Chapter Three
TAD IS dressed when Lewis gets back. He’s wearing the same spangly black tank and black jeans from last night—obviously—but his hair is damp, so he must have showered. In the morning light, there’s more red in Tad’s hair than Lewis realized—hints of burnished copper that catch the sun in a way Lewis has trouble looking away from.
Clearing his throat, Lewis holds up the marriage certificate. “I got it. What did you find out?”
Tad rubs his hair, and there’s just enough length that it tousles, sticking together because it’s still wet.
Somehow, he’s even more attractive in the sober, hungover morning light than he was through a curtain of alcohol.
It’s not a helpful thought.
“Technically we don’t meet the requirements for a divorce in New York,” Tad says. “The closest is the irreparable breakdown of the relationship.”
“We could use that.”
“For six months or more.”
“Uggghh.” Lewis sags onto the bed. Tad’s expression is hard to read. “So we have to stay married for six months?”
His brain can’t process this. His hangover has hit that point where it stops getting better, and you know you’re just going to have to live with it until you can take more painkillers. And his chest is getting tighter and it’s getting harder to breathe. And he doesn’t want to have an anxiety attack right now, he really doesn’t, but he doesn’t think he can head it off.
“What a fucking mess,” he says, squeezing his eyes shut.
The bed depresses as Tad sits. Lewis’s body buzzes with the nearness.
“We don’t have to act married,” Tad says. “It’s not a big deal. We’ll just live our lives, and in six months, we’ll do the paperwork.”
His tone is so calm. Lewis’s chest loosens.
There’s a little smile on Tad’s face, and it gives Lewis butterflies.
“We can even start the paperwork right away when we get back, if it would make you feel better,” Tad says. He rubs his wet curls. There’s a shyness to the gesture, which is funny, considering… well, everything. Drunk Tad wasn’t shy, which Lewis liked. But Lewis likes this kind of shy version of Tad too. “I’m flying back in a couple days, so if you want to meet for coffee or something….”
“I’m actually not heading home for another week,” Lewis says. “But yeah, once I’m back, let’s do that. Sorry, it probably sounds stupid, but it really would make me feel better.”
“It doesn’t sound stupid.” Tad tilts his head. “I wouldn’t suggest it if I thought it was stupid.”
Well, plenty of Lewis’s exes thought his anxieties were stupid. He’s been called a control freak more times than he can count. He’s not a control freak, he just… he feels better if he knows how things are going to go. He doesn’t like surprises.
Lewis clears his throat. “Well, yeah. If you give me your number, I’ll text you when I’m back.”
They exchange phones to enter their contact details. Once Tad’s done, Lewis opens his contacts. It takes a second of scrolling—once all the way down to the Ts, once back up to the top, and then a slower trawl until he spots the new name.
Best Husband Ever
Lewis glances up. Tad looks unsure, but there’s a twitch to one side of his lips and a spark of mischief in his eyes. For a second, Lewis gets caught up staring at Tad’s eyelashes. They’re brown and longish for a guy, and they make the blue of his eyes so intense that Lewis’s breath catches.
“I just put my name into yours. You’re making me look like a bad husband,” Lewis says.
What is he doing? Is he flirting? Is he flirting with the guy with whom he’s currently planning his divorce?
Tad laughs. Butterflies again.
They look at each other and things swing into awkward. “So… yeah.” Lewis checks his phone. The limo won’t be here for another hour, but he should round up the bachelorette party.
Tad’s fingers fiddle with the seam of his jeans. They’re so long and graceful. And strong. And Lewis gets a flash of memory—Tad’s fingers gripping his cock, stroking him as the two of them made out against the wall—
Heat floods him. Is he embarrassed or turned on? Or—okay, both, but he’s not sure what he’s more of. Or if it matters. It’s a thing in the past, a thing they did, that they aren’t doing again.
He definitely needs to find something else to do before he finds a reason to get Tad’s fingers on him again, because the longer they’re in the same room together, the more Lewis wonders what the big deal about fucking one more time is, even though he was the one that said they couldn’t in the first place.
“I have to go do maid-of-honor stuff,” he says in a rush. “So, um. I guess I’ll see you in New York. Or, we don’t have to see each other. You can just email the paperwork. Or whatever.”
Smooth.
“Oh!” Tad looks mortified. “Sorry, I didn’t know you had stuff to do. Yeah, I’ll….” He pauses. “You’ll text me, right?”
There’s not much choice, is there? “Yeah. Next week. As soon as I get back. I promise.”
Tad nods and takes a step toward the door. He’s biting his lip, not in a sexy way, but in this nervous way that Lewis, unfortunately, finds completely and utterly charming. What’s wrong with him? He’s been doing really good with not being tempted by cute guys since the Dating Break began. He’s been doing so good that he wasn’t even worried about being in Vegas, surrounded by temptation.
