Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
boston
“Thank you for coming!” Penny claps her hands together, standing at the head of the table. She’s cradling her glass of wine like it’s a teddy bear, right at her chest. “And thank you to everyone who made the trip down here for a little wedding party meeting.”
Declan reaches down and places his hands on the maid of honour’s shoulders.
The crew would jump at any excuse to see each other.
Wyatt pats EJ Dalton on the back, as if that specific part of the speech were a personal dedication to him. EJ, beer in hand, gives a little bow while seated, as if he knows it’s a personal thank-you, too.
“We just wanted to go over a few things and make some plans in advance. You guys are the most important part of the day. We work around you. If you can’t, or don’t want to participate in certain parts of this, we totally understand,” she continues.
Lowesy, who is by her side, nods along.
“Starting with schedules. As you know, we’re getting married in August. I know we’ve already cleared your schedules for the wedding, but we were planning on staying at Declan’s family’s lake house for a few days.
We wanted to extend the invite to all of you and check if you’d prefer to do it before or after the wedding. Partners included.”
“How many partners can we bring?” EJ asks, wiggling his eyebrows.
Wyatt barks out a laugh, making Dalton smile like a kid. There’s something about those two. It’s like the universe put them on the same path, forcing them to meet, just because it knew the rest of us would need some entertainment.
Lauren rolls up her napkin and chucks it across the table at him, rolling her eyes when he winces like it maimed him.
Forker immediately dips his chin in agreement.
Arden, who became fast friends with Penny and is also in the wedding party, taps his leg as a warning.
Maybe to get him to simmer down. She’s a nurse.
Her time off doesn’t come as easily as ours does.
He tends to forget that the rest of the world still works to the bone during the enjoyable months. For less money.
“We also wanted to go over your roles for the day,” Penny says with a smile. “Aura is on FaceTime, so just shout if you need to interrupt, Aur!”
“Will do!” a voice slides through the phone Lauren is holding. Penny’s older sister, Aura, couldn’t make it to this meeting in person. “And I will only be bringing one partner and one daughter.”
“Boo!” EJ heckles her, grinning at the camera. “Let me be your second husband already, Aur. Put me out of my misery.”
I glance around the table. Five groomsmen, five bridesmaids. There isn’t a single person here I wouldn’t trust. I don’t think we’ll have any issues in the days leading up to the wedding. Every one of them would bend over backward to make sure that their week goes off without a hitch.
We have dinner, which was prepared by Seth, Declan’s best man.
His shit is good. He made us steak and potatoes, which might not sound like much, but it’s his steak and potatoes, and it’s fucking delicious. He could have a career as a chef. I have no idea how that man wound up as an accountant. Seems like an awful waste of god-given talent.
There are three salads to choose from, roasted veggies, small, buttery rolls, and cinnamon buns for dessert. The last was personally chosen by the bride, obviously. Penny probably bleeds cream cheese icing.
I’m stuffed by the time Seth drops that pastry in front of me. I inhale it anyway.
We eat, we listen, we get our jobs as their wedding party, and we drink.
Forker is thrilled to be told he won’t be walking the dogs down the aisle.
None of us are shocked when Penny and Declan announce they’ll drive back up to Canada so the pups can be part of their day.
Both of them refuse to put them on a plane.
You wouldn’t fail to include your children in your wedding, would you? These are their kids for all intents and purposes. Penny would elope before she’d do this without those dogs. She’d get married without Declan before she got married without the kids.
Saltzy shows up later in the evening, after all the fanfare and business are discussed, and the night shifts from a wedding meeting to a party. He and I shoot the shit on the balcony for a bit, being the least two social of the bunch, and eventually Forker joins us to get some fresh air.
Since the crew is in town, we are being forced to go to Icebox. We all knew this would wind up being a night of drinking, anyway. We cleared our schedule for the morning in advance.
“Cap, you hanging out for a bit? They’re handing out shots in there,” Forker says, dropping into the chair next to mine.
Saltzy breaths a laugh, shaking his head. “No. I’m on duty as the designated driver for the pretty groomsman tonight.”
Oh?
Forker and I both stare at him.
He glances between us, gauging the surprise in our reactions. When we don’t speak, he shoots us a look. “Oh, come on. Are we going to keep pretending you guys think we’re just friends? Fork, you’ve made ten comments to us both about how lucky he’d be to have my dad as his father-in-law.”
Forker’s brows pinch together. He leans back in his seat, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “That’s not the issue. The issue is, I don’t recall asking you to drive me home tonight.”
I bite back a smirk, lifting my glass of whiskey to my mouth.
“Because we all have eyes, Cap. I’m the pretty groomsman.”
Saltzy’s eyes narrow on him. “Have you seen Wyatt?”
Forker’s jaw tightens. He shoots me a look of disbelief and a bit of offense before glaring back at our Captain. “Have you seen me?”
Saltzy rolls his eyes, relaxing a bit deeper into the cushions.
I know these past couple of years have been tough for him.
For them, probably. He’s never outright told us about their relationship, but he’s tiptoed around it enough, and I’m not blind.
I put it together fairly quickly, but just shut my yap about it.
His business. What he does with it is his choice.
Slowly, he came out of his shell around us.
Those of us he can’t avoid. Caulfield is a permanent fixture in Lowesy’s life.
He’s sewn into the fabric of Declan’s being.
Saltzy is with Caulfield now, and we’re Lowesy’s boys.
It was inevitable that we’d be around the pair of them more often than not, and only a matter of time before the pieces came together for us.
