Page 94 of His Choice

I was elated. I kissed him and wouldn’t have stopped were it not for the fact that I had a television show to keep going. “I’ll need to thank Clara for her willingness to sacrifice time with her dad three or four months a year.”

Brighton laughed. “I believe her words were, ‘feel free to take mum with you those months so I can enjoy some freedom.’ Clara will be fine.”

“I fear your daughter is a fibber. I could see how much she loves her daddy.” I palmed his cheek. “And I believe I’m well on my way to feeling the same.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mikey

Cliff hadn’t seemed to mind Aaron and me skipping out of staying one last night in his mansion. Although Cliff planned to have a farewell breakfast the next day for everyone who had been involved in the show, he had understood that Aaron and I preferred to spend this time alone. We had promised that we’d swing by prior to everyone parting, though, to say goodbye. It wasn’t that I had grown close to the contestants or crew, but I wanted to properly thank Cliff, his mother and James.

After Aaron and I were in his car on the way home, he held my thigh the entire ride. It was an affectionate gesture he hadn’t done before. I never wanted to drive again if I could forever be his passenger with his hand resting on me.

“My parents are probably freaking,” Aaron reasoned, though he wasn’t behaving as though it worried him. As if on cue, his cell phone buzzed—his entertainment console displayed the word ‘Mom.’ Aaron pressed the accept button on his steering wheel. “Hi, Mom.”

“Aaron, was that staged? Are you and Mikey concocting this whole thing for attention so a casting director notices you?” She sounded more curious than upset.

“Pretty sure being bisexual isn’t going to increase my chances of getting acting roles,” Aaron replied.

Aaron’s father was on the line, too. He cleared his throat. “Is that what you are, Aaron? Bisexual? You told us you were just pretending to be into your roommate. Why did we need to learn the truth the same time as thousands of viewers?”

I looked to Aaron and he shrugged. “I guess I never realized it until a few months ago because I haven’t been attracted to other men. Just Mikey. I didn’t see the point of talking about it if Mikey ended up with Cliff.”

“If it’s been such a short while, you might be confused,” his mother suggested.

“I’m not,” Aaron snapped back firmly. “And you’re on speaker. Mikey is in the car with me.”

“Oh.” She whispered something to her husband that I couldn’t make out. “Hello, Mikey. How’s…the job going?”

Aaron rolled his eyes, but I tried to be respectful. “Fine, Ms. Nielsen. And how are you?”

“For Christ’s sake,” Aaron blurted. “Are you guys going to behave like you always have with each other…as if nothing’s changed? Mom, Dad… I have never felt this way about anyone else—woman or man. This isn’t going to be a quick fling. I love Mikey.”

I was concerned his parents might think their son had stronger feelings for me than I did for him. “Mr. and Ms. Nielsen, I love Aaron, too. I never told him because I thought he was straight.”

“Join the club,” his father answered. “I half expected a call one day that you got a girl pregnant, Aaron…not that you swing your bat from both sides of the plate.”

Aaron shook his head. “I’ve always used protection, Dad. And don’t talk about my…bat. It’s disturbing.”

“Well, we were just calling to tell you that we support you and love you,” Ms. Nielsen explained. “Surprised doesn’t mean disappointed. We’re happy as long as you are.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Aaron said. “And I want you both to get to know Mikey better. You’ve never seen him yet.”

“We saw quite a bit of him when he wore those low-slung pajama bottoms,” Mr. Nielsen joked.

It suddenly felt like the air conditioning wasn’t working well.

“That was my idea,” Aaron jumped in. “I can’t believe I almost pimped out my boyfriend to Cliff Walker.”

“We can call each other boyfriends?” I asked.

Aaron took his eyes off the road to glance my way. “Uh, yeah! What other term would you use? Don’t refer to me as something disgusting like your ‘lover.’”

My question had actually been prompted by my continued surprise at the turn of events. It was still sinking in that Aaron was serious about loving me and wanted to be something more than friends with benefits. I smiled.

“Mikey, be patient with him. He’s cute and a sweetheart, but he’s not a piece of cake to live with,” Ms. Nielsen warned.

“Don’t listen to her, Mikey. You’ve been my roommate, so you know living with me is a dream come true,” Aaron said with a grin.