by HJ Welch
He frowned. “I mean…no. I don’t really want to see Mac again. But work-”
“Already thinks you’re off for the week.” Peyton waved her hand dismissively. “Your phone is staying in the fridge until I say otherwise. They’ll cope without you. If Mac wasn’t going to be at the reunion, would you be thinking of ditching?”
Something dropped in Robin’s chest as he envisioned his ex not going to all the events this week, let alone the big Saturday night party. Damn. Suddenly all he could picture was seeing his twin and all their old friends. He thought of his parents’ house and his older brother and younger sisters. Even the thought of eating at the old diner and strolling Pine Cove’s famous boardwalk made his heart squeeze with longing.
“Oh,” he said sheepishly. “Yeah, actually. I guess maybe I do want to go.”
Perhaps there was some part of his subconscious that had been trying to avoid Mac, after all?
“Right,” said Peyton in her no-nonsense voice. “I’m not letting you bail because of that grade A twatwaffle.”
“Hell no,” Dair agreed sternly. “If anything, he’s the one that shouldn’t be going. You have every right to be there, not him.”
Robin rubbed behind his neck and tried to pick his chopsticks back up. But they jumped from his hand onto the floor, where Smudge raced to sniff them. Embarrassed, Robin put his beer down, picked both the dog and his chopsticks up, then looked dejectedly at the others.
“Well, he is going. Jay told me. So like I said, maybe it’s best if I just stay here, seeing as work is so crazy.”
Dair was shaking his head and scowling. “No. He doesn’t get to win this. Abusive asshole.”
Peyton raised her hand for a high five without taking her eyes off Robin. The pair of them slapped hands, then dropped them back into their laps.
“Won’t your friends look after you?” Dair asked with real concern.
“Of course they will,” Robin said. “But…”
“Robin’s twin and friends are completely awesome, but they all kind of look like Robin.” Peyton waved her hand up and down, indicating Robin’s small, slight frame. “And the last we saw of Mac on Facebook before Robin blocked his ugly face was him looking like, well…” She waved her hand over at Dair. “Mac was never intimidated by sharp wit. Only other dumb jocks.”
Dair’s eyebrows disappeared under his shaggy blond hair. “What you need is a wingman to scare that douchebag off.”
Peyton gasped and shook Robin’s knee. “Oh my god! If you showed up with a big hot boyfriend, I bet Mac would think twice about giving you grief.”
Robin rolled his eyes, hard. “I don’t need a bodyguard, for crying out loud. Besides, I don’t have any kind of boyfriend, let alone a big hot one.”
The awful truth was Robin hadn’t had a boyfriend at all since Mac. It was something he was deeply insecure about. Sure, he’d had several hookups, even some that could have been called dates. But he’d told himself he was focusing on his career, not his relationships.
But after the realization about not wanting to go home because Mac might be there, he wondered if he’d been holding back from getting a boyfriend for similar reasons. His relationship with Mac had been hard work and complicated, and Robin had never felt able to try that again with someone else.
Urgh. That was something to hash over another time. He couldn’t magic up an impressive buff boyfriend, so Peyton’s observation was irrelevant.
Dair’s brow was creased in thought, though, as he petted one-eyed Roger the cat. “Think about it a minute. If you went home with a guy who happened to be bigger than your ex, do you think Mac would stay away and let you enjoy the reunion?”
Robin raised his eyebrows, not sure where Dair was going with this. “Uh, maybe?” He closed his eyes and took a slow breath as he tried to picture it. Him, with a gorgeous man on his arm, protecting him from any shit Mac might try and pull. “Yeah, I guess. But-”
“Great!” Dair’s cheerful tone surprised Robin, making him open his eyes to see his housemate beaming. “What if I pretended to be your boyfriend for the week and tagged along to your events? Obviously we’d just be there as friends, but it might make that dickwad back the fuck off. You’d be safe.”
He’d started off excited, but by the time he’d stopped talking his words became almost a growl. Something fluttered in Robin’s chest as several thoughts flew through his mind. Did Dair really care that much about him that he wanted to protect him from Mac? But was he seriously suggesting…?
