“We can’t do that. He’s going to have the smuggest face that’s ever smugged.” He looked around before his eyes settled back on me. “Look, it’s the weekend. Nothing happens during the weekend, right? They can’t file the paperwork until Monday. Let’s do this, and before we fly back tomorrow, we’ll come here and cancel it.”
With that decision made, we waited our turn as a few more couples tied the knot ahead of us.
Vegas was a conveyor belt of bad decisions, and we were about to officially add our names. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh about the absurdity of it all or run as fast as I could.
Tanner held my hand as we waited.
“Nervous?” I whispered.
“A little. You’ll never believe it, but?—”
Tanner was interrupted by someone calling our names to go in.
We stood before the officiant, hands shaking and smiling awkwardly at each other.
“Welcome, friends and loved ones,” the officiant started. I tuned out most of it because Tanner’s blue eyes on me and his warm hands keeping me rooted in place were the only things I could focus on.
His lips curled into a secret smile, and I was immediately taken back to my eighteenth birthday when he’d come to my party dressed in jeans and a brand-new polo shirt. He’d givenme his gift, a bunch of Tamagotchi-themed things, and then he’d smiled and disappeared into Jodie’s room.
If I hadn’t been so busy hiding my crush on him, I may have noticed that a straight guy would never put so much effort into his girlfriend’s brother’s birthday gift. Now, looking at his sea-blue eyes, I wanted to believe he’d had a crush on me then, that maybe we could be more than friends.
I managed to come out of my memories in time to answer the yes or no question and repeat the standard vows. We hadn’t been in the room longer than twenty minutes, and suddenly, we were husband and husband.
The words paralyzed me. Tanner’s lips briefly touching mine sealed our deal. There was no time to process what we’d just done or that, however brief it was, I’d kissed Tanner because we were ushered out of the room with a piece of paper thrust into our hands.
When we got outside, the city felt different. I couldn’t tell what it was because nothing had changed in twenty minutes, but at the same time, everything had changed.
“Jax, Tanner, congratulations,” Trent said. “Tanner, do you mind if I steal your husband for a moment?”
Tanner squeezed my hand briefly and nodded.
We took a few steps away from Tanner and Stuart. I remained facing Tanner because I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Did he feel different too? Or was this all a figment of my imagination and teenage dreams?
“I have a confession to make,” Trent said. “I didn’t think you’d go through with it, but I can see I was wrong. You and Tanner make a cute couple. I really wish you all the happiness…and I’m sorry I was such a dick.”
“That…is really nice of you to say. There’s no bad blood between us, Trent, and I hope, one day, it’ll be your turn. Maybe Stuart? He’s the silent type, isn’t he?”
“Stuart?” he snorted. “He talks when the occasion calls for it. He’s just my stepbrother. Maybe I’ll find my own Jax or Tanner. Your new husband is hot.”
I laughed because I couldn’t disagree with him.
“Want to grab a celebratory drink with us?”
“Nah,” he said, looking at Stuart. “We should get back. Believe it or not, tomorrow we have a family wedding, so we should probably get some sleep.”
When the guys left us, I couldn’t resist grabbing Tanner by his waist until he held on to me.
“Oof, how possessive of you,husband.You know you don’t need to pretend anymore.”
“I know. Come on, it’s almost the sunrise, and I heard there’s a place in the city to watch it from.”
Tanner
Iwas married.
Iwas married.
The last time I was in a serious relationship, it ended because I was the only one in said relationship. And now? I’d just gotten married and wasn’t even in a relationship.
