Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
PERRY
Fortunately for me, Nigel’s wedding was semi-formal, which gave me some leeway in the fashion department.
As someone whose career centered around taking my clothes off, I didn’t get a lot of opportunities to dress up.
Which was silly, actually. If people could pretend to be plumbers, I could pretend to be at a wedding and fucking my way through the groomsmen.
Note to self—talk to Lukas about a new series idea for the studio.
I dressed in a pair of white pants—the internet said it was okay—a white shirt, and a mulberry blazer.
I went with classic brown for the belt and the shoes and even tossed on a bit of eyeliner.
Though most times I didn’t feel the need to use makeup, I still liked to dabble in it now and then when the occasion called for it.
I’d even splurged and bought a bottle of Dior that smelled of cinnamon and nutmeg and that I applied sparingly.
I should be dreading the day, because after this, my fake relationship was set to end.
But I’d made up my mind not to let it. By the end of tonight, one way or another, I was going to confess to Rex that this was more real than pretend and had been for a long time for me.
Hell, I wasn’t entirely sure that it was ever pretend for me.
Gumball tried to get close to me, but the poor wee beast didn’t understand that he was black and my clothes were white and that cat hair wasn’t a welcome accessory. I did relent and gave him scratches behind the ears and a few extra treats while I paced my apartment, waiting for Rex to arrive.
I could have met him at the venue, but he insisted on picking me up.
Instead of marrying in a church, Nigel had chosen the university’s botanical garden.
It wasn’t the most popular place to get married because you needed special permissions and the days you could do it were restricted, but Nigel knew a guy who knew a guy who got them a date.
Rex knocked on my door five minutes and too many cat treats later looking like a million bucks in his dark gray ensemble. His pants were a matching shade to his blazer, but his shirt was white. He opted not to wear a tie and had a pocket square that perfectly matched my mulberry jacket.
Reaching for him, I traced my fingers over the silk and shot him a warm smile. “That’s why you wanted to know the color of my blazer.”
“I wanted us to look like we belong together, without doing the whole matching outfit thing.”
“You don’t want to dress exactly like me?” I pretended to pout.
“Only if you’re wearing your birthday suit. Then I’ll match you any time.”
I pushed Rex away from me in a playful way, grinning from ear to ear. Being around him was the easiest thing I’d ever done.
“We’re going to be late.”
Rex only smiled at me, bent down and said hello to Gumball, scratching him behind the ears. “Okay,” he said, straightening up. “Now we can go.”
I’d never been to the botanical gardens before and they did not disappoint. Because the ceremony was a small affair, it was able to nicely fit down at the end of one of the forks in the trail. There was a big willow tree that served as the most stunning backdrop.
Rex herded me over to a younger man who there was no mistaking for Rex’s brother. They had similar features, and even the color of their hair was the same, just Nigel didn’t have any gray. He also looked like was going to be sick.
“Nigel, I want you to meet someone,” Rex said as we walked up to Nigel, who stood alone, his hands tucked in his pockets. He looked pale and kind of miserable, but I chalked that up to nerves. I know I’d be quaking in my boots if I ever got married.
“Perry, this is Nigel, my younger pain-in-the-ass brother. And Nigel, this is Perry. My boyfriend.”
I desperately tried not to swoon at those words as I reached for Nigel’s outstretched hand.
“So where’s the other half?” Rex asked, looking slightly concerned.
“Getting ready. We came together, but he wanted to keep his wedding outfit a secret so he’s changing in one of the public bathrooms.” Nigel glanced at his watch, then down the trail. The longer I looked at him, the less like a happy groom he seemed.
“Oh, there’s the officiant. Excuse me.” Nigel slipped away and both Rex and I turned to watch him go. He strode over to the man who’d shown up in a flashy suit, devoid of any religious paraphernalia, and started talking.
“Is he okay?” I leaned closer to Rex and dropped my voice to a whisper.
“I’m not sure how to answer that.” Rex slid an arm around my shoulders and we turned away from Nigel to try and give him some privacy to sort this out. I didn’t know who any of the other people in attendance were. Friends and coworkers I assumed.
“Did any of your extended family show up?” I asked but Rex was quick to shake his head.
“We’re all we’ve got.” Rex looked around like he was scanning the crowd for someone.
Rex’s expression changed when a man in a head-to-toe white suit came over, going straight past Nigel and the officiant and making a beeline for Rex.
Whatever the obvious groom was going to say died on his lips when he saw me. Recognition flashed through his face and when that was gone, disgust was in its place.
“Do you know what he is?” the bitchy groom whisper-shouted to Rex.
Rex moved closer to me like he wanted to be my human shield. “He’s my date.”
“He’s a porn star. You’re seriously dating a porn star? Get the fuck out of here.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Who the hell are you?”
“Trevor. But I’m sure Rex told you all about me in the, what, ten minutes you’ve been dating.” Trevor was a hateful little drama queen.
Looking over at Rex, I raised an eyebrow as if to say really? This guy? Rex didn’t respond with anything more than a wince.
