Chapter 2
Levi
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” I hiss under my breath.
Austin’s brows jump as he moves the phone away from his ear. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Who are you talking to on the phone?” I demand, my whole body vibrating with anger. If Cole did me dirty like this, I will never forgive him.
“Uhh...”
“Give me that!” I snatch Austin’s cell phone from his hand and bring it up to my ear. “Cole, is that you?”
There’s silence on the phone as I glare at Austin, who looks way too guilty for this to be a coincidence.
“Cole!” I bark.
“Sorry. I don’t speak English.”
“Really?” I deadpan. “You wanna play this game?”
“Wrong number?”
“Cole. I swear to god, if you don’t start talking right now, I’m going to kill you. You said his name was Cade.”
“Well, it is. Kinda. It’s his last name. I’m sorry. I’m so used to calling him that, I didn’t even think to mention his first name.”
“I hate you,” I groan.
“No, you love me. Please don’t kill me. Talk later. Enjoy the wedding. Love you, byeeeee.” And then the fucker hangs up.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” I mutter.
“Everything okay?” Austin asks.
“Really?” I glare at him. “You wanna play dumb too?”
He cocks his head to the side. “I’m going to have to assume by your reaction, you had no idea Cole set you up with me,” Austin says slowly. “That would make sense why you didn’t seem too happy to be talking to me outside.” He huffs out a laugh, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, this is awkward.”
The anger starts to drain. “Did you know I was the guy he tried to set you up with?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “He just told me he had a buddy looking for a date to a wedding. At first, I turned him down because I already had a wedding to attend myself. Then when Cole told me it was for the same wedding, I agreed. When I asked who my date would be, he said not to worry about it and that he would find me, and to wear this.” He points to the red rose pinned to his shirt.
“I should have known. The whole thing was suspicious.
But I thought fuck it, why not? What's the worst that could happen? If I got stood up, at least it would be at an event I was already planning to go to.”
“Oh.” I blink at him, feeling bad. I was angry at the wrong guy. I will be kicking Cole’s ass when I get home tonight. Fucker forgot we share a damn apartment together, apparently.
“Look, if you don’t want to do this, I understand.”
Music starts to play, catching my attention. “Fuck,” I hiss, eyes snapping towards the door to the church sanctuary just in time to see my sister standing there with my dad, ready to walk down the aisle.
“Let's put this on hold,” I tell him before taking off through the open doors behind me. Everyone in the room rises to their feet, their attention on the door.
Perfect.
I might be able to slip into a spot in the front row and no one will notice.
Creeping down the side aisle, I make it to the front, taking a spot at the empty space at the end of the bench.
“Thought you were going to miss it.” I nearly jump out of my damn pants when my brother leans over and whispers in my ear before slipping into the spot next to me.
“Fucking hell,” I breathe out, hand on my racing heart. My brows furrow. “Looks like I’m not the only one sneaking into the wedding.”
“Not sneaking, brother.” He smirks. “Just needed to piss. I’ve been here for two hours.”
Guilt fills me. “I got here as fast as I could,” I defend.
“Mhhmm,” he hums.
“I did!”
“Shhh.” My mother spins around and hisses. “You boys better shut up before you ruin your sister's wedding.”
We both zip our lips, bringing our attention to Megan.
Another wave of regret smashes into me when I see my sister, my twin, my best friend, walking down the aisle. She looks so beautiful in her white gown, flowing train, and her dark brown hair done up nicely. She looks nothing like the tomboy she was when we were young. The girl I knew.
She’s a woman now. All grown up.
Happy tears sting the back of my eyes at the sight of her crying. Her soon-to-be husband, Roland, is sobbing like a baby, making me huff out a soft laugh. He really is head over heels for her. Has been since the moment they started dating.
I’m happy she found a man so crazy about her.
Makes me want one of my own.
Alas, it’s not my turn for my happily ever after. Not any time soon.
Still, the way her smile lights up her face as Roland takes her hands in his, the pure love and adoration for one another, sparks a tiny bit of jealousy deep within me.
Just because I’m single, it doesn’t mean I want to be. It’s just how life has worked out. Not only do I work at the bar every night of the week, but I also work at a vet clinic on the weekends. There really is no time for anything that isn’t school, work, and sleep.
Doesn’t mean I don’t wish I had someone to go home to, to hold me, cuddle me, make love to me.
Do you know how lonely it is when you're the type of person who craves those kinds of things and isn’t able to have it?
It’s fucking depressing.
I just keep telling myself it won’t be like this forever. Only one more year and I’ll graduate, take on a full-time job at the clinic, and be working normal hours, allowing me time to have a personal life.
Until then, I guess it’s just me, my hand, and my big box of sex toys to take care of my sexual urges because the idea of just hooking up with random guys does not appeal to me. And for any form of affection, I have Snicklefritz, my cat.
I really am a sad, lonely man at the ripe age of twenty-two.
***
The ceremony was beautiful. The vows had everyone crying.
After they said ‘I do’, we all left to get photos taken before coming back for the reception. The hall they picked is stunning. They really went all out. I’m glad. My sister deserves it.
