Chapter 34: Mints, Anyone?

So what the hell was he going to do now? Had Aron called and he missed it or something? He checked his phone. No calls. Okay, he needed to see Aron.

Wait, he needed to take a shower first. They were seriously going to have sex. If what the girl had said was true...

Of course it’s true. Now we remember everything.

I’m so amazed how quickly you take credit. You said you had nothing but blank space in that part.

But now we know.

Yes, he knew. The news was everywhere now. The entertainment channel clearly had a slow day, and it was just repeating it every half an hour. Although he needed to take that shower, he chose to sit on the couch and watch the news again.

The ponytail girl seemed undaunted by the cameras and microphones pushed in front of her.

“Yeah, I do have the video,” she said. “But the police need to take a look at it first. It’s pretty dope,” she added with conviction.

“So did you catch everything on your smartphone?” one of the reporters asked.

The girl nodded and smiled, seemingly quite pleased with herself.

“Can you tell us everything, from the top?”

This time, the girl looked at the police officer to her right, and the man nodded shortly.

“Well, I was, like, walking to catch the bus, and all of a sudden, I see Alex Ruskin,” she started, her eyes all shiny now.

Of course, the guy was gay, but chicks still digged him. Who was he kidding? Every gal and guy, gay or straight, digged the fucker. Ah, well, Carter shrugged and continued to watch.

“So I take out my phone, and I start recording, but, you know, so that he doesn’t see me or anything,” the girl said. “He’s looking behind him for like a couple of seconds, I don’t know why, and then he just turns and stares ahead, chin up high, and looking fabulous.”

“Did he notice you?” another reported asked.

“No, he was just looking ahead and he started crossing the street. Frankly, I didn’t notice the fire truck, either. I guess I was too taken with Alex,” the girl half-giggled. “He’s just so cool,” she added dreamily.

“What happened next?” someone interrupted the girl’s wide-eyed dream.

“Well, I hear someone yelling, and I think like, what the heck, and there’s this guy coming from behind, and bang! He practically pushes Alex away from the front of the freaking truck!” the girl said, now clearly excited. “And I’m like in total shock and Alex is basically rolling on the ground, but he doesn’t look that badly hurt, and bang again! The fire truck practically hits this other guy full frontal, like I can still hear that sound! It was horrible!”

“So why didn’t you help them or stay to call an ambulance, and tell the police what happened?”

The girl stole a look to her right again, and this time some of her excitement vanished. The police officer was frowning, but again, he nodded.

“Well, I saw the fire truck driver getting down and hurrying toward the victims, and I said to myself, what the heck, he’s more qualified than me, anyway, and also it was like, his fault. And I had to catch the bus, because otherwise, I wasn’t going to catch the plane, and then...”

“But the police tweeted about the accident, didn’t you see anything?”

“What can I tell you, man? I was off-grid, I was with a group of friends, we all decided to live like Mother Nature intended, for the whole summer, you know, no electricity, no nothing. I had to, like, take half of the house with me,” the girl said again. “As soon as someone came looking for me, I was all down with saying everything I knew.”

The police officer finally grabbed the microphone, and the girl took a step back.

“I want to tell all the young people who are watching this how important it is to take the right type of action when something like this happens,” the man began.

Carter tuned out the police officer’s lecture that followed. It was still un-freaking-believable, but now he did remember everything. He sighed in contentment. Okay, he hadn’t pushed that obnoxious scumbag in front of the fire truck. Actually, he had saved the asshole’s life.

And he knew very well why. Yeah, he needed that shower, and maybe he had to comb his hair, too. Making himself pretty and all that, ready to see Aron.

He was barely out of the shower, and his hair was practically sticking in all directions, after rubbing it with the towel, when he heard keys turning in the door lock. Ah, Aron was here already and probably didn’t want to wake him up so he was using his keys. He hurried for the door and grabbed the handle, barely reigning in his excitement.

“Hey,” he said with a smile, opening the door wide.

His smile quickly vanished, though, as Aron pushed him inside, making him take hurried steps back until he hit a wall. Aron looked damn serious. And he was looking into Carter’s eyes, like he wanted to extract some truth out of them.

“Can you please tell me what the hell is this?” Aron asked, using one hand to keep Carter glued to the wall, and the other to bring forward his phone.

Just for a second, he freed his victim to press play on the video displayed on his phone. Carter watched in horrid fascination. The angle was not the best, and it was clear that the one who had taken it was more bothered with catching Alex on camera, but it was all there. So Aron had the video, unlike the scumbags at the entertainment channel. That meant that the operation private eye had been a major success.

