Suddenly You (Our Exception Book 2)

Chapter 1

Iwake up with a throbbing headache, my mouth feeling like the driest desert and tasting like sewer. A groan escapes me as I peel my eyelids back, trying not to move too quickly because the nausea is real. I drank far too much last night.

Far too much.

“Fuuuuck,” I moan when I try and sit up, my stomach sloshing. The room comes into view in bits and pieces. The two queen beds, a small sofa in the corner, the large window covered by blackout curtains.

Right. I’m in a hotel. In Vegas.

I shift in bed and realize I’m not wearing any clothes. Not that that’s anything new. I often sleep naked. Nothing better than cool sheets against warm skin.

Rubbing at my chest, I feel something catch on my fingers. Glancing down through swimming eyes, I see that my thigh, cock, and pecs are coated with… Is that dry cum? What the hell?

“Shit,” I mutter when I feel someone move next to me. Their legs knock against me, and I peel the covers back.

Underneath them is Coop, looking just as wrecked as me. His reddish brown hair is rumpled, his dark lashes just now starting to flutter open. My gaze roves over him, and I see cum on his face and arms. My mind reels as I try and understand what’s happening, but I can’t.

I can’t fucking understand this.

With a trembling hand, I drag the covers off him, making him whimper in annoyance.

Holy shit. Is that cum on his ass cheeks?

My stomach churns, and I feel bile creep up my throat. With urgency, I hop out of bed, making it to the toilet just in time to let the contents of last night spill into the bowl. Alcohol and, oh yes, more alcohol is brought up until I’m just dry heaving. My entire body is shaking and I feel sweat bead on my forehead.

I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.

What the hell happened last night, I think as I grab some tissues and wipe at my mouth. My back hits the wall, the cool tile beneath my bare ass making me shiver. I think I’m dying, or in a nightmare.

Not sure which is worse.

My hand rubs down my tired, hot face, and that’s when I notice it.

A ring.

On my left hand.

I stare at it for far too long, my heart nearly pounding out of my chest.

What the fuck?

What the fuck is this?

Since when am I married?

On shaking legs, I scramble up and trip my way back into the bedroom, finding Coop half-awake now and sprawled face up on the mattress, his limp dick stuck to his thigh, completely comfortable showing me his goods.

But then again, Coop seems to give zero fucks about anything. Ever since meeting him two weeks ago, I realized this rich, spoiled boy always gets his way and is never told no.

I mean, I tell him no every time I see him, just to make sure he’s brought back to reality. Life is never that easy. I even told him no when he asked to carpool to Vegas together.

He just rolled his eyes and told me that he knew my car was in the shop and I had no way to get there. I’d fought the entire way, making sure he knew how much I didn’t appreciate the lift.

Without warning, I grab his left hand and hold it up to my face, staring at the silver band settled on his finger. It’s too fucking much. The room tilts, and I stagger on my feet.

“Coop,” I hiss, my voice nearly inaudible. “Coop. What the fuck is this?”

He groans and swats at me, trying to get me to let him go, but I just hold on tighter.

“Stop yelling, you banshee,” he murmurs.

“Coop. Seriously. Why the fuck do we have wedding bands on our fingers? Is this some kind of joke? Did Magnus put you up to this?”

“Who’s Magnus?” he murmurs.

“My brother, you fucker.”

He wrenches his hand free of my grasp and holds it up to his eyes. They cross slightly as he does, causing him to wince.

“I dunno. Don’t remember anything.”

I sink onto the bed and my head falls into my hands as I try like hell to recall last night but come up blank.

“You need to remember something,” I croak, and he just turns onto his side and groans.

“Can’t even think right now. Hurts too much.”

I stare at him, at his tan skin from being in the sun, his cum-coated ass cheeks, and feel my body warm.

My breathing comes out in desperate pants.

“Ugh. Stop breathing like that. You sound like a stalker I once had. Just calm the fuck down.”

“Can’t. Can’t breathe.”

He presses the heels of his hands to his eyes and grunts.

“Jesus. Straight guy panic is so annoying. For fuck’s sake. It’s like you were just given a deadly diagnosis.”

I drop my head between my knees and inhale deeply, trying to keep my breathing even. Don’t need to pass out only to wake up with my face in his crotch. That would be just my luck.

“Matthew, seriously. Chill. Check your phone. See what you can find there.”

“In a minute,” I murmur, and Coop sighs, grabbing my phone and sticking it in front of my face to open it. I should be more annoyed that he’s flipping through my phone, but I don’t care at the moment. He can see all my dirty little secrets if something on there reveals why the hell I have a wedding ring on my finger.

“Oh, nice nudes,” he says with a laugh, and I feel my face heat to epic proportions.

“Fuck off.”

“No, but really, who are these for?” he asks. “They’re really hot.”

“Stop fucking scrolling backward, you asshole. Scroll forward.”

He huffs, taking his time, little snorts of laughter spilling from him as he scrolls. I took those pictures for my ex. I’m regretting saving them now.

Finally, after long minutes, when my heart rate has finally come down and I can breathe more steadily, he gasps. “Oh.”

“What?” I ask, lifting my head to stare at him. His eyebrows are raised and he has a shocked look on his face. It doesn’t last for long as his mouth pulls up into a grin.

“Oh, straight boy, you are so married to me.”

He angles the phone toward me, and I see a picture of the two of us in some kind of Elvis-themed chapel, our lips connected in a sloppy kiss. Just Married is in neon lights off to the side.

“What the fuck?” I blurt, my lips parting. “This is a fucking joke. It has to be.”

