Chapter Eleven
As much as Blake wished he could get his mind off Rusty, he couldn’t stop thinking back to when they’d first met, and how magical it’d all seemed.
The wedding, especially. Blake was right—they’d both thought it was nothing more than a gimmick for Valentine’s day. They’d gotten married by an Elvis impersonator. The whole thing had taken a handful of minutes, maybe.
He mostly remembered Rusty chasing him back to the hotel room, kissing him, touching him, showing him how much more fun he could have with his body when there was another person involved.
It was a good memory. One of Blake’s best.
He couldn’t hate Rusty, and he knew he hadn’t really meant what he’d said. It was just that between seeing him again and being back home, his nerves felt raw. It was easy to get on them. Everything was somuch.
It wasn’t Rusty’s fault. He’d have to apologize. It was completely unfair to be bitter about being rejected, especially when he hadn’t been rejected because Rusty didn’t like him. There were bigger things to worry about.
Blake shut off the shower, opening the fogged-up door and stepping out into the cold bathroom.
To see Rusty standing right in front of him, holding a towel.
Blake yelped, snatching the towel from him and rushing to wrap it around his waist.
“What the hell?” he demanded, shocked by the whole situation. Right as he’d been about to forgive Rusty, too.
“I’ve seen you naked before,” Rusty said.
“Not recently,” Blake objected, his skin flushing all over. He’d always hated that he blushed so easily, and he hated it a whole lot more right now. “Don’t they teach you boundaries in Australia?”
Rusty shrugged. “You still look great naked,” he said. “I was coming in to apologize. Not just for what I said to mum this morning, but for… all of this. I don’t think I’ve apologized before now, so here goes.”
Blake watched him take a deep breath, already feeling his shock and anger subsiding.
“I’m sorry,” Rusty began. “For dragging you into this mess in the first place, for never getting in contact before now, for showing up out of the blue, for the way I’ve acted, for kissing you, and now for coming in here without knocking. I wasn’t thinking. I just… I don’t want us to end up like my mum and dad.”
Blake raised an eyebrow. “How have your mom and dad ended up?”
Rusty sighed, brushing his hair away from his face. “They should have gotten a divorce a long time ago. They don’t get on. They got married young and they’re just sort’ve… stuck together. And I don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck with me. I want us to walk away from this as friends. I like you.”
Blake took a deep breath, his anger completely evaporating at the look on Rusty’s face. This was sincere.
Rusty was often a lot more sincere than Blake gave him credit for. It was… disarming.
“I like you, too,” Blake admitted. “And I’m not… mad at you. Not really. I’m just under a lot of stress and looking for someone to yell at about it. And I shouldn’t take that out on you.”
“I’ve got a pretty broad back,” Rusty said. “I can handle it. If that’s what you need.”
Blake shook his head. “No. What I need is… I don’t know, exactly, but I know it’s not fighting with you. You’re my friend. You’re doing a lot for me and you really don’t have to. I should be grateful.”
“This is the bare minimum I owe you,” Rusty said. “I still reckon you should take the money. Set yourself up. Maybe live the dream.”
Blake shook his head again, more firmly this time. “No. I didn’t marry you for that. And I know I didn’t know I was really marrying you, but that’s… not the point. I don’t want anything from you, except your friendship.”
Rusty’s face broke into a broad grin. “Good, ‘cause you’re stuck with that,” he said.
Blake breathed a sigh of relief, tucking his towel more firmly around his waist so he could let go of it to fix his hair.
He knew better than to think Rusty would leave unless asked, but he didn’t mind the company.
Besides, it’d really sell that they were genuinely married to his mom. Which was all he’d really wanted from this.
“We probably should’ve clued in when they started getting us to sign stuff,” Rusty said.
