Page 38 of Burning Obsession

“Then they’ll fit in with mine.”

He opens the passenger side rear door and lifts my suitcase up, placing it on the seat beside his luggage. Then he opens my door like a true chivalrous knight.

The car ride to the hotel where the wedding is takes a few hours. We spend the time talking. He tells me about his cousin who’s getting married. They grew up together and basically feel like they’re siblings. He recounts the stories of his childhood, using his hands to talk, and I have to remind him to keep one hand on the wheel.

His humorous stories fade as he shares more emotional stories with me.

“She was the first person I came out to. I was so scared of telling my parents, but I needed someone to know. To be there with me.”

“How did she react when you told her?” I ask, remembering how I came out to my sister. She laughed it off telling me she always knew. That everyone did. They were just waiting for me to be comfortable enough and ready to share with them myself.

He laughs quietly.

“She said, ‘Okay’. Then proceeded to tell me how great it was that we could talk about all the cute guys together.”

“That sounds like the perfect response.”

“It was.”

He glances at me.

“I was terrified.”

“I bet you were. I know I was when I told my family. They knew before I was even ready to tell them.”

“Lena made it easy,” he says. “She didn't make me explain myself. Didn't make it weird. She just accepted me as I am.”

I reach across the console and take his hand. His fingers close around mine almost immediately. Neither of us say a word. His thumb gently rubs over my fingers before he lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses it softly before resting it back on the console. But he never releases his hold on me, and I don’t want him to.

He keeps driving with one hand while holding mine with the other. I glance down at our joined hands.

“This is nice.”

“Yeah,” he says.

The road stretches ahead of us, sunlight flashing through the trees as we pass. We pick our conversation back up like this was a common occurrence for us. He tells me another ridiculous family story, and then I share one of my own.

For the next couple of hours, that’s all we do as the miles disappear and we get closer to our destination.

I know that when we get there, all those overwhelming emotions will return, but right now, with his hand in mine, sitting here with Jake is all I want.

Chapter 11

Jake

We make it to the hotel later than I planned, but I needed to get some sleep after my shift. There’s just enough time to get checked into our room and freshen up a little before heading down to the rehearsal dinner. I’m technically not in the wedding, but my cousin wanted me there. It’s more of a family get together than anything else.

Lena wanted me to be her man of honor. But I refused. At the time, I wasn’t sure if I could make it, and I didn’t want to ruin her day. Besides, watching her walk down the aisle and say her vows is all I care about.

Check in is a breeze, and after just a few minutes we’re heading to the elevator to go to our room. When we’re inside, Victor leans into me and whispers, “This place is nice. Ritzy.”

“Yeah. Lena’s the only daughter and her parents wanted to make sure it was a wedding for the ages. Lena would’ve been just as happy with a cookout in the backyard.”

Victor laughs and bumps his shoulder into mine. “She sounds like my kind of girl.”

Thank God he’s gay or I’d be worried about his crashing the wedding, professing his undying love to the down-to-earth woman in the wedding dress.

Before I know it, we’re at our floor. It doesn’t take long to find our room. I swipe the key, push the door open, and step inside. Then I stop dead in my tracks.