Aiden looked up in surprise at Pruitt’s voice. When had he joined their group? The older man stood almost uncomfortably close, his eyes darting between Aiden’s face and his watch.
“No,” Aiden said coldly. He was done pretending to be polite to this megalomaniac. He gave his back to Pruitt and quietly got his brother’s attention. “Tell Mom and Dad I had to leave.”
His brother arched an eyebrow. “Already?”
“Yes. Can’t be helped.”
Aiden gave his sister-in-law a kiss on the cheek and excused himself from the others in the group. Quickly slipping through the crowd of guests, he was back outside in less than a minute. He hustled back to the guest house and grabbed his bag with his Stardust gear. It would be foolish to ride off wearing it and risk being seen, so he shrugged the backpack onto his shoulders and ran to his motorcycle. A quick kick start and the bike roared to life. Aiden zipped down the long drive past the still arriving guests, headed for the firehouse.
∞ ∞ ∞
Mike’s balance had tipped away from peace. He still had the purpose and joy of working as a superhero. But it was his relationship with Aiden that had weighted the scales. He missed everything about being with his pretty Dom. But he couldn’t come to terms with what Aiden wanted from him. And the pain at Aiden so easily casting him aside couldn’t be denied. He needed to trust that Aiden would be there for him. Would be the person he belonged to. His home. Aiden’s cavalier attitude in ending their relationship had seriously damaged that trust. But still, Mike wanted to be with him.
Tonight, he would see Aiden for the first time since their breakup. He tried to keep his cool, but at the familiar sound of a motorcycle approaching, his heart started beating faster. Mike turned to watch the front door, waiting for Aiden’s arrival.
Aiden came in, his loose hair in a windswept tangle, wearing a gold tuxedo jacket and black pants. Mike was confused for a moment before he remembered that the Saliette’s fundraiser was that evening.
“Give me a second to get changed,” Aiden said before disappearing into the locker room.
Mike was staring at the door, his heart aching, when a warm sense of calm suddenly washed over him. His heart still ached, but it was as if someone had applied a soothing balm to the raw wound of his soul. He turned to Caleb.
“Did you...?”
Caleb looked up at him with sympathetic eyes and nodded.
“I need you focused out there, big guy.”
Realizing that he did indeed need to have his head in the game, Mike accepted the gift of momentary calm Caleb had given him. He straightened his shoulders. “Understood. Thank you.”
Aiden came back out dressed in his Stardust gear, sai holstered and mask in hand. At the same time, the throaty roar of a muscle car came from the parking lot. A moment later Amina walked into the firehouse, dressed in her hero suit. It was black leather trimmed in glowing purple. The cowled mask to the suit was currently down, her hair wrapped in a purple silk scarf.
A few moments later, Frost walked in too. They were the only one on the team who didn’t appear to wear a traditional superhero costume. They were always dressed in white, grays, and blues but they favored hoodies or sometimes even fur coats worn with jeans. Tonight, they had on an oversized gray sweatshirt, black jeans with multiple rips and loops, and silver Doc Martens.
“Okay, everyone is here,” Caleb said. “Here’s what’s going on. Some wannabe villain prankster...”
Mike paid enough attention to get the basic details of who and where they were fighting. But his mind was mostly on Aiden—half missing him, half angry at him for ending their relationship. It was a frustrating situation to be in. He wanted answers. Their discussion or argument felt unfinished. He needed to knowwhyAiden made that offer and why he’d been angry when Mike turned him down. And was he supposed to assume that they were over,truly over, due to what felt like to him was a non-issue? He turned to look at Aiden, all of his thoughts and questions bubbling within him, ready to rise up for him to blurt out—.
“Got it.”
Mike snapped to attention when Amina spoke. She pulled up her cowl, settling it to cover half of her face down to her nose. They were about to depart. Embarrassed that he’d been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t even realized the briefing was over, Mike got his head in the game and put his visor on. They left the firehouse, Mike and Amina in their own rides, Frost on the back of Aiden’s motorcycle.
When they arrived on the scene, Amina took charge.
“Frost, freeze over that fountain to keep anymore goblins from spawning. Stardust and Dr. Z, we’re keeping these disgusting little creatures occupied until Frost can freeze them all over.”
Every one jumped into action. Mike focused on the fight but he couldn’t help but notice the difference from all of the previous missions he’d carried out with Aiden. Fighting with his lover was fun. But fighting with hisformerlover was joyless. Gone was the fraught tension with underlying sexual attraction from their first outings. The flirty banter from their time as lovers had disappeared as well. Now, it was simply impersonal tones and basic courtesy.
“Behind you!” Mike called out when he saw one of the water goblins sneaking up behind Stardust.
Stardust spun and kicked the goblin away. “Thanks,” he called back.
And those were the only words they spoke to each other.
When the fight was over, Mike turned to Aiden out of habit, ready to receive his praise. Aiden looked up. Their eyes met and Aiden took a single step toward him. Then he stopped. Averting his gaze, he spun on his heel and went the other way.
Something cracked within Mike’s chest as realization struck with a brutal hit. There would be nogood joboffered tonight. No reward given. Nogood boywhispered in his ear as he pleasured his pretty Dom.
Mike clenched his fists, turning away to hide his wounded expression from the others. He must not have been fast enough however, because Amina touched his arm.
