Anne Ha - Husband Next Door

He nodded understandingly, flashing her a glimpse of his even white teeth. A small gust of wind ruffled his thick black hair.

Shelly studied him in the glow of the porch light. Aaron certainly didn’t look as if he’d spent a romantic evening with an adoring female, she observed. His skin wasn’t flushed, nor were there any lipstick smudges on his collar.

She jangled her keys meaningfully. “Do you need anything?”

He cocked his head. “I don’t think so.”

Shelly took one step down the stairs and then paused, as if remembering an inconsequential fact. “How did your date go?”

“Fine.”

“How is Amanda?”

“Fine….”

Shelly sighed. The subtle approach was not going to work if Aaron insisted on speaking in monosyllables. She’d just have to ask her question outright. “Who was that man?”

A pleased smile broke across Aaron’s features. “Were you spying, Shelly?”

“Who was he?”

The smile turned indulgent. “Amanda’s boyfriend. She brought him along with her.”

Shelly stepped back up onto the porch. “I thought you were her boyfriend,” she accused.

Aaron shrugged. “Apparently not.”

She made a face at him. “Apparently not? I can’t believe you’re so offhand about it. Don’t you even care that she’s found someone else?” She paused to give him a chance to explain, but he didn’t say anything. “You know, this just proves how detached you are. When it comes to your sex life, you’re so unemotional you might as well be a chunk of granite!”

Aaron’s eyebrow went up. “Who said anything about sex?”

Shelly hesitated. “Well, I just assumed…” She swallowed. The idea of Aaron being celibate was ludicrous, but she didn’t feel like debating the issue. “Anyway, you should be upset about this! You’ve got to learn to take your relationships seriously.”

His eyes gleamed. “We’ll just have to have more lessons then, won’t we?”

She sighed. He did need more lessons. She wasn’t sure if they’d help, but after tonight, she was even more convinced of their importance. Reaching for her doorknob, she muttered, “Good night, Aaron.”

“Shel?” His voice was patient, amused.

Shelly turned. Aaron shrugged out of his jacket and held it out for her. She looked at it in confusion.

He draped it around her shoulders. “So you don’t get cold on the way to the corner store.” The warm male scent of Aaron drifted up to envelop her, and the damp chill air seemed to retreat.

And then she realized what he was saying.

Shelly felt the heat of embarrassment come rushing to her face. She’d forgotten all about her imaginary errand. “Right.” Ducking her head, she darted down the steps, chased by the gentle sound of Aaron’s laughter.

The weekend passed slowly—mostly because Aaron was much too interested in whether she was going to marry Eric. Like a tabloid journalist eager to extract every juicy detail, he demanded regular updates on her decision.

Shelly tried to divert his attention with two more lessons. First they worked on Aaron’s seriousness and substance. She made him go several hours without saying anything witty, charming or entertaining. Then Shelly devised a role-playing exercise to develop his self-restraint. She made Aaron pretend he was in a committed relationship, and she was a stranger trying to proposition him. To her satisfaction Aaron truly put himself into the scenario. He had a difficult time turning her down, but succeeded after careful coaching. Shelly decided he might not be hopeless after all.

On Monday Chloe arrived. The two women had been roommates in college and best friends ever since. After graduation Chloe had gone on to pursue an engineering career in Boston. But a recently ended relationship—as well as a job offer from one of San Francisco’s best engineering firms—had finally induced her to move to the West Coast. She would be staying with Shelly until she could find her own apartment.

They were carrying her luggage up the front steps of the Victorian when Aaron appeared on the porch, looking cool and sophisticated in a finely cut Italian suit, with a bold tie that brought out the blue of his eyes.

Chloe halted at the sight of him. Her brows shot up, her mouth gaped open, and she seemed to forget her surroundings. Then, as Shelly watched, her expression shifted from outright amazement to an almost crafty, calculating look.

Aaron returned Chloe’s gaze. Their eyes seemed to dance in silent communication, making Shelly feel oddly left out. Just when she was about to cough to break the moment, Chloe spoke.

“You’re Aaron, aren’t you?” she said, as if she’d discovered the key to the world’s problems.

“And you must be Chloe,” he returned silkily.

Shelly couldn’t stop herself from snorting. “I guess you two don’t need to be introduced.” She climbed the rest of the steps and glared at Aaron. It was obnoxious of him to put the moves on her closest friend. Especially after his lesson on self-restraint!

He blinked back at her innocently, which only annoyed her more. Didn’t he realize what a player he was? Wasn’t he able to stop himself, even for a few minutes?

Chloe set her suitcase down and glanced from one of them to the other. Her smile widened, and she winked at Aaron. “Some things,” she said in a self-satisfied tone, “are obvious.”

For heaven’s sake, Chloe was acting like a prospector who’d struck gold! Stifling a peevish reply, Shelly turned to unlock her door. She rummaged in her purse, but came out empty-handed.

“Uh-oh.” She must have left her keys at work again. But of all the days to do it….

Before she could ask, Aaron dangled his own set of keys over her shoulder. Shelly had no choice but to take them and unlock her door. She deposited Chloe’s carryon bag in the living room with a thud, and Aaron followed with the rest of the luggage. He gave Chloe a dazzling smile, like a puppy who’d learned a new trick.

“I see you have keys to each other’s apartments,” Chloe said.

“It’s purely practical,” Shelly replied. “If we get boxes in the mail or the plumber comes, then the other one can let them in. Aaron’s home more than I am during the day, and I’m—”

“Home more than I am at night,” Aaron finished for her. He said it as if he’d made a telling point.

Shelly grimaced at him. “Stop bragging.”

“Bragging?” echoed Chloe.

“Shelly thinks I’m a man of loose morals,” he explained.

“I don’t just think you’re a man of loose morals, I know you are. What I can’t understand is why you’re so smug about it.” She addressed her friend. “He never stops talking about his conquests.”

Aaron grinned at Chloe. “She likes it. I.think it gives her a vicarious thrill to hear of my indiscretions. Her own life is so quiet, you know.”

“Just ignore him, Chloe.”

Aaron laughed and leaned comfortably against the wall, his hands in his pockets.

Shelly approached him with her head held high. “Were you just leaving for a date, Aaron?” she inquired. “Don’t let us keep you.”

He didn’t move. “At this point I’m running so late I might as well stay home.”

Obviously he wanted to stick around and ingratiate himself with Chloe. But Shelly wasn’t going to let him. She took his arm and escorted him out the door. “I disagree,” she said. “You’ve just given her a little extra time to get ready.”

“She’s meeting me at the restaurant.”

“So she’s been sitting over a drink for twenty minutes. No big deal.”

Aaron looked sheepish. “An hour and twenty minutes,” he said.

Shelly was speechless for a moment. “Bad move, Aaron.”