Page 24 of Say It Again

“Well, you’ll always miss her, right? What about your dad?”

Aaron instantly hardened. What had been soft and golden was suddenly bleak and stony. “I don’t talk to my dad. Neither does my brother. He’s—he’s not a good person.” Aaron’s shoulders shuddered. He cast his gaze down and parted his lips like he had something more to say but remained silent.

Daddy issues, hard same. Daniel wanted to press, but if Aaron was anything like him, talking about his dad caused his mood to shift so sourly it puckered his mouth. It was better to deflect. “How old’s your brother?”

“Two years younger than me, so twenty-five. Your age. Andrew. He wants to be a pilot, and you would love him. Everyone loves him.”

“I’m sure if he’s anything like you, he’s wonderful.”

“Way better than me.” Aaron beamed, pride oozing from his pores. “Smarter, funnier, better looking.”

“Quick! Give me his number.”

“And straighter,” Aaron laughed. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but as straight as they come. What about you? Siblings?”

“Nope.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Only child.”

“Ahh,” Aaron said, his head bobbing in nods. “That explains so much.”

“What does it explain? Why I can’t stand it when someone doesn’t like me? Or why I think I need the unwavering attention of everyone in the room?”

“Why you became a dancer.” Aaron grinned down at the salad he was preparing, but when he glimpsed up, it almost looked like admiration in his expression. “A boy who just needed a stage to feel at home. I’ve never dated a dancer.”

Kind of like how Daniel had never dated someone who liked that he was a dancer so much. It was sort of amazing to have someone appreciate it. He pirouetted his way through the kitchen until he hard-stopped in front of Aaron, leaning on the counter beside him. “I know you’re dying to ask it, so go ahead.”

Aaron’s eyes slid to his. “Ask what?”

“The answer to your burning question is yes.” He winked. “I am that flexible.”

Aaron ran his tongue over his teeth but failed to censor his smile as he swiped his hands together. “The lamb ragù is ready.”

“See, that’s the thing about safewords. They’re supposed to be simple.”

“No, here’s the thing about safewords.” Aaron grinned, a gorgeous and seductive Young Elvis. Without warning, he gripped Daniel’s body, spun him around, and caged him against the counter from behind. “You’re not going to care about a safeword, sweetheart. You’re not even going to remember your own name.”

Daniel’s smile fizzled into a whimper as Aaron pressed into him.

“But that’s okay.” Aaron leaned into his ear, tangled one hand into his curls, and whispered, “You can just use mine.”

Sacre bleu. Was the room suddenly seesawing?

“Use it. Praise it.” Aaron’s teeth grazed Daniel’s neck as his hand tightened on Daniel’s hip bone. “Scream it.”

The sound Daniel made was pretty unladylike.

“But like I said….” Aaron grabbed the salad and smacked his ass on his way to the table. “The lamb ragù is ready.”

Chapter Six

AARON DIRECTED the kid to the sofa, where he groaned as he splatted to the couch and curled onto his side. He’d eaten an astonishing amount of food, not even for his size, but in a universal, food-competition kind of way.

“I can tell you don’t need help cleaning. You’ve got this.” Daniel’s words were barely audible through his intense yawn. “But if you did, I could totally help.”

“And I can tell by your choice of phrasing that you desperately want to help, Daniel, but I do have this. Relax.”

“If you insist.” Daniel snuggled into a pillow. “Everything was so delicious, by the way. The broccoli-adjacent things—”

“Broccolini.”

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