“You want to pretend to be my boyfriend?” Robin repeated. “For a whole week?”
Peyton’s hands had already covered her mouth at Dair’s idea. “Oh my god, I love it,” she whispered between her fingers. “It’s diabolical. Dair, this is genius! Robin – yes!”
But Robin was still reeling. “Uh, but – well, you’re straight?” Smudge whimpered and pawed at his chest. Robin hugged him close, the contact making him feel better.
Dair frowned. “Yeah, I suppose. But it would just be for show. That’s cool, right? I wouldn’t be, like, taking advantage of LGBT culture or anything?”
Peyton blew a raspberry. “Hell, no. You’re one of the best allies I’ve ever met.”
Robin looked down at Smudge, who gave him a toothy smile and panted, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. “This is crazy. I couldn’t lie to everyone like that. Could I?”
He would have been a total fibber if he tried to deny that the idea of even just pretending to date Dair didn’t sound amazing. Nothing would happen between them, obviously. But to spend a whole week together, for everyone to think they were a couple…Robin had to admit that would be a dream.
But even if he could convince everyone else, surely he could never convince Jay? They spent half the time they spoke on FaceTime. He’d know Robin could never hide a secret like that on his face. They’d be rumbled before they even began.
It seemed he was in the minority with his worries, though.
“Look,” said Dair in that firm Marine voice that made Robin’s toes curl and his cock tingle. “You have every right to go to this thing. I don’t care if it was ten years ago – that fucker hit you. So if you want, I can come with you and make sure he doesn’t lay another finger on you. He won’t even look your way if he knows what’s good for him.”
Robin was taken aback by the ferociousness of his words. “Wow. Um, thanks, dude. That’s really nice of you. But – okay, let’s say I agree. What about your work? It’s a bit last minute to take off.”
Dair shrugged, all smiles again as he picked up Jimmy the bulldog to lay on his lap. “I haven’t taken a single vacation day in a year and a half. They owe me.”
Peyton bounced on the couch, looking between Robin and Dair. “This is awesome. Robin – don’t overthink it! You guys go and have a fun vacation, Mac stays the fuck away from you, and you get to enjoy the reunion. It’s a win-win!”
Robin bit his lip. He did his best to look at Dair, but shyness overcame him. “And, um, you’d be okay with the whole, um, boyfriend part?”
He glanced up as Dair smiled warmly at him. Dair leaned over and squeezed Robin’s thigh, sending shivers all over his body that he barely contained. “Of course. We’ll keep it simple and say we literally just started dating. If we’re taking things slow, then no one will be surprised if we aren’t making out all the time.”
Even just the thought of making out with Dair made Robin’s vision swim. “Uh, yeah. That sounds smart.”
“It’s brilliant,” Peyton announced. She grabbed both her beer and dinner again, then held the bottle aloft. “I declare this our first apartment caper as the Three Musketeers!”
Dair also raised his bottle. “Would you come along, too?”
Peyton took a swig of beer. “I could, yeah. After my Friday shift. So I’d be around for reunion day. Do you think your family would mind, Rob?”
“Not at all. They love you,” Robin said truthfully. He shook his head and laughed. “Okay. I guess we’
re really doing this?” The other two nodded. So he raised his bottle as well, all of them clunking together as they made their toast.
“The Three Musketeers!”
Smudge barked and jumped to the floor, chasing his fluffy tail in happiness.
Robin watched in a kind of daze as his friends resumed their dinners and cracked open more beers to celebrate. This was really happening. A laugh bubbled up from his throat. It was insane, but…it might also be a total blast. His laugh made the other two cackle as well.
Soon, there were more beers, then vodka and rum. They turned the music up and danced around the mostly eaten takeout with Smudge scampering between their feet.
Robin’s phone stayed in the fridge the rest of the night, totally forgotten. If anyone called from his work, someone else would just have to deal with the problem for the rest of the week.
Robin had a reunion to go to.
3
DAIR
WELL, this certainly was a turn of events.
