The lack of a couch had screwed up that plan, and now Caleb was worried that Ethan would freak out over having to share a bed with him. Or that he’d end up curled up around him in the night and have to explain himself in the morning.
“Dude, it’s fine. We’ve shared a bed before.”
“Yeah, when we were falling-over drunk. This is a little different.”
“How?” Ethan asked as he came back into the room, letting the bathroom door swing closed behind him. Caleb didn’t turn to look at him, instead focusing on trying to make his tie behave.
“Well it’s just…” Caleb gestured aimlessly, not sure how to put his worries into words.
“Just…?” Ethan prompted. “Seriously, it’s a huge bed.”
“I know.” Caleb growled as his tie failed to sit properly for the third time. He knew how to do it, but it had been a long time, and he was nervous on top of everything else. He was about to introduce a fake boyfriend to his family, and he wouldn’t know until he did how they’d all react to each other.
“Let me help,” Ethan said softly. Caleb didn’t know how much help he was going to be, but he turned to face Ethan anyway.
His breath hitched in his chest when he saw him. “Wow,” he said without meaning to, staring helplessly at the man in front of him.
He’d never seen Ethan in a suit before. It looked amazing on him, emphasizing his broad shoulders and solid frame. He looked, for once in his life, like a grown man instead of an aging college student. The classic black suit was a good choice. It wasn’t flashy, but the cut and the drape screamed quality. It must have cost a small fortune.
A tiny, shy smile spread over Ethan’s features. “Thanks,” he said. “I figure your family are suit-wearers, so I tried to get something nice to fool them into thinking I belong with you.”
Caleb opened his mouth to explain that it wasn’t the suit he was staring at, but closed it before he said anything. Ethan didn’t need to know how gorgeous Caleb thought he was. Even the tie he’d picked out was perfect—depending on the light, it reflected green and copper, picking out both colors in Ethan’s eyes.
“That’s a great tie,” Caleb said instead. He let go of his own, willing to take up Ethan’s offer of help, since his knot was perfect.
“The girl in the store helped me pick it. I just trusted her because I figured, y’know, she’d know what she liked. I wanted to look the part.” Ethan took the ends of Caleb’s tie and shifted them around, leaning back to look at what he was doing.
“I’ll pay you for it. You look great.”
“You won’t, and thanks. I’ll always have it now. I’m twenty-six. It’s time for me to own a nice suit for stuff like this.”
“Stuff like when one of your friends needs you to pretend to be their boyfriend?” Caleb raised an eyebrow.
“I wouldn’t do this for just anyone,” Ethan said as he looped the long end of Caleb’s tie around the short end. “But other stuff is bound to come up. Weddings. Funerals. That kind of thing. Everyone needs a suit.”
“You sound like a menswear salesman.” Caleb kept his eyes on the knot of Ethan’s tie, trying to ignore the fact that his hands were moving at the base of his throat. He’d always been sensitive there, and the room was beginning to feel a little warm.
Ethan laughed. “I am so easily persuaded by a pretty girl,” he said, blushing. “But she was right, and judging by the look on your face when you saw me, I made a good decision.”
“You did. Would it be weird for me to be proud of you?”
“Hey, I wanted to impress you with my sense of style, so no, that wouldn’t be weird at all.” Ethan beamed. “Although seeing your suit, I feel underdressed.”
Caleb laughed at that. He went out of his way to choose suits that bordered on the flamboyant, just out of the ordinary enough to make his conservatively-dressed parents a little uncomfortable. Besides, the cool grey brought out the blue in his otherwise dull eyes. He didn’t wear a suit often, but when he did, he wanted to look good in it.
“No, you’re perfect. This is intentionally unusual. You’re gonna fit right in.”
“Well, you look good.” Ethan shrugged. He tugged the knot on Caleb’s tie one last time, and then let it go.
Caleb turned back to the small wall mirror he’d been using to see a perfectly even knot. “Where’d you learn to tie a tie?”
