Page 31 of His Choice

“I hope I’m not. I try not to be, anyway,” I assured him. “When Mikey’s sober, fill him in on our conversation. But to avoid legal issues, everything remains between the three of us, no matter what,” I warned. “Well, and James knows, too. But we can trust him not to say anything.”

He nodded. “By the way, like I said, Mikey is…bashful. I’m sure there’ll be a scene where you’re shirtless. Don’t be surprised if Mikey stands there stupefied or starts stammering.”

“You mean worse than you did?” I joked.

Aaron’s eyes widened, then he smiled. He understood that I knew his nervousness had been for a different reason. “You’re okay, Cliff.”

“Same. Goodnight.”

Chapter Ten

Mikey

The unexpected noise of others rustling about woke me, reminding me I wasn’t in my own bed. I rolled onto my back, trying to get my bearings. Aaron’s hand dropped onto my stomach. I turned my head and saw that he was sleeping on his side, facing me. That’s when I recalled where I was and why I was there. I glanced at the alarm clock on a nearby nightstand. It was seven-thirty.

I rubbed my eyes, hoping to make the dull ache disappear. The prior evening’s events came flooding back. I grabbed one of the extra bed pillows and held it over my face, wishing I could block the memories.

“You need to apply more pressure if you want to suffocate yourself,” Aaron mumbled.

I yanked the pillow off me and smacked it down on his ear. “Funny. Get up. I think we’re supposed to be downstairs in an hour for them to take promotional shots of the contestants.”

He remained in position, other than to lift the pillow and toss it off the bed. “That gives me another half hour to sleep.”

Aaron was probably right. He was one of the few who could wake and be washed, shaved, groomed and fresh within twenty minutes. They could allow me hours, and I’d still not look as put together.

“Okay,” I mumbled. “I’ll go shower first.”

I started to rise, but he held me back down with his hand.

“Are you feeling all right? Do you have a hangover?”

I shrugged, though Aaron’s eyes were still closed. “It’s not bad. Just a slight headache. I wish I had amnesia.”

“It wouldn’t make what happened go away,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, thanks for that,” I mumbled.

Though he still hadn’t moved, he snickered. “No more drinking. I don’t want my parents watching the show and thinking I live with a bad influence.”

His comment reminded me that my own parents had watched, as had coworkers and friends. “I will never be able to show my face again. Can you imagine what people at the firm must be saying about me this morning?”

“That you’re not the boring goody-two-shoes they thought you were,” he replied.

I narrowed my eyes at him, though he didn’t see. “Nobody says that about me.”

“I do, so I’m sure they all repeat it. You know what gossips they are,” he muttered.

I couldn’t help but grin. “You’re such a jerk. Well, for your information, I tell them all that you treat our apartment like a cheap rent-by-the-hour motel.”

“Thanks. I wondered why I had so much cred.”

I shook my head. “And your parents worry that I’m the bad influence.”

Aaron finally opened his eyes. “Why did you tell James that I’m straight?”

I hadn’t expected that. I might have opened and closed my mouth a few times. “I was going to let you know. I’m sorry, I hadn’t meant to share that with him. It slipped out because I was wasted. How did you find out? Did he let you know?”

Aaron pushed back on the mattress, propping a pillow behind his back so he could sit up. He ran a hand through his messy locks, appearing the way I wished every overnight sleepover partner looked first thing in the morning. “He told Cliff. And Cliff told me.”