Coop looks unperturbed by this and just shrugs. “I mean, I never imagined ever getting married, and in an Elvis chapel no less.”

“This can’t be happening.”

“And you’re not my first choice either, but I think I’ll quite like being married to you, Matthew Morris.”

“Fuck off,” I say and shove at his chest.

He falls back against the pillows with a half laugh, half groan.

“We’re getting this annulled or a divorce.”

Coop peers up at me and his lips twitch. “We’ll see about that.”

My eyes narrow, but before I can respond, the door bursts open and I see Sem stride in. He’s wearing a thin, raggedy t-shirt and worn jeans, his dirty blond hair pulled back in a half ponytail.

“What the hell are you doing in here? How do you have a key?” I ask as his blue eyes swivel down to my lap.

“Better question is why are you both naked?” he asks, his lips turning up into a small smile as he leans against the wall and crosses his arms. “But I don’t think you need to answer that. Assholes are the best. Really tight.”

“Oh my god,” I groan as I throw a sheet over me. “That’s not?—”

“Don’t need your excuses, man. Maggie was worried you were dead, even though I don’t think you deserve any of that, so I came to check on you. It seems you’re not dead, but someone’s hole got murdered, huh? Whose was it?”

Coop sputters a laugh while my face goes molten.

“No one had sex. I don’t know what happened.”

“Well, you’re one to talk. My ass is a little sore,” Coop replies, grinning at Sem. “Matt must not have that big of a dick to totally wreck it.”

I glower at him, pulling a pillow into my lap, and then glance back at Sem. “My dick is perfectly fine.”

“Hmm,” Coop says with a sassy grin, and I want to smother him with the pillow. “Doubtful.”

“We are not—we aren’t talking about this! Go tell Magnus we’re fine.”

“Will do,” Sem says, making no move to leave. His eyes are settled on my chest. “Got some cum there.”

He points to my pec, and I fling the pillow at him but it misses by a few feet.

“I know,” I grumble.

“Yours or his?”

“Fuck you.”

“No thanks. Got Maggie for that.”

I close my eyes and breathe through my nose.

“Go away, Sem. I swear to god.”

He chuckles lowly and pushes away from the wall. “Alright, but meet us for lunch. Maggie’ll send you the location. And you might want to wash that mess off you first, unless you’re into that kind of thing, carrying your man’s cum all over your skin.”

“Oh, fuck no,” I murmur just as Coop chimes in.

“Sure thing. My husband and I will be there.”

I shoot him a death glare for sharing that little nugget with Sem. If only my eyeballs could incinerate someone, Coop would be a heap of ash on the floor.

Sem grins widely, and a laugh escapes him. “Maggie is gonna love this.”

“Don’t tell—” I begin, but before my words can tumble out, they’re cut off by the slam of the door shutting.

Coop is laughing softly, and I turn toward him, grabbing another pillow and holding it over his head.

“I’m going to murder you. A slow death by suffocation.”

“Oh babe, no. This is so good for your homophobic heart.”

I ignore him. “Till death do us part, isn’t that how it goes? You’ll just meet your end sooner than you planned.”

He sits up, swats the pillow away from me, and pinches my nipple. A hiss leaves my lips, and I glower at him.

“Stop being such a drama queen. God, you straight guys are the worst. Let’s shower and get some coffee and then we can discuss this like adults.”

“I don’t want to discuss anything. I want to fix it.”

“Hm, well, I have to be honest with you, Matthew. I’m enjoying this far too much. I’m not sure there’s anything to fix.”

“Jesus.”

He crawls out of bed, and my eyes go to his ass, a large bruise sitting on his butt cheek, and I, honest to god, don’t want to know how he got that.

If that is from me, I will throw myself out this window right now.

“Come on. Shower time, hubby.”

“I’m not showering with you. You’re out of your goddamn mind.”

He grins at me and runs a hand through his tangled hair. His cock hangs between his legs, and I force myself not to look at it. He’s bigger than me, that’s for sure, and much wider. I think I remember him saying he’s a bottom, so at least that thing won’t be going into any asses. Because that would hurt.

But that’s really not what I should be thinking about. That’s not the issue. The issue is that we’re married, and he seems completely unbothered by this fact. We aren’t even friends. We just met a couple weeks ago, and have had only a few surface-level chats because he’s a friend of my brother, Max’s new husband, Beau. Because I’ve been trying to have an open mind, been trying to be better. There’s absolutely no reason on Earth why Coop should want to stay married to me. Plus, I’m straight.

He should want to get this annulled immediately.

But the way he’s whistling in the bathroom tells me that he obviously wants to put me through hell instead.

This has to be some gay plot to get back at me. It’s nefarious, I’m sure.

I stand up and follow him into the bathroom just as he steps under the water, steam billowing out around him.

“We are fixing this,” I say, pointing my finger at him. Just then, I realize I’m naked like he is, my dick swaying in the open air, but I don’t give a fuck. He seems to think this is a joke. He’s even grinning from behind the glass, like this is no big deal. “You have to have like lawyers or something you can call to get this sorted.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I can’t hear you.”

I stare at him as he cups his ears dramatically and tilts his head forward. That fucking liar. He can hear me just fine. My voice echoes.

“You can hear me, you asshole.”

He leans forward further, his nose pressed against the glass. “Cosa hei detto?”

“Oh, you fucker,” I murmur as I move toward him and step into the shower. The water spray hits my chest and legs, but I just ignore it, hating that his grin only grows. He has me right where he wants me and he knows it.

Those dark golden eyes of his move down my chest and settle on my dick. It preens under the attention, despite me telling it that this is ridiculous, that I will not get hard for another dude. I’m not gay. Not one little bit.