“I’ve been practicing all week. I tried some fancy knots, but I figured in the end it was better to go with something traditional. I don’t wanna stand out too much.”
Unfortunately for Ethan, he was going to stand out. Caleb knew he was attractive all the time, but formalwear made everyone look better. Ethan was no exception.
He was going to turn every head in the place. Caleb wasn’t sure anyone would believe he’d managed to catch the eye of someone like Ethan.
“You’re adorable,” Caleb said, grinning at him as he put on his jacket and did up the single button. “But are you ready for my family?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Ethan offered his elbow. It took Caleb a moment to realize what he was doing, but he took it a moment later, standing a little closer to Ethan than he should have.
Ethan didn’t seem to mind, though. He was obviously getting into the fake boyfriend spirit.
Caleb followed him into the hallway, catching a glimpse of them in a mirror as they headed for the elevator and deciding they looked good together. The contrast between them was stark, but complementary. He could sell this. He tended to look at Ethan with adoration in his eyes anyway, and he knew it. Thankfully, Ethan had never really noticed that as unusual.
“So I was thinking,” Ethan said as they got into the elevator. “You should tell your parents I do something impressive. Make me a doctor or a lawyer or something. Something good enough for you.”
Caleb shook his head. “No. Nuh uh. That’ll get us caught straight away. Besides, IT guy is good enough for me. I’ve done doctors and lawyers and they’ve all been assholes. My parents aren’t gonna care what you do.”
Ethan frowned. “Why won’t they care?”
“Because I’m their son. They’ve still got it in their head that I’m gonna settle down with a nice girl and have two-point-five kids and a dog. They just want you to be pretty, and you are.”
“That’s… not as comforting as I think you mean it to be.”
“What, you don’t want to be a trophy boyfriend?” Caleb raised an eyebrow. “If you think you’ve rewatched House enough times to play a doctor, be my guest. But you will get busted. There’s no question that at least one of the people downstairs is a real doctor.”
“And then I’d look like any one of your other asshole boyfriends. Point taken. IT guy it is.”
“Nerds are sexy,” Caleb said.
Ethan laughed. “And since I’m a huge nerd, I must be Mr. Universe.”
“Mr. Universe is terrifying. What if he flexed while you were… you know…” Caleb made a face. Ethan was definitely more his type.
He heard Ethan take a breath to respond, but the elevator doors opened to reveal Caleb’s mom, dad, and sister in the hotel lobby. He smiled as sincerely as he could manage and strode over to them, letting go of Ethan’s arm.
He missed the warmth, but he needed to get to them before Ethan did.
Olivia made a thrilled sound and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. “You made it,” she enthused.
She looked great. And happy. It was everything Caleb wanted for his little sister, and he was determined to be happy for her. Even if it meant dealing with a whole lot of people he wasn’t as fond of.
“You look amazing.” He held his hand out and twirled her around, smiling as the navy-blue cocktail dress she was wearing flared out around her legs.
“He looks amazing.” Olivia nodded to Ethan. “Is this the guy?”
Caleb turned to see Ethan blushing again, smiling a shy little smile at Olivia. She had that effect on men. She was incredibly pretty, and they flocked
to her because of it. But she was also warm and charming and basically perfect. If Ethan didn’t end up with a little crush on her, Caleb would have been shocked.
“This is Ethan.” Caleb reached out to wave him forward. “Ethan, this is my sister Olivia, and my mom and dad.”
“Congratulations on your wedding,” Ethan said. “Your fiancé is a lucky man.”
To Caleb’s surprise, Olivia blushed.
A moment later, it made sense. To Caleb, Ethan was his best friend, the person he was most comfortable with in the world. The guy he ate takeout and watched crappy horror movies with. To Olivia, he was a really attractive man in a nice suit who’d just payed her a compliment.
He would have been blushing in Olivia’s place, too. He would have been planning to leave his fiancé and run off with Ethan.
Caleb really hoped that wouldn’t happen. His parents would never forgive him.
