The Art of Stealing Hearts (On Hold)

14. The one with gay shopping

~|Chapter 14|~
•The one with Gay Shopping•

"Joey, can I talk to you?"

I glanced up from the book I was reading. Aaron stood in the corner, an uncomfortable expression on his face. When I nodded, he sat down next to me.

"Will you come and shop with me?" Aaron asked, hopefully staring at me with his puppy eyes.

"O-kay," honestly I wasn't sure how to respond to that. Shopping with Aaron didn't seem like it would be too much trouble but the way he was looking at me made me think that there was a catch. "Who are you shopping for?"

When Aaron turned the deepest shade of red, I got my answer. Immediately a grin spread on my face and I pinched Aaron's cheeks. "Aw, baby Aaron has a crush."

"Stop it," Aaron swatted my hands away from his cheeks. "The only reason I asked you was because I thought you wouldn't make fun of me."

"I'm allowed to tease you a little," I stood up, pulling him with me. "So where are we going?"

"Um, Joey," Aaron hesitated. "Jake is coming with us too and so is... Tyler. But please don't cancel on me!"

I laughed at his expression. "It's okay, Aaron. I'm not gonna ditch you just because His Majesty will be there to ruin the mood."

Aaron relaxed visibly. "Oh thank God, that's one hurdle crossed."

"One?" I raised my eyebrows at him. "You mean there is another hurdle?"

"Okay, you see, we can't tell the others that we're actually shopping for my crush, so we'll just pretend that we are shopping for you."

"Wait, what?" This was absurd. "You don't have to hide the fact that you're buying something for someone you like."

Aaron sighed. "I know that. It's just when I told them I was gay for the first time, they were all treating me like I was fragile. I don't want to tell them about a crush and that I'm buying something for him, only to get rejected and be treated like a freaking fragile glass castle again."

"Okay, so let's go shop for me then. But Aaron, I just want you to know, you owe me big time."

"I love you too, Joey." Aaron kissed my cheek. "Let's go."

We joined Jake at the porch steps and Tyler arrived soon after. He didn't say anything when he saw me and I returned the favour. It was a little early in the morning to start arguing. We were all quiet as we got into the Jeep; Tyler started the engine and pulled out of the driveway.

"Tyler, you ready for the game?" Jake asked on the way to the mall. "I heard it's going to be a tough one."

"We'll be fine." Tyler said shortly. "I almost don't feel like playing." When Jake and Aaron heard Tyler, they openly gaped at him.

"Are you alright?" Jake asked. "Since when do you not feel like playing a game? You love football."

Tyler shrugged. "Why exactly are we going to the mall, Aaron? Do you need something?" He glanced at Aaron in the rearview mirror.

Here goes. "I'm trying to buy Joey a gift." Aaron said quickly.

"You're what?" Tyler furrowed his brows, trying to understand the motivation behind Aaron's shopping idea.

Aaron and I shared a glance. "It's just that Joey has been staying with us for a while now and I figured we should give her something that would say we accept you as a part of our family."

"You would have to change her last name for that," Jake put in. "What do you have in mind, Aaron? Are we buying her a bed or something?"

"No, just a nice birthday gift."