Despite his pounding head, Dair had been forced out of bed too early on Sunday morning by various pets jumping on his face, demanding to be fed and walked. After a street run with Smudge and a lazy walk around the block with Jimmy, Dair had called his boss to request the vacation time. Sober, it had seemed like more of a big ask.
Sure enough, his boss was an ass about the last-minute request. But he couldn’t deny that Dair hadn’t taken a single personal day all year, and there wasn’t actually anybody booked off the next week. So, begrudgingly, he allowed Dair the vacation time.
Unpaid.
Dair could think about the implications of that later. Right now, he could live off his credit card and hopefully pick up a bunch of extra shifts when he got back.
That settled, Dair showered, then raided the fridge for breakfast, removing Robin’s very cold but luckily still functioning phone. Sadly, he hadn’t had the wits about him to save the rest of the Thai food, but there hadn’t been loads left anyway. Instead, he set about whipping up some hot, greasy carbs to ease his unsettled stomach and pounding head.
It was easier to make a selection of food for more people. So he got out eggs, pancake mix, bacon, potatoes to make hash browns, as well anything else he could find to douse in maple syrup for the three of them. Hopefully, the smells of frying food would lure his housemates out soon enough. Until then, he’d let them sleep.
A deep contentment was in his bones when he thought of the events of the night before. They’d had Saturday night dinner all together several times now, but this was entirely different. He felt included in a way he hadn’t in a very long time.
He was going to go to Robin’s hometown and meet his family. And pretend to be his boyfriend. That was a bit unexpected, but not in a bad way. It was the family part that Dair had been excited about.
Dair had lost his own parents a long time ago. As an only child without any cousins his own age, he’d adopted the Marines as his family as well as his ex-girlfriend. Since drifting away from them, he’d always hoped he’d date someone with a big loving family. Obviously this wasn’t actually dating, but it was the closest Dair had gotten in a while.
Now though, a sliver of doubt was trying to squirm its way into Dair’s mind. This was a big deal. Robin’s family was important to him. Could Dair really lie to them for a week?
He was mulling this over when he ripped open one of the packs of bacon. Immediately, he found himself surrounded by excited pets, winding through his legs or, in Jolly Roger’s case, unashamedly jumping up onto the counter.
“Okay, this isn’t for you guys,” Dair said with a chuckle. They still had plenty of food from their breakfasts that Dair had sorted first thing, so he shooed them off. Then he got the stove on and began heating up a couple of pans.
Like they’d said last night, they weren’t really going to be lying to Robin’s family. They were just going to say he and Robin had gotten together recently and keep the details vague. So long as Dair was there to act as a barrier between Robin and Mac, everything else would be fine.
Dair realized he was gripping the spatula so hard he was in risk of snapping it. He shook his hand out, then got to cracking some eggs into the oil. They sizzled and popped while he poked at the edges.
Robin had been pretty insistent that his ex hadn’t smacked him around. But the fact remained that Mac had hurt Robin back in their high school days. It didn’t matter that Robin had normalized it in his mind. It made Dair’s blood boil.
Robin was gentle and delicate. The idea of anyone threatening him was totally unacceptable. Dair simply wouldn’t allow anything to happen to him, and he wasn’t going to let him be bullied into ditching the reunion. If he had to tell a couple of white lies to achieve that, so be it.
He knew his natural inclination was to look after most people and animals smaller than himself (which, to be honest, included almost everyone). But there was just something about Robin that made all Dair’s protective instincts flare.
He sighed and looked down at Smudge who was dancing around his feet. The others had wandered off again, full from their own breakfasts. But Smudge knew damn well there was still bacon up on the counter, and he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Bad boy,” Dair murmured, reaching down to scratch behind the pup’s ears. “You know Daddy’s a softie, don’t you?”
Smudge yipped.
The sound of Robin’s door opening made Dair look over his shoulder away from the frying pan. Robin stumbled into the living room, rubbing his eyes and wincing, his reddish hair sticking out at all angles. He looked so adorable.