Alcohol and post-orgasm hormones, that’s what’s wrong with him. The alcohol made him disregard the Dating Break, and post-orgasm hormones are making him all moony over Tad, making him think he’s adorable and beautiful and all that stuff.
“Are you going to be in Vegas for the next week?” Tad asks. “Because I’m here for a few more days, and if you wanted to hang out…?”
Lewis’s heart lurches. He can’t tell if it’s because he wants to say no—or desperately wants to say yes. “I’m not,” he says. “Going to be in Vegas, I mean. I have this thing planned. Stacy thinks I’m going on a chakra cleanse. Or a vortex detox. Whatever, I don’t know. I just agreed I’d do it because she thinks it’ll make me a better maid of honor.”
At least she’s her typical lovable self about it, but Stacy has definitely bought into the entire wedding-industrial complex. Her wedding is going to be P E R F E C T, and she has Ideas about how to make that happen.
When Tad stares at him blankly, Lewis can only shrug. “She read something on a wedding blog about how your wedding party has to bring the right energy to the event… I don’t know. She’s my best friend, so I’ll do what she wants me to do.”
“Except you said Stacy thinks you’re going,” Tad points out.
“Oh.” Lewis rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, I’m actually going backpacking in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. I’m pretty sure she won’t be able to tell the difference in my energy.”
Tad laughs. “Unless you’re giving off ‘liar’ energy.”
“Her last dress fitting went three hours too long and she didn’t notice that my energy was I’m so hungry I’m about to eat the nearest A-line gown , so I think I can sell it.”
“So you’re going backpacking with one of your friends from the party?” Tad asks.
Shaking his head, Lewis says, “No, I’m going alone.”
His face lighting up, Tad says, “Oh! You must camp a lot!”
Excitement about his big adventure floods Lewis suddenly. City kid disconnects from the hustle and reconnects with what matters. Or something. Maybe he’ll start a blog. “Nope, I’ve never camped before. Or done much hiking, but I always wanted to.”
Tad looks at him like he’s grown several extra heads. “You… what? You’re not a hiker, you’ve never camped, and you’re going backpacking in Humboldt-Toiyabe alone? Are you nuts?”
“Well, I can’t go with Stace. Then she’ll know I’m not flushing my chakra.” He shrugs. “And I don’t have anyone else to go with. Ava has to get back, and I’m not super close with the rest of the wedding party.”
“I’m not sure it’s really like a juice cleanse but putting that aside, yes you do.” Tad holds up his hand and wiggles his fingers. His ring glints. “As your husband, I’d be delighted to accompany you.”
Lewis laughs, because obviously Tad is joking. When Tad doesn’t laugh back, Lewis’s smile fades.
Oh. Tad is serious.
“No,” Lewis says. “That’s okay. I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask me,” Tad says. “I offered.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to be a widower.”
Wow. Okay. Obviously hiking can be dangerous, but Lewis has watched a ton of YouTube videos and read a bunch of blogs. “I’m sure you have, like, a job to get back to. Anyway, aren’t you here with your brother?”
With a shrug, Tad says, “I have plenty of time off. And my brother won’t even notice I’m not there.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
Tad’s lips thin as he presses them together. Something sharp and sad ripples over his face. “If you really don’t want me to come along, I won’t. But you shouldn’t backpack by yourself. It’s stupid.”
Lewis snorts. “Tell me what you really think.”
Tad’s lips stay thinned. “You know people die when they backpack alone, right? You want me to google it?”
“Please don’t.” Lewis has googled it, and he’s confident he’ll be fine. He did his research. He has a first aid kit and knows where to find water.
But. The idea of spending a week with Tad is… really nice.
Impulse control? Don’t know her.
“Well….” Lewis looks at Tad’s eyes again. And his long, straight nose and his cheekbones and his stubbly jaw. And his damp hair, drying into curls on his neck. “If you want to come, I guess… yeah. That would be….” Wonderful. A terrible idea. Amazing. Probably more than I can take. “That would be cool.”
“We’ll call it our honeymoon,” Tad says with a shit-eating grin.
That makes Lewis tense up. “Can you just not? It’s not a real marriage.”
Chagrin crashes down on Tad’s face. “Sorry. I was just—bad joke. Sorry.” He twists his wedding ring. “I have to get some stuff. For camping. If you really want me to come.”
Oh god, Tad’s offering an out, and Lewis is already so all-in on this idea that he’s not taking it. “Yeah, of course. Do you want the list I used to pack? I marked off all the stuff I already have. I can text it to you.”
“That’s okay. What time are you leaving?”
“I’m picking my rental car up at two.”
“I’ll be in the lobby downstairs at one, then.” Tad twists his ring again. “So. Yeah. See you later.” He’s out the door before Lewis can respond. Why didn’t Tad take off his ring?
Lewis touches the matching ring on his hand and thinks about removing it. In the end, he leaves it where it is.