“Why did you really bring a porn star to my wedding, Rex? Were you hoping I would get jealous?” Trevor glowered at Rex.
“Let’s keep this civil for the sake of my brother.”
“Your brother would actually like to know a couple things.” Nigel appeared out of nowhere, a face like a bad dream. His arms crossed over his chest. I’d yet to see Rex annoyed or mad, but I pictured him looking exactly like Nigel did in that moment.
“Why would Trevor be jealous of you?” Nigel looked at Trevor, his gaze burrowing a hole into Trevor’s not-so-carefully crafted plan.
When Trevor went as white as his suit and didn’t respond, Nigel’s gaze flicked to Rex. “Why would he be jealous? The truth, Reginald.”
“Reginald?” My head snapped to the side so fast I almost broke my neck.
“Reginald is my legal name. But Nigel couldn’t say Reginald and we tried Reg, but he just started calling me Rex. So yes, my name is technically Reginald, but I go by Rex.”
“You’re getting off topic.” Nigel folded his arms over his chest and made sure to keep some distance between himself and everyone else. “Why would my fiancé be jealous?”
“He’s likely referring to the fact that Trevor and I had a very short and inconsequential fling after Bryson and I broke up.”
Nigel’s face went through a hundred different emotions. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know until you announced your engagement, and by then it felt kind of late. I don’t have feelings for Trevor. I never did. So there was no point in telling you.”
“The point was to tell the truth. What else have you been keeping from me? Next you’re going to tell me that Perry really is a porn star.”
“Guilty as charged,” I said with more confidence than I felt.
“Jesus Christ. You’re actually dating a porn star?”
Rex opened his mouth, and I slipped my arm around his waist. It might not have been true before, but it was true now. To me at least.
“Actually, yes. He is.” I looked up at Rex. “We’re together and I’ve never been happier.” I silently pleaded with him to understand that this wasn’t me just jumping in to try and defuse shit with him and his brother. That I genuinely meant I wanted to be with him.
“But you were with Trevor.” Nigel looked at Rex like he’d been betrayed. “Why did you keep it from me?”
“Because you seemed happy. And when Trevor pretended to not know me, I just panicked and went with it. It wasn’t like I was harboring secret feelings for him. We had a short, short time together, and I didn’t want that to get in the way of your happiness.”
Nigel exhaled so hard, it took some of his spine with it and he slumped where he stood. Like he was suddenly losing bone and the strength to stand up. Maybe even the will to live.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Nigel asked Trevor. “I can see why Rex wouldn’t tell me, but why would you keep it a secret if you weren’t carrying a torch for Rex?”
Trevor folded his arms over his chest. “Puh-lease, give me a break. It’s not a big deal. I didn’t know Rex long enough to carry a torch for him, unlike you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nigel’s voice rose in volume and pitch.
“It means that you’re still stupidly in love with that shitty best friend of yours who doesn’t want to see you happy. Proof is how he treated me when he was around.”
“How he treated you? How he treated you?” Nigel’s voice climbed higher, catching the attention of the officiant and a few of the guests who were milling around the space, or awkwardly shifting in their chairs.
“Nigel, you’re causing a scene,” Trevor whispered. He moved like he was going to reach for Nigel but thought better of it.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you’d already been with Rex? Why did you pretend not to know him? Did you think it would have mattered to me that much?”
Trevor rolled his eyes. Rex tried to steer us away, but Nigel looked at him, steely-eyed. “Stay.”
“Clearly it mattered because you can’t even look at me,” Trevor sniveled.
I’d just met him and I already didn’t like him, but I did feel kind of bad for him.
“Because you lied to me.” Nigel took a deep breath then let it out, and it seemed like all the fight drained out of him at once.
“It’s not supposed to be like this,” Nigel said.
He went deathly quiet for a second, like the stillness after a storm.
“Everything about this is wrong. I can’t do it. I can’t marry you.”
Trevor opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Then it was like his whole expression morphed from sadness and worry to anger.
“Fine. Fine.” Trevor pulled the ring off his finger and threw it at Nigel. It bounced off his chest and hit the grass between his feet.
Trevor stormed away in a flurry of indignant rage.
“Do you want to go after him?” Rex asked Nigel, who just shook his head. He didn’t look all that upset to me. In my professional opinion, Nigel looked a little relieved.
We all stood there, trying to process the events of the last few minutes. Rex turned to Nigel like he wanted to say something when suddenly a commotion got our attention.
“Wait!” someone shouted. “Wait, Nigel. Don’t. Stop. You can’t marry him!”
Rex, Nigel, and I all turned around to see a man racing toward us. His face was flushed from exertion, his clothes were disheveled, and he looked like hell, to be quite honest. Unshaven and clearly sleep-deprived, but Nigel’s face lit up when he saw him.
“Simon?” Nigel said as the man screeched to a stop within arm’s reach of him. “What are you doing here?”
“Stopping you from making the biggest mistake of your life,” Simon said, then he practically launched himself at Nigel and yanked him into a kiss.