“I said,” I bite out, “that you must have lawyers for this kind of thing. That surely you can make a phone call and get this all resolved.”

“Oh, you know I do. But the question is, do I want to bother?”

My eyes narrow at him as he holds out the shampoo. “Might as well wash up since you’re in here. There is quite a lot of cum on you.”

“Shut up.”

His eyes rove down my chest, all the way to my toes and then back up again, settling somewhere on my neck. “Oh my. Is that a hickey?”

He moves toward me and his fingertips brush the spot just under my ear.

I feel my heart rate triple. “You are joking right now, right?”

“Nope.” He pops the p and smirks at me. “It’s really big. I must have put a lot of time into that.”

“Fuck you.”

“I mean, you might have. Something was up my ass last night, I just can’t figure out what.”

He glances down at my dick and wets his lips. “Could have been that. Not as small as I thought now that it’s getting hard.”

I shift on my feet. “I’m a grower, not a shower.”

“We’ll see about that.”

I feel unreasonably insulted, so I grab on to my dick and pump it in my hand a few times, sensations flooding my body as I jerk myself to maximum hardness.

“There,” I say, my cock now jutting proudly out from my body. “Not small at all.”

Coop huffs a small laugh, peeking up at me through wet lashes. The diamond studs in his ears flash, and I feel myself shrink back slightly.

I’ve lost my goddamn mind.

Grabbing the shampoo from him, I squirt some in my hand, rubbing it aggressively into my hair. Some drips into my eye, and I hiss, moving toward the water to rinse it out.

I collide with Coop in the process, my hands moving to his hips to keep us upright.

“Ow,” I murmur as I blink under the warm spray. I try not to think about how I’m naked and pressed up against another man, especially with my dick fully hard now. Rubbing up against his wet, warm body is only making it leak, which is completely unacceptable. Thankfully, the sting in my eye is taking away from all immediate thoughts on the matter. It’s only when I feel his hands move up my back that I take a step away.

“Your eyeball looks very pathetic.”

“You look pathetic,” I retort, even though he doesn’t. We’re both hungover and sopping wet, and yet he still looks much more put-together than I do. It’s unfair, but then again, he’s Cooper Barone, trust fund kid to some kind of modern oil-tycoon parents.

I don’t fucking know the details, just the snippets I’ve heard from Beau.

“You have terrible comebacks. Now turn around. Let me get that cum off your back.”

I stare at him but do as he says, letting him rub some soap up my spine and massage my shoulders. I will never admit this, but I might sag into the embrace and let out a small happy sigh. It’s been a while since someone’s touched me like this. A long while.

Sue me for being a bit of a touch whore.

Or at least that’s what my ex called me.

She didn’t say those words nicely though. I don’t think she really liked how physically affectionate I was, how much I craved it. So I’ve tried to repress it, tried to be more of a man, but it seems my need for it has superseded all common sense because I’m leaning into Coop’s touch. Really leaning, if I’m being honest. I’m practically sideways.

“There, all the biohazards are gone,” Coop says and then removes his hands from me. I feel the loss palpably, but I tamp it down.

It’s so fucking girly to need this as much as I do. The cuddles and snuggles I crave have been pushed down and suppressed, killed off slowly by my parents and my girlfriends.

Straight men don’t behave this way.

And I’m straight. One hundred percent.

“Are you though?” Coop responds to my thought spoken out loud.

My head swivels, and I stare at him over my shoulder.

“You are married to a man, the same man you’re in the shower with.”

“This doesn’t count.”

“Did you say ‘no homo’ beforehand? Because I heard that works,” he teases as he shuts the water off and pushes past me. His wet, naked body brushes against mine, and I squash the urge to press into him once more.

It has nothing to do with him being a man. It has everything to do with being touched.

Fuck, I hate that I’m like this. It’s disgusting. I wish I were any other way. It would make life so much simpler.

“Come on, better get out before you catch cold.”

I glance at Coop, who is holding a towel out for me. He has one slung around his trim waist, water still dripping from his hair down his chest. Grabbing the towel from him, I quickly wipe myself dry and move into the bedroom, searching for my suitcase.

When Coop picked me up for Vegas, I was worried how I was going to afford a hotel room, but he told me that he already had one for us. Of course, I’d refused, not wanting to share one with him, but he just glowered at me and told me that we weren’t going to share a bed and to stop being a baby about it.

I’d huffed and puffed, but my maxed-out credit card was silently thanking me.

This was an impromptu trip I really couldn’t afford.

Being a high school PE teacher doesn’t really pay the bills. Even the stipend I get for the coaching I do after school and over the summer barely covers the electric bill.

I don’t know where I went wrong, but I did. Somewhere.

“I’m gonna go grab some coffee. Would you like something?”

“Where are you going?” I ask as I pull a t-shirt on.

Coop’s eyes drag away from me and he shrugs, grabbing his phone and wallet.

“Dunno. Thought I’d see what’s around. Vegas is known for the sex and the food.”

“Alright,” I say, wanting to get out of the hotel room. If I stay here, I may ruminate too hard on the fact that I’m married to a man. Or the fact that I showered with him and showed him my hard dick. “And while we’re out, can you make some calls. Get this sorted.”

He ignores me as he opens the hotel door. “Come on, Matthew. Let’s go get caffeinated.”

“But I want to get this shit annulled, Cooper.”

I wave my ringed hand around, and Coop sighs as he places his palm on my lower back, pushing me out the door. It clicks shut behind us as we move into the hallway. He doesn’t take his hand away from me, and I don’t say anything.

Even though I should.

I so should.

