Lover (Court University 4)

We really didn’t hate each other, not anymore. How could I hate him? He was the sole source of the exuberant happiness that radiated off his new wife. He was her joy, her air.

Her breath.

I couldn’t hate that. It was like hating her if I did, and I didn’t. I only wanted what was best for her and if that was him, well, that was him.

Taking my attention away from him, I placed it back on Decemb

er, so much smaller than me. She was like bite-sized to my lanky-ass frame.

“We’re going to talk when we get back,” she said, smelling like everything wonderful about the world, all flowers and honeysuckle. She pulled away. “You can’t escape from me.”

She wouldn’t let me either, goddamn her. Grinning, I passed what she said off, our fingers laced. “You’re going to miss your ride.”

“They’ll wait. I’m the motherfucking bride.”

Fuck yeah, she was. The pair of us chuckled. We just stood there like two goobers, hands together, and I wished for so many things. I wished for do-overs, for do-betters. Maybe if I’d been the one to grow, she’d be on my arm. It’d be our wedding here, now.

A glow hit her eyes as she reached for me, her tiny arms around my waist. She buried her face in my chest, and my insides caved.

“I love you, Arizona,” she said, and since I didn’t trust my voice, I stayed silent. I merely let her hold onto me, knowing what that love meant to her. It meant this moment, two friends with a shared history. It meant our past.

Whereas mine could have meant our future.

Chapter Two

Ramses

A sparkle send-off greeted my best friend and her new husband outside, the pair of them rushing through it, and I was at the end of the line. I was the last person December saw, the last smile she got to see before she got into the town car with Prinze. He’d worn a long trench coat while she’d been dawned in a fluffy white wrap, the pair of them like something off a damn Christmas card. It probably would be the shot they chose to send out this year, Merry Christmas from the Prinzes.

I’d waved them off like everyone else, my sparkler dead as wet snow and ice crushed under their wheels. They’d chosen one of the coldest days of the year to get married, but odds were, they were the warmest people on the planet in that moment. They’d taken their happiness and shared it in front of all of us, in front of me.

My hand lowered in the chilly air. I’d failed to put on a coat. I’d been in such a hurry to join everyone outside, see the couple off.

Correcting that, I headed in while the rest of the world passed well wishes after their town car. I figured they’d both probably need a way to get their gifts home, and since I was the man of honor, why not.

My steps guided me past ice sculptures and twinkling lights, the entire house decked out tonight for the festivities. At one point, the place actually snowed inside.

I shit you not.

It’d been fake snow, but snow nonetheless and an added touch to Prinze and the extra limb he’d gone out on to make this day the true essence of winter. His bride was named December, so he brought her that, December, and it hadn’t mattered they’d gotten married after the first of the year. Prinze had pulled out all the stops, totally him.

Laughing a little at it, I eventually found myself back in the ballroom depleted of guests. With most folks outside, nothing but the house band and a few other chatting wedding guests resided inside. As I had a date with the gift table, I ventured there but found a small congregation had already gathered by the time I’d gotten there.

Knight Reed, one of Royal’s best men, handed gifts off to another one of Royal’s guys, LJ. They had a cart between them, the thing already stacked with large packages wrapped in colorful foils and decorative paper. At the helm of the cart (and waiting rather impatiently I might add) stood Jaxen Ambrose, Prinze’s third and final member of his guys-in-waiting. The dude had a joint behind his ear and his girlfriend, Cleo, under his arm, most assuredly the reason for his lack of patience.

I hadn’t seen him or the other guys most of the night, but that’d only been half my fault. Windsor House had a lot of nooks and crannies to get lost in, a lot of bedrooms, and odds were, these guys were doing their girls as much as the Cha-Cha Slide tonight. Knight and LJ had girlfriends too, both of which I’d seen outside waving Royal and December off. The guys had probably escaped to handle the gifts, and since Jax basically only left his girlfriend to pee today, he’d most likely dragged her inside with him. I’d heard he actually donated a kidney to her…

Right?

I’d seen some interesting things in my life, but miracles? Well, I could honestly say I’d witnessed four. The first had been Royal Prinze actually deciding to marry someone who wasn’t himself, and the second, third, and fourth consisted of these three dudes settling down with something besides their right hands. Don’t get me wrong. I’d held my fair share of women over the years, but these guys? These guys had ventured into nothing but fuckboy territory and definitely hadn’t looked anywhere close to settling down.

They weren’t that now, and Jaxen barely allowed an inch between him and his girl. He lifted a hand when he saw me, relaxed, and when the others jutted their chins in a similar easy-going fashion, I realized how much really had changed. These dudes had hated my ass in school, super loyal to Prinze, and though we’d squashed most of our shit back then, they’d never been really excited to pass me their hand. I’d noticed the change first with Prinze after he and December got serious. Back then, the others had followed his example, but I think only mostly due to loyalty. We hadn’t been each other’s biggest fans, a history there, but with the wedding excitement around us and their girls at their sides, it’d been like I was dealing with different men. They were different. They’d changed.

Jax and I snapped after our handshake, and fuck me, if Knight friggin’ Reed didn’t bring me into a hug after ours. He’d had his pal Heineken in his hand, so I had a feeling it had something to do with that, but when LJ did the same after our hands met, I just laughed and accepted it. These guys really had transformed, wild.

“Bro. We fucking rocked this shit tonight.” LJ bumped my fist, then settled back. “I swear, I saw Royal fucking cry.”

“Oh, he totally cried,” I said, chuckling and again, wild. I shook my head. “Never thought I’d see the day.”