Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Morgan
When Morgan opened the front door, Brian pounced.
“How was it? Did everything go okay?” Brian shot the questions at her from where he was standing behind the kitchen counter before she’d even closed the door.
His house, in which she rented a room, was set up with a huge entertaining space in the main room, which meant there were clear sight lines from the kitchen to the dining room to the living area where the front door was.
It reminded her a little of her parents, except the questions would have been very different and asked in a different tone of voice. She did her best not to chafe. Friends cared enough to ask—that’s what Amy had told her. Brian wasn’t trying to control her; he was just making sure she was okay.
“It was fine. Everything went well. We talked about what the week is going to be like and got our stories straight for his family.”
“Good. And you’re still feeling good about going?”
There it was again, that little stir of annoyance in the pit of her stomach.
This was why she needed to get away for a bit.
She didn’t want to be annoyed with Brian.
He’d been nothing but generous to her, and it would make living together awkward if they were fighting, but she didn’t like how he questioned everything she did, multiple times.
“Very good. I think I’m going to enjoy having a practice boyfriend.
Asad is very kind, and the wedding sounds like it’s going to be fun.
I’ve never been to a wedding.” Morgan debated going to her room to end the conversation, but she’d learned when she first moved in that going to her room tended to distress him as he thought it meant she was hiding something.
To be fair, sometimes she was.
Leaning on the counter with his elbows, Brian lifted one hand.
“Cookie?”
That decided it. She’d rather have a cookie than end the conversation.
“Yes, please.” Taking out her phone before hanging her purse on the hook, Morgan went to sit on the bar side of the counter, happily accepting a plate with two cookies.
Turning back into the kitchen, Brian opened the fridge to get out the milk and pour them both a glass.
As he did so, he hummed under his breath.
“What are you happy about?” Morgan asked. Brian only hummed under his breath when he was particularly happy about something. She also liked the idea of getting his attention off her.
“Nothing.”
But he didn’t stop humming. Morgan eyed him as he slid the glass of milk in front of her. Should she say something about how he expected her to answer his questions, but he wasn’t answering hers truthfully?
She didn’t want to make him angry.
It also didn’t seem fair.
She was saved by her phone chiming with a text message before she had to make a decision. Tapping on her phone, she saw it was one of the group text messages she was in. She was in several, which could become overwhelming at times.
This one was with Amy, Sam, Noelle, Marissa, and Carolyn—her ‘group’ at Stronghold and Marquis.
Even though the clubs welcomed everyone, Morgan had noticed people sorted themselves into groups within the larger group.
She was happy to be a part of one. It was the first time she’d ever been a part of a group.
Even at their church, her parents hadn’t liked her spending time with the other kids too much, not even the other little girls, unless they were learning something. It was hard to make friends when you weren’t supposed to talk to each other.
Amy: How was the date with Asad? Are you still there?
The phone chimed again.
Noelle: Tell us everything!
“Now, what are you so happy about?” Brian asked teasingly.
Morgan couldn’t help but grin at him.
“Having friends.” People who cared. She might still be learning the rules about what friends could and couldn’t do, but she knew she liked having them. And thankfully, her friends were patient when she messed up.
Not everyone was.
“Friends are definitely good.” Polishing off his cookie while Morgan typed out a response, Brian came around the counter to give her a kiss on top of her head before ambling off to the couch and turning on the television.
It was good. I have a lot of events I need to pack for, though. Can anyone come over next weekend to help? We leave on Monday.
A moment later, her phone was chiming incessantly from the flurry of responses as everyone joined in to say when they were free.
Morgan texted that she had a wedding she was doing makeup for on Saturday afternoon, but other than that, she was free, then let the others work it out for themselves.
It didn’t take long for them to come to the conclusion that Sunday afternoon was the only time that worked for everyone.
That was one worry taken care of.
The first time she and Asad had talked about the wedding, he’d told her there were a lot of events, but this time, they’d gone more in depth into what the events were. He hadn’t had much of an idea of what she was supposed to wear to any of them, though.