Dair wasn’t sure how cool he’d be if – or when – they ran into Robin’s abusive ex. The idea anyone would hit teenage Robin – when he would have been even smaller than he was now – was abhorrent. Dair didn’t care if had been part of a game or just in fun: you didn’t hit your partner.
Ever.
“Is this real life?” Robin croaked, holding his hand up to blot out the sunshine from his eyes. He staggered toward the kitchen island like a zombie, plucking his wayward glasses from where they were hanging off a lampshade.
Dair chuckled. “If you were still dreaming, breakfast would already be on the table.”
Robin blinked, focusing on Dair. “You’re making that for us too? Maybe I am still dreaming.”
They shared a laugh, then Robin fumbled to get the coffee going, groaning as he bumbled from one side of the kitchen to the other. Dair realized he was watching him, amused. But he couldn’t help it. Robin was cute.
“Oh, my phone.” Robin inspected it where Dair had left it on the island, but the battery was dead. Instead of plugging it in though to check his messages, Robin shrugged and found himself a mug. Dair was proud. He was starting to let go of work already.
“So how are you feeling?” Dair asked him.
Robin sipped some sugary coffee and sat at the kitchen island. “Are you referring to the hangover or the Scooby-Doo, Hardy Boys-esque caper we’ve got planned?”
Dair barked a laugh, which made Smudge yap too. Dair caved and dropped him a small morsel of cooked bacon. “Is it really that crazy? If we’re going to be getting separate motel rooms, all we’ll have to do is hold hands occasionally.”
Was it his imagination, or did Robin blush? Maybe it was the heat from the coffee going to his cheeks. Dair waited while Robin coughed and cleared his throat. “Yeah. Just a little hand-holding. No biggie.”
“The rest will be a bro’s trip. I bet you’re excited about going back home. Peyton said it’s been a while.”
Robin sighed. “I guess I didn’t realize just how hard I’ve been avoiding my ex.”
He rolled his eyes. They were blue with a ring of jade green around his pupils. The two colors blended together to make them kind of shimmery topaz blue. Dair wasn’t sure he’d even seen eyes quite like them before.
“Screw him,” Dair said firmly, that hot anger bubbling again. “You’re a hundred times the man he is.”
Robin smiled bashf
ully and ran his hand through his unruly hair. Then he began petting Jolly Roger, who had appeared by his side. It made Dair happy how easily Robin always fussed over his fur babies.
“It’s difficult, I guess,” Robin said suddenly, “not to be embarrassed. None of this would be necessary if I just had a boyfriend already.”
Dair shrugged and flipped the bacon. The smell was making his mouth water. “It’s just timing. Peyton and I don’t have girlfriends right now either.”
The small smile that tugged at one side of Robin’s mouth suggested that thought hadn’t occurred to him. “True.” He sighed and rubbed his topaz eyes under his glasses. “I guess if I’d dated anyone properly since Mac, it would be less awkward. I just feel…‘less than’ facing him now.” He used air quotations, then dropped his hands dejectedly.
“I get that,” Dair said sincerely. “I’m sorry. But you’re not anything ‘less.’ Trust me.”
Something rash washed over him. If Robin was going to confess a personal secret like that, so would Dair. Then they’d be on an even playing field.
“You know what? I’ve never dated anyone aside from my ex. The idea of even sleeping with anyone else still seems weird to me.”
Robin’s eyebrows rose and a little ‘oh’ noise escaped his mouth. “You mean…she’s the only one?”
Dair knew plenty of guys who’d be ashamed by that fact, but Dair figured life was too short to get hung up on shit like that. “Yep.” He nodded and sipped his own coffee. “So don’t worry about what other people think. What’s the point of having sex if you’re not into the person? It’s not a competition.”
“I’ve had a few hookups…”
Robin frowned, then looked up at Dair. The smile that he gave him made Dair’s heart skip unexpectedly. It was nice to have someone look at him like that again. Like he’d made a real difference. Seeing Robin cheered up made himself feel more complete somehow.
“You’re right. Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I don’t need to measure myself like that.” His forehead creased again. “Damn, maybe I didn’t need to pretend to have a boyfriend after all?”