Marie Sexton - Coda 05 - Paris A to Z (3 page)

It wasnt as if I
had
to go. They could go without me. But did I really want to stay home alone out of spite while my partner and my best friend went to
Paris
?
Definitely not.
I made myself let go of the jealousy that gripped me every time I thought of Cole. I knew it wouldnt last, but for the moment, it was enough. I opened my eyes again and looked down at Jareds hopeful face. Jesus, I loved him so much. It was foolish of me to ever think that I could deny him anything. “Okay,” I said, and he smiled. “Ill go.”
“Itll be fun, Matt,” he said. “Youll see.”
I wished that I could believe him.

I
SLEPT
in late the following Sunday morning, as usual. Angelo and I had Sundays off, and I often let myself skip my morning run on Sundays as well. It was almost ten when I dragged myself out of bed. Angelo had been up for hours of course, but he wasnt in the living room. Our computer was set up in what was supposed to be the dining room, and I had to pass through it on my way to the kitchen to get my morning cup of coffee. Angelo was at the desk, and as soon as I rounded the corner, he closed the browser, looking up at me with guilty embarrassment.

“Whats up?” I asked him.
“Nothin,” he said, but he wouldnt look at me when he said it. “It didnt look like „nothing.”
“Well, it was,” he said, getting up and pushing past me. His obvious lie made me curious. Looking at porn was the obvious

answer, but I didnt think he would have felt the need to hide that from me. And yet, I honestly couldnt think of anything else. I caught his hand so that he stopped and turned around to face me. “Everything all right?” I asked.

This time he met my eyes, smiling. “Course, Zach,” he said. His smile turned flirtatious, and he tugged on my hand. “Come take a shower with me and Ill prove it.”

O
N
M
ONDAYS
, Angelo worked the store alone. On Tuesdays, I did. The arrangement gave us each a break from the store, and a break from each other, once a week. It helped keep the peace both at work and at home.

He had just left for the day on Monday when Jared called to tell me that Jon and Cole were getting married, and that we were all invited to Paris for the wedding. He said Cole had called the day before, but the message hed received through Matt wasnt very helpful, and hed wanted to confirm everything with Cole before calling Angelo and me.

I had mixed feelings about the news. On one hand, Jonathan was a part of my past, and I hated to be reminded of him at all. I was annoyed that he was intruding on my new life by inviting me to watch him marry somebody else. Was I jealous that Cole was getting what I had wanted so long ago? Maybe a tiny bit. But more than anything, I was jealous that they were getting what I wanted with Angelo. Angelo and I had been a couple far longer than they had. It seemed unfair that they got to take this step before we did. I wondered if it would ever be our turn.

“I didnt realize their relationship was serious,” I said to Jared. “That was a year and a half ago.” Which was true. It had been a few months after our return from Vegas when Jared told me Jon and Cole were seeing each other, and I had snapped at him that I didnt give a shit and