“We can discuss this when I have enough caffeine in my system. I can’t fucking think right now when my head is throbbing this much.”

“Fine,” I say, my lips turning down when he removes his hand from my back and pulls his phone out. His thumbs fly across the screen, and I peer over at him as we wait for the elevator.

“Who are you messaging?” I ask, and he glances up at me.

“My fuck buddy. Telling him I’m taken now.”

“Jesus,” I murmur as the elevator pings and the doors open. He reaches behind me once more, that hand settling on my lower back and moving me forward.

“I am nothing if not faithful, Matthew.”

I glower at him, and he reaches up and pinches my cheek.

I refuse to lean into him. Refuse.

A moment later, the doors open, leading into the hotel lobby, the bright light from outside forcing me to put on my sunglasses. Really, they should know better. The lights should be dim, goddamnit. People here have been imbibing all night long.

Coop is still on his phone, scrolling endlessly until we step outside. He pauses as soon as we do, his hand landing on my arm, and I can feel the burn of it zing up to my chest.

I don’t pull away though. I should, but I don’t. This is a recurring theme in my life and I don’t know how to stop the cycle.

“Oh, I found one. There’s a coffee shop two blocks away. Has good reviews. Sound good?”

I don’t give a fuck. “Sure.”

He nods and his hand slips from me, pressing against my lower back once more.

I should step away and force his fingers off me, but I don’t—just let him guide me through the crowds until we’re in line at a small coffee shop, the scent of roasted beans infiltrating my senses. It’s warm inside the small, cramped space, and I feel myself start to sweat.

“What do you want?” Coop asks. “Let me guess.” His hand slides up my spine and cups my neck. A shiver pulses through me despite the heat. “A black coffee because you’re a man.”

“No. Because I’m poor,” I retort, hating that I just admitted my truth to him. No one knows how bad it is. Not even Max. I haven’t breathed a word to anyone.

“Oh, well luckily what’s mine is yours, husband. You can get whatever your straight little heart desires.”

“Fuck you,” I murmur. “I can buy my own goddamn coffee.”

The woman standing in front of me turns around and glares at us, and I realize immediately that there’s a young girl holding her hand. I need to rein in my swearing in public.

“Tsk, tsk,” Coop says, and I nudge him with my elbow for being so annoying. Asshole. Likes to rile me up, I swear.

When we get to the counter, Coop tells me to order first, and since I don’t want to make a scene, I just tell the barista I want a cold brew with sweet foam, making Coop’s lips twitch up. He knows he won this one, but I’ll win the next. I’m pretty fucking competitive when I need to be.

As soon as our drinks are in our hands, I take a large gulp, sighing.

Coop is doing the same, both hands cradling his cup like it’s the Holy Grail.

“Never getting that drunk again,” he tells me between sips. “I haven’t felt this bad since college.”

“Yeah, same.”

“We’re old now.” Coop glances up at me. “And you know what? I should know how old my husband is. So let me guess? Thirty-six? Thirty-seven?”

“Fuck you. I’m twenty-eight.”

“Ah. You look older. Like a tired old man.”

I flick his nose, and he glowers at me. “I don’t even have any grays. So fuck off. And how old are you, rich boy?”

“Guess.”

“I’m not playing games.”

“But I love games, especially in the bedroom.”

A scoff leaves my lips, and I shake my head. “Of course you do. Nothing is ever serious with you. You’ve been handed everything in your life.”

“Don’t be mad I have more money than you. I can’t help it. My parents set up a trust for me. I didn’t demand it. It’s just there. And I’m twenty-six, if you must know.”

“Yeah, alright. So it’s not your fault you’re a spoiled brat.”

“Well, I didn’t say that. I am spoiled, but the brat is all me, baby.”

The smile that tilts my lips up is entirely his fault. He sees it too because he grins back at me, looking far too put-together for being this hungover.

“Alright, let’s go walk this hangover off and then we’ll meet everyone for lunch. I don’t want Sem hunting for us. I have a feeling he’d use our skin for some kind of suit. He’s a little barbaric.”

“He is. We got into it a while back when my brothers and I were assholes to Magnus.”

I rub at my nose, still feeling the sting of when he’d knocked it sideways.

“Oh yeah, Beau told me. Seems like you deserved it.”

“Yeah, we did. Broke my nose with one punch. Don’t want to be on the receiving end of it again.”

Coop assesses my nose and runs a finger up it. “Looks fine to me. Although you having a crooked nose wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

“Same for you. Would make you a little less perfect.”

Coop beams, flashing me those immaculately straight, white teeth. “Perfect, huh?”

“Shut up, you know what I mean.”

He runs a hand through his hair and it falls perfectly back in place. See, this is what I mean. Nothing for Coop ever goes wrong. I bet he’s never had a bad day in his life. And if he ever has, I bet he just threw money at it and all the shit just disappeared.

Must be nice. I’d love to have money to throw around.

“I do know what you mean. You think I’m perfect. I’m taking that as a compliment. And if you wanted a divorce before, you’re going to have a harder time getting me to let you go now.”

I roll my eyes as we stroll around the strip, looking at the crowds of people milling about. A few times when people move in around us, Coop sticks his hand on my lower back and steers me, just like he’s been doing all morning.

It’s nice to have someone directing me for once. Even if it’s something simple, like where to walk.

When we make it to the Bellagio, we stop and Coop props his forearms against the railing. “Have you ever seen the water show here?”

“Maybe? We could have seen it last night but we’ll never know.”

“True. It’s all a blur.”

“You know, we should really try and figure out where we got married so we can figure out what the hell happened last night.”

