Page 28 of His Choice

“When I think of a long-lasting relationship, I had a positive impression of Aaron,” Mitch said, ignoring Keller’s off-color joke. “He’s obviously very good looking. But I also liked the way he defended his friend. It showed loyalty, even though the two are competing against each other. I believe that’s a characteristic that would be important to you and, frankly, you need. You don’t want someone who’d use you because of your standing.”

“I liked that, too,” my mother agreed. “And he had spunk. You’ll want that, too.”

Keller grinned mischievously. “I’m going to update your websites to say ‘Cliff Walker wants spunk.’”

Flynt laughed, high-fiving Keller. “That would be so funny…until creepy guys start leaving jars of it on his front step.”

“Flynt!” Adam snapped.

I shot Keller and Flynt chastising looks, causing them to stare down at their shoes as they mumbled apologies. It reminded me too much of when I had been a teacher.

“Flynt, why don’t you try to be helpful and tell Mr. Walker who impressed you?” Myles encouraged, probably hoping to redeem his son in the viewers’ eyes. Flynt scratched his neck, seeming unsure. “Um, I thought Daryl seemed kind of sneaky.” He looked over to Keller. “Sorry to disagree with you, bro. I think I would vote for Aaron, too.”

There was a pause as all eyes shifted to Josh. He probably hated being pushed out of his comfort zone to speak on camera. He fiddled with his shirt sleeve. “Um, I know this might not… I don’t think…”

Myles put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Joshua. Your views are as valid as anyone’s. Who would you pick for Mr. Walker, if you had to choose today?”

“Mikey.”

I could hear the inhale of breath come from a few of the others.

“Why, Josh?” Adam asked.

Josh continued to fidget with a button. “He seemed genuine. When he looked at you in that first moment, Mr. Walker, I think he felt so lucky to be talking to you. I’ll bet he would try every day to make you happy.”

Everyone seemed to contemplate that, and heads nodded in agreement. Just like that, Josh’s heartfelt opinion vaulted Mikey near the top of everyone else’s list, too—including my own.

“Well, it sounds like this will be a tough competition,” Emilio said.

I agreed.

* * * *

James had just finished telling me about his conversation with Mikey. I was livid. I wondered how many other underhanded stunts the producers had planned.

“Fuckers.” James blanched at my uncharacteristic curse. “Sorry.”

“No, I understand,” he assured me. “They are. Fuckers, I mean. But not Mikey and Aaron.”

I wasn’t as sure. “They went along with it. I don’t know. I think I would have walked away if I had been in their shoes. What’s worse is, when I spoke with Aaron downstairs, he was downright flirtatious.”

I removed the suit jacket that now felt restrictive. James rushed over to take it from my hands and hang it. “But it’s like Mikey said, they signed an NDA before they auditioned, just like you did. If they couldn’t tell you what the producers had planned, wasn’t it better for them to run interference? And Aaron probably turned on the charm downstairs because he believes he needs to play the part initially. He can’t very well act disinterested on the first day without raising suspicions.”

I paced my bedroom until James had placed my jacket over a hanger, then stood awaiting my response. I recalled the conversation I had had with Aaron after Mikey had been brought to his room. Despite Aaron’s comments about my alleged good looks and great shape, he spent more time seemingly trying to sell me on Mikey. That supported Mikey’s claim that their plan was to de-emphasize Aaron in hopes I wouldn’t choose him. And they were correct that had producers passed on Aaron and brought on a different straight guy, I might have wasted time falling for an unavailable man—only to be embarrassed by my selection during the show’s finale.

“What if he’s not the only one? Do you think the producers could have signed up more than one guy who’s putting on an act?” I rubbed a hand over my jaw. “Christ, maybe all of them are.”

“Mikey’s not,” James replied.

“Are you sure about that? If Aaron was pretending to have interest, Mikey could be, too,” I reasoned. “What if he never even got drunk? The producers might have hired a couple of amateur actors and they’re playing out some twisted scene to make me paranoid.”

James tried to suppress a chuckle. “Uh, it would be working.”

I raised a questioning eyebrow, then grinned when I realized I was letting my imagination run rampant. “Okay, I believe he was drunk. The whole confession thing… There was no way they could have known you would be escorting him back to his room so he could spill this elaborate story to you.”

“And if my instincts are right, Mikey is truly gay. I also believe he thinks you’re the bomb. He seemed sincerely disappointed in himself for messing up the chance to make a positive impression on you,” James added.

I sat on the edge of my bed. “Funny. Josh Tilson said the same thing…the truly liking me thing, I mean. Adam and Myles have spoken more than once about Josh’s instincts when it comes to assessing people. I trust yours, too. So, I’m inclined to believe Mikey is here for the right reasons.”