Page 14 of And the Best Man Ran Away With the Groom

Trent shrugs. “I don’t often see other guys in just their jocks. But why not? You can compliment someone on their clothes or shoes or whatever—why not their underwear?”

I just shake my head in exasperation. Are all straight guys this oblivious?

GLOSSARY

Rashie - Rash top/rash vest (AKA sun shirt)

Slip, Slop, Slap - a very popular sun safety campaign slogan

Boardies - Board shorts

Singlet - Tank top

Jocks - Men’s underwear

Fluro - Fluorescent/Neon

7

Trent

I’ve discovered two things over the course of the past day of travelling with Xavier. The first is that he’s a bit of a grumpy Gus; I’m not sure whether this is his usual personality setting or if he’s in a bit of a funk thanks to being dumped so recently—I certainly wouldn’t blame him if the latter were the case, although my gut tells me this is probably a more permanent thing. The second is that I find this part of his personality incredibly endearing, which is odd for me. I usually find irritable people to be incredibly exasperating, but for some reason Xavier’s prickliness is completely adorable to me. Maybe it has something to do with the way he seems to gain annoyance from my positive, friendly nature—it’s so amusing I’m finding myself turning on the charm way more than I usually would just to needle him.

I feel my lips twitching and try to hold back the chuckle that’s trying to escape my mouth as I notice Xavier is still bright red after our chat about his underwear. Surely it’s notthatweird to talk about a bloke’s jocks? I thought it’d break the ice after I accidentally caught him changing, but it seems I just made him more uncomfortable.

We reach the resort’s common area and I glance around for a second to get my bearings. I quickly spot the bar and restaurant Oliver pointed out earlier. It’s a