Coop peers up at me, his lips wrapping around the lip of his cup. “I mean, I’m unconcerned.”

“Of course you are.”

“My lawyers are gonna chew me a new one though. I’m almost positive you didn’t sign a prenup.”

“The fuck is that?”

“An agreement that stipulates I don’t need to give you half my money in the divorce.”

I snort in derision. “I don’t want a penny from you.”

He scoffs and then peers up at me once more, disbelief on his face. “I highly doubt that. Money makes people crazy.”

“It does, but I’m not after your money. I just don’t want to be married to you anymore.”

“We’ll see about that, straight boy. I am a catch.”

I don’t know what he means by that, but my head hurts too much to argue. So I let it go. We can discuss this after lunch when I can think clearly again.

We make it to the restaurant a little later, Beau and Max sitting next to each other, Sem and Magnus across from them. All eyes land on us as we move toward the free chairs.

“You’re late,” Magnus says with a grin.

“We were busy fucking like animals,” Coop says, making my cheeks heat.

“Fuck no, we weren’t.”

Magnus’s gaze lands on my neck, and I press my hand over the hickey there.

“He knows,” Coop whispers loudly, and I nudge him with my elbow as he pulls my chair out and I take a seat next to Beau. Coop sits at the end of the table, to my left, his feet linking with mine under the table.

I’m too tired to fight it, to even think of pushing back, so I just let my legs rest against his as I pull the sticky menu off the table.

“What’s good?” I ask, and Magnus continues to stare at me.

“I can’t believe you harassed me for fucking a man and now you have a hickey the size of the moon on your neck from one.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Karma is a bitch, Matt. Just you wait.”

I ignore him, my cheeks burning, and glance at Max, who is grinning goofily at me. My eyes roll as I turn back to the menu and pick out the greasiest thing I can find. Need all of it to sop up the alcohol currently residing in my body. I’m pretty sure I threw up the last of it earlier. But I still feel like shit. This hangover is gonna last me all week.

“What are you getting, Sem?” I hear Magnus ask his husband.

“Banana pancakes with a side of sausage. I do love that.”

“You do,” Magnus replies, and I feel my cheeks burn. But I refuse to comment. I don’t want Sem coming after my nose again. I got it back to normal and I don’t want to fuck around with it again.

And I also don’t want to see that distraught, anguished look on Magnus’s face. That is seared into my brain. I hurt my brother that day and suffered the consequences. I’m just lucky he’s giving me another chance. There’s a long way to go still. I’ll need to grovel for a long-ass time. But for now, I’m gonna start by keeping my mouth shut.

I’m not uttering a word. I’m keeping my thoughts to myself. And honestly, I’m not one to talk. I’m technically married to Coop.

For fuck’s sake.

I have no room to judge, even if this marriage was done under the influence of alcohol. I’m still married to a man.

Does that make me gay?

I’m sure it doesn’t. Plenty of men get married to men and aren’t gay.

The pictures on my phone of us kissing say otherwise though. And the less said about the cum on Coop’s ass the better.

My stomach churns, and I shift in my seat. I’m not wondering how those lips felt on mine. No. Not at all.

“What are you getting, Maggie?” Sem asks, and my brother grins at his husband.

“Oh, strawberry Nutella crepes.”

“Fancy, just like you,” Sem replies, leaning over and kissing him. There’s quite a lot of tongue and a desperate moan from Sem. Don’t need to hear that. Ever. I glance away and stare at the menu just as the waitress comes over. She looks tired, like she’s worked every day of her life. I swear, this is what Coop must have meant. I’m a tired old man. Overworked and underpaid.

“What can I get you dears?”

We rattle off our orders, Coop’s obviously being the most complicated. Who eats egg whites and asks for salt on the side? The woman taking his order looks like her brain’s about to explode.

“Alright, love, sounds good,” she says with a roll of her eyes, and Coop nods, placing his arm on the back of my chair. She wanders off, and Magnus meets my gaze.

“So, Matt, Sem told me what he saw this morning. Care to share?”

I stare at Sem, who just grins at me, looking almost sinister. Karma sure is a bitch.

“Yeah, no. I’m good,” I say just as Coop chimes in.

“We’re apparently married and woke up completely indecent.”

Magnus gasps and Sem’s grin widens in delight. Beau cocks his head at his best friend, and when I meet Max’s eyes, they twinkle.

Oh, he thinks this is funny. After all the shit I’ve pulled, all the stupid stuff I’ve said in the past, here I am—married to a gay man, a hickey the size of Saturn on my neck. Apparently I liked whatever Coop was doing last night. Seemed I liked it enough to bust all over myself and him.

“What do you mean by indecent?” Magnus asks.

Sem chimes in, “They were naked, Maggie. No clothes anywhere and cum everywhere.”

I feel my cheeks heat and I shift in my seat, wanting to bolt, but Coop’s hand on my knee keeps me grounded. Damn thing. Always touching me, making me resist the urge to flee.

I’m obviously touch-starved. I need to find someone online to come over and just hold me, get me out of this goddamn funk I’ve found myself in.

It’s not a funk. It’s who you are.

Coop nods, like Sem’s comment isn’t a big deal. “We obviously can’t remember anything but plan on doing some investigative work after lunch.”

Magnus perks up slightly. “Oh, I love investigative work. In another life, I’d have been a detective.”

Sem stares at his husband like he’s never seen him before. “That true, Maggie? I thought you always wanted to be a teacher.”

He grins up at him and nods. “I mean, kind of. I do love a good mystery. You were one of them, Sem. And look at us now.”

Coop’s fingers curl into my thigh, and he lets out a small laugh. “Well, my investigation will start with an online search of county records to see if our marriage license was ever submitted.”