And, come on. Their chemistry is unmissable, even for a dude that has like, two facial expressions, both of which are almost identical. The only time I’ve ever seen Callum Saltzman smile is when he’s looking at Wyatt Caulfield. I knew it was love that I was looking at. Nobody ever had to tell me.
I smack him on the leg, drawing his attention. I make sure he’s looking me in the eyes when I speak. “You talk about your relationship as freely as the rest of them, alright? Don’t hide that shit if you don’t want to, Cap.”
“Not with us.” Forker adds.
Saltzy’s throat bobs, and I hate the look of shame on him. “Still getting used to it. I’m trying.”
“I know,” I say, smacking his leg again, “and I know you’re not an oversharer in general. I get you. I’m the same. I just don’t want you thinking either of us would care about something like that.”
“We love you and we love Caulfield,” Forker agrees with a nod, bringing his beer to his mouth. “It’s that simple.”
“Alright, alright,” Saltzy groans, waving us off. A signal that he doesn’t want to keep discussing this. “You know how I am. Even with the women I’ve dated, I didn’t really bring them around. This just…feels like there’s more at stake, you know?”
I swallow, leaning back in my seat. “Because you love him, or because you’re scared of what the public will say about it?”
Saltzy’s eyes lock onto the fireplace table. A long few seconds of silence pass between us. Forker, uncharacteristically, knows to shut the fuck up.
“Both,” Saltzy grumbles finally, clearing his throat. His eyes flicker up to mine, and then snap to Forker. “He’s been through a lot. I don’t want him to have to listen to any bullshit. It’s not like male sports are historically known for being inclusive.”
I sigh, running a hand over my jaw. Understatement. “I’m sorry, buddy.”
And I am. It’s tough, and it’s not fair, and I don’t know how the fuck we can fix it.
“I do, though,” he says. He looks at both of us, his lips pulling upward. “Love him. So, I want to be more open about it with our friends. I’m trying… I’m fucking trying to be less robotic. It’s hard for me. I know I’m closed off, I just—”
I feel Forker wince in the seat. His comments from last year keep coming back to bite him in the ass. He called Cap a robot, and the impact on him was unexpected. It hurt him enough to give him an identity crisis.
“I didn’t mean that in a bad way, Cap,” Forker groans, leaning forward. He places his hand on Saltzy’s shoulder, shaking him until he meets his eyes. “Caulfield fell in love with you because you are who you are. Don’t go trying to be someone you’re not because I made a stupid joke.”
“But you were right,” Saltzy admits, his voice quieter than usual.
“I look at Wyatt’s life, at those people around that table, and…
they’ve got a friendship that I envy. Somehow, they managed to create that and it’s held up for years.
I realized I don’t have that. With anyone.
All my shit, besides with Wy, is surface level. ”
I nod. I’m not going to pretend it’s otherwise. Saltzy knows how he is.
Forker sighs. “Yeah, but that shit they have is rare, Saltzy. They’re a fucking anomaly.”
Also true.
“I know, I know,” Saltzy says, lifting a hand in defeat, “but look at you two. Look at how you both are with Lowesy. I want the people who I consider my friends to also consider me theirs, you know? And I don’t think that you guys do.
I think I’m your Captain, I’m with Wyatt, and I’m in your life.
I don’t think either of you look at me and feel like we have anything of substance. ”
I watch him carefully, but say nothing. He’s right.
Declan only tolerated him until he ended up with Wyatt.
He grew to like him a bit more because of how much Caulfield cares about him.
I have never texted Saltzy one-on-one about anything other than hockey.
Forker wants to marry his dad, so he’s a bit more lenient, but Cap is right.
He doesn’t have a solid friendship with any of us.
“I’m trying,” he says, his voice almost a whisper. There’s a flash of vulnerability I’ve never seen on his face before.
“You’re my friend, Cap,” I tell him. “I’m in your corner. You need me? Call me. You want to stop by for a coffee or a beer? No questions asked. Just don’t go thinking that we need you to be somebody else to do those things with us.”
“We just need you to want to do those things with us,” Forker clarifies.
Exactly. He’s got to act like he wants us around. He has to ask us to go for drinks or to go for a skate. He has to take interest in our lives. We’ll try, too.
“I appreciate that.”
“And I’ll be your best friend if you let me come and hang out with your dad for like…two whole unsupervised hours,” Forker adds.
Saltzy rolls his eyes, trying to hide his smile.
My phone buzzes. I’m expecting a message from my brother or from Lemmy, everyone else I talk to is inside the house. One option is significantly better than the other.
Unfortunately, it’s Kane.
Kane
Morgues have been empty for the past couple of days. No sign. I’m going to make up some posters.
My stomach drops. He’ll post them online too, won't he? He’ll expect me to share them and…
I should. They’re my parents. But the idea makes me feel sick.
I’ve kept my personal life—my old one—so far away from Pittsburgh and who I am now.
I don’t want them overlapping. I don’t want the public to have this information on me.
I don’t want people being able to use this against me, especially when my parents will likely turn up in a day or two.
“Boston.”
I glance up, realizing my knuckles are white as I grip my phone.
Saltzy and Fork are both studying me. It’s Saltzy who speaks up, though. Fork knows better. Fork tends to respect my boundaries until he deems them unreasonable.
“You good?”
I smile tightly, dipping my chin. “Look at you, checking in on me. You’re such a good friend, Cap.”
He huffs a laugh and shakes his head, but Forker’s eyes hold questions. Forker doesn’t smile. Forker doesn’t take me at my word because our relationship has substance. He knows I’m lying through my teeth.