Page 1 of Evading Exodus
Chapter 1: The Confrontation
(The First Plague: Blood)
“Can you meet me at T.J.’s after work tonight?”
He sounded unsure of himself, which wasn’t like him. At least not the Aaron I know. My Aaron,my Ace, was confident, secure, and a hell of a lover. Nope, I wasn’t liking this situation at all.
I arrived at T.J.’s Ale House just after seven on Thursday evening. I’d fallen deeply, madly, in love with T.J.’s. The owners, Terry and Jake, were partners in every sense of the word. Jake was one of Ace’s best friends, and we’d had dinner and drinks at the bar several times since we began seeing each other two weeks ago. Terry and I bonded as the “other man” in our guys’ lives. He liked to tell me funny stories about Ace, and Ace threatened bodily harm if I ever repeated any of them. Besides the food being some of the best I’d ever eaten, the time spent there allowed Ace to teach me more about beer than I’d ever known. For Ace, every beer had a story, and I loved to hear him tell them.
Tonight, as I entered, Terry caught my attention and nodded towards the far side of the bar where Jake and Ace were deep in conversation. Ace sat on one of the stools, propping his elbows on the bar. He had his hands clasped behind his head, his eyes boring deep into the bar’s surface. Jake stood behind the bar, his hands covering Ace’s, and he had his forehead pressed to the top of Ace’s head. It gave me an intimate look into just how close they were, and it sparked to life the cruelest of green monsters: jealousy. I wanted it to be me consoling Ace, wanted my hands on his, my lips kissing the top of his head, soothing away whatever hurt he had.
I covered my mouth with my fingers while debating whether to intrude. Jake finally noticed me and stepped back from Ace, who remained immobile. I approached cautiously, taking root just behind him.
“Ace?”
Not turning, he mumbled, “Have a seat, Dare.”
So I sat and waited. And waited. Wondering what was going on and trying desperately to read him.
Is this it? Are we done?My heart leapt to my throat, leaving my mouth dry, my ability to speak lost. He’d given me no indication there was anything wrong. I thought we were fine, enjoying our time together, but what else could he have called me here for? Nobody looks likethatand isn’t planning on breaking it off. I’d been down this road a few too many times; I knewthatlook.
I rested my hands on my lap and laced my fingers, rubbing my thumbs together, and tried to decide if I should just leave now.Leave and save myself the heartache of hearing him tell me we’re through.Finally settled on a course of action, I’d edged myself to the end of the stool, when he spoke.
“I need to talk to you about next week.”
Huh?
“Okay.” He had me off-balance now. Unsure what was going on, I attempted patience but found myself sorely lacking in that department.
His words came out in a rush, “I can’t have dinnerwith you next week.”
“What?”Not getting this, Ace.
A little slower, and still not looking at me, he repeated, “I can’t have dinner with you next week.”
“Okay,” I drawled, peering hard at him. We’d been having dinner together almost every night since we started seeing each other—his house, my place, here. However, next week wasn’t an issue for me; in fact, it was something that I’d been planning on bringing up anyway.
“That actually works for me. I can’t eat anything with yeast next week, so I’ll probably just stay home and cook. Are you stuck working late?”
Ace snapped his head up and looked at me, his hazel eyes wide. “You can’t eat anything with yeast next week?” he echoed.
“Umm…yeah.” I glanced over at the shelves of alcohol, thinking I could use a little liquid courage, even though I couldn’t stand the taste of most of it. “I’m Jewish and it’s Passover. One of the rituals is to avoid all standard foods containing flour, in particular yeast. I find not eating out is easiest. That’s not a problem, is it?” I asked hopefully, turning back to Ace. My exes hadn’t cared—at least, the ones who lasted for any significant time didn’t—and I hoped Ace wouldn’t either.
Laughter burst from Jake, startling me. He was practically bent in half, holding onto the bar for dear life. Ace’s shoulders started shaking, then unable to hold it back any longer, he joined in, loudly.
I stared at the two of them, and as the chuckling continued, anger and resentment reared their ugly heads.
Bloody hell! They’re laughing at me!
Huffing, I rotated my stool, hopped off, and headed for the door.
“Wait, Dare!” Ace called out. I stopped, crossed my arms, and stubbornly refused to turn around.
He can fucking come to me.
Ace’s chortling cut off, and I heard his feet hit the floor, and with the slap of soles approaching, I kept my arms locked across my chest, pulling my lips into a tight line. He came around to stand in front of me, his smile falling away as he took in my expression.
“Darren, what’s wrong?” he asked, staring straightinto my eyes.
