Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25937 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
“It’s just sad.”
“Hey, if any two people know how messy life can be, it’s us. He loves when you show him pictures. And we might not be able to nail down a videographer, but we can strap a phone to Evan’s pup hood and show him that. That would give him a laugh for sure.”
I crack a smile.
“He might not be the same,” Jackson continues, “but he’ll still be shocked as fuck to see two men in tuxes tying the knot.”
I can’t help but tear up. “You’re right.”
Randy, what’s left of the incredible man I knew, would enjoy that. He’s always so impressed whenever I share with him the state of the world—such a different place than the one he recalls.
I wipe at my eyes with the back of my hands. “God, don’t need to be crying right now.”
Jackson pulls me close for a hug. “You cry all you want, Derek. It can’t be easy. But you don’t have to take this all on yourself.”
I relax against him, letting the tears slip down my cheeks.
Part of what has me so worked up is just nerves, I can tell. But another part is genuinely sad that such an important person in my life can’t be part of our special day.
As soon as I’m able to mentally regroup, I pull away from Jackson, sniffling. “Okay, we’d better get some of this food in us now. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
I open one of the lids, revealing a stack of Meat Lover’s pizzas. And just like that, my tears are back. “Oh God.” I check the dish beside it—General Tso and sesame chicken with fried rice. I fan my face as the tears keep on coming. “I’m going to punch those wretched motherfuckers so hard next time I see them.”
“Isn’t that what you guys get for guys’ nights?”
I nod. I can’t even speak because I’m crying, not because I’m sad anymore, but because I’m reminded of how fucking lucky I am to have such great friends.
We dive into breakfast, and I don’t hold back despite how many calories I know I’ll be packing on. Afterward, we get ready to head down to meet the guys before hitting the slopes. The gang is waiting outside, bundled up, when I confront Hayden and Gary, both of whom have the most ridiculous, scheme-y smiles plastered across their arrogant faces.
“You guys think you’re really damn clever, don’t you?” I ask, unable to conceal my own grin.
Gary shrugs innocently.
“We are kind of awesome,” Hayden says.
Folding my arms, I shake my head. “I can’t even with you two. Of course, I don’t know if I can give you anything more than partial credit since you know what I was missing…” I shift my glare between the two of them.
“Oh, come on,” Hayden says. “It would have been obvious if we’d walked in there with a bottle of Chardonnay.”
“I’m just saying: it was a missed opportunity,” I tease before throwing my arms around both of them. “No, seriously, though, you guys are the greatest. Thank you for everything. Even though you guys are the reason I have to jog five miles every other day to keep my trim figure, I don’t hate you for it.”
No, I don’t hate these guys; I fucking love them. As I pull away from them, we look at each other with ridiculously big smiles. Surely they’re reflecting over the time we’ve spent together as friends, all the nights of pizza and Chinese, all the laughs and tears.
All the boys who broke our hearts and then the ones who put us back together again.
“This whole getting-married thing must really suck for you, though,” Gary says, and I can hear the setup of a tease in his tone.
“Why?”
“You don’t get to be the cynical Bottom Boy anymore.”
“That’s true,” Hayden backs him up.
“I’m totally cynical,” I respond, defending my honor.
Although, I can tell by the skepticism in their expressions that they know better.
“Okay, maybe slightly less cynical,” I confess, but they just shake their heads.
“Hey, I’m still me!”
“You are, and I like this version of you better,” Gary says. “Don’t get me wrong, I loved the old Derek too, but in-love Derek is more fun…less on the prowl for cock…or at least, different cock, and only one of them. He handles his shit and talks to us more about his family.”
“Yeah, we like New Derek,” Hayden adds.
“Eh, I kinda like him all right too,” I say, when something off to the side captures my attention.
Evan lands a snowball against Frankie’s back, and just as Frankie whirls around, Evan jumps into his arms and licks his face, which conjures all sorts of kinky-ass images.
Hayden and Gary follow my gaze to see the ridiculously cheesy PDA.
I make a gagging sound. “Okay, I may be New Derek, but if Jackson and I wind up as corny as them on this trip, promise me you’ll shove some of this ice down my pants to snap me out of it.”