“Might be too early to tell,” Beau says. “It could still be processing.”

That makes my heart thunder in my chest. “So there’s a chance we could stop it?”

Coop glowers at me and his hand moves up my thigh slightly. I swallow loudly and feel my cheeks warm. But still, I don’t move him away from me. I just let him keep touching me.

“I don’t think we can stop it,” he says, his eyes meeting mine. “It’s in their hands now.”

It’s so final, like there’s nothing we can do, and I feel the panic start to rise once more, but then it suddenly settles when his hand moves from my leg to my back, rubbing it gently. Somehow, in the short amount of time we’ve known each other, Coop’s already figured out what I need.

And I hate that.

Why does it have to be him? Why does it have to be another guy?

“Yeah, I would think you’d just have to wait for it to process and then look into some kind of annulment,” Max says, biting back a grin. He can laugh all he wants. If this was him a few years ago, he’d be panicking just like I am. He would have died if he’d ended up married to a gay man. Although, it seems his tune has changed.

Seems he found his person.

I’ve never seen him happier.

Same with Magnus.

There’s just a glow about them. They seem content, calm.

I don’t even know what those two words mean. I’ve lived in a constant state of meh, not really unhappy, but not happy either. Even with my ex-girlfriend, Katrina, I wasn’t all that happy. I just remember feeling a little lost the entire time, and whenever I tried to talk about it, she’d brush it off. Like whatever I was feeling wasn’t really that big of a deal.

But maybe the bad tainted all the good. Maybe I’ve just forgotten how good it was with her.

Coop’s hand moves up to the nape of my neck and he squeezes. Everyone at the table seems to follow that movement, and it’s only their scrutinizing gaze that has me wrenching myself away from him.

I don’t need them getting any ideas about me.

I’m not gay. This marriage was a mistake.

“I do love this,” Magnus says with an evil grin. “I mean, this is just so damn perfect. Matt married to a man. Who would have ever thought?”

“Shut up,” I grumble, even though I know I deserve it. After all the shit I pulled with him and Max, this is karma coming back to bite me in the ass.

“Don’t tell him to shut up,” Sem grunts, and I meet his angry gaze.

“Sorry. Fuck, I’m just… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

The first part of making amends to those you’ve hurt is admitting your wrongdoing. And I’ve done a lot of wrong things. The way I treated my youngest brother, for starters. His whole life, he felt like he couldn’t be himself, and then when he finally admitted it, I said some ugly, hateful things. And then I did the same thing with Max when I met Beau. Maybe I should get my jaw wired shut to keep that shit inside.

“You shouldn’t have, but I can’t expect you to change overnight,” Magnus says, giving me more kindness than I deserve. The fact that he’s here at lunch, sitting near me is amazing. And I can’t believe that Max invited me to his impromptu wedding.

I don’t deserve either of them. I know this. I need to be more careful about what I say and do.

“Yeah, I know, but I’ll try harder to watch what I say.”

Magnus nods, happy with my apology and owning my mistake. Although Sem did say something about actions speaking louder than words. I do need to up my game. I need to prove I’m a better man.

Peering up at my older brother Max, I see him nod at me. My chest swells at his acknowledgment of me. I did good. For once, I made the right decision.

“I guess this is karma,” I mutter, and Coop rolls his eyes.

“I mean, anyone would be lucky to be married to me. It’s looking up, Matthew.”

I peek over at him, and he winks at me. Maybe if I were gay, I’d like being married to him. I mean, he’s not bad-looking, he has this loud confidence I certainly don’t possess, and he has money.

If we made this work, I’d never have to worry about anything for the rest of my life. He’d take care of me. I could actually work for the enjoyment of it and not stress about bills. I could have someone to come home to and cuddle with. Maybe he wouldn’t make fun of me for needing it so badly. Seems to me like gay people are more accepting of other people’s differences and are slower to ridicule.

“Here’s your food,” the waitress says, balancing a large serving tray in her hand. I don’t know how she manages it, but she does it effortlessly.

She sets down an inordinate amount of food in front of Sem who leans over and starts devouring it like a barbarian. It’s impressive, really. Magnus doesn’t seem bothered by it in the least, just places his napkin on his lap and starts to cut up his food with deft precision.

“I’m telling you. Eating without hungry kids looming is like a dream. I can actually take my time. Sem, you can slow down.”

Sem hesitates a moment, his cheeks bulging from the pancakes stuffed in there. He looks like a large, unkempt squirrel. He swallows and nods, probably realizing what he looks like.

“Sorry,” he murmurs, and Magnus leans up and presses a kiss to his cheek, making Sem blush.

Such a fucking weird thing to see, but then again, nothing is normal anymore.

What is normal anyways?

“Nothing to be sorry for, baby,” Magnus says, and Sem’s cheeks darken even more. “Love it when you stuff your mouth full. Shows me how much can fit in there.”

He grins at his husband and Sem grins back.

“Jesus,” I murmur as I take a bite of my sausage.

Breakfast food was the wrong thing to order because Coop leans over and whispers that he loves seeing a sausage in my mouth.

I glower at him, and he chuckles at how perturbed I am.

“Too bad we can’t remember if you had my sausage in your mouth.”

“For fuck’s sake,” I reply and then swallow the meat quickly, choking on it and making Coop smile even wider.

“A little deep-throat action with that meat,” he adds with a waggle of his eyebrows.

I fell into that one. But luckily, this time, everyone is too focused on their own food to notice the faux pas I made with mine.

