Work Text:
Aaron had left you at the bar with his colleagues while he took a phone call. They were all chatting and laughing, sharing rounds of shots. You were all around a big round table, perched on stools or leaning on one another, but you sat slightly out of the group. Aaron had been standing next to you with his arm on your shoulder, laughing with his friends like normal. You had felt a pit in your stomach since you got there, his hand immediately leaving yours to hug who he introduced as Dave. You felt like you were going to be very lonely tonight.
Aaron had begged you to come along to meet everyone and you agreed, but with some reluctance. It wasn’t often he wanted to show you off, usually preferring to keep you all to himself, and you welcomed the change of pace. There was just a nagging feeling you wouldn’t be welcome.
It wasn’t that you were welcome, the girls welcomed you warmly, immediately commenting on how pretty you are, how nice your hair is, they loved your shoes. They launched into probing questions about Aaron after a couple of shots and you giggled along with them, not sure you wanted to share such intimate details with them. He may be their boss, so they wanted to poke fun at him, but he was your boyfriend. It didn’t feel right. It was only his arm touching you at all times that kept you grounded and trying to engage in the conversations around you. You couldn’t follow a lot of it, the team almost speaking in code as if they could read each other’s minds. It made sense, they spent both days and nights in close proximity to each other. You laughed when they laughed and smiled when they looked to you.
Aaron felt the phone buzz in his jacket, and he pressed his lips to your keep as he whispered that he would just be outside, he had to take this. The cold overtook you as you lost contact with his body, which always seemed to be impossibly warm. Maybe you just really fancied him. Either way, you were alone, nursing your first drink with caution. You had never liked meeting important people after a few drinks in case you made a fool of yourself. You knew Aaron liked to be professional and you were trying your hardest to keep it neat and together for him like you thought he would want. Another try of shots was brought over to the table and a blonde woman you think was called something like Jay offered you one. She had a genuine smile, but you didn’t feel it warm you. Your defences were up for some reason, and nothing was getting through. You politely declined, something about not wanting to get messy, and she patted your arm with a slightly sadder smile before she threw it back herself.
The table whooped in unison as Aaron walked back through the door, and you tried to pull a smile together for him. He couldn’t help that you felt so low and you wouldn’t let it ruin his night.
“Finish your drinks guys, we’ve got a case.”
His voice commanded the table's attention and you felt a tinge of pride at how powerful your boyfriend was. The pride fell immediately when you heard the whole sentence. They all threw back the rest of the drinks littered across the table, and you pushed yours away from you. No help being drunk if you were just going to be sleeping alone again. You had only just got him back that afternoon and he was going away again.
You knew what you signed up for when dating someone as cool and sexy as Aaron, but it still hurt to see him be pulled away from you right as you thought he was home for the night. He muttered a string of apologies under his breath to you as he called you an uber to go home. The jet was waiting to take them across the country so he couldn’t drop you home. He felt safer knowing he could see where the uber took you, he said, and you wished you could see where he was. He wasn’t allowed to have tracking on his phone, a safety hazard he said.
You signed up for this, but it still hurt to be walking into the home you were just starting to build together, alone.