Page 7 of Trouble in Love
“It’s not pathetic, Luca. Asher and Teddy are your friends, and they want to help.”
“I said it was desperate. Not pathetic. But thanks for the upgrade.”
Ana dismissed me with a playful nudge. “Oh, stop complaining. You’re jetting off to paradise. It’s going to be amazing—Ooh, there they are. Oh, and yay! Rachel’s with them. Look at her glow! I can’t believe she’s being a surrogate for Teddy and Ash. God, she’s incredible.”
A burst of color emerged from the crowd. Running full sprint toward me in all his glory, with a tote bag featuring a largesketch of Hugh Jackman’s beautiful face bopping at his side was Teddy Digby—boyfriend of my first... boy... thing, Asher. “You look amazing, Luca. Depression suits you.” Like he knew it was coming, Teddy turned and plastered on a dazzling smile just as the cameras flashed. “I could get used to this,” he beamed, spinning back to face me. “Want to be plane buddies? My friend Scarlett, the one you’ll soon be meeting, said she lost the will to live several times on the flight, so I’ve come prepared. I’ve packed oodles of snacks and magazines, adult coloring books, and pencils in every shade.”
We hadn’t left the terminal, but I could already empathize with Scarlett.
Asher popped out from behind Teddy, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “I would have thought you’d be sitting with me… your boyfriend?” He turned to me then, a shy smile graced his lips, and he tugged me into an awkward bro-hug that had my heart skipping a beat. “Hey Luca.”
I breathed him, his always soft but messy ebony locks brushing against my neck, reminding me of that messed-up kid reading fairy porn in his bed. Not much had changed. His equally hot sister Rachel, whom I hadn’t seen in maybe three years, appeared next, pushing Asher aside and wrapping me in another delicious vanilla-y scented embrace. “I’ll just start checking in our bags, shall I?” Ash muttered before disappearing.
“I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through,” Rachel said, nuzzling. “And I hate that Clara floozy,” I said nothing in reply; I was too busy ignoring the golden flesh revealed by her rising top. Yes, she was pregnant, and yes, I was playing into the stereotype of the slutty bi, but Asher and Rachel Kim had held a grip over me since puberty. The gangly boy that followed them around like a pup may have become a famous bulking hockey star, but nothing had changed when it came to them.
After letting me go, she popped her hip and crossed her arms over her chest, the tiny curve of her belly poking out. “She never deserved you, Luca. You can do so much better.” That was utter crap, but I knew better than to say anything of the sort with her terror twin, Anabela, matching her pissy pose, so again, I remained silent, replying only with a flushed cheek nod.
Teddy cleared his throat and laid his head on my shoulder. “So, it’s not just the male variety of Kim’s that not-so-little Luca fancies?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I lied, my cheeks turning from flushed to ablaze.
“Oh, but I think you do,” he shimmied closer, eyes narrowing. “You can keep your filthy mitts off Asher, but Rachel broke up with her boyfriend just before we found out she was pregnant. Forget that she’s carrying Teddy Junior inside her. She’s single and hot. You’re single and insanely fucking hot, and … Oh my god.” he gasped, “Imagine if you two got married, like me and Ashy will. Oh! We could be bros-in-laws. Oh! We could have a double wedding.” He clasped his hands together at his chest and swooned to the left. “Oh, bloody hell, I can just picture it. Lucky we have twenty-odd hours to plan it.”
And that’s it. I’m out.
Turning on my heels, I headed toward the exit. “Where do you think you’re going?” Teddy asked, tugging on my elbow and pulling me to a stop with surprising ease. “I get it. It feels too soon to talk about marriage, especially since you just got dumped at the altar. But one can never be too prepared, and the Rainbow Room can never be booked too soon.”
“Teddy, stop harassing the pretty man,” Rachel laughed, threading her arms around my waist and pulling me free. “Leave that to me.”
I groaned internally. The affection, the touch, the high cheekbones—it’s all too much. It had been a long time since I’dseen any action. To say I was a smidge backed up would be like calling Dallas a tiny bit of a cunt. With one thought, a wave of guilt and remorse crashed over me. For months, I had declared that woman was my world, yet there I was, walking away. Giving up without a fight... at least off the ice.
What kind of man did that? My pathetic father, for one. We shared an uncanny likeness in face and body, but with the Grecian profile and beneficial six feet, four inches came more moral deficiencies than you could poke a stick at. No wonder Clara never loved me back. Unworthiness was embedded in my DNA.
Picking up on my sharp decline into self-loathing, Rachel began caressing my back in swooping circular motions that I instinctively leaned into. “You okay, babe? You look like you’re heading to your funeral, not an Aussie beachside paradise.”
“Just a little nervous about the flight, Rach. I’m sure I’ll be calmer after the first twenty-one hours have passed.”
My sarcasm fooled no one.
“Hiding what’s going on in that pretty head of yours is what got you in trouble in the first place. You need to talk.” With her free hand, Rachel pulled Teddy and the mango smoothie he was now sipping into a huddle. “Ted, I’ve got a job for you. Luca needs to dump his load, and you’re the perfect man for the job.”
“I need to do what in the what now?” Ted splattered, my NHL-level reflexes not saving me from the juice spurting from his mouth. “As much as I would enjoy sampling Luca’s load, wouldn’t Asher be a better option since he is somewhat familiar with his… offerings?”
Poor Rachel pouted and furrowed her brows in genuine confusion… for about five seconds. “No! I meant his emotional load, not his… his...” She pointed to my junk. “Asher can’t handle talking about feelings. You know this, Teddy. Stop being a dick and take it.”
“Can we please stop talking about loads and dicks and taking it?” I moaned, wiping my face clean with the bottom of my tee.
“Whose dick are we talking about?” inserted Ana. “Coach Brown? I wanna talk about dicks.”
“Dicks?” Asher returned from luggage duty at exactly the wrong moment.
Fighting a grin, Teddy bit down on his straw. “I tell you what. I’ve had some doozies, but this is the best conversation I have ever been involved in.”
Yeah. I could not say the same and attempted to remove myself from it. Teddy followed, though, catching me by the back of my shirt only a few paces away. “Baby Mumma’s right. As well as being a world-class architect/dancer, I am an excellent listener. We’re about to be wedged in together for hours on end. You may as well take advantage of me... of it.... Not me … unless you really want to … but even then, Ashy would not be happy, so no. Thank you, but it’s best if we stay friends and stick to talking.”
“But I didn’t…” With a quick pat on my ass, Teddy sauntered off, and I stormed into the men’s room, taking the only free stall, slamming the door, and collapsing against the wall. “What the fuck am I doing here?”
We flew out of JFK around seven thirty Thursday night and after seventeen-ish hours of flying, arrived in hazy New Zealand at six a.m. Saturday morning. After a splash and dash refueling, we were off again for another three hours and forty-five minutes of flight time. Yet we were due to land in Sydney at nine a.m.