I’m standing in the lobby of the hall, watching as guests make their way in and find their seats, just observing and taking a moment to think about what I’m going to tell my mom.
She asked about this date I told her I was bringing when we were getting photos taken, and I did whatever I could to avoid answering her.
There’s no way I can avoid it now. She will realize I was lying when she notices me here alone. And then I have to deal with the embarrassment of admitting I lied. Or I could tell her I was stood up, but that’s just fucking sad.
I should have just come alone. I’d rather deal with her lecture about how it’s my time to find a good man and settle down than to come off as the sad guy who got stood up or lied about having a date.
I’m only twenty-two for frig sakes. Just because everyone else in my family managed to find the loves of their lives as their high school sweethearts doesn’t mean that was my destiny.
Although for the longest time, I did think it was mine. That was until I realized the guy I thought I was in love with was actually a judgmental asshole who loved to make me feel bad about myself to the point I didn’t even know who I was anymore.
Leaving my ex was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it’s been a whole year since we broke up, and I feel a hell of a lot better about myself.
Doesn’t mean he hasn’t left me without some residual trauma.
So, here I am contemplating a plan to see if I can just dodge my mother so she can’t get me alone to grill me about this date.
“Have you been avoiding me?” Austin’s deep husky voice causes a shiver to run down my spine.
“No.” I turn around to look at him. He’s close, really close. Tilting my head back, I blink up at him, and my mouth goes dry. God, this man really is pretty. And fuck, he smells so damn good.
“Mhhmm,” he hums, lips curving in amusement.
“I haven’t been,” I huff, taking a step back so I can breathe. Something about being this close to Austin causes my brain to blank. “After the ceremony, I had to go with my family to take photos and listen to my mom complain about how I almost missed my sister's wedding.”
“Why were you so late?” There’s no judgment in his question, only curiosity.
“Because I was working late. Went to bed late. Woke up late.” I look away, leaning against the wall while I watch my mom help guests find their seats.
“Tough,” Austin muses. “So.... do you wanna talk about this now before the reception starts?”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” I swing my gaze back to him.
“My best friend set me up on a blind date with my brother's best friend. So, now I have to admit to my mother that I lied about having a boyfriend and look like a dumbass in front of my whole family.” I force a fake smile on my face. “Fun times, right?”
Not only did I lie to my parents about having a date to the wedding, I also told them this nonexistent man was my boyfriend. Yeah, I really kicked myself after that.
I didn’t know what else to do. Mom was hounding me over the phone, talking about how I worked too hard and should be enjoying my life.
That I was still so young, and I’d look back on these years and regret wasting them.
So, I panicked and words just started spilling out, getting me into an even more bizarre situation.
That is, until I found out my blind date was Austin. Hello, Twilight Zone.
Austin’s brow creases, and I get the sudden urge to reach up and smooth the little line between his brows with my thumb.
“What if you don’t have to?”
“Huh?”
“What if you don’t have to tell your parents you lied about having a boyfriend?”
I snort a laugh. “And tell them what? He left early?”
“No.” Austin's lips tip into a smile.
“Then what?” I ask, not sure where he’s going with this.
“How about we go about the night as planned and have fun?” He shrugs. “I really don’t want to spend the night alone. Your brother will be spending half the night grinding on Claire and the other half with his tongue down her throat.”
“Eww.” I shudder. “Please don’t put that image in my mind.”
Austin chuckles. “Sorry. But really, just be my date for the night.” He grins. “I promise I’m fun to be around.”
“Be your date?” I ask slowly, and he nods. “But my parents are going to think you’re my boyfriend.”
“So?” He shrugs again. “Let them. Your parents love me,” he says teasingly.
He’s not lying. Austin spent so much time at our house growing up, he was practically part of the family.
Seeing him here now, talking with him, there's a part of me that missed him more than I realized. Things between us used to be so easy. We were friends. Good friends. What happened to that?
“What about my brother? Isn’t he going to lose it when he finds out his best friend lied to him about dating his brother? And what about after the wedding? We just tell everyone we broke up?” He can’t be serious right now. Does he really want to let my family and everyone else believe we’re dating?
“How about we just focus on tonight first, and worry about everything else later?” Austin suggests taking a step forward.
My heart starts to race. With him this close, I can’t think properly. “What do you say, Levi?” he asks, voice low as his eyes flick between mine. “Save me from having a sad, lonely night and be my fake boyfriend for the evening?”
I should say no. That this is stupid. Crazy. Far out there. That this will only end in one big shit show.
Instead, I find myself lost in his intoxicating scent and the deep blue of his eyes.
“Okay,” the answer falls from my lips before I even know what I’m saying. “But only for the night.”
He holds up his hand. “Only for one night.” He smirks. “And I promise I won’t run after you with your lost glass slipper and stop you from turning back into a pumpkin.”
“That’s not how that story went.” I can’t help but smile at his ridiculous Cinderella reference.
“No?” he asks. “Huh. Well, still. I promise to let you slip away into the night. But not before we have a night to remember.”
Something tells me there’s no way I’m going to forget this night, even if I wanted to.
What the hell did I just get myself into? And how bad am I going to regret this tomorrow?