“Have the hotel arrange check-in without stopping at the front desk and digital entry, please. Now I have a date to get to. Thank you so much for everything, Matt. After you do these last few things for me, take the rest of the day off. Nothing will come up that we can’t handle on Monday.”
“Thanks. Have a fun time the next few days.” I hung up the phone.
I had about six minutes to reach the penthouse across the street. I grabbed my tuxedo from the truck, held on to Daisy’s collar, andjogged to the crosswalk. I had enough time to walk into the lobby looking casual.
Gary smiled at me. “How are you doing, Mr. Gentry?”
“Please call me Aaron. Gary, I am doing fantastic because I have a date with a distinguished gentleman tonight.” I gave him a high five.
“Mr. River is a keeper for sure. Will you need a car?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. River is taking me out. We’ll let you know if we do. My nephew, Rodney Gentry, will be here around 7:15 p.m.”
“I’ll watch for him, Mr. Aaron.” I smiled to myself as he unlocked the elevator. “I’ll let him know you are on the way up.”
Chapter twenty-one
River
I didn’t want to seem as eager as I felt, but I lost that battle. When Gary told me that Aaron was on his way up, the butterflies in my stomach and chest took full flight. I was giddy about seeing him. It felt like Christmas morning when I was a kid. I was excited and anxious at the same time.
Tonight was our first actual outing as a couple. I knew I was taking Aaron into the lion’s den. Suddenly, I realized this might be my first actual date ever. I could swear I had dated before, but I couldn’t remember a single person, where we went, or even generally what year it would have been.
The elevator doors opened, and I told myself I would not leap into his arms. He hung his garment bag on the hook where I had jackets, took Daisy out of her harness, and then told her to find Charlie. She flew off and poked her head into the boxes he slept in.
“Hi you.” He said with a bit of a growl.
“Hi, you,” I said back.
I felt like I could take a deep breath for the first time since he left the morning before. We moved to each other. Then his lips were finding mine. He kissed me gently, his mouth soft, his tongue teasing over mine, causing tingles all over my skin. After we broke the kiss, he pulled me into his arms. Wrapping me up in his arms, I nuzzled into his neck; unconsciously, I made a little whimpering noise. His broadchest and muscular arms made me feel so protected and safe. I wanted to stay tight against him where I could hear his heart beating. He let out a long, shuddering sigh.
“Are you okay?” I said against his chest.
“Better now, you ground me. It’s ridiculous how you’ve quickly become so critical in my life. I hope that’s okay.” He sounded sheepish.
“It’s more than okay. We are on the same page regarding what we are feeling. We can't control how things happen, but I am along for this ride.” I hoped this made sense to him because, to me, it sounded convoluted. I couldn’t put a name or specifics to what was happening between us, but I knew it felt right.
As he held onto me, I could feel shudders at first. Then he started to shake. Something was most definitely wrong.
“Aaron, what’s wrong?” I pulled back from him, and I could see tears streaming down his cheeks. “Looks like we need to talk.” I led him to the couch. “Sit. Take a breath. Talk to me.”
He sat down with a sigh. I settled on the chair across from him. “Can you come sit with me?” He managed to say.
“Of course.” I moved to the couch, and he took my hand.
“I need to tell you about my ex and how he destroyed me.” He gave me an overview of how Stephen had used him for his money. There were so many signs that he had overlooked.
“I believed in our relationship. I didn’t see all the red flags that are so obvious now. I didn’t realize it was supposed to feel like.”
We had already been more intimate with each other than they were in their entire relationship. Aaron’s ex was unwilling to participate in the important things to Aaron. He would then make excuses when it came to the money. Aaron seemed like the guy who would have seen these things and just walked away. The fact that he stayed and tolerated the situation surprised me.
He stopped talking and looked across the room. I squeezed his hand and waited. “Maybe I saw the red flags but ignored them because I loved someone else.” I wasn't expecting the story to take this turn. I listened even though my heart was beating out of my chest. He didn’t seem like the type to cheat.
“Stephen had a little boy named Tanner. He entered my life when he was four. He’s a great kid. We did everything together, holding my hand and calling me daddy-o. We were friends.” I could see his body tremble as he started to cry again, waiting while he gathered himself. I didn’t understand his love for Tanner, but I could see how deeply it ran in him. He needed me to listen, and there was a reason he was choosing now to tell me this information.
“I suppose I spent more time with Tanner than with his father. That should have been a clue. I didn’t see it. There were so many things I never saw. I just loved hanging out with the kid. I’d take him to work sites with me, spending the entire day together. He brought me such joy.” He pressed his lips together.
“One day, I came home, and they were both gone. All he left was a note saying he couldn’t live with my distrust of him any longer.” He shook his head. “The distrust he felt was that I was no longer bankrolling his business that had been failing for three years.” My heart was hurting for him. I had never had a relationship that lasted more than a month, and that was getting together for an evening or afternoon. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to lose someone that had been in your space for years.
