Chapter 18
“Hold still,” Lance ordered, pushing me back against the hotel Hroom bed.
“I can’t. I have restless leg syndrome from eighteen hours in the car.” We were in town for his cousin Vic’s wedding to his boyfriend, Robin. It was a Christmas wedding and we’d be in town for two weeks, so we’d decided to drive it. A decision I was definitely reconsidering.
“Liar. You’re trying to get out of a picture. And I have to have one of you in your kilt.”
“I don’t even have my shirt on yet.” The kilt was totally Lance’s idea. When he’d discovered I owned one, he’d insisted I wear it in lieu of a suit.
“That’s the whole point.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“How long do we have before the ceremony?”
“Not long enough.” He groaned. “And Vic will kill me if we’re late.”
“I don’t know,” I pretended to consider. “You look good enough to risk his wrath.”
Lance looked delicious in an unbuttoned crisp white tuxedo shirt and black pants. The edge of his new tattoo of two entwined flames was visible through the gap in the shirt. He was one of the groomsmen, so he got to wear the full monkey suit. And I got to appreciate the hell out of it. His hair had extra product in it, and he had his glasses on; he wore them almost full-time now, the dry California air wreaking havoc on his contacts.
He looked older now. More settled. Acing the first term of graduate school had given him a shot of confidence, not that his ego needed much help.
“I miss our place already.” He laughed. “You’d better enjoy tonight.”
We were staying in the hotel near the wedding venue tonight, but then the rest of the visit would be with his folks. Chaos central and, surprisingly, I was almost looking forward to it. Almost.
We had a tiny apartment near campus, in a complex with a lot of other graduate students. Thanks to Lance, we already had a small circle of friends, and the place felt more like home with each passing day.
“I don’t miss work.” I had a job managing one of the campus restaurants. I had my money from Randy, so technically I could have coasted a bit, falling into the life of house husband. But I liked my work most days. It gave me the same vacation schedule as Lance. And it afforded me plenty of time to think about what my next move would be. I’d taken the GRE in November, more or less on a whim. The future felt wide open.
“All right.” I grabbed the phone from him. “Lean in. Smile.”
Click. The picture of us appeared instantly on the screen—him smiling wide, me a bit more reserved. But our happiness practically radiated from the phone.
“Okay. You can post this one.”
“Finally.” He kissed me, and I hit the shutter again. I wanted pictures of all these little moments that added up to a life together. An adventure.