Page 113 of Say It Again

“HELLO, THIS message is for Daniel Greene. This is Deidra Boynton with Value One Loans. I’m sorry, sir, but your loan application has been disapproved. We apologize we couldn’t align at this time, but please do consider us for your future needs. Have a great day.”

It was the next afternoon, and Daniel had woken to another loan rejection, Aaron gone, and a text that said, Sorry I fell asleep last night. Had to run out. Didn’t want to wake you. Be back in a couple hours.

He’d gotten a sub for his class so he could be home when Aaron got back, but it was like he didn’t know what to do with himself, so he paced around the apartment, drinking coffee he didn’t need. He always gravitated toward the plants by the window. It was the liveliest place in the apartment and, somehow, the most peaceful. Maybe it was the bonsai tree. Aaron hadn’t worked on it much lately, such that it’d started to deviate from its shape, but it was still beautiful. Daniel smoothed the beaded earring between his fingers.

He happened to glance past the bonsai at the street below just as a shiny black Porsche rumbled up to one of the meters. For some reason it reminded him of Aaron. Maybe because Aaron loved cars. Maybe because everything reminded him of Aaron.

He’d almost turned away when the most elegant of men emerged from the driver’s side. The sight of him made Daniel’s teeth snap closed. Marco.

Then, from the passenger side, stepping out with a sheepish smile, Aaron.

It was like he couldn’t even gasp. His heart climbed into his throat and sealed it shut as Marco jogged around to join Aaron. There they stood on the street together. Laughing.

They looked powerful—same height, same style, same dignified air, full of pride and admiration for the other. The two A-list actors.

Daniel had been haphazardly hiding behind the fishtail palm tree, but he stepped out. It wasn’t like they seemed to mind who saw. He pressed his forehead onto the cold glass of the window as Marco reached into the back seat of his car to reveal a thin, burnt orange box. He handed it to Aaron.

Daniel and Marco likely both held their breaths in anticipation as Aaron unwrapped it.

Did he love it? The silky white dinner scarf he fanned out and slid around his neck. The one that made his face light up. It looked expensive. It looked like something Daniel would never be able to afford. Marco pulled Aaron into a hug as Daniel hugged himself.

Then Marco pulled Aaron into a kiss.

Something cold and viscous, like an egg yolk, oozed the length of Daniel’s spine. Aaron had lied. He’d said they didn’t do that. He’d lied.

His fingernails raked down the window as if he could stop it. He should’ve turned away. He should’ve fixed his gaze on anything else or forced his eyes shut, but he couldn’t, and so he stared as his beautiful boyfriend softened into another kiss with another man. But not just any man. The perfect man.

To the people walking by, just another couple in love stood holding one another, talking about where they’d get takeout later and should they heat up the hot tub? Did he remember to call the landscaper? Magnolias, they’d decided. Magnolias would look nice.

Daniel’s breath fogged the window.

I choose you. I’ll always choose you. Please hang in there with me.

Aaron and Marco finally parted ways, stretching their arms long just as a loud crash echoed throughout the apartment.

“No!” Daniel plunged to the floor.

The coffee mug he’d been holding, the one Butchie had gotten for him on a trip to Destin, lay shattered in a hundred sky-blue pieces. It had said “Home Is Where the Caffeine Is” next to a sea turtle in glasses riding a bike. It made no sense, and it was one of his most beloved possessions.

He slumped to his knees. When he tried to sweep up the pieces, he cut himself. “Shit!”

“Oh, hi.” Aaron strolled in, concern knitting his brow as he checked his watch. At least he’d stuffed his fancy new scarf into his coat pocket, even if the tassels stuck out like a secret desperate to escape. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have class right now?”

“I got a sub.” Daniel charged to the sink.

“Oh my God, you’re bleeding,” Aaron said, following him. “What happened?”

Daniel wrapped a paper towel around his finger. “Nothing.”

“Let me see it.” Aaron reached for him.

He twisted away. “It’s fine.”

“What’d you do?” Aaron tugged at his arm. “Just let me see it.”

“I said it’s fucking fine!”

“Whoa.” Aaron held both hands up. “Are you… okay?”

---