see any of them go. He’d been friendly enough with Matt and Simon, and managed to shake Owen’s hand without getting into a squeezing match, which was good since Aaron would definitely have lost. Owen hadn’t had much to say in the end, which was just how Aaron liked it. Zach had certainly seemed to approve. If a casual détente was the best he could hope for, then he was grabbing it with both hands. He was out helping Tyler load up the truck.

  Aaron tried again. “We don’t have a cooler.”

  “I’ve got one you can take with you. Just the easy stuff,” she begged. “The little quiches and the cheese squares and the veggie platter. Tyler loved the quiches, didn’t he? Don’t you want to make your boyfriend happy?” she added with a wink.

  Well, that cat was definitely out of the bag. Aaron found that he kind of liked it, actually. Chrissy didn’t seem put off or offended, just… pleased for them. The way Diana would be.

  Aaron smiled. “Fine. Where’s the cooler?”

  Naturally, by the time they were done packing it, he had cinnamon rolls, baseball-frosted sugar cookies, and a half gallon of milk in there.

  Tyler was delighted. “Nice! We can have cookies and milk on the road!”

  “Great.”

  “Dude.” He nudged Aaron with his elbow. “You know you want cookies and milk on the road.”

  “It’s going to be so messy.”

  “We can take turns. I’ll hold the cup while you’re driving. You hold it while I’m driving.”

  “I’m surprised you don’t just want to drink out of the carton.”

  Tyler’s eyes widened. “That’s a brilliant idea!”

  Aaron was saved from a potentially embarrassing reaction to Tyler’s cuteness by the beep of an incoming text. He pulled out his phone and checked it, then did a double take. It was Whit. Maybe it was personal, but maybe it was about work, maybe…. Aaron was momentarily stunned to realize that he hadn’t even thought about his job for the past few days. It was almost enough to make him feel guilty, especially since he didn’t know how things had turned out for Tommy, except—damn it, it was his vacation. This was what he was supposed to do.

  “Give me a second,” he
murmured, and walked toward the backyard, Norman trotting happily at his heels.

  The text was innocuous enough. How was the wedding? You get through it without too much familial weirdness?

  Aaron snorted and texted back. Still alive, at least. It actually went pretty well. How is Tommy? Did something happen?

  Aaron wasn’t very good at interpreting emoji, but he was pretty sure this little face meant “Calm the hell down, buddy.” Tommy is fine. He’s staying at the gym for now, working there too—with a signed lease and everything, all above board, so don’t freak out. All is well.

  Good to know.

  When are you getting back in?

  Not for another week. We’re detouring to Chicago. Aaron bit his lip, then decided to go for it. Tyler and I are dating now.

  There was a long pause, and then—I don’t believe it.

  Aaron bristled and started typing out a response, but then the next part of Whit’s message came through. Fucking finally! Who manned up, you or him? I bet it was you. Too pretty in his suit, huh?

  That was uncomfortably close to the truth, so Aaron elected to ignore it. Mutual decision.

  You happy, then?

  At least this reply didn’t take any thought. Definitely.

  Good. What followed was a long string of hearts, ending with, See you in a week, loverboy.

  See you. Aaron put his phone away, then jumped a little as Tyler touched his elbow.

  “Everything okay?” he asked. “Was that work?”

  “No, it was Whit. And everything’s… fine.” Nothing was falling apart. No one was desperate without him. Nothing bad had happened. A little part of Aaron felt disappointed by that, like it was a letdown that he could be covered for so easily, but for the most part, all he felt was relief. “I’m fine.”

  Tyler grinned. “Yeah you are.”

  “Was that supposed to be flirting?”

  “What, not suggestive enough? ’Cause I can do better, if you really want to hear about how much I want you to bend me over and—”