Chapter 5
Chapter Five
RYKER
It was only after Gina left that I was able to grasp hold of what had happened.
Sam had told them we were engaged, and Annabelle had believed him. Which meant we got the apartment. But it also meant we now had to pretend to the entire town that we actually were engaged. Because if a single nosy-minded person found out this was really a farce, then it wouldn’t be long before the entire town—including our new landlady—knew.
I rubbed my head, knowing my friends were going to have a huge laugh when they learned about this. It wasn’t like I could hide this from them since they knew I hadn’t been dating anyone recently, much less long enough to get engaged.
And now here I was with fake upcoming nuptials with Sam Monroe. Speaking of…
I peeked at the man in question. He was already watching me cautiously. When he saw me looking, worry shone in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking genuinely apologetic. “You didn’t ask to be roped into this, and you probably wouldn’t want me as a fiancé, anyway—even if it is fake. I just saw an opportunity, and I took it. Sorry, it was a terrible, stupid idea, and I really should have just kept my mouth shut. If you don’t want to be dragged into this arrangement, I’ll go confess everything to Annabelle.”
He looked on the verge of a panic attack, so I clasped his arm to hopefully bring him some comfort.
“It’s okay. Yes, the situation is the strangest one I’ve been in, but it’s not that bad. I’m not dating anyone right now, and this way, we both get an apartment out of it. It’s not as terrible as it seems,” I said, surprising even myself at how true my words rang.
“Really? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?” he asked with clear suspicion written on his face.
Chuckling, I rubbed his arm. He had soft skin that felt good under my hand. I wondered if he would be this nice to cuddle.
I immediately dropped my hand from him before worse, completely unwarranted thoughts like that popped into my head.
Clearing my throat, I couldn’t look at him as I said, “It works out for the best this way.”
I could see Sam nod out of the corner of my eye. “If at any point you decide this doesn’t work out—say you want to start dating or something?—”
His sudden pause forced me to look back at him.
“Shit! Sorry, I don’t even know if you’re into men or if I just outed you. I’m so sorry. I?—”
I held a hand up to stop him because it seemed like he was about to head into another nervous ramble.
“It’s really okay. I’ve never been with a man, but I really don’t care what other people think about me or my sexuality. Frankly, it’s none of their business. Though, in a town like ours, that’s like telling someone you can’t look at the sky,” I said with a chuckle.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Sam replied, chuckling along, too.
A few seconds later, when our laughter had calmed, Sam turned somber again. He looked up at me, and his thick, dark eyelashes fluttered as his eyes closed for a brief second before he opened his sparkly eyes again.
It was the first time I was close enough to really see and focus on what color they were. In my memories, his eyes were like marbles, always shifting colors in a way that fascinated me.
It’d been so long since I’d seen him in person, I wondered if my memory had exaggerated the color of his irises, but looking at them now, I knew it hadn’t.
Under the artificial light of the living room, they looked to be dark blue at first. But upon closer inspection, the colors seemingly shifted. Green bled toward the center, mixed with a darker color closer to the middle. A second later, gold flakes danced within them. The swirl of green and gold flickered as his pupils widened and contracted, changing right under the dim light.
Just like I’d remembered. The constant shift of colors was just like one of my favorite marbles I’d had in my collection as a kid.
“Anyway,” Sam said suddenly, breaking eye contact with me.
I rapidly blinked to moisturize my eyes, only then realizing that I’d been looking so hard I’d been staring till they felt dry. I shifted on my feet, embarrassed that I’d been caught staring at him.
“If we’re going to do this, then we should probably set up some rules?” he continued, but before he could speak any further, the front door opened, and Gina returned, saying she had one more form we needed to sign.
“And since my commission is on the line, I effectively know nothing about this, but I do expect to see you two as the happy-go-lucky, newly engaged couple around town.” She gave us both a stern look before exiting the apartment.
Sam wiped his forehead, looking a bit stressed. He turned to me and said, “We probably shouldn’t discuss it here, and I should go check on my nephew. Are you free tonight? We can grab dinner, preferably somewhere outside the town’s limits, so there’s less chance of us being overheard.”
I was nodding before I could even process it. We exchanged numbers, then Sam flashed me a smile that had me feeling a little bit lightheaded as I zombie-walked out to my truck.
Sitting in my truck, I started the engine but didn’t make any move to leave the parking lot. It wasn’t until after Sam’s figure completely disappeared that I finally moved and realized that maybe… perhaps… I possibly had an itty-bitty, tiny crush on Sam.
