Page 52 of His Choice

“Nothing would change,” I protested.

“Of course it would,” she countered. “You might stay somewhat close, but by necessity, your time together would diminish significantly. He wouldn’t be the center of your world anymore, and eventually, you’ll start relying on Cliff instead of your friend. I’m sure he realizes that. And you couldn’t possibly be to him what you are now, either, without sacrificing Cliff’s needs. Add that you’d be surrounded by wealth and privilege and living in a world that your friend can visit but isn’t a part of… How could he not feel estranged?”

I recalled Aaron’s comment that if Cliff chose me, he didn’t know where that left him. He had made it sound like it was about ruining the charade we had planned. But after I had shared with him that there were workarounds, Aaron had conceded quickly. He was a smart man who wouldn’t have struggled to pivot as the situation changed. It made me wonder if Ms. Walker’s suspicion was the real reason for his behavior. And unfortunately, as I thought about her comments, I realized that she was correct regarding how things would alter if Cliff chose me.

“I hadn’t considered all that,” I admitted.

She nodded. “Maybe you need to. You’re a dear, and if you want Cliff regardless of the cost, and my son feels the same, then I will welcome you to the family with open arms. But don’t make my son fall in love with you if you can’t accept the consequences.”

“Yeah. Okay,” I replied. “Thank you for your advice.”

She leaned back in the chair. “Maybe take a break from your worries. You could grab one of those steamy books and read for a while. I haven’t gone through all the gay romances yet, but I can tell you which one I’ve read that have the hottest sex scenes.” She paused, appearing concerned. “Oh, you aren’t offended by gang-bangs, are you? If I recall, there was one pretty graphic scene.”

I coughed, relieved that unlike earlier, I had nothing in my mouth to spit out. “Uh, actually, I think I should get back to the room and try to patch things up with Aaron.”

“Suit yourself. Let me know if you change your mind about Daryl and prefer to see him swimming with the fishes.”

Chapter Fifteen

Cliff

The next day’s breakfast had been troubling. As I had the day before, I sat with my mother to avoid the appearance of playing favorites with any of the contestants. That was when she had shared with me the conversation she’d had with Mikey the previous evening. It bothered me that the guy was led to believe I had chosen him for a date at the producers’ insistence, with the intent of passing him over in the end. I had enjoyed getting to know him and, if anything, he and Brighton were now at the top of my list. It had also been unfortunate that the competition had driven a wedge between Mikey and Aaron. When I had glanced around the patio, I had noticed that Mikey had been sitting with Dani, and Aaron had been at another table with Ted. Neither Mikey nor Aaron seemed able to muster a smile for the men they had chosen to dine with.

The contestants and I were to be filmed visiting downtown White Pines and nearby locales. Sometime during the day, there was to be a surprise challenge for the contestants.

Adam had promised the town would be gussied up to look pristine and charming and many local shops would be adorned with Pride flags. All residents had been welcomed to communicate with me and my guests, and they were encouraged to express their opinions about the contenders based on the first two episodes that had aired. They had been warned, however, that all interactions would be captured on camera, and if they tried to tell me something that had been filmed outside my presence, they would be stopped and their opinions would be edited from the program. My mother had been miffed that she hadn’t been invited as part of the entourage, so I had promised to provide her an update later at dinner.

As I and the other men piled into the bus that was to carry the cast and crew to Main Street, I noticed Aaron had taken a seat a couple of rows behind Mikey. Mikey shot me a pained look as I approached. I reached down to massage his shoulder. “My mother told me about your conversation. Daryl was wrong, and so was Aaron,” I whispered in his ear. “I’m going to grab the seat next to Aaron to find out what’s going on in his head.”

He appeared apprehensive but gave me a quick nod before I proceeded down the aisle.

“The seat next to me is available,” Dani suggested as I passed him.

“Maybe on the ride back,” I answered. “There’s something important I need to discuss with Aaron. It isn’t related to the contest.” I shared more information than I needed, but I didn’t want the kid to feel snubbed.

“May I?” I asked Alex as he was about to take the seat next to Aaron. “There’s something Aaron and I need to clear up.” Again, I was trying too hard to make everyone like me, providing explanations for wanting the seat so others wouldn’t worry I was playing favorites. Alex nodded, though, and continued down the aisle.

Aaron had ear buds in his ears, but the volume was turned up so high, I could hear what he was playing—Mr. Brightside by The Killers. Aaron appeared sad rather than entertained by the music.

“Great song,” I said as I plunked myself down next to him.

He glanced over, removing a bud from his left ear. “Huh?”

“I said, I like that song,” I repeated.

Aaron grabbed his phone and pressed pause on the playlist. “You have that in common with Mikey. This is his favorite band.” He shoved the phone in the pocket of his hoodie. “We saw them in concert when they were in Burlington.”

I wondered if Aaron was tormenting himself with Mikey memories. “Can we talk on the ride into town? I don’t think anyone can hear us with the bus and road noise.”

He removed the other bud and shoved the pair into the same pocket as the phone. “Sure.”

“My mother and Mikey ran into each other last night, after the date he and I went on,” I started.

“Oh,” he said in a way that made me think he knew where the conversation was going.

“I’d normally say that what transpired between you and Mikey is none of my business. But in this case, I think it is. It seems whatever disagreement you two had was because of me. Aaron, I don’t want to be the person who damages your friendship with Mikey. My mother was under the impression that after their conversation, Mikey intended to return to your room to try to fix things between you two. It doesn’t appear that worked.”

Aaron redirected his focus to the headrest of the seat in front of him. “I didn’t know that. I pretended to be asleep when he came in. I figured he was pissed at me, and it was better to avoid conversation.”