About Absolutely You
by Stephanie Vaughan
24 pages
/ 9100 words
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc
Danny and Aaron from Strictly Halloween and Definitely Christmas are back and this time Aaron's thinking about marriage. Or at least Aaron is, and maybe that's the problem. Aaron loves Danny and wants their relationship to move forward while Danny... well, Aaron isn't sure where Danny's head is.
Things finally culminate with Aaron tossing Danny out. Does spell the end of the couple?
Sample
“So, listen, I was wondering... are you two thinking at all about getting married?”
Aaron sputtered and swallowed, sucked an ice chip down his throat and then spent the next couple of minutes coughing as the ice burned its way down before lodging somewhere between his throat and his chest.
Speech was beyond him.
“You okay?” His friend Candice peered at him closely before pounding on his back with the heel of her hand, hard, right between his shoulder blades.
“Can’, whoa. Stop!” Holding up one hand in a plea for mercy, Aaron took another sip from the glass of iced tea that had caused the problem in the first place, hoping the ice would somehow work its way down into his stomach. It finally did, but the burning sensation hung around and, when Aaron set the glass down, he continued to rub at his chest. “Jesus, warn me next time, would you?”
“You’re okay?” Not waiting for an answer, she pressed on. “So answer the question. Are you and Danny at least talking about getting married?”
Aaron stared, still unable to formulate an answer. He glanced across the table to Deb, the third at their little gathering, who had remained silent up ‘til now.
Deb raised her hands for an instant, but it was merely a detour on the way to reaching for another piece of garlic bread. “Don’t look at me. This is all her.”
Turning back to Candice, Aaron leaned back in his chair. “Married? Are you kidding? Where the hell did you get that idea? We’re just barely, thinking about -- maybe -- moving in together.”
“Really? You’re sure?” The problem was Candice had an effective pout and she knew it. Really world class. Never afraid to use it, she directed it at Aaron now. “Oh, come on. I so want to go to a gay wedding. You could be my first. Don’t you want to be somebody’s first?”
“Gee, let me think. Um... no? You’re disturbed, you know that? Deb, pass me the spaghetti, please.”
The other problem was that they knew each other so well. Friends since high school, they’d all attended the same local university and had even settled in neighboring communities afterward. Since graduation they tended not to see as much of each other, though, so once a month or so one of them would plan a dinner and put out the call to the others.
Tonight’s gathering had been Aaron’s idea, so he’d been tagged to host. Still several days away from payday, he’d opted for the always popular spaghetti dinner, splurging on his own version of gourmet meatballs: ground meat spiced up with breadcrumbs and a package of meatloaf mix.
“Buzzkill. Where’s your sense of adventure? Don’t you get it that we’re at a historical crossroads here?” Candice’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm as she gestured with her fork. “You’re gay -- and you can finally legally marry the person you love. That’s huge.”
So, clearly his attempt at distraction hadn’t been as successful as he’d hoped. “Yeah. I, uh, think I read something about that somewhere.”
“You’re determined to thwart me, aren’t you? I’d even help you plan it. Hey, I could be your event planner. No extra charge. Please?” Her big cheesy grin and comically raised eyebrows turned the mood around and Aaron couldn’t help laughing.
“Dude, do you always have to be such a cheerleader? Just a little self-restraint’s all I’m asking.”
Deb chose a piece of bread from the basket before setting it back at the center of the table. “Can’, I know it goes against everything you stand for, but some people like to keep that sort of thing private, you know? Maybe you should let Aaron and Danny work that out.”
“Or not.” Aaron picked up his fork and applied himself to his food.