I banged my head on the steering wheel, groaning when the twinge of pain hit my forehead. Even the discomfort couldn’t knock some sense into my confused brain.
I’d meant what I told Sam about not caring what people thought about my sexuality. Most were open-minded here, at least more recently. My parents used to tell me the town was a lot more conservative back when I was still a child, but a lot had changed since then with more people evolving with the times. And the recent influx of new residents mostly came from followers from a certain progressive travel vlogger.
All this to say that our little town was more accepting than most, and the people here could be whatever the hell they wanted and would be accepted. Sure, there were a few bad seeds in town, but those people had hearts filled with hate and were mostly ignored by the rest of the townsfolk.
Growing up in a place like this, having a crush on a guy shouldn’t be such a shocking revelation, especially when some of my closest friends were part of the rainbow.
Still…it wasn’t any less shocking to find out that I could even be interested in a man like that when the spark of interest had only been toward women in the past.
My mind was still reeling when I returned to my home—or more like the place I was currently staying at.
When my family moved to Corio City, they’d sold our childhood house to a real estate developer who’d offered a deal too good to turn away. It was enough money to let Devin attend his dream university without needing help from scholarships or taking on any school loans, and it still let my parents set aside a good chunk for retirement.
My parents had hesitated about selling the place since I’d planned on staying in Kither Springs and would have to find a new place to live, but I’d eventually persuaded them to sell it. My childhood home was far too big for just me to live in, and besides, they were going to need the money, since living in a big city was definitely going to be more expensive than our sleepy little town.
Thankfully, one of my best friends had let me crash with him while I found a new place for myself.
Jones was sitting on the couch, cuddled up against Gray, when I entered.
Gray was an all-gray cat who’d stumbled onto our construction site last November. He was skinny, all alone, and freezing cold. I’d offered to take him with me since I’d still been living alone at my childhood home at the time—before the sale went through. The plan was to nurse him back to health before finding someone more suitable to adopt him…well, the plan went straight into the trash the first time Gray cuddled into my side, his sweet purrs lulling me to sleep.
I’d been told the name was a tad bit too on the nose, but I thought it was cute, and it got the job done.
Gray immediately jumped from Jones’ side to run toward me and rub himself all over me. Even over the noise of the TV, his purrs were loud as he tried to climb up my leg and demanded to be picked up.
I used to carry Gray around all the time when I first started taking care of him, but he’d grown a lot these past few months, and maybe I’d been feeding him a little too well because the vet said some exercise would do him some good. I did have to admit, it now felt like carrying a sack of potatoes when I picked him up, but Gray was still perfect, nevertheless.
I’d never met a cat this affectionate before, always craving attention and to be held, but I loved it.
Jones watched me pick up Gray, then nodded up at me in greeting, then asked, “How’d it go?”
My smile was more than enough of an answer. Jones shot up from the couch, clasped my hand, and used his other to pat me on the back. The action caused Gray to jump out of my arms, turning around to glare at Jones before sauntering back to the couch to loaf.
We laughed at the silly cat, and then Jones said, “Nice, man! You’ll have to tell us when you want to move. I’m sure the gang will be eager to help.”
“Thanks, and thanks for the offer. I’ll have to ask Sam first, just so we don’t have our wires crossed.”
“Sam?” Jones asked. “Did you get a new girlfriend and are impulsively moving in with her without telling me?”
He had a worried look on his face now, though I wondered if his concern delved more from his own relationship.
I laughed. “Nope, and I’ve never been the impulsive type, you know that.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I pressed my lips flat, remembering that I’d been very impulsive today.
“It’s Sam Monroe. Our old classmate who moved back to town recently?” Jones nodded, and I continued, “He was looking for a place to stay too, so we decided to be roommates. It’s just that I might have done something a little impulsive today.” I shifted on my feet, already feeling my face heat up again.
“Yeah?” Jones prompted. Curiosity was written all over his face as he waited anxiously for an answer. His foot tapped the hardwood floor, reminding me of an impatient rabbit.
“Well, you see…the landlady refused to rent to two unconnected people…” I paused, my cheeks burning even hotter.
“Uh-huh?”
“And, well, I think Sam blurted it out without really thinking. But the landlady believed us and agreed to rent the place to us…”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Just spit it out already, will ya?” Jones said with a groan.
Even as a kid, he’d always been impatient about learning secrets. I liked to think that he actually had the soul of a nosy auntie inside of him with how much of a busybody he was. Or maybe that was just the product of living in a town like ours, where secrets were a mythical creature only heard about in stories.