“You’re much better looking than the last one,” Caleb’s mom said.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Oh, and listen to that Southern charm,” she enthused, offering her hand. Caleb spent so much time around Ethan that he forgot about his light Louisiana accent. It was just Ethan’s voice to him. “But please, call me Shirley.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Shirley.”
“And I’m Frank. Don’t you ‘sir’ me, you hear?” Caleb’s father offered his hand as well. Ethan shook it firmly, much to Caleb’s relief. His dad had a thing about handshakes.
“Loud and clear, with apologies in advance if it slips out,” Ethan said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, as well. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“All lies,” Shirley assured him. “We’re actually very nice people.”
“That’s what I’ve heard,” Ethan responded without missing a beat.
Caleb was in shock. Ethan was like a snake charmer where his family was concerned. They were lapping up every word he said, clearly delighted by his mere presence.
A tiny part of Caleb hated that the only person his family had ever approved of was a straight man. The rest of him was too busy being relieved at the total lack of judgement right now.
“We should head in,” Frank said. “Let’s not let everyone else eat all the good appetizers before we get there.”
Ethan chuckled. “I like you already,” he said.
Caleb had no idea why he’d been worried. Of course his family loved Ethan. The only man they’d ever accept for him was the one he couldn’t have, because that was just how his life was.
At least the wedding would go smoothly this way.
Chapter Five
Ethan woke to the smell of coffee, which had never happened before in his life, but was entirely welcome. He sat up to see Caleb offering him a takeout cup, bed hair sticking up all over the place. Ethan took the coffee and scooted over on the bed to give Caleb space to sit beside him.
“Do you bring all your fake boyfriends coffee in the morning?”
“Just you,” Caleb said, sipping from his cup. The coffee was still too hot for Ethan, but experience told him that Caleb’s mouth was pretty much fireproof. “I saw you drinking with my dad last night, so I figure you probably still need to sober up.”
“He seems cool,” Ethan said. They hadn’t really done a lot of drinking. Mostly, Caleb’s dad had talked about how he felt old because his little girl was getting married. Ethan had been happy enough to sit and listen to him, especially because it had earned him a ton of brownie points. Brownie points that would make Caleb’s life easier for the rest of the time they were here. “But obviously, that doesn’t mean I think you’re wrong not to be thrilled to see him.”
Caleb laughed. “He’s not so bad. Neither is my mom. They just want me to be happy, right? But their idea of what happy is isn’t quite in line with mine. They like you, though. Mom wouldn’t shut up about you all night.”
“That’s me, always a hit with the ladies.” Ethan grinned. “Your sister likes me, too.”
“Yeah, she does. Please don’t run away with her. I would never, ever be forgiven for that.”
Ethan chuckled. “I think she cares enough about you not to steal your boyfriend. Even if I’m not really your boyfriend.”
“You’re probably right,” Caleb agreed. “Drink your coffee. I don’t wanna miss breakfast.”
“You’ve never missed breakfast in your life,” Ethan said, but sipped his coffee obediently. It was still a little too hot for him, but as long as he took small sips, he’d be fine. “Thank you for the coffee, by the way. I never get to wake up to coffee.”
“No problem. I gotta treat you right. My mom said so.”
Ethan grinned to himself, taking another sip of his coffee. “You can pretty safely take me for granted. I’m here to help.”
“And you are helping. You’re helping a lot. The least I can do is bring you coffee.” Caleb drained the remainder of his cup and tossed it in the waste paper basket by the bed. “If you’re gonna take your time, I need a shower.”
“Go for it. Breakfast is until eleven anyway, right?”
“Yeah, it is.” Caleb stood and stretched, then headed for the bathroom. “I won’t be long. Five minutes, tops. Unless you wanna go first?”
“Nah, knock yourself out. I can wait until after breakfast,” Ethan said. He was in the habit of showering at night, normally, but he was realizing that his nights were going to be busy while he was here. He’d have to change up his routine a little.
That was what vacations were for, so it wasn’t exactly a big deal. So far, he was actually having a good time. Caleb’s family liked him, he’d been to the fanciest party of his life and not been made to feel unwelcome or out of place, and he was getting to spend time with his best friend. Life was good.