“A dress is fine” wasn’t much direction.
Hopefully, the others would be able to tell her.
She was also going to look up Persian weddings online.
Brian kept telling her she needed to stop relying on movies and television for her societal knowledge, but there was a lot of really useful information online.
At the very least, she bet there were videos of weddings she could watch.
It sounded like the wedding week was going to be a mix of two cultures celebrating the union. She was looking forward to it.
Hopefully, this week would go by fast.
Asad
“Yes, Mom, Morgan is very excited to meet you, too.” Walking into his friend Law’s house, Asad rubbed his forehead. His mom was giving him a headache, which was nothing new. “We’re going to drive up on Monday, then we’ll leave after the Mādarzan Salām next Sunday.”
There were a lot of traditions being combined for the week, and the traditional greeting to Cyrus’ new mother-in-law was going to be part of the morning-after brunch his bride’s family was throwing.
Asad wasn’t going to promise how long he’d stay after the exchange because he had a feeling he’d be ready to run by then.
If he could have gotten out of the brunch entirely, he would have, but it would look bad for the groom’s brother and best man to totally skip it.
It would also draw attention his way from his family, which was the last thing he wanted.
Asad wanted to get in, get out, and go home as quickly and painlessly as possible.
“We’re going to have dinner Monday night after you get here,” his mom said. “Just our immediate family, so we can meet Morgan.”
Ah, fuck. Asad barely held in his groan as he walked into Law’s kitchen.
It looked like he was the first one to show up.
Law was the only one there, standing behind the counter and getting some kind of food ready.
His girlfriend, Iris, who also lived here, was nowhere to be seen.
Asad gave his friend a little wave and Law nodded his head in greeting before refocusing on what he was doing.
“She’s kind of shy, Mom.”
“Which is why it will be better for her to meet your immediate family first, so she doesn’t feel like she’s being thrown into a group of strangers,” his mom retorted. “This way, at least she’ll know me and Anna when you have duties to attend to.”
Crap. His mom had a good point.
“Yeah, okay.”
“You could try to sound a little grateful, you know. It’s not like adding in something extra to this already packed week was easy,” his mom chided him.
It didn’t matter that Asad hadn’t asked her to add a dinner, that he didn’t even want her to add a dinner. Nope, he was supposed to be grateful. Biting back the reply he really wanted to make, he cleared his throat. It was easier to go along with his mother than argue with her.
“Thank you, Mom.”
“You’re welcome.” Her voice softened. “I can’t wait to see you, sweetheart. It’s been too long.”
Something inside his chest tugged uncomfortably, and he suddenly felt very aware of Law’s presence. Turning away, so he was facing the hallway rather than the open kitchen, Asad rubbed his hand over his collarbone, where the inner pressure was pushing the hardest.
“Looking forward to seeing you, too.” It was the truth, even if it wasn’t the whole truth. Family visits were always uncomfortable for him, but he did love his family and knew they loved him. At least he had that.
He was even more grateful for it this week after his conversation with Morgan last Saturday.
“I love you. See you Monday.”
“Love you too, Mom. See you Monday.” Only two days away. A day and a half, really, since Saturday was already half over.
Hanging up the phone, Asad cleared his throat as he turned around to face Law again. The other man was still standing behind the counter, cutting something, and seemingly entirely focused on his work, which Asad didn’t trust at all.
“Hey, man, sorry about that.”
“No problem. You ready for the wedding?” Law asked. Asad’s friends knew a little about his complicated family dynamics, enough to understand why visits home could be difficult for him.
“Oh, sure, a whole week centered around Prince Cyrus. I’m so ready.
” He fist-pumped through the sarcasm, and Law shook his bald head, a smile hovering on his lips.
Filipino-American, his skin was several shades darker than Asad’s, and he had some grey threaded through his goatee and mustache.
That grey was exactly why Asad didn’t have facial hair…
but then, he still had hair on top of his head.
