Page 49 of Obnoxious Bad Boy

Heat steams through my skull. “Remember what happened when my ex, Colby, came out? That. Is not. Happening. To me.”

Yasmin sighs. “You have a completely different audience.”

“And a lot to lose. Even if most of my fans would be totally fine with me being gay, some would not, and it’ll create an unpleasant atmosphere. You know brands don’t like controversy, and I get a lot of sponsorships. Even if they don’t drop me right away, they’ll just not renew contracts. Not to mention that some of the girls who watch me really have this hope that there might be a spark when they meet me. If I come out, that option would be gone. It’s too risky.”

Yasmin watches me in silence, but when her shoulders relax, I know she’s given up. “Whatever it is that you two have, I’m not here to pry. I just wanna know if you’re spending Christmas at mine, and if so, is he coming?”

“I’ll ask him tonight,” I say, though my thoughts drift off to what Yasmin said about condoms. I use them, yes, but since I’m exclusive with Aaron now, maybe we could discuss skipping them after all? Nothing irresponsible about it when my STI test came out clear. Maybe tonight would be a good time to approach him about it, though considering that he’s so reluctant about letting me tattoo him, I wonder if he’ll be up for it after all.

She leans down to pet Inkblot, who’s decided to grace us with his presence. “Great. I need to know how much food to prepare. Though that skinny boy can’t eat much.”

“You’d be surprised,” I say, grinning when my cat leaps onto the sofa and proceeds to walk up my body, rolling his tongue around as if he’s just finished dinner. “He has his bottomless hole moments.” I stall, realizing how that sounds and clear my throat. “Loves macaroons. And frangipane.”

She laughs out loud anyway. “Well, I hope you enjoy his ‘bottomless hole’ tonight. I’m off.”

I throw a cushion at her, but I can’t get up since the cat has decided to sit on my chest. She switches off the light in the reception area, so that no one thinks we’re open, but since Aaron is coming here almost daily now, she’s stopped locking the door behind her. So for now, it’s just me and my black cat, who purrs, loafing on top of me.

“See what I have to deal with?” I whisper, rubbing his furry chin. “Being a person is exhausting. There’s not a moment when people don’t want things from you, and often it’s stuff that’s mutually exclusive. Do you think I need a little vacation this year?”

I boop his nose. “Maybe Aaron would go with me. No? You don’t want to stay at Auntie Yasmin’s? Too bad you’re a cat and have no say. I’d like a lot of things that I’m not getting, so don’t make that disgruntled face. Just imagine me showing up at Aaron’s parents’ for Christmas. They’d lose their shit, considering they hated me even after I saved him from Henry.”

There’s a knock on the door, but it must be Aaron, because they open before I can answer.

“Hey? Vex?” Aaron says and turns on the light.

I’m a bit surprised, because he looks very fancy tonight. He’s wearing a dark green velvet blazer with leather lapels and a black shirt underneath. I know Aaron’s sense of style and his interest in fashion well, so I recognize this isn’t his usual, even if he likes an elegant shirt as much as a chunky knit sweater.

I wave at him. “Can’t move, the cat’s sitting on me,” I call out, still relaxing on the sofa.

He leans over the back of the sofa to pet Inkblot. When the cat spots Aaron’s amber pendant dangling from his neck, he’s instantly interested. “Oh! Well, that’s a very fair excuse.”

“You’re looking super fancy today,” I say, placing my hand on his leg and raising it up, toward his buttock. “What’s the occasion?”

He freezes but then chuckles and pushes on my shoulder. “Dumbass. You told me to not to eat, so… aren’t we going out somewhere?” He smiles and there’s a happy twinkle in his eye which I can’t pinpoint. I’m missing something crucial here.

Inkblot dashes off me, as if it sensed a current in the air, and I slowly rise to my feet, bringing him close. He’s so slender, and smells so delicious I might just make him my appetizer. “Had a really long job today, and I’m starving. Figured we could order two massive pizzas and pig out.”

Aaron puts his hands on my shoulders and leans back to look into my eyes. “For real?” He is not happy, but I’m not sure why because he loved pizza last time we had it.

“Why are you being weird today?” I ask, because I can’t improve the situation if I don’t know why he seems so annoyed.

He backs out of my embrace even as I try to grab him. “I can’t believe this shit. Check your damn calendar.” He shakes his head, refusing to glance at me. “I thought you had something special planned!”

“You don’t have to talk in riddles,” I complain and take out my phone while Aaron keeps expressing his disappointment by pacing around the room in shiny loafers that go clickety-clack. But when I see that I did in fact miss a reminder, my eyes gravitate to his face.

“Fuck... I’m sorry. It’s just been a busy week. Happy birthday?” I say, grabbing his arm as my brain spins its cogs to come up with a way to make this right. So maybe Christmas is not that special, but everyone deserves a good birthday, even me. And I can’t pretend he hasn’t mentioned it several times over the past three months that it’s important to him.

Once again, Aaron slips out of my grip. “No. It’s not good enough. This sucks. I cleared my evening for you because you told me to come over and I was sure this was supposed to be some surprise. Well, I guess it was.” His eyes haven’t been this cold since I spilled that coffee on his computer two years ago. “Enjoy your pizza or whatever. Eat both!” He turns on his heel and goes for the exit like a tiny bulldozer.

Guilt crushes my chest, and I don’t miss a beat, running after him. We might not be a couple, but as a close friend, he deserves my attention, and if he decided to spend this evening with me, then I need to step up.

“No, Aaron, please! I’m sorry,” I say, catching his wrist just before he unlocks the exit.

I’m breathless at the sight of tears in his eyes, because I should have remembered and been ready, but instead, I focused solely on work. I don’t want to hurt him.

I’m in panic mode, desperate to do anything to lift his mood. Fuck fuck fuck.

He sniffs. “And what am I supposed to do with that? I dressed up for nothing like some idiot. Apology accepted I guess. I’m not here to torment you, but I don’t wanna stay either.”