“So the detective found the girl?” he asked. “Great guy, that guy. I mean, I know. I saw it on the news.”

“Shut up,” Aron growled, and almost pressed his phone against Carter’s nose.

“Well, that’s the accident,” Carter said matter-of-factly. “I do remember everything now. Isn’t it really strange?”

“Carter,” Aron breathed out, “listen.”

Aron brought the volume to the maximum and replayed the video.

Oh, great, now he could hear himself yelling something like ‘I just want Aron to be happy!’ while pushing Alex away from the fire truck. Okay, that was pretty awkward if he were to think about it.

“Well,” he frowned and started scratching his head.

“Hmm,” Aron interjected, after tossing his phone on the couch without even looking if it landed safely. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Okay, so Aron was mad. Why was he mad?

Why is he mad?

How the hell should I know? It must be that you did something stupid.

Well, it wasn’t like I had that much of a choice. If Alex had died, Aron would have been very unhappy.

Aron almost shook him.

“Carter, please, stop losing yourself in your head for a second and tell me, okay? You jumped in front of a freaking car!”

“Fire truck,” Carter raised one finger.

Aron groaned and this time really shook him.

Sensing the distress in the small apartment, Taz got up from his place and started barking at the intruder.

“Don’t worry, Taz,” Aron spoke to the dog, easing his grip on Carter for a fraction, “I’m not going to kick your dad’s ass. Not yet at least.”

Okay, he needed to choose his next words carefully. But he was kind of blank.

“Why are you so mad?” he eventually asked.

Aron looked at him, and there was a mix of wonder, affection, but also some very entitled rage in the man’s eyes that Carter had no idea what to make of.

“You jumped in front of a fire truck,” Aron spoke, this time a little appeased. “To save my husband’s life. Without caring how I would have felt if you had died.”

Carter opened his mouth, and then he closed it.

“That’s quite the dilemma,” he murmured.

Taz stood on his back legs and set his front paws on Aron’s leg, looking up. He wasn’t barking anymore, but wagging his tail.

“What a traitor,” he looked at his dog.

“So can you tell me what were you thinking?” Aron asked, and now there was a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Hmm, the fire truck was moving at a velocity of, I don’t know, 60-70 miles? And I thought that I had enough time to...”

Aron sighed, interrupting him.

“Allow me to do it. Let me make this easy for you.”

The grip on his shoulders eased, and Aron cupped his face, caressing it slowly with the thumbs.

“You love me,” Aron said with conviction.

Carter could feel his heart growing smaller with Aron’s simple statement.

“I do?” he whispered.

Aron nodded slowly.

“It’s okay. I know how things are with you. I should have been the one to talk about it, to make it clear. I shouldn’t have been the coward I was. It’s okay if you won’t say it,” Aron said, as he continued to caress Carter’s cheeks. “I should know better, that words like this don’t come easy to you.”

No, it wasn’t okay. Carter caught Aron’s hands into his, pushing them down. And then the words started tumbling like sweets from a jar.

“No, it’s not okay. I do love you. Because I do, okay? And no, I didn’t think of the velocity of the fire truck, although I could. I mean, I did. But only a little. I had like a flash, a vision, or whatever, I don’t know how that’s called. Of you, all dressed in black, crying at a funeral. And I just couldn’t stand it, okay? And maybe I can’t stand Alex because he stole you from me, but I didn’t want you hurt. So I just ... you know, I found myself there, in the middle of the street, pushing him away. And I understand why you couldn’t say it because I know myself. And it’s true that I have all these boxes that I use to compartmentalize everything. And you, you, you...” he struggled, trying to find his words.

“I was a box?” Aron tried to help him.

“No,” he protested, feeling frustration growing at no other but himself. “You’re not a box, you’ve never been. You were ... are everywhere ... inside me. But I have all these boxes, like you said. And this, what I feel for you, it didn’t fit anywhere, you know? Although I thought it had to.”

“So love is a box?” Aron was smiling now, and his eyes were filled with fondness.

“No!” Carter exclaimed again. “I am ... no, my heart is like a box,” he let go of Aron’s hands to gesture with his arms, and try to make a solid square with them.

Aron was now chuckling softly.

“Okay. So I’m finally welcome into your box shaped heart?” he asked, pulling Carter to him.

“How could you be? You’ve been there since forever. And never left,” Carter said, with all the seriousness he could muster now, as he began to melt in the other’s arms.

The kiss that followed wasn’t like the usual, or at least, he felt like it was different. Because he felt like he was getting really swept off his feet, although he clearly knew for a fact that his feet were on the ground, and there was no way those people in those romance movies or books or whatever, could have been so accurate describing something as impalpable as this.

