Page 30 of Say It Again

“—I might be crying in a bank soon. Hopefully tears of joy, but we’ll see.” Daniel shuffled out of his arms to sit up, suddenly beaming. “My boss has offered me a chance to buy the dance studio where I work.”

Aaron’s eyebrows shot up.

“I’ve been mulling it over for a few days—” Daniel swallowed. “—and I think I’m going to do it.”

“No way! Well, holy hell, kid. That’s incredible. Congratulations.”

“Yeah?” Daniel winced as he tapped his fingertips together. “You think so?”

“Obviously. I mean, if you want to own a dance studio. You want to own a dance studio?”

“Oh, I would love it. Aaron, I would love, love, love to own it. I don’t think there’s anything I would love more. It’d be a dream come true.”

Was Aaron within his right to suddenly feel so proud of him? To pump the Fondness full of even more fond?

“But do you honestly think I could do it?” Daniel squeezed his fists beneath his chin and huddled into himself like he was scared of the answer. “As someone who is not a hot mess, do you think I could do it? What if I fail? What if I’m the worst studio owner anyone’s ever seen?”

Well, there was no pretending that wasn’t valid. Even if another person’s leap of faith always seemed so feasible—Are you kidding me? Do it! Absolutely. It’s your dream. What’s stopping you? But if he were in Daniel’s shoes, if it were his leap of faith up for debate, would he do it?

No.

That was why he’d been stuck in the same relentless pattern since he was nineteen, a prisoner to his fear of change. His fear of loss. There was no job he was qualified to do that would make him the money he made now. Money was a fickle friend with crushing demands, and there was never enough.

But Daniel was different. Not only was he more magnetic and wholeheartedly feisty, but there was something rare and honest about him. Self-effacing, sure, but honest. He was a precious little gemstone that just needed the right tools to make him shine, and if anyone could be shameless enough in their pursuits—the fucking troublemaker—to bear the brunt of owning their own business, it would be him. Not to mention, the way he moved was dazzling and he commanded any room he was in with an unrivaled amount of sass. People would probably gush to hand him their money. Hell, Aaron would probably gush to hand Daniel money.

“What kind of an attitude is that?” Aaron wrinkled his brow, firing some bravado behind his words. “This is your dream. You’ve been given a shot to make your dream come true. I have no doubt you’ll be the best dance studio owner anyone’s ever seen. You won’t fail. There’s no way. I bet you’ll fucking soar.”

Daniel launched forward into his arms and clutched him hard enough that Aaron had to hold his breath to keep from grunting. “Thank you, mister. Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

He smiled into the crook of Daniel’s neck as he hugged him back. “You’re welcome, kid.”

“Shit, I’m sorry.” Daniel chuckled as he wiggled free to wipe his eyes, because that exchange had made him… start to tear up. “It’s just a lot to hear someone say something like that to me. I appreciate it so much. I’m fine—er, I’ll be fine in a second. Give me a second.”

Aaron twitched for something to do with his hands. He didn’t want to give him a second. He wanted to yank him back in and coo into his ear until his tears dried, but he forced himself still, because it didn’t need to be stopped or shushed. It needed to be honored. It was fascinating how Daniel’s emotions seemed to govern him, like with the piano.

“Okay,” Daniel said, his face splitting into a soggy grin. “Sorry about that.”

Just like with the piano, Aaron couldn’t keep his mouth from lifting in a half-smile as he watched in a bit of wide-eyed wonder while the kid felt. He felt so deeply.

“So,” Daniel said, clearing his throat. “I might need to elicit your help with some of the legal stuff.”

Aaron had perhaps been a little distracted. He parted his lips to respond but closed them until he’d had a chance to repeat that sentence in his head. “What? What legal stuff?”

“The contract. Do you think you could look over the contract for me? To make sure all looks well with it?”

He blinked. “You want me to look over your contract?”

“Well, maybe just skim it? Look, I’m not expecting you to read it word for word. I realize you probably charge a fortune for something like that, and the only currency I have is maybe a back massage. Could I pay you in a really good back massage?”

He couldn’t speak, but it wasn’t his fault. It was the air in the room. It was like it had evaporated in an instant. “Wh-why would I charge you for something like that?”

“So, does that mean you’ll do it for free?” Daniel winced as he lowered his chin and peered up through his lashes. “Oh my God, if you do it for free, I promise I won’t ask you for a bunch of pro bono legal shit. I’m not even going to mention my two outstanding parking tickets. And by two, I mean six.”

“But why again?” he asked in some rough variation of his voice as he aggressively smoothed his eyebrow, blood swooshing in his ears loud enough to sound like white noise. “Why do you want me to look at the contract?”

Daniel’s pouty mouth tilted into a lopsided grin as he crawled across the bed. “Because I trust you, mister.”

Aaron didn’t shut his eyes when Daniel pressed their lips together. He kept them wide open.

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