“We might have told her we’re engaged,” I finally admitted.
Jones didn’t say anything for a second, then burst out laughing.
“So I was right. You did secretly get a partner and are now moving in with them,” he said through fits of laughter while patting me hard on the back.
Jones was probably an inch shorter than my six-foot-three, meaning he was no small man. His hard pats packed a punch and almost had me tripping over my feet.
I groaned with dissatisfaction and pushed him away. He wiped the corner of his eye when he finally finished laughing at my expense.
“At least you’re moving in with someone you don’t actually have feelings for. We all know that’s a disaster waiting to happen,” he said.
Hearing him be spot on the nose, I gulped.
“Ryker…” he said with a warning.
I shifted under his gaze, looking everywhere but at him, and firmly kept my mouth shut. I was the worst liar, and being my best friend since we were kids, Jones could tell the moment I spewed bullshit.
“I didn’t even know you liked men,” he said, rubbing his temple.
“I don’t!” I blurted, then after processing, I added, “At least I’d never liked a man before, so honestly, this is all a little confusing for me, too.”
Did people suddenly have a sexual realization at twenty-eight? That felt a bit old to be finding things out about myself. Maybe there was something wrong with me and I’d always been attracted to men but had suppressed it all my life because…what? I didn’t want to be gay? Bisexual? If that was the case, did that mean I secretly harbored some prejudice that I wasn’t even aware of?
That thought was even scarier than realizing I was attracted to Sam. All my life, I’d been taught to love my neighbors, and while I was by no means perfect, I thought I had.
I hadn’t even blinked an eye when Jones told me he was only attracted to men when we were preteens. But had I drawn an invisible line between us that even I hadn’t known about?
“Hey, man. Are you okay?”
Jones’ warm hand on my shoulder pulled me out of my thoughts. His thick brows were furrowed, and even underneath his thick beard, I could see his full lips pursed in worry.
“If this move is going to cause you this much stress, then you should stay here. The apartment complex we’re working on will be finished next year, and the investor already promised to rent to our crew first, so you’ll definitely land one. I’ll talk to Deke about you staying until then…”
“No, it’s fine. I’m sure you don’t need a third wheel cramping your style when your boyfriend moves in. Besides, Deke’s allergic to cats, so this works out for everyone,” I said.
Plus, I’d rather eat a shoe than spend more time with Deke, though I didn’t voice that thought to my best friend. He was already aware of the fact that his boyfriend didn’t particularly like me, or anyone else in our friend group, for that matter.
Though the feeling was mutual.
In my opinion, my best friend could do so much better. Jones was such a giving man and always there to help a friend in need. He deserved someone who was just as generous. Not a spoiled brat like his current boyfriend, who did nothing but take from Jones.
Our friends and I had delicately tried to get Jones to see Deke’s real personality, but he kept insisting that Deke was just misunderstood.
Jones was one of the best people I knew, but he was also very stubborn about things he’d already formed an opinion about. If we’d kept trying to persuade him, it’d only come off like we were trying to cause strife in their relationship when that was nobody’s business but theirs.
Jones had to see his boyfriend’s true face for himself, and if that ever did happen, we’d be there for him every step of the way.
Jones didn’t look too convinced, then said, “I just feel bad, man. I didn’t mean to kick you out like this, especially if this move is going to be stressing you out so much. Maybe I can persuade Deke to let you live with us for a few more months.”
It was my turn to give him a few hard pats on the back. He glared at me when my pats caused him to fall a step forward. I only smirked, satisfied with my petty revenge. Working in construction had given me strong hands, though the same could be said for Jones since we worked at the same place.
“Don’t feel bad. You’ve already done more than enough by letting me crash here the past couple months. I should be thanking you instead,” I said, giving him a gentler pat this time.
“Aw, man. You know I’m here if you ever need me,” Jones gushed, pulling me into a tight hug.
“I know,” I replied. There was no doubt in my mind that Jones always had my back, and for that, I was extremely grateful.
The sound of a phone ringing had us pulling apart. Jones pulled out his phone, a smile lighting his face when he saw who was calling.
“Hey, babe!” Jones answered.
It had to be Deke. There was silence on our side for a second as his boyfriend said something into his ear.
“I miss you, too,” Jones said with a softness in his voice.
I made a gagging noise, pretending like I wanted to puke. Jones flipped me off, which had me laughing as I retreated into my room to give him some privacy.
There might be a lot of reasons I disliked Deke, but one thing was for certain, and it was that Jones was happy being with him.
I just hoped it stayed that way.