Chapter 2
After filming for months in the flat, open New Mexico plains, Thomas found driving into Waynesville, NC, almost smothering. He peered out the passenger window of Rhys’s black SUV at the mountains circling the town, which were already hiding the sun as dusk approached. In New Mexico, he could see the sunset all the way to the horizon, but it appeared sunrises and sunsets wouldn’t be visible from within the valley.
Thomas had flown in to the Asheville airport, where Rhys had picked him up. Rhys always drove back and forth between New Mexico and North Carolina so he’d have his own vehicle during the months of filming the show. Thomas, however, had started putting down roots in Red Rock oncePlague Zbecame so successful that it was practically on auto-renew status at the network. Thomas’s character, Eli Fawkes, was popular enough that he wasn’t too worried about being turned into zombie chow any time soon.
Thus he and Rhys decided that Rhys would drive back to North Carolina alone and Thomas would take a few days to book a flight and decompress at his condo. Rhys would need at least two days, possibly three to get home, depending on how hard he pushed each day, and he wanted another couple of days to unpack and settle in, so Thomas planned to arrive on a Monday and depart on the following Monday. Thomas was fine with the delay. Hell, he would have postponed it indefinitely if he could. He still wasn’t sure how he was going to pull off being Rhys’s fake boyfriend without giving away how much he wanted to be Rhys’s real boyfriend. He’d have to claim it was the best improvised performance of his career.
Meeting Rhys at the airport had been awkward. Thomas wasn’t sure when the ruse was supposed to begin, and he didn’t know if he ought to greet Rhys as a friend or a lover. Rhys had solved the problem by offering a one-armed bro hug, and Thomas followed his lead. Fortunately, he wasn’t so famous that paparazzi cared enough to stake out the Asheville airport for candid photos of him, but he’d worn sunglasses and a baseball cap to throw off anyPlague Zfans because he didn’t want his reunion with Rhys to be documented and splashed all over social media.
The drive from Asheville to Waynesville was about forty minutes, and Thomas spent most of it looking out the window at the foliage. The mountains were covered with trees that were turning vivid shades of red, orange, and yellow with little green left, and Thomas was enthralled by the autumn beauty.
But now they were in Waynesville at last, and Thomas’s stomach clenched in apprehension.
“So, uh…” Thomas looked at Rhys, whose expression was closed and difficult to read. “What am I walking into here?”
Rhys shifted in his seat, and his fingers tightened around the padded steering wheel. “They’ll leave us in peace tonight since you just got in.”
“They?”
Rhys’s knuckles turned white. “I’ve got a big family, and they’re curious. Some of them are fans of the show too. So Mama’s got a family reunion planned for next weekend. I put my foot down about tonight and tomorrow though,” he said, glancing at Thomas. “I told Mama you were coming off months of filming, and you need a break before you get thrown into the deep end.”
“I appreciate it,” Thomas said, giving Rhys a grateful smile. It always took some time for him to shake off the world ofPlague Z, which was a grim and dangerous place, along with the often dark mindset of Eli, who was a morally ambiguous badass. He didn’t consider himself a Method actor, but he felt as if some psychic residue from Eli clung to him for a while after filming ended and he emerged from the zombie apocalypse.
Rhys inclined his head in acknowledgment. “But Tuesday night, Mama is hosting a barbecue for just the immediate family, and the meet and greet will officially begin.” His lips twisted in a sardonic smile. “I wouldn’t be shocked if she finds a reason to pay a call tomorrow, though.”
“Seriously?”
“She’s nosy,” Rhys said, shrugging. “And she’ll want to vet you herself in private.”
Thomas laughed to cover his nervousness. Losing the favor of Rhys’s mother would probably diminish his chances of ever becoming Rhys’s real boyfriend – assuming he had a chance to begin with.
“I’ve never been vetted as a potential boyfriend before. Is there anything I should be worried about?”
“As far as she knows, you’re the only man who’s been able to catch my interest in the last five years, so you’ve got an automatic advantage,” Rhys said.
If only that were true. Thomas had been attracted to Rhys from the moment they met. How could he not be, when Rhys was exactly his type? Tall with strong, broad shoulders tapering to lean hips and long legs. Rhys’s dark brown hair was wavy and unkempt, and he constantly complained about needing a haircut as he brushed it out of his denim-blue eyes, but he never seemed to get around to getting one. Thomas had nursed the hope that their friendship might blossom into romance if he proved Rhys’s heart would be safe in his hands, but Rhys had shown no signs of interest in or attraction to Thomas, not even when a couple of beers gave Thomas the courage to plop himself in Rhys’s lap. Thomas had finally decided to put his unrequited feelings behind him for good when this whole fake boyfriend thing came along, and his buried hope had sprung up anew.
“But she’ll still want to meet you first and get to know you without anyone else around,” Rhys added. “She’s probably curious since you’ve done what no one else has.”
“Except I haven’t,” Thomas said. “Not really.”
“Well,shewon’t know that,” Rhys said. “You’re smart and personable. Just be yourself, and you’ll be fine. If it looks like things are going pear-shaped, turn those big Bambi eyes of yours on her, and she’ll be putty in your hands just like everyone else.”
“Except you,” Thomas said. “You seem to be immune.”
“Not necessarily.” Rhys slanted a sidelong look at him. “Those eyes can make me share the flan from Miguel’s,” he said. “No one else can do that.”
“True.” Thomas smiled, pleased by the reminder that Rhys did seem to like and trust him more than anyone else they worked with. Even if he couldn’t have what he wanted, at least he had Rhys’s friendship.
Rhys’s home was in a neighborhood consisting of townhouses with an alpine vibe. Each townhouse had two stories, a garage, and a front porch, most of which had rocking chairs on them. The lawns in front of each building were tiny but well-groomed, and a few people had flowerbeds along the front. Rhys’s unit had two white wicker chairs on the porch but no other decorations. Thomas liked the architectural style, but Rhys’s house lacked the personalized décor that set the others apart, and he wondered if Rhys hadn’t bothered because he spent so many months away from home or because of his lingering grief.
Once they were inside, Rhys showed Thomas to the guest bedroom and bathroom upstairs, and Thomas took his time unpacking and settling in. Even though they weren’t sharing a bedroom, they were sharing living space, which was feeding into Thomas’s domestic fantasies. Plus Rhys’s bedroom was right across the hall, which meant Thomas would be lying in a bed mere feet away from where Rhys would be lying in a bed, so they were practically sleeping together.
“Stop it, you’re not twelve,” he said, giving himself a stern look in the mirror hanging over the low dresser.
Suitably chastened, he went downstairs to find Rhys. After seeing the exterior, Thomas wasn’t surprised by the generic IKEA-type decor throughout the house. Other than a few old family photos in the living room, the place was more like a model home that came already decorated, and there was little color, just an array of tasteful beiges and creams. Abruptly he realized this must not be where Rhys and Andy had lived, which shocked him. Given Rhys’s reluctance to move on, Thomas had expected to find a shrine to Andy’s memory dominating the living room, but he couldn’t find a single trace of Andy.
Rhys was in the kitchen at the back of the house, and he offered a smile that seemed awkward when Thomas entered. The room was spacious enough to include a breakfast nook looking out on the backyard and a small circular dining table with four chairs.
