“Not likely, Juli. Not with the way you have everyone scheduled to the minute.” Marcus dug into his scrambled egg whites. He grinned as he chewed, then swallowed. “Tell me, Nick, does he schedule you in for sex?” Marcus checked his watch. “Ah, 11:15, time for a blowjob.”
Nick choked on his beer while Julian glared at Marcus. “Don’t be an asshole.” The glare turned to a smug grin. “Besides, I have no complaints.”
Marcus put up a hand. “Stop. Zach’s ears are too delicate for such gruesome details.”
Nick snorted. “That’s a crock of shit. Look at them—Sam’s grinning like the Cheshire cat and Zach’s happy for the first time since I met him.” He lazed back in his seat and nudged Julian. “Looks like he handled his life fine without you guys interfering in it.”
Heat crept up his neck from the force of Julian’s penetrating gaze, but Zach didn’t care anymore. The weight of Sam’s hand rested warm and comforting on his thigh, and he placed his hand over it, sliding his fingers in between Sam’s.
“As a matter of fact,” said Nick. “I’ll bet—”
“Oh, shut the hell up. Don’t you dare mention that word again.” Marcus sat back in his chair, sulking. “You’re the reason for that stupid bet. Now Zach gets a hot cop and you’re forcing me to be celibate. It’s unnatural.”
“You’re mad because we caught you trying to cheat with a waiter. Try and relax.” Julian cackled with unrestrained glee. “All that frowning will give you wrinkles.”
Though Zach wanted to laugh, he did his best to placate his friend. “It’s not that bad. Maybe it’ll give you a chance to take stock of your life.”
“My life was fine. This is fucking killing me.” Marcus faced him with a black glare. “And yeah, I’m going to keep cursing. If I have to stay celibate, it’s the price you’ll have to pay.”
“It’ll be worth it,” said Zach. “Maybe you’ll meet someone and actually talk first, instead of jumping right into bed.”
“What for?” said Marcus, clearly horrified at the idea. “I’ve got nothing to say to them.”
One day, my friend, Zach mentally shook his head in despair for Marcus.One day you’ll meet someone, and everything you thought you knew will be turned upside down.
“I wanted to thank you guys for inviting my mother to your wedding. She’s really touched, and it means a lot. To both of us.” Sam raised his glass to Nick and Julian, and Zach had never been happier.
“Yeah. Barbara extended her trip, and she’s staying with my mom.” The two women had hit it off perfectly, and Barbara even accompanied Cheryl to her volunteer work at the senior center. Having her stay with his mother had been a stroke of genius on Sam’s part. They now had all the privacy they could want every night.
“Leaving you free to stay with Sam, huh?” Marcus grinned. “Guess it all worked out for you in the end.”
Sam squeezed his hand. “It worked out for both of us, I’d say.”
“Well, everyone.” Julian and Nick stood. “We’ll see you all tomorrow afternoon.”
The wedding. Zach could hardly wait.
“To the grooms!” Marcus raised a bottle of champagne, declaring a glass wasn’t good enough. “May you have a long and happy life together. Now go ahead and kiss.”
To everyone’s surprise, Julian grabbed a startled Marcus and kissed him full on the mouth. “Thank you. For everything, but most of all for being our friend.” Nick hugged Marcus next; then he and Julian kissed to appreciative whistles and catcalls.
The music started playing, and Zach found himself carted off by Marcus to the center of the dance floor, where Julian and Nick were already dancing with their arms wrapped around each other.
He looked around for Sam, who simply smiled and tipped his champagne glass at him, then turned to speak to his mother.
Marcus held him close. “Your mom seems happier now. She likes Sam, right?”
Since they were kids in the playground, Marcus had always looked out for him, so the question didn’t seem strange to Zach.
“Yeah, she loves him.”
“So do you, right?”
Zach knew Marcus had thrown the question out there to finally hear him say it.
“Yeah.” There was no reason to deny it. “And he loves me as well. I only wish you could be as happy one day.”
Marcus pulled back and shot him a wry look. “Why does everyone think pairing up exclusively is a guarantee for happiness?” A bitter laugh escaped him. “If I learned one thing in my life, it’s that one person is never enough to satisfy. I hope that’s not the case for Juli.” He held Zach close, and they swayed together for a moment before Marcus spoke again.
