Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Asad
Organizing a bachelor party long-distance hadn’t been easy. Asad had mostly left it up to the other groomsmen to help him out. Mason had taken the lead, not surprisingly, and he’d done a good job.
They’d rented out a huge private room and set up a projector to put some movies on one side of it with several couches and armchairs—not that most people were paying attention.
Some of them were talking and drinking at the tables in the center of the room, which were set up to eat.
There was a massive buffet, complete with meat stations to grab food from, and an open bar.
Most of the guests were at the tables set up for playing cards on the other side of the room.
There were tables for poker and blackjack—and very cute young women in very skimpy outfits were dealing.
Cyrus had specifically said no strippers, and Mason could honestly say they weren’t strippers. They were getting plenty of attention from Cyrus’ single friends, though. His brother, on the other hand, was sitting on the couch, drink in hand, watching the movie and looking contemplative.
As much as Asad would have liked to join the party, though none of the women were as attractive to him as Morgan, he felt like it was his duty to keep his brother entertained.
That’s what the best man was there for. Did it go against the grain to put aside what he wanted?
Absolutely. At the same time, it was like slipping on an old worn-out shoe he’d just found again.
It was a little too comfortable, yet painful.
“No cards for you?” he asked as he took the seat next to Cyrus. Unsurprisingly, Mason followed only a moment later, sitting on Cyrus’ opposite side on the couch.
“Nah.” Cyrus stared at the movie screen, but it didn’t seem like he was really seeing it.
His finger tapped against the side of the glass he was holding.
Frowning, Asad leaned back to glance over Cyrus’ shoulder at Mason to see what he was thinking—and Mason was looking back at him in the exact same manner.
His brother loved Anna. Asad had seen it. Was he having second thoughts?
“Everything okay?” Mason asked. “Is this where you get cold feet, and we have to talk you into showing up at the ceremony tomorrow? Because I’m pretty sure Anna will castrate you if you do a no-show.”
Cyrus snorted, and the tension inside Asad relaxed.
“Trust me, I’m marrying that girl tomorrow, come hell or high water.” A real smile appeared on Cyrus’ face, and he finally turned his head, glancing back and forth between Mason and Asad. “What is this, an intervention?”
“Nah, just wanted to check on you since it’s your bachelor party, and you’re staring off into space.” Asad raised his eyebrow at his little brother, inviting him to explain. Cyrus shrugged one shoulder. “So, if it’s not Anna, what is it?”
“It’s you.”
On the other side of Cyrus, Mason sat back, a look of satisfaction on his face. Asad narrowed his eyes at his cousin but addressed Cyrus.
“What about me? What did I do?” He tried to keep his tone light rather than defensive, but he could hear it creeping in. He knew damn well he hadn’t done anything. As always, he’d put aside all his own issues to be there for Cyrus when his brother needed him.
“I was hoping this week would be more of a bonding experience,” Cyrus said, refocusing his attention on his glass, as if looking at Asad while confessing his feelings was too difficult.
“I thought maybe we’d… I don’t know. It’s not that you haven’t been around, it just hasn’t been what I thought it would be. ”
Confusion filled Asad. He had no idea what his brother was talking about.
“Well, I’m here, right? What do you want to do to bond?”
“I don’t know.” Cyrus sounded mournful. “I just thought… I mean, I know things got messed up when we were kids. First the cancer, then you leaving, and I guess I just thought this week we’d be able to change all that.
Sometimes, it feels like things will never really change.
” He turned to look up at Asad again, his dark eyes filled with emotion. “But I am really glad you’re here.”
He suddenly leaned forward, grabbing onto Asad and wrapping him in a hug. Asad blinked, looking at Mason and mouthed the words ‘how much has he had to drink?’ Mason held up his hands in confusion, but he didn’t seem surprised by Cyrus’ confession or his emotional outburst.
“Maybe you and Asad could talk about when and where you’re going to see each other after this,” Mason suggested gently, patting Cyrus on the back.
“Yes.” Cyrus sat up straight, staring at Asad like he could burn a hole through him. Even though he was sitting up, he still gripped Asad’s shirt tightly, keeping him in place. “We’re going to get together after this. I want you in my life, Asad.”
