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“He said he’s been trying to reach you…” I said softly.
Aiden stabbed at a potato. “Yeah, that started about a year ago. Phone calls to my office, mostly. Asking me to meet him— said he had things he wanted to say to me.”
“But you never called him back.”
“For what? To hear more about how I fucked up?”
“Maybe he wants a chance to fix things.”
Aiden began sawing at his steak. “Too little, too late,” he muttered. He paused in what he was doing, then set his utensils down. “Sorry,” he said softly.
“Don’t apologize,” I offered. “I get it,” I said as my thoughts drifted to Billy and all the times I’d wanted him to tell me he was sorry and actually mean it. Even if by some miracle Billy were to appear and drop to one knee in front of me and sincerely apologize and beg my forgiveness, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to accept it. So I certainly couldn’t begrudge Aiden’s anger. He’d gone through something no kid should ever have to, and despite their own loss, his parents should have realized they needed to wrap their arms around the son they had left, not cruelly push him away for something that, no matter the circumstances, hadn’t been his fault. And his father had done so much worse than that. He’d blamed one son for the loss of another before completely casting him out of his life. It was no wonder Aiden carried so much more than just the weight of Danny’s death on his shoulders.
I wasn’t surprised when Aiden changed the subject back to me and lavished me with praise for my performance tonight. I forced the topic of Billy to the back of my mind as I focused on the man before me. The rest of the meal passed in easy conversation, and when it was time to leave the restaurant, Aiden put his arm around my shoulder and leaned his lips close to my ear. “Would now be a good time to remind you that you owe me not one, but two blowjobs tonight?”
I shivered in anticipation before turning my head enough to meet his lips with mine.
“As if I need the reminder, hotshot. Why do you think I skipped dessert?”
Chapter 23
Aiden
The following few weeks went by in a blur. Work was busy as we prepared to take on four big-name musical artist clients through Delphinia’s agent and were busy preparing PR campaign ideas and finalizing legal contracts for each of them.
During that time, I’d somehow managed to convince Ash to play in two more public appearances. One was an open mic night at a local pub down the street from our apartment building and the other was at a music festival where the afternoon’s events included the opportunity for anyone to come up and play for a few minutes.
The crowds at both events had fucking adored him. And I couldn’t even begin to describe what it was like to stand in the audience and watch him play in front of all those people. Each time, before he’d begun playing, he’d said the same thing.
“I’d like to thank Aiden Vale for tricking me into doing this. And I’d like to give him a Star Trek quote for good measure.” The crowd had tittered before he’d continued, and each time the quote had been different.
The first night in the coffee shop, he’d spouted off a Dr. Boyce quote. “A man either lives life as it happens to him, meets it head-on and licks it, or he turns his back on it and starts to wither away.”
The night in the local pub, it had been Spock’s words. “Random chance seems to have operated in our favor.”
And finally, at the music festival in the park, he’d looked right at me and recited Jean-Luc Picard’s lines. “Live now; make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.”
I’d thought in that moment that I would never forget what that feeling was. Of rightness, of timing, of having the most precious gift of his talent and companionship.
Of loving him with everything I had.
It was like I was living in a happy bubble until a couple of hours after Ash’s performance at the music festival when we met up with Bennett, Xander, and Lucky. Xander and Lucky were tossing a Frisbee in a grassy area of the park and Bennett was spread out on a blanket with their dog, Bear. It was a gorgeous, sun-filled day in late May, and I truly thought nothing could spoil my mood.
I was wrong.
Ash dropped his guitar case on the blanket next to Bennett before jogging over to join in the Frisbee toss. I sat down next to Bennett and ruffled Bear’s ears.
“We’re having a going away party Friday night,” Bennett said.
My head snapped around, and I stared at him. “What?”
