Always an Expiration Date

Part One

Aidan lay propped on one elbow in the early light of dawn watching his girlfriend, Mike, sleep peacefully. He ruminated on their relationship as his eyes traveled over her delicate features and messy, long blonde hair. They'd been dating for a little over four years, living together for three.

He never felt a spark even at the beginning when a mutual acquaintance had introduced them but his relationship with her was comfortable, familiar. At twenty-eight he believed that he was too old for the fantasy of magnetic attraction, anyway. He'd never seen evidence it existed. It was more than he could ask that he had a strong, independent woman by his side with whom he shared a peaceful existence and a halfway decent sex life.

Aidan reached out to wipe a tiny bit of drool off Mike's chin at the same moment her phone blared to life, the alarm signaling the start to their day. She squeezed her eyes tighter and groaned before she reached over to swipe at the accursed thing and begin her day.

"Good morning, sunshine," Aidan rasped before he leaned in to delicately peck at Mike's lips like he did every morning.

She closed her eyes again and snuggled further into the bedding before she hummed "mmm, good morning."

Aidan gave Mike another quick kiss, this time on her forehead, before he stripped the bedding away and got out of bed with it. "Come on, none of that. You know if you close your eyes again you'll be late for work. Didn't you say you wanted to make a good impression on your new boss?"

Mike groaned again. She was definitely not at her best first thing in the morning. She inhaled deeply, raised a leg and kicked herself violently into an upright position sitting on the edge of the bed. "Yeah, you're right. I know I asked you to make me get up but I hate you right now."

Aidan chuckled, dumping the bedding on the corner of the mattress. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too. I'll go get breakfast started while you get ready for work." Since Mike worked long hours as a network security specialist and Aidan's job was entirely remote he assumed most of the domestic chores. Not that he minded. He'd always enjoyed cooking and tidying and this relationship wasn't the first in which he shouldered the role.

Aidan padded to the kitchen to start coffee and scramble eggs while Mike staggered into their bathroom to shower and wake up a little before her commute.

Mike emerged as chipper and fresh-faced as a morning person just as Aidan was setting the table with plates of scrambled eggs and toast. "There she is! Do you want coffee now or in a travel mug?"

"Yes, please." Mike answered with her habitual reply and took her seat in a short robe at the table while she simultaneously picked up a slice of toast.

Aidan shook his head with an affectionate smile on his face and turned around to pour her a cup. He placed the steaming mug in front of her and slid into his own chair. "I was thinking. I have a meeting downtown around lunchtime. What if I stole my best girl for a meal?"

Mike frowned, mentally running through her day. "Yeah, I think I can do that. I don't have any deadlines breathing down my neck. Shoot me a text when you're on your way in case something comes up."

"How about this, you text me and let me know if you can. Otherwise I'll bring something for you to the office. I'm curious to meet this coding god you've been raving about ever since you started at the new place, anyway."

Mike's face lit up at the mention of the owner of the company. Aidan thought once again she had a work crush on the man who still ground like the plebes instead of sitting back to enjoy the fruits of his labor now that he grew what was once a one-man operation in his garage into a multimillion dollar corporation in a few short years. "I don't know if you'll see him because he's always busy but I'll definitely introduce you to him if he's around. You know, the other day he told me he was really impressed when I figured out a back door into a system the police sent to us to do a forensic analysis on."

Aidan tuned mostly out as Mike chattered on in detail about programmer things he only vaguely comprehended. He smiled and made approving noises whenever she took a breath but, honestly, she may as well be speaking an alien tongue for all he understood of the intricacies of her work. When they were done with breakfast Mike disappeared into the bedroom while Aidan washed the breakfast dishes and returned the kitchen to the pristine state he took pride in maintaining.

When he was done scrubbing everything down he filled her enormous travel mug with half that morning's pot of coffee and moved to the living room to tidy a little while he waited to see her off for the day. Mike returned shortly wearing a Burberry plaid miniskirt, an oversize chocolate brown sweater and what she called her nerd glasses – chunky black frames with blue light filtering lenses she swore were crucial to ward off tired headaches from staring at computer monitors all day.

"I got a text from Mr. Allred while I was getting dressed. He has meetings offsite all day and one of our biggest clients had a breach. So I can't go out for lunch, I'll be holed up working on that today."

Aidan pressed his lips to her temple and handed over her purse and mug. "No problem. I'll drop something by anyway so you aren't stuck with the vending machine."

"I'm not going to be able to take a break when you come," she warned.

He chuckled. "Not a problem. I'm already going to be a few blocks away for the meeting with my agent. It's not any kind of deal to run up something healthier than chips and snack cakes for you."

Mike smiled at Aiden affectionately. "As long as you aren't going too far out of your way." Her phone buzzed, signaling an incoming text. She pulled it out to look at the screen. "Okay, I gotta run. Love you!"

"Love you too!" After he closed the door behind Mike, Aiden decided to have a leisurely shower and take his time preparing for his meeting later that morning. He made the bed before stripping off the pair of sweatpants he normally wore as pajamas and throwing them in the hamper along with the clothing Mike dropped on the floor as she was dressing that morning.

He stepped into the shower with a sigh, feeling more than vaguely dissatisfied. She knew he preferred to keep things tidy around the house but he always seemed to be picking up what she'd carelessly tossed in random places rather than simply putting things in their proper place to begin with. That always seemed to be the breaking point in his relationships. Man or woman, his preference for organization and cleanliness always chipped away at the initial starry-eyed promises until all that was left was a roommate who treated him as a live in housekeeper.

Every relationship he'd had seemed to have an expiration date and he could feel it fast approaching with Mike. Since she was hired for this new position she was less and less interested in maintaining a connection with Aidan. She no longer had the time for their usual dates, stopped initiating sex and turned his advances down more often than not with the excuse she was too tired from her long hours at work even though she didn't work any more than she had when they were still making time for each other. The only time she seemed to come alive was when she was gushing over her boss. Aidan ignored the nagging thought at the back of his brain that she was interested in Jake Allred and told himself that anyone would be impressed with the man she described.

He stood under the spray and palmed himself. It had been weeks since he'd had sex and even that was a fumbling quickie which left him feeling she was doing him a favor instead of being an enthusiastic participant. He decided he had plenty of time and hot water and grasped his cock, thumbing over the tip as he let his mind wander to the image of a stunning man who strongly resembled Idris Elba he'd seen downtown the last time he met with his agent.

Aidan hardened as he fleshed out a fantasy that involved the unknown man pressing him into the shower wall as the man ground into his ass while licking the nape of his neck and trailing his tongue down his spine. He imagined his own hand tugging and squeezing to be the man's as he leaned into the tiles under the spray. Once he arrived at picturing the man turning him around to kneel before him and take his cock in the man's mouth he felt the familiar tightening of his balls that signaled an impending orgasm. He redoubled his efforts for a few moments and brought himself to completion, panting heavily as he watched the water wash his cum down the drain.

He ignored his slightly wobbly knees to finish his shower with slight guilt at masturbating over thoughts of someone who wasn't his girlfriend. Oh well. Everyone had their little fantasies. It wasn't like he'd ever see the man again, let alone do anything of the sort with him.