Taz barked, but now it was his happy bark. Carter knew it. Well, the kid probably felt left out. Aron let him go, albeit reluctantly. He was the one to look at the dog and talk to him first.

“Taz, you should get ready, kiddo. Because I’m here to take you both home with me.”

“So what are we now?” Carter felt the need to check.

Aron smiled.

“Well, what do you think?” he asked.

“We’ve been best friends, fuck buddies, roomies...” Carter counted on his fingers. “What’s next?”

“Let’s start with the obvious,” Aron spoke. “We are, well, you are a straight guy who got flipped by his gay best friend, and I’m the flipper!”

Aron was so pulling his leg right now.

“Flipper, huh? I had no idea you had a sense of humor,” Carter pretended to frown, but he began to grin, too.

“I don’t. I’m just saying it like it is,” Aron drawled the words, while pulling Carter close for another kiss.

“So, are we going to get married?” Carter asked when Aron finally allowed him to breathe.

Aron feigned seriousness.

“I think I’m done with marriage for a while. I’m all for a trial period,” he joked.

Carter punched the guy’s shoulder. This was friggin’ serious.

“Asshole. I’m not at all for a trial period,” he protested.

“Oh, so you want to get married,” Aron teased. “You’re so gay now that you want a gay wedding?”

“Why shouldn’t I want a gay wedding? I want a gay cake, too!”

“A gay cake? Do you really believe there’s such a thing? How does a gay cake look like?” Aron questioned him.

“I have no idea. We should google it,” Carter shrugged.

Aron was really laughing now.

“I still need to go through a divorce first,” he pointed out. “It might get nasty. And expensive.”

“Fine, I’ll buy the rings,” Carter rolled his eyes. “And a gay cake.”

“Rings, huh?” Aron bit his lips, to stop himself from laughing. “I had no idea you would be a stickler for tradition.”

“I’m down with everything if it’s about you,” Carter replied, glaring a little. “Hey, did you say you love me? Because I don’t think...”

Aron pressed their bodies together once more.

“I must have been too busy kicking myself over not saying it that I forgot. I love you. Is this fine?”

“Hmm, not very romantic,” Carter feigned complaint.

“Well, we have all the time in the world to get it right,” Aron smiled.

Carter smiled back, feeling all giddy inside.

“Don’t worry. I’m just joking. But seriously, what would you have done if I had never said it? Or if the eyewitness couldn’t be found and all that?”

“Ah, I would have bribed Alex in the end and divorced him anyway. And I would have taken you very, very slowly, not to scare you,” Aron began explaining. “I had an entire plan in motion. First step was, as you know it, to have you move in with me. Then I would have made everything possible for you never to want to leave me. And, at our 20th anniversary, when we were going to throw a party, and there were going to be a lot of people coming over, and you were going to ask ‘what’s the occasion?’ I would have told you: well, we’ve spent the last 20 years together, and so we are going to spend the next 20, and the next 20...”

“Oh, I cannot believe you!” Carter pretended to be scandalized. “So you were going to be really sneaky about it! I bet you would have gotten the kids to help, too, for this plan of yours!”

“The kids, huh?” Aron glared, but then immediately burst into laughter. “Ah, damn, how could I be so damn stupid and blind?”

“If it’s any consolation, I’m the stupider one,” Carter said with a sigh. “I should have told you what I felt instead of insulting your husband at the wedding. I didn’t realize that, you know. Although it would have been too late, right?”

Aron made their foreheads touch.

“You could never be too late. I’m glad that we’re together now, and that’s all that matters. Now, hurry. Pack only the essentials. I can barely wait to show you the new house.”

“All right,” Carter replied gleefully. “Should I get the plates?”

“Forget about them. We’ll come later to get them. Just grab your laptop, Taz, and yourself.”

“You can’t be serious. Do you have a dog bed? I bet you don’t.”

“I already have a dog bed. And shiny new toys. And a yard Taz will love,” Aron replied promptly.

“Still, I need my toothbrush, and some clothes...” Carter tried to argue with his best friend, now soon or not so soon to be husband, depending on the divorce and all that.

“I have everything you might possibly need, trust me,” Aron replied. “But, okay, grab a few things that you feel you don’t want to live even one day without, and let’s go.”

Okay, he had enough motivation to pack quickly. A few clothes, the laptop, and his toothbrush had to do for now. He returned to the small living room, only to find Aron reading some piece of paper with a deep thoughtful frown on his face.