Page 23 of Common Goal
Kyle shook his head. He had a taste of what it was like to spend money that wasn’t his own. His parents had given him a lot of money over the years—money he knew they could easily afford, but still. He definitely appreciated how lucky he was, but he couldn’t be proud of it either. In a lot of ways, it made him feel like he’d never truly grown up.
“Someday your prince will come, Aram.”
“Well, he can take his time,” Aram said with a grin. “I’m having fun enjoying all the city has to offer for now.”
As if on cue, a young, fit man with a full sleeve of tattoos strolled by their mats, causing Aram to sit up and smile at him.
“Maybehe’sa millionaire,” Kyle teased.
“I should probably go find out.” Aram wrapped one sweaty, beefy arm around Kyle’s shoulders and squeezed. “See you later, all right?”
“Good luck.” Kyle headed to the fountain to refill his water bottle. As he walked he pulled his phone out of his pocket. There was a text from Kip.
Kip:Eric Bennett is having a party on Thursday. You should come.
Oh, absolutely the fuck not. The last thing Kyle needed to be doing was going to a party hosted by the unavailable man he’d been lusting after as the guest of the unavailable man he’d been low-key in love with for two years. That sounded like torture.
Kyle:I’m busy.
Kip:Doing what? I know you’re not working.
Kyle frowned at his phone. What excuse would work? Not that he even owed Kip one.
Kyle: I have a date.
Well, that was a giant lie. But it felt good. Which was probably not healthy.
Kip:OMG really?! That’s awesome!
Kip:Impress him by bringing him to an NHL player’s house party!
Kyle shoved his phone back in his pocket.
By the time Kyle returned home, there were four more texts from Kip.
Kip:Who is your date with? Do I know him?
Kip:Did you meet him at work?
Kip:Maybe if the date doesn’t go well you can bail and come to the party?
Kip:Maria is going. I think Eric would really like you to go too.
Kyle sighed and wrote back:Maybe next time.
One minute later, his phone rang.
“There isn’t going to be a next time,” Kip said. “Do you know how often Eric throws a party? It’s basically never happened before. That’s what Scott said, anyway.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to miss the event of the century. Sorry.”
“He has an amazing art collection. You should see it. Scott and I were at his new house like a month ago. Holy shit, Kyle. His house is incredible. It’s so...fancy. But not, like, gross? It’s very minimal and beautiful. It really suits his personality. I only went to his old house once, and it was, like, a mansion on Long Island. It was so wrong for him.” He paused, probably because he needed oxygen, then said, “I guess his wife was wrong for him too.”
“His wife?”
“Yeah. They split up a year or so ago. He’s divorced now. That’s why I think this party is so important. He’s probably lonely.”
Eric was divorced. Huh. Well, that was something.