“I am in your life,” Asad protested, but even as he said the words, he knew that Cyrus had a point. He hadn’t been in his brother’s life the way he could have been. He’d been avoiding Cyrus as much as he had their parents.
“I want you in my life more.”
“Okay,” he said soothingly, patting Cyrus’s hands. “I can do that. We’ll make it a point to see each other more. Okay?”
“Okay.” Nodding, Cyrus loosened his grip on Asad’s shirt. “I know Mom and Dad didn’t really treat you fairly, especially when it came to showing up for you. I just don’t want you to resent me.”
“I don’t.” At least, he didn’t mean to. It wasn’t Cyrus’ fault he’d been sick or that their parents had focused on him above all else.
It was a relief to hear his brother say their parents favored him, confirmation that it hadn’t all been in his head.
Cyrus saw it, too. “Okay maybe that’s not entirely true, but I know it’s not your fault. ”
He didn’t really know whose fault it was.
His parents had been in a shit position.
Sure, they eventually were making the choice to continue prioritizing Cyrus, even after he was better, but at the same time…
Asad got it. They hadn’t known he would have a future.
Seeing Cyrus have one had been miraculous.
Asad just wished there had been room for him as well.
That wasn’t Cyrus’ fault—it really wasn’t—and hearing him address the elephant in the room made Asad feel a lot better than he would have thought.
He did want to be in Cyrus’ life more. He wanted them to be brothers in every sense of the word. His brother was now a fully-fledged adult, getting married, and in a lot of ways, Asad didn’t even know him.
Well, they could fix that now.
“So,” he drawled. “Let’s bond. What should we talk about?
” Truthfully, he didn’t really know. He and his guy friends tended to talk about kink and the people they knew.
That’s what they bonded over. They all liked the same kind of movies and doing nerdy shit like the Renaissance Fair, but his brother had always been more of a sports guy.
He wasn’t actually sure what they had in common. Which backed up Cyrus’ point. But it was okay.
They could start now.
Morgan
Friday evening… the second to last evening of her week being Asad’s fake girlfriend, and she wasn’t even getting to spend it with him. Which shouldn’t matter because he was her fake boyfriend, not her real one, yet…
Her phone buzzed, and she glanced at it. A text from Master Patrick.
Master Patrick: Just wanted to check in and see how the week is going. We’re looking forward to having you back in the club next week. You’ve been missed.
A strange tightness smacked her right in the chest. She hadn’t texted him to check in because she’d been mad about hearing that her activities for the week had been curtailed.
Truthfully, she’d expected the text from him earlier in the week, then she’d been so distracted by all the activities, she’d forgotten to look for them.
Besides, her friends had been checking in regularly, and she’d been lying to them about having sex with Asad, so she’d figured it was probably trickling back through the Stronghold and Marquis grapevine.
Doing great. I miss the club, too. It’s nice to be away for a while and do something different, though.
She wanted to confront him about the ‘no sex’ edict and the lack of communication with her, but that was better done in person than over the phone, especially over text message.
Besides, it would be rude, considering she was being included in one of the more intimate events of the week.
She wasn’t entirely sure why she’d been invited to this other than her dubious position as “Asad’s girlfriend.
” Everyone else was one of Anna’s bridesmaids or family.
Anna, Anna’s sister, Anna’s mom, Asad’s mother, grandmother, and some of his aunts… she was the odd one out. She didn’t want to be disrespectful, so she sat quietly in her chair, sipped her drink, nibbled on the refreshments, and watched henna being carefully applied to Anna’s hands.
Asad had explained the evening would be based on a very old tradition called Hana Bandān.
Cyrus hadn’t been interested, and he’d wanted Asad to be able to be there for his bachelor party, but Anna had wanted to indulge her almost mother-in-law—not to mention the grandmothers—so she’d had her bachelorette party the weekend before.
Tonight, the night before the wedding, she was doing the henna.
It was beautiful, the swirls and dots creating stunning, lacy patterns as it was applied.
“Can I get you something more to drink?” Asad’s mom asked, coming to stand next to Morgan.
“Oh, no, thank you.” She was already too full because she didn’t know what to do with herself other than eat and drink. “I’m enjoying watching.”
