Better Than Good by Lane Hayes Read Free Book Online Page B

for one day. They’ve been together almost five years and they just get each other. Peter is a very successful lobbyist, and he’s super busy during election season, so I get to spend more time with Jay now than I usually would. I mean, we go to the gym and get coffee and that sort of thing all the time, but evenings are usually couple time or third-wheel time. Which I am all too familiar with.”
    I wanted to steer the conversation away from couple anything, so I asked Aaron about his other friends and other hobbies.
    “Well, I run.”
    “Run? Like jog or do marathons? What do you mean?” I prompted. I couldn’t help noticing that he definitely had a runner’s lean physique.
    “Yes to all. I do a lot of half marathons and 10Ks because I don’t have the time to train for a full marathon. But my goal is to do the New York marathon next year and maybe qualify for the Boston the following year. Jay and most of my other friends that run are more into social running. Jay talks the whole time he runs and he tops out at three miles. You can’t get any serious training done with that kind of ethic, but it’s a great way to spend time with your friends if they’re willing, so how can I complain?” He stopped to take a big gulp from his water glass.
    “So, rain or shine? Or gym on days you don’t run?”
    “Every day or at least six days a week. I go to the gym for light weight lifting, and let’s be honest, to check out the eye candy.” He wiggled his eyebrows and looked positively adorable. It was all I could do not to touch him somehow. “Do you run?”
    “Well, once in a while. I actually did a couple of miles last week, but mostly I work out at the gym and play a pickup game with friends on weekends when I can.”
    “Pickup game?”
    “Yeah, basketball usually, but sometimes baseball or football too.”
    “Those sound a little dangerous, Matty. That’s why I like running. Put your favorite tunes on, get your running shoes, and just go. And go.”
    “So you’d rather not talk for three miles, although how your friend can talk and run for that long shows some insane stamina if you ask me, right?”
    “Ha! Yeah, Jay’s got stamina. Well, I guess we’d have to ask Peter about that. I love running with friends, but I admit that I get in a zone when I run alone, and I can go for long stretches. Miles really.”
    “How many? I mean, what’s the farthest you’ve ever gone before?”
    Aaron wiggled his eyebrows suggestively again. He had a silly expression, which I think was meant to be lascivious, on his beautiful face. Instead, it was just fucking cute.
    “What are you really asking me, Matty?” he teased. I gave him my best blank stare in response. Aaron sighed theatrically and took another long drink of water before answering me.
    “Once I had just come home from visiting my family after some holiday or other and I just… I don’t know, they’re great, don’t get me wrong. But they stress me out sometimes. I must have run sixteen miles when I got home. I didn’t clue in until it got dark. See, it’s a little like therapy.”
    “Yeah, I can see that. Everyone has their way, I guess.”
    “Sex would always be my first choice, but since it isn’t always an option, I run.” Aaron fluttered his eyelashes at me. He was flirting shamelessly, but I got the message it was to steer away from any chat about family. Sex talk as a diversion. Interesting, but also distracting.
    By the time I took him back to his place, it was 3:00 a.m. The usually busy streets were virtually empty. A fine layer of fog from the river painted the low-lying shrubs and sidewalks in front of his building. It looked a little mystic and magical, as though the early morning hour still held promise. I pulled close to the curb, set the car in park, and turned toward my companion. I didn’t want to say good-bye, yet I didn’t know where this thing between us could go. I felt that familiar wave of frustration.
    “Can I walk you up?