Page 73 of AJ’s Fire

“And yet you never do, Mom.” My heart pounded as she looked over my shoulder once again. I looked quickly behind me before focusing on my mother again. My father stood, staring at the coffee table, askew in the center of the living room.

“Well, we did want to talk with you. We came home early and need to talk to you about Emily and the future of the company.” I kept my body in front of hers. “The Wyecrests will be with us for Easter Sunday and …”

“Are you really just getting back to the States? Are you hungry? I can throw some clothes on, and we can go grab a bite.”

“We ate. We just want to talk to you. About Emily.”

I stood my ground in the foyer, my pulse thrumming through my body as if it was beating in time to AJ’s in the other room, a proverbial telltale heart. I thought I had another week to prepare before talking to my parents.. And I never imagined I would do it while AJ hid in my bedroom.

“I’ll be home for Easter. Can’t we talk about this then?” It was a challenge to keep desperation out of my voice.

“I just said the Wyecrests will be joining us!” My mom sounded exasperated. “And we all need to be on the same page,” she concluded as she pushed past me to join my father, who was standing in the archway to the living room, staring at my misplaced coffee table.

“Yeah, I think we do,” I mumbled as I brought up the rear and joined my parents in the living room, seeing what they saw: a pile of AJ’s clothes, a bottle of lube and a butt plug on the table, and a towel on the couch.

I swiped up the towel and the items from the coffee table and stood in front of my parents.

“Why don’t you two have a seat? I’m gonna throw some clothes on. We need to talk. There’s wine and beer in the fridge if you want.” I knew at least one of us was going to need a beer.

AJ was in a sweat suit, sitting on the bed, running his fingers through still-damp hair. Absentmindedly, I dropped everything in my hands to the floor, shedding my bathrobe as I spoke and adding it to the pile.

“You ready to do this?” I asked.

“What? I … No?” AJ stood up. “Jackson, you don’t have to … I can stay in here or try to slip into the guest room. It’s not like I didn’t used to sleep here before, occasionally. On your time, Jax. We don’t have to do this right now. You don’t have to do this now!”

“It’s too late for all that. They saw the lube and the … “ My hand pointed absently at the items I’d tossed to the floor. “And ... this is my time, baby. All that stuff you said before, when we were … making love, about not being alone, about being together.” I was rummaging through my drawers and happened to pull out a matching pair of FDNY sweatpants.

I slipped them on along with a plain white T-shirt, then stood in front of AJ.

“I could fly you to London tonight, but you don’t care. We could take Vee to Florida and spend a month as VIPs at the happiest place on Earth, but you’d never ask. We could both quit tomorrow and live on some island in the Caribbean, flying our families down to us as we basked in the sun”—I leaned in closer to whisper in his ear—“and fuck like bunnies.”

He laughed. “Make love like bunnies.”

“Make love like bunnies,” I agreed.

“But you don’t want any of that. You want me, Jackson Dorso of the FDNY. Reformed playboy, trust-fund baby, and your man. That’s all that matters. And the truth. The truth matters, Aje. And I’ve made us hide behind lies for months. We were going to tell them next week anyway. Come with me now?”

“I love you, Riley Jackson Dorso.”

“Love you too, Alexander Jeremy Gordon.”

“Let’s do this?” He feigned confidence.

“Let’s do this.” I pretended right back.

Chapter Twenty-One

AJ

In our matching sweatpants, holding hands at Jackson’s insistence, we exited his bedroom and took the short walk down the hall, Mr. and Mrs. Dorso’s glare making the few steps feel like miles. I’d never met the couple, but their work and innovations had made them famous years ago, and their philanthropic endeavors and movie studio aspirations had kept them in the news ever since.

The coffee table was still askew, and I could see a greasy stain where the lube and butt plug had sat. This left us space to walk to the center of the room and stand in front of the two famous people, which is where Jackson dragged us.

“Mom, Dad. This is AJ Gordon. He’s my boyfriend.” Jackson’s father sat up straighter, like he was going to speak, but Jax continued. “I wasn’t expecting you this evening, obviously.” He muttered that last word. “But I’m glad you’re here, and I’m glad you get to meet AJ. He’s very important to me.”

Jackson paused to collect his thoughts, and his father respected it this time, keeping quiet. His eyes were on Jackson, hers were on me. I gave a soft smile in acknowledgment.

“I’ve been working up the courage to tell you I’m bisexual, and I was planning to do so this weekend. But you’re here now, and I’m happy to have you all meet, though I’m sorry”—he turned and said the last part directly to me—“I’m sorry it happened this way.” Turning back to his parents, he continued. “We had this whole plan. Come tell you guys next weekend, then tell AJ’s family and let them know at work. AJ and I work together. I’ve told you about him.” Jackson had done the hard part, and words were spilling out of him. “Who needs a drink? Dad? Aje? Beer? Mom, I’ve got some wine in the fridge.”