Rather than moving away, Lena sat down beside her, folding her hands on her lap.
Morgan eyed her nervously. At the beginning of the week, knowing she would be attending a ‘ladies only’ event hadn’t felt daunting, but she hadn’t realized it would be just family and bridal party when Asad had told her.
She wasn’t sure he actually knew how intimate it was, to be perfectly honest, or if leaving her in ignorance was an oversight.
The only thing she was certain of was that he wouldn’t have thinkingly put her in an awkward situation.
He had been very distracted, though, so he might have just forgotten to tell her.
“I’m so glad you were able to come up this week,” Lena said. Her greying black hair was swept back from her face in a complicated-looking updo, giving Morgan a clear view of her profile as Lena watched Anna laughing at something one of the grandmothers said.
“Thank you. It’s been nice to meet everyone.”
“I’m so glad to hear that. We’re hoping to see Asad more often. We’ve missed him.” Lena turned to look at Morgan. There was something in her eyes, some emotion Morgan didn’t recognize. “We’d love it if you joined him, too.”
There were undercurrents to the conversation.
This was one of those times where there were hidden meanings beneath the words being said.
Morgan had learned to recognize when it happened because Carolyn and Marissa both did it a lot.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t as good at figuring out what wasn’t being said. Usually, she had Amy explain it to her.
“Um,” was the only response that popped to her mind.
She didn’t think Asad would want to continue their fake relationship beyond this week.
That was the deal, after all, which made her feel a little sad.
She was enjoying this week. She was enjoying having a fake boyfriend.
Even beyond the sex, she liked spending time with him and being his ‘girlfriend.’ She wouldn’t mind doing it again, but she had a feeling he would.
The plan was for them to ‘break up’ before he visited his family again, and there wasn’t much point in changing that.
“You don’t have to commit to anything, of course.” Lena smiled, but it was strained. “I just wanted you to know that you’re welcome. We’d love to get to know you better. This week has been such a whirlwind, I feel like I’ve barely been able to talk to you.”
That was true, but it had also been an upside to the week.
Not because she didn’t like Lena, who seemed perfectly nice, but because Morgan was pretty sure Asad didn’t want her getting close to his family.
That was for a real girlfriend, not a fake one.
She also felt uncomfortable with the idea.
It was one thing to lie to a stranger… Right now, the lie didn’t feel good at all.
“We were able to talk on Monday… and now,” she pointed out. “Although if you need to spend time with your family, I understand. That’s what this week is about.”
“Yes.” Lena paused and then took a deep breath.
“That’s why I want to spend more time with you, dear.
You’re clearly important to Asad, and… well, my relationship with him isn’t what I would wish.
I was hoping maybe this week we could change things, but…
” Her expression didn’t change, but Morgan got the sense Lena was feeling sad.
“I know he enjoyed yesterday at the aviary,” Morgan said. “Maybe if you spent more time paying more attention to him instead of Cyrus. Or as much attention to him as you do to Cyrus.”
There was another long moment of stunned silence while Lena blinked as she processed Morgan’s statement. The expression she had was one Morgan was all-too familiar with—it meant she’d said something wrong.
“I’m sorry, I um… I probably shouldn’t have said that.
” Pressing her hands flat against her thighs, Morgan leaned her weight back and forth, rocking slightly, so she could put new pressure on some of the marks the cane had left behind.
They didn’t hurt nearly as much, but it was enough to help distract her as her pulse began to race so she didn’t go straight into panic.
“No, no you’re right. And you’re very direct, which isn’t a bad thing. My husband and I have made many mistakes with Asad, and most of them we didn’t realize until it was far too late.” Lena’s lips pursed. “Sometimes, it’s hard to break out of habits.”
“It is.” Morgan knew that better than anyone. “I think it would make him very happy to know how you feel, regardless.” Sometimes, knowing someone’s intentions helped.
Lena nodded slowly. “That’s good to know. Thank you, Morgan.”
Oh, good. She’d said the right thing.
“So… tell me more about you and Asad. I know he said it’s casual, but we can all clearly see you two make a perfect couple. Do you think you’ll become more serious soon?”
Oh, crap.