Something he took great pleasure in teasing Law and their other friend Q—whose real name was Quinton—about.
Before Law could comment on his snarky response, the sound of the door opening and Q’s voice filled the air.
“Sam gave it to me. Of course, I’m going to wear it.
” Q walked into the kitchen, Connor following behind him with a bemused expression on his face—easy to see because, as tall as Q was, Connor was even taller, a giant teddy bear of a man.
Asad guessed the topic of conversation was the t-shirt Q was wearing, which his girlfriend must have given him.
It’s Not a Bald Spot
It’s a Solar Panel for
A Sex Machine
The bold print stood out starkly on the black shirt. It only took Law and Asad a moment to read it, then they both cracked up. Q grinned sheepishly, running his hand over his very bald head. He’d shaved it recently from its closely-cropped cut when he’d noticed a bald spot forming on the top.
Connor shook his head. He was the shyest out of the four of them.
Asad couldn’t imagine him wearing a shirt that said anything like that.
Or a shirt that said anything at all. Shirts with funny sayings were definitely not his style.
They weren’t really Asad’s either, but he still had a few to whip out when the occasion warranted it.
“It’s not like you can understand,” Asad joked, looking up at Connor. “The only way anyone could ever know if you have a bald spot is if you sit down… but you can see everyone else’s.”
“That’s true.” Connor shrugged.
“Well, Sam and Iris will be coming back eventually, so you can tell her yourself that you don’t approve,” Q teased, and Connor frowned at him.
“It’s not that I don’t approve. I’m just saying… You know what, never mind.” He shook his head again, sighing as he sat down at the counter. He was tall enough that, even sitting on the barstool, if he had a bald spot on top of his head, the only one who might be able to see it was Q.
“It’s okay, big guy. We would never get you a shirt that says anything like this,” Q said, patting Connor’s shoulder as he sat down next to him. “We know you prefer to be a secret sex machine rather than announcing it to the world.”
Groaning, Connor rubbed his hands over his face.
“Anyone want something to drink?” Law asked. As a recovered alcoholic, Law didn’t keep alcohol in the house, so they all asked for either water or soda. Law insisted he didn’t mind if they drank, but for the most part, they all still tried not to around him, especially not in his own home.
“Did you hear that Nick and Avery got engaged?” Q asked, taking his root beer from Law.
“No, when did that happen?” Asad settled on the other side of Connor, leaving Law on the opposite side of the counter alone, which was how he liked it.
Lifting the veggie and dip tray he’d been preparing, Law slid it in front of them.
“Last night.”
“Then how were we supposed to hear about it?” Connor asked.
“I knew,” Law said. “Avery called Iris.”
“And Nick told Luke, who told Olivia, who told Angel, who told me this morning.” Q lifted his root beer in a kind of salute, chuckling while the others shook their heads.
The Stronghold gossip train was something to behold.
Asad had used it for his benefit when he’d put out the word he needed a fake girlfriend for his brother’s wedding, but he was also wary of falling prey to it.
Taking Morgan as his fake girlfriend was putting him in a bit of the spotlight, but since everything was out of town, he hoped it wouldn’t be too bad.
“Seems like there’s something in the water,” Q said, looking pointedly at Law. “Lots of people getting engaged.”
“Wait, is there something we should know?” Asad asked, his head gaze whipping back and forth between Law and Q. The grin on Q’s face seemed to say so, but Law looked completely unamused and unperturbed.
“Not anytime soon for me and Iris. Maybe you should ask Q about him and Sam.”
“You’ve been together longer.”
“You’ve known Sam longer.”
“Hmm. Good point.” Q stroked his chin, causing all three of his friends to turn and look at him with surprise. He laughed. “No, we’re not there yet, either, but that’s definitely where we’re headed. For now, we’re having a good time living in sin.”
“As are Iris and I,” Law said pointedly. There was a little smile on his normally grumpy face, and Asad couldn’t help but think that maybe things were a little farther along there than Law was willing to admit.