And luckily, Coop ignores me for the rest of lunch, and when we finally pay—scratch that, Coop pays for me—and make our way outside, we all go our separate ways with plans to meet up for dinner later. This gives Coop and me plenty of time to figure out what happened last night.

“I think I’m ready for a nap,” Coop says, and my lips fall into a frown.

“No time for a nap,” I grumble. “We need to figure out what the fuck happened last night.”

“We’re married, Matthew. It’s not rocket science, and it’s a Sunday in Vegas, there’s nothing to be done until tomorrow at the earliest.”

“Fuck me.”

“Yes, well, you don’t scream bottom to me. You’d probably be the one fucking me, if I’m honest.”

I glower at him and he grins, sliding his arm through mine and leading me forward.

“Let’s go rest for a bit and then we can go find Elvis and see what we can figure out.”

I grumble the entire way up to the hotel room and watch as Coop falls back onto the bed, toeing his shoes off and closing his eyes. He’s obviously not as bothered by this as I am. My ass is firmly planted on the sofa adjacent to the bed, and I stare daggers at him until he peeks an eye open and rolls it. It’s a very specialized skill.

“Stop grumping,” he mutters, and I fist my hands on my lap, the nails biting into my skin.

“Can’t help it when I’m married to you.”

His lips twitch, and he closes his eye once more and turns onto his side, hugging a pillow to his chest.

I watch him for a moment before standing up and leaving. Sitting there, staring at him is going to make my blood pressure spike. I need to walk some of this energy off. So I do. I end up walking up and down the Strip, my mind a jumbled mess. The only way for my anxiety to calm is if I have a plan in place, so I settle down on a bench and research all the Elvis chapels in Vegas. Seems there are quite a few, but I narrow it down based on the pictures on my phone.

The pictures of Coop and I kissing.

Fuck, we look…happy. Drunkenly happy.

Makes my stomach twist, and I feel myself break out in a sweat.

When I finally make it back into the hotel room, Coop is still snoozing. Not a care in the damn world.

Enough is enough. I need this fucking resolved.

With a rough jerk of my arms, I jostle him, causing his eyelashes to flutter, a whine escaping him.

“Ugh, I’m still tired.”

“Get up. Seriously, Coop. I narrowed down the chapels we could have gotten married in.”

He mutters under his breath and reaches for me, catching me slightly off guard and pulling me off my feet. I land on him with a grunt, and with a strength I didn’t know he possessed, he pulls me against his chest and sighs.

“Coop,” I grouse as his hands move up under my shirt. Warm fingers against cool skin. I do not melt. I do not.

“Just a second. Mmm. You look like you need a hug.”

I wiggle around on top of him, and his ankles link around my lower back, rendering me immobile. Our groins are smashed together, our bodies chest to chest.

His hands slide further up my back, massaging lightly, and despite not wanting it to, my skin lights up from his touch.

“I don’t need a hug,” I grumble.

But even as I say it, I relax into him. Seems I might need a hug. I just wish it was coming from someone other than him.

“Oh, but your body is saying otherwise, Matthew.”

Hate that he calls me by my first name. I haven’t been called Matthew in forever.

“Shut up,” I say.

He just hums in happiness, and I let him hold me for just a minute more before pulling my head up. My arms are braced by his sides as I stare down at him. He looks flushed and rumpled, and my heart lurches in my chest at the sight.

“Oh, you look good above me,” he says with a grin, and I have the urge to bite down on his neck.

“Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“But it’s always in the gutter. Get used to it.”

I sit up, my thighs straddling his, and pull him up. He goes willingly, flopping into me and nuzzling his face into my neck.

“You smell nice.”

“Shit, Coop. Take this seriously.”

“I don’t have a serious bone in my body, Matthew.”

“For fuck’s sake! If I have to carry you down to the chapel, I will. Don’t test me.”

“Be still my beating gay heart,” he replies with a laugh.

“God,” I murmur as I move off him and then lift him off the bed by his biceps so he’s standing.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. Even after a nap, he still manages to look like some kind of runway model.

It’s not fucking fair.

“Fine. Fine. But we’re ordering a ride. I’m not walking anywhere.”

I nod and step back, his hands falling from me and landing at his sides. He grabs his phone and taps on it a few times, his brows meeting.

“What? What is it?”

“Nothing,” he says, his eyes flashing to mine. “Not a thing. Our ride will be here in a minute.”

He grabs the keycard and opens the door for me, allowing me to stride out first. His hand falls on my lower back as we walk down the hallway, and it’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him to stop touching me, but for some reason, I swallow the words.

I don’t think too hard as to why.

I can’t.

My earlier sleuthing leads us to four Elvis chapels, and each one tells us the same thing. They’ve all submitted the marriage certificates to the recorder’s office and they’ll be filed within ten days. Apparently you can check online to see if we’re legally married or not. But when I check, our marriage record hasn’t shown up yet.

It will though.

It’s just a matter of time.

What if my parents see this? Not that they’d have any reason to look. And don’t get me started on my older brother, Mitch. He’s been asking where I’ve been all weekend, and I’ve been ignoring his messages. He’s starting to get mad, and I’m dreading the trip home because I know I’ll have to meet him and do some kind of explaining.

“We need to get this annulled as soon as fucking possible,” I mutter as we make our way back to the hotel. We have to meet everyone for dinner before they head back to California tonight. Traffic is going to be atrocious getting out of Vegas, which is why Coop and I are leaving tomorrow. The truth of the matter is, this dinner may be the last time I see Magnus for a while so I don’t want to be late.

“Seems like something for my lawyers to deal with.”

I look at Coop, and he winks at me, once again looking unbothered by this.

“Did they contact you?” I ask, and he nods.

