Better Than Home: Better Than Good Novella

“You should quit your job, babe,” I said gently.

“Maybe, but—”

“Do it. No buts.” I slowed to a stop at a red light before facing him. “You’ll find something else, and it doesn’t have to be full-time or as much money. I got a raise, remember?”

“But you said you didn’t like that it wasn’t packaged with the partnership deal.”

“So? It’s still our money. And it buys you time to find a different situation. We’re fine, Aar. On paper, we’d qualify for a loan with just my salary if we magically found the right one tomorrow.”

“Yes, but maybe we could use a small house-hunting break anyway.”

“Amen.”

He wrinkled his nose. “I’ll call Chandler and let him know we’re going to take a break for a month or two. We don’t have to see that house next weekend.”

I should have been all over that idea, but I heard myself say, “No, let’s see it. We can tell him in person afterward. But in the meantime…quit.”

“Just like that?”

“Yes. I want you to be happy.”

I started in my seat when the car behind me honked; then I refocused on the road.

“I am. But I’ll think about it this week.” He lowered the volume on the radio but didn’t speak again until I turned into our complex. “You know…I want you to be happy too, Matty. You sacrificed a lot to—”

“To be with you,” I finished for him, parking the car and killing the engine. “I didn’t think twice about it, Aar. And I know you’d do the same for me. You put up with my long hours when the contracts pile up and there aren’t enough hours in the day. You attend boring dinners with the partners and our clients. We’re doing what we promised the day we got married. We’re supporting each other. I love you. So don’t tell me I made a sacrifice. I’m exactly where I want to be. There is no sacrifice here. None whatsoever.”

Aaron’s nostril flared, his lower lip trembling as he leaned in, rubbing his nose against mine. “I love you, Matty. I love you so much.”

I sealed my lips to his and kissed him tenderly, pouring myself into the connection with everything I had. He did the same, curling his fingers around my nape and parting his lips in invitation. We made out for a few minutes until the windows were fogged and the need for oxygen became a necessity.

I sat back, pushing his hair from his eyes. “I’m hungry and tired and completely scarred from our afternoon. I don’t think I’ll ever unsee what I saw today. It was…terrifying.”

Aaron burst into laughter. “Normally I’d accuse you of exaggerating, but you’re right. That was a lot. Gosh, you even changed your first diaper.”

I shivered theatrically as I unfastened my seat belt. “Scariest shit I’ve seen in ages. All puns intended. When we do have kids, let’s get the kind that don’t poop, please.”

He rolled his eyes, then hopped out of the car and slipped his arm through mine, happily tossing out dinner suggestions and Netflix ideas. He moved like a dancer, graceful, lithe, and sure—with the confidence that had first turned my head almost a decade ago.

And after all these years, I liked to think I knew him pretty well. I got the impression he felt free for the first time in a while. Like a great burden had been lifted from his chest. It was good. There was no race to tick off life goal boxes. We could wait on a few things.

3

“Aaron’s going to give his two-week notice.”

Curt widened his eyes. “Quit his job? Why? He loves fashion magazine intrigue.”

“He does, but magazines aren’t what they used to be, and the vibe at his company changed. He’s ready to spread his wings a bit.”

Curt poured himself a cup of coffee, then slid a glass of water toward me and checked his watch. I did the same thing. It was Jason’s turn to secure the court, which gave Curt, Jack, and me an extra half hour before we joined him and some friends for our weekly pickup game.

“This might be a sensitive subject,” he began, taking the barstool at the far end of the island. “You never really seemed to want to talk about it and if you still don’t, feel free to tell me to fuck off, but…what exactly happened in New York?”

Curt was one of my best friends. We’d met in law school and had lived together until Aaron and I got our own place. He was solid and good-natured with a self-deprecating sense of humor.

Fun fact…Curt was the first person I came out to, and he was co-Best Man with my brother, Sean, at our wedding. In some ways, I was closer to him than I was to Sean. So it was a little telling that I hadn’t shared much about New York.