“It doesnt matter anyway,” I said. “We cant afford to go to Paris, even if he does pay the airfare.”
“You dont understand,” Jared said. “Hes paying for the whole thing—airfare, hotel, expenses. About the only thing well have to pay for is parking at the airport while were gone.”
“Are you serious?”
“Hes loaded,” Jared said. “I think he has more money than God.”
It was too much to take in. Id never even spoken to Cole. My sole interaction with him had been watching him lead my boyfriend into the bedroom two years before. And Jonathan? Hed made it very clear when we ran into him in Vegas that he wanted me back. It had surprised me, the way he seemed to remember our relationship with fondness. I remembered the bad more than the good. I suspected neither of us remembered it accurately.
“I understand why he invited you and Matt, but why
us
?”
“I asked him that, too, and I think its basically because they dont have anybody else. He said somebody named George would be there—”
“Thats Jons father,” I said, wondering why they hadnt mentioned his mother, Carol. There was certainly no love lost between George and I. I didnt want to see him any more than I wanted to see Jon.
“Other than him, itll just be us.”
Fucking fabulous. That made it even worse. If it had been a big wedding, I could legitimately have dodged Jon and his father for most of the trip. But if it was really going to be just the six of us, plus George, Id have no way of avoiding them.
“Zach?” Jared asked, and I realized Id been silent far too long. “You guys are coming, right?”
It seemed insane to turn down a free trip to Paris, but I had no desire whatsoever to go. It had been bad enough seeing Jon in Vegas. I couldnt think of any good reason to intentionally subject myself to that a second time. I would have been perfectly happy to never see him again. Instead Id be flying halfway around the world just to watch him marry another man? A man who Id let fuck Angelo?
I wondered if Jon knew about that. He and Ang had parted on friendly terms, but I had a feeling Jon wouldnt be amused if he found out what had occurred between my boyfriend and his soon-to-be husband.
And then there was Matt and Jared. Matt could barely stand to be in the same room as Cole, and he didnt exactly like Jonathan either. Between Matts jealousy and Angelos temper, wed be lucky to get through the trip without anybody being punched. And the chances of it being one of the grooms on the receiving end were astronomically high. Any way you looked at it, it was a terrible idea, and I opened my mouth to say so.
But then I thought of Angelo.
Angelo, who until me hadnt even been out of Colorado except for once as a child when his foster family took him to Yellowstone. In the last two years wed been to Vegas, and Oregon, and to Chicago to meet my family (a trip that wasnt nearly as enjoyable for him as it should have been because he was so damn nervous the entire time). If we were lucky, wed be able to afford a road trip this year—maybe to the Grand Canyon or Lake McConaughy. If we saved for a couple of years, we might be able to go to New York or Florida. But we would never,
ever
be able to afford Paris.
I didnt even need to ask him. I knew he would want to go. And I had never been able to deny him anything.
“Yeah,” I said. “Were going.”
But I couldnt shake the feeling that Id end up regretting it.

I
MAY
not have been thrilled about having to face Jon again, but once Id decided we were going, I was childishly excited about getting to tell Angelo.

I was making dinner when he came home. It was snowing outside, and he was still shaking the snowflakes out of his thick black hair when he walked into the kitchen.

“Hey,” I said as he pulled a bottle of Dr Pepper out of the fridge. “Did you know Jon and Cole have been seeing each other?”
He closed the refrigerator and turned to regard me with a wary expression. “Matt told me.”
“Theyre getting married.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me through his hair. “So what?”
“You dont find that interesting?”
“No. Why should I?”
I didnt believe him. It wasnt that he didnt care. It was that he was annoyed that I might.
“Weve been invited to the wedding.”
That actually elicited a scowl, and I had to turn away so he couldnt see what a hard time I was having keeping a straight face. “You sayin you want to go?”
“Dont you?”

“Hell no!”
“Okay,” I said. “Ill tell Matt and Jared that they can go to Paris without us.”
The only response was a stunned silence, and I finally turned to smile at him. “Do you want to reconsider?” I asked.
“The weddings in Paris?”
“Yep.”
His dark eyes were huge, and I could see so much in them. He was excited, almost giddy. I could see it bubbling up in him, but he was trying to stay calm and not get his hopes up. “Can we afford Paris?”
“No,” I said, “but it doesnt matter. Coles footing the bill.”
He grabbed my shirt and pushed me back against the countertop, almost as if he was going to kiss me, but he stopped short, looking into my eyes. “Are you serious?”
“Would I lie about something like this?”
“No.”
“Do you think Id make it up just to tease you?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
He backed up a step. “Yes what?” he asked.
I could hardly keep from laughing that Id finally managed to turn the tables on him with his own backward form of communication. “Yes,” I said, “Im absolutely serious. Cole offered to fly us all to Paris.”
“Oh my God!” But then he stopped himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, he had his excitement contained, bottled up inside while he tried to be rational. He stepped closer to me again and looked up into my eyes.
“You want to see Jon again?”
“No,” I said, and I could tell it was the answer he was expecting.
“Youd rather not go.”
“If it were just me, then yes, but for you, I will.”
His enthusiasm was starting to leak through again, but he kept it in