“Yep, but nothing can be done until tomorrow, so stop stressing about it.”

“But I like to be stressed,” I murmur, and Coop laughs, his hand landing on my thigh.

“Apparently, but is it so bad, being married to me?”

I eye him and nod. “It’s wretched. I’m miserable.”

He grins and then knocks his shoulder into me. “You love it. Secretly. You love being married to a gay man.”

“Fuck off. I do not.”

“You do know that getting this annulled or a divorce is going to be expensive? As are my lawyer fees.”

I stare at him, the thought not having crossed my mind. “How expensive?”

He shrugs. “Thousands, probably.”

“Well, you can take care of it then. You have money.” And I don’t. I’m so far in the hole, I’ll have to save for ages to pay for this.

He bites his lip and moves his gaze away from me, looking mischievous.

“What’s that look for?”

“I’m not going to pay for it, Matthew.”

My eyebrows rise, and I look at him perplexed. “Why the hell not?”

“Because I don’t want to. I don’t like giving things away for free. Sets terrible expectations.”

I huff at that. “You’re such an asshole. I hate you right now.”

He shrugs and then eyes me again. “I’m sure we could come up with some kind of payment plan though. Make it even.”

That gives me a little hope that things will soon be back to normal again, although it’ll take years for me to pay thousands off. I already have my car in the shop, not to mention my maxed-out credit card bills which are accruing interest on a monthly basis. The payment plans on each one cause my throat to close in panic whenever I think about it.

I should have gone into finance like Max and Mitch. At least they have money to survive. Unlike me. But truthfully, I was never good with numbers. So the finance sector wasn’t realistic. My dream was to go into special ed, to help kids like me who struggle with learning, but apparently teaching was girly, so I settled for athletics instructor. I don’t hate it, and I am good at it—sports is the one thing I’ve always excelled in—and it shut my dad up about my career choice too.

But financially, I’ve made a huge mistake going into teaching. Actually, it seems I’ve made several mistakes, including marrying Coop.

I stew on all of this until we arrive at the restaurant, a twenties-themed tapas place that has ridiculously expensive dishes the size of my pinkie finger. I’ll just order one, unless Coop decides he’s paying, then maybe I can splurge. Again. Seems to be an ongoing theme with the two of us.

We stand outside the door, waiting for everyone to arrive, the hostess unable to seat us until our entire party arrives. Coop keeps glancing up at me and then down at his phone, seeming both pleased and curious. I don’t even want to know what has him acting like this.

“Honestly, Matthew. Why are you frowning?” he finally asks, and I fold my arms across my chest.

“You know why.”

“Hm, maybe you should remind me. I’m at a loss.”

“Because I’m married to you and you’re an asshole who won’t help me get this divorce settled despite having tons of money at your fingertips.”

He huffs and his lips twitch. “It’s not my fault you can’t afford a divorce. Don’t blame me for that.”

I roll my eyes and glance away, feeling my cheeks heat at the truth of it. I should have saved a little better over the years. Perhaps if I’d done that then everything would be resolved tomorrow. But I don’t have anything like that.

Not a cent to my name.

“I did some digging; seems you’re quite in the financial hole.”

My shoulders stiffen and my back snaps straight. “What did you just say?”

“I just had my PI do some light digging into you. You’re in quite a lot of debt, Matthew.”

“Fuck off,” I murmur, feeling my cheeks flame. “I can’t believe you just invaded my privacy like that.”

“Well, I was curious and it’s not like you’d tell me.”

I wouldn’t. I haven’t told a soul how deep in shit I am. My chin is barely above it right now. I’m choking on it.

“I don’t want Max to know,” I say hurriedly. “He can’t know. So, don’t tell Beau. Please.”

“What will you do for me if I keep this secret a secret?”

My eyes narrow. “Are you serious?”

“I’m a businessman. Sort of. My dad is, and he’d be very disappointed if I just gave in without some kind of deal in place. A verbal contract of sorts.”

“Jesus,” I reply, running a hand through my hair. “Well, as your nosy ass can see, I have nothing to give you. I’m in deep financial shit, okay? So you won’t get a penny out of me. A repayment plan is out of the question for this divorce or annulment or whatever it’s called. Unless you want to wait a year or two. So what the fuck do you want in exchange for keeping this a secret? Because it sure as hell can’t be money.”

He cocks his head at me and his eyes light up, almost as if he’s come to some kind of revelation.

“You can spend time with me.”

My jaw drops open, and I stare at him, blinking rapidly. “What?”

“Spend time with me. Pay your debt off for the divorce and my sworn secrecy at the same time.”

“Why the hell would you want to spend time with me?”

“I’m a lonely boy.”

I snort and stare at him in disbelief. “Fuck off. You are not.”

He shrugs. “Believe me or not. That’s my deal.”

I shuffle on my feet. “Well, we’re technically married without a prenup. I could just come after your money that way. Wring you dry.”

He grins at me, looking as if he’s already thought about this. “Oh, but Matthew, I would contest it and it would be such a long-drawn-out process. One you can’t afford. Trust me on that. I’d bury you in paperwork for years. You’d never come out of that.”

I frown, realizing I’ve been outsmarted. I really am fucked.

Before I can respond, everyone shows up, looking content and happy, and just making me realize how fucking fucked I really am.

It’s the only reason I’m even considering this stupid proposition Coop’s thrown at me. My time in exchange for a divorce.

I don’t want to have to do any of this. Why can’t things just be simple? Why can’t he just agree to a divorce? Why the hell does he want to keep stringing this along?

I have no damn clue, and I’m not sure I want to know either.

The answer is nefarious, I’m sure.