Chapter Thirty-Six Euan
The last time I was in this airport, I sat in the baggage claim for an hour waiting for Nick to text me back.
This time, I’ve barely gotten in the rental car line when a text comes in.
Assuming it’s Alex, I’m already smiling as I pull my phone out.
I was so caught up in planning this last-minute trip that I didn’t text him back yesterday, so I need to apologize for accidentally ignoring him.
Except the text isn’t from Alex.
Nick
Come get your once and future husband.
The next few messages come in quick succession. First, a picture of Alex slumped over a bar. His blond curls are a mess and his eyes look red and puffy, even in the low light.
Unless you want him to drunk marry someone else
Then a picture of Nick’s arm slung around Alex’s shoulders. The sadness in Alex’s eyes has been burned away as he grins widely for the camera, the same bright smile he had in our wedding photos. Nick winks, lips pursed in an exaggerated smolder.
Where are you?
Nick sends the location of the bar they’re at, and I stare at it for a long moment. I don’t even need directions.
I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Don’t let him drink any more.
The employee calls for the next person in line. I tuck my phone into my pocket and focus on doing what I need to so I can get to Alex as quickly as possible.
The bar looks exactly as it did the night I met Alex. This is where the whole marriage mess started. I look toward the counter where Nick took the photo, but it’s empty now. Did they leave already? It took me longer than I hoped to get here and finish arranging everything.
“Euan!”
I turn toward the sound of my name. Nick leans over the back of a booth, waving at me.
As I approach, he scrambles out of the booth, arms raised as if he’s about to hug me.
After a moment, he switches to offer me his hand instead.
“Holy shit, you’re actually here. I almost didn’t believe it when you said you’d be here in half an hour. Thought maybe you were drunk too.”
Seeing him only through a screen means I recognize him, but he’s different from what I expected.
Taller, for one thing, only an inch or two shorter than me.
He’s also dressed in what are probably his work clothes—long sleeves covering both arms to the elbows, only the first button on his collar open—which means all the tattoos I’ve seen in our video chats are hidden.
It’s enough to distance himself from the man I briefly dated.
I shake his hand before stepping past him, my attention locked on Alex. He’s half-lying on the table, using his crossed arms as a pillow, eyes closed and mouth slightly open as he snores softly. “How much has he had to drink?”
“A few weirdly named shots and a cocktail. I think he’s just worn out from a long week of moping.”
I place a hand on Alex’s shoulder and nudge him gently, calling his name.
He lifts his head and looks at me with unfocused eyes, still half-asleep. It takes him a second to recognize me. “Yoon!” he exclaims and throws his arms around my neck.
I wrap him in a tight hug, sliding into the booth so I can hold him better. He still fits perfectly in my arms. Of course he does; just because our marital status changed doesn’t mean anything else about him has. “Hey, baby.”
“Missed you,” he mumbles, the words barely audible with his face squashed against my chest.
I squeeze him tighter, as if I can tuck him right up against my heart so we’ll never be separated. “Missed you, too.”
“Then why’d you leave?” he demands, lifting his head to show me his pout.
I cup his cheek and caress it gently with my thumb. “Did you want me to stay?”
He nuzzles against my palm. “Yeah.”
“Man, he was a lot more talkative earlier,” Nick says, reminding me that he’s here too. “So, do you think you can handle him from here?”
I nod, barely registering the words, too focused on the warm bundle in my arms. But as nice as it is to hold Alex again, we can’t stay in the bar all night. “You have to let go, baby.”
Alex’s arms tighten around me instead. “No. Don’t go.”
My lips quirk at his stubbornness. “I have to get out of the booth, and I can’t do that if you’re clinging to me.”
“Oh. Okay.” He finally unhooks his arm from my neck, but one of his hands grabs onto my shirt, as if he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he stops touching me. Once I’m standing, he scrambles after me and latches on again immediately.
Nick watches the whole thing with arched eyebrows. “You know, I always thought Alex had a bit of a stick up his ass. Apparently, all it takes to loosen him up is to put a dick up there instead.”
I ignore Nick’s crass assessment, but Alex scowls at him and tightens his hold on me. “You’re just jealous ’cause it’s not your ass.”
“If I’d known you were this interesting, I might have dragged you out for drinks sooner.” Nick turns to me and says, “It was nice to officially meet you, but I think it’s for the best we didn’t work out. Try to have an actual conversation with him once he sobers up.”
I’m already focused on Alex. I can’t walk properly with him clinging to me like this, so I decide on a solution that will satisfy both of us and scoop him into my arms instead. He gives a startled yelp, then laughs as he winds his arms around my neck again.
“Bridal carry, nice,” Nick says, following us out of the bar.
“Just don’t end up married to him a second time, alright?
Though if you do, that means it’s fate. Like, you can only get accidentally married to the same person so many times before it’s no longer an accident, right?
” For some reason, he follows us all the way to the elevators.
“Anyway, I’ll see you on Monday, Alex!” He barely finishes speaking before the closing elevator doors cut him off.
“You dated him?” Alex mumbles. “I’m better.”
I smile softly at his drunken rambling. “Jealous?”
He pouts again. “No.” Then he amends, “A little. He’s hot, even if he is weird.” His head thumps down on my shoulder. “And he’s nicer than I thought. Except for when he dumped you. That wasn’t nice. But it’s fine. I’m glad he dumped you.”
“Are you?” I ask, struggling to suppress a laugh.
“Yeah.” He nuzzles my neck. “’Cause now you’re here with me.” That’s the last I get out of him before he falls back asleep.
“You and I are going to have a very long talk in the morning.”