As promised, the water shut off again within five minutes. Just long enough for Ethan to finish his coffee and feel as though he was mostly awake. He rolled out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes, not wanting to keep Caleb waiting.
He turned to see Caleb coming out of the bathroom with a towel tucked around his waist and nothing else on. His instinct told him to look away immediately, but the worry that it would make things weird if he averted his eyes like a twelve-year-old seeing a naked woman for the first time made him hesitate.
It wasn’t weird to see your friends half-dressed, Ethan told himself. It only felt weird because it had never happened before with Caleb, and they were in the middle of pretending to be in a relationship.
No amount of telling himself that could stop his ears burning. He couldn’t help feeling as though he’d seen something he wasn’t supposed to.
Caleb didn’t seem to care at all.
“I’ll just,” Ethan gestured to the bathroom with the arm he’d draped his clothes over. “Get dressed.”
“You know it’s nothing I haven’t seen before, right? And I’m not gonna go out of my way to watch.”
Ethan hesitated. Caleb sounded hurt, and after a half-second of reflection, he realized why. To Caleb, it must have looked like Ethan was avoiding dressing in front of him because he was gay. That was probably something he’d had to deal with before.
Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure why he was avoiding it. Caleb, of all people, wasn’t going to laugh at him if he did see him naked. They weren’t kids in high school, and Caleb didn’t hate him.
“You’re right,” Ethan said, dropping the clothes on his side of the bed.
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. It’s okay if you want privacy. I just don’t want you to feel like you need to hide yourself away from me.” Caleb cleared his throat. “If I wanted to see a naked man, the whole of the internet is at my disposal.”
Ethan laughed. “Good point, and they’d be a lot hotter than me.”
“Don’t… don’t say that,” Caleb said, his tone soft and sad. “I mean, I don’t want to weird you out, but you’re not unattractive. I wish you wouldn’t say things like that.”
“Yeah, well, I wish yo
u wouldn’t say you can’t do better than the guys you date. You deserve better and I hate seeing you with them.”
Caleb opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. “Are we fighting?” he asked eventually, his voice small.
The bubble of anger that had been building in Ethan’s chest burst. He didn’t want to make Caleb feel like he was mad at him. He wasn’t. He was mad at Matt again. And all the others before him.
Looking at it like that, he could see why his comment bothered Caleb, too. Ethan didn’t want to hear that Caleb was anything less than amazing, because he was his best friend. Caleb probably felt the same way.
“No,” Ethan said. “No, we’re not fighting. I’m not mad at you.”
“I’m not mad at you, either.” Caleb sighed. “You know what? You’re my boyfriend in public right now. I’m gonna treat you like there’s no one in the world more attractive than you are.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Well then I’m gonna treat you like all those other guys should’ve.”
“Are we threatening each other with being nice?”
“I guess so,” Ethan laughed. “I’m gonna out-nice you so hard your head’ll spin.”
“You are so on.” Caleb dropped his towel, prompting Ethan to look away and focus on getting dressed himself. “When we get home, you’ll have so much self-confidence that you can pick up a new girl every night.”
“And you’ll have so much self-confidence that you won’t settle for anything less than the man of your dreams,” Ethan said, finally convincing himself that undressing in the same room as Caleb was okay. He was facing away from Caleb, but he could tell he wasn’t being watched.
Not that it would have mattered if he was being watched. Caleb wasn’t a threat to him. He’d never do anything to hurt Ethan, and Ethan knew that. He was just being stupid.
Caleb laughed. “Well, maybe. But, umm. I’m glad you’re looking out for me.”
“Yeah, me too,” Ethan agreed. “I just want you to be happy, man.”
“Same here,” Caleb said. “Now put your clothes on and let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
“You’re always starving,” Ethan pointed out, but hurried himself up all the same. There was no point in keeping Caleb waiting, and he was hungry, too.
The Wedding Date Page 3