Always an Expiration Date

Part Seven

Jake and Sara walked the couple to their car to see them off. Once they backed out of the driveway Sara said "She's going to be trouble."

"Yeah," Jake continued smiling and waving as Aidan drove down the street. "But what do I do? I haven't felt a connection with anyone like I do Aidan besides you. I don't want to give that up and I definitely don't want to meddle in his relationship."

"You sure about that?"

"Even if I weren't he's made it very clear he isn't at all interested in me besides friendship."

Sara nodded. "As long as you think you can deal with those terms."

"I can. At least for now."

Aidan and Mike's ride home was nowhere near as companionable as Jake and Sara's late evening was. The moment they were moving Mike leaned her head against the passenger window and feigned sleep but Aidan could feel the ire rolling off her in waves. He knew he was in for it when they got home. At best she'd lock herself in the bedroom and leave him to the loveseat in his office. His suspicion that she had the hots for Jake grew. He mused to himself about the exact expiration date of their relationship. As of now it was still vague but unless something happened to change her mind its approach was looming.

Aidan barely dropped his keys in the bowl they kept for that purpose in the entry when Mike turned on him. "What the hell was that?"

And here it was. They were about to have the first real fight of their time together. "Pardon me?"

"You made both of us look like total jackasses."

Aidan rolled his eyes as he kicked off his sandals, toeing them neatly onto the shoe tray. "You'll have to enlighten me. I don't know what I did."

"For one you could have warned me the cook was with Mr. Allred."

Aidan crossed to the living room and dropped onto the sofa without turning on the lamps. "He introduced her to me this morning. How was I to know you were going to be rude to what you thought was the hired help? I've never seen you behave that way before."

"Don't turn this on me. You should have told me. And then you monopolized all his time at the party."

"He was being nice and making sure I felt included. I never asked him to."

"But you didn't mind excluding me."

"I didn't see you making any effort to spend time with me."

"Because I was so embarrassed at your hanging off him like that!"

Aidan scrubbed at his face with his open palms. He'd about had it. "I wasn't the one who drank so much I couldn't walk straight." He stood abruptly. "I'm going to take a shower and then I have some work to do. Don't wait up for me."

Before Mike could find a retort Aidan strode into their bathroom and locked the door behind him. He leaned against it and groaned. Yeah, that clock was ticking loudly.

Mike spent all of Sunday locked in the bedroom without emerging once. The first time Aidan got a glimpse of her was as she left for work Monday morning without a word. He knew she wanted an apology but he felt there was nothing to apologize for. He threw himself into his work over the next few months as she did the same. He often slept in his office to avoid disturbing her when he finally shut off his computer in the middle of the night and she missed coming home more and more often, citing late hours at the office. They both put the argument behind them but something had disappeared from their former camaraderie and a distant chill grew in its place.

In the meantime he spent as much free time as he could in Jake's calming presence and the two men quicky became close. Aidan felt, at times, he shouldn't. Jake never gave any indication that there was anything besides friendship between them. Meanwhile, Aidan began to realize that his feelings for Jake were far more than friendship but he didn't want to lose companionship he was beginning to not be able to see going without.

Out of the blue Mike told Aidan that she'd be flying home to see her family over a long holiday weekend, giving no invitation for him to accompany her and very little notice that she'd be gone. That same day Jake invited him to drive up to spend the weekend at his oceanfront property in Maine.

As soon as Aidan texted back an enthusiastic "Hell yeah!" he went to find Mike in the bedroom where she was packing to let her know his plans. "Hey, baby. Jake asked me to hang out with him in Maine this weekend. I figured I would since you'll be in Nebraska with your family."

Mike dropped the pile of shirts she had in her suitcase and sat down on the bed. "I think we need to talk."

Aidan took a seat next to her. "What's up?"

"I don't think I can do this."

Aidan, knowing what she was talking about, decided to play dumb. "You don't want to go home? I'm sure your family would understand. I can let Jake know plans changed."

Mike sighed heavily. "That's not what I mean. Us. I can't do us anymore."

The little devil in the back of Aidan's brain piped up before he could temper his next words. "Is there someone else?"

"No! Of course not! We've just been growing apart and I think I need to take some time for myself."

Aidan gently took Mike's hand in his. He knew she was lying. He'd seen this coming and knew exactly the reason for her sudden distance from him. A part of him wanted to fight for their relationship. It had been peaceful and mostly comfortable. A larger part of him wanted to dance and shout hallelujah because he was finally free. And the same tiny devil at the back of his brain whispered that he could shoot his shot with Jake Allred. "I'm disappointed but I can't lie and say I haven't seen your feelings for me changed. Go ahead and spend time with your family. We can come back after the holiday and hash out how this is going to look moving forward then."

Mike sobbed. "See! This is why. You don't even care!"

"Mike, sweetheart. I care. But I don't see the point in causing drama over something I can't control. I want you happy and if you're not happy with me I want you happy without me." Aidan felt an urge to wash the taste of all that bullshit out of his mouth. He couldn't care less if she was happy or not. He simply didn't want to come home to an empty house or field all the accusations he had after the implosion of his last relationship.

"I think... I don't want to spend any more time here. I'm going to get a hotel and I'll call you when I get back to arrange to pick up my things."

Aidan nodded and responded gently. "If that's what you think is best. But why don't you take a little time over the weekend. Nothing's happened yet that's caused an irrevocable break between us, at least not in my mind. I love you and want to be with you. You can always come home if you change your mind." Aidan mentally crossed his fingers that she never even considered taking him up on his offer.

Mike stood and snapped her suitcase closed. "I don't see that happening. I'll leave the house key on the way out."

Aidan flopped back on the bed wearily as she left. He waited until he heard the tinkle of her key in the bowl at the front door and the door itself slam behind her before he let out a tired groan. That could have gone better. It could have gone a lot worse, though. He lay there staring at the ceiling for a while wondering how long it would be before she made a move on Jake before he pulled out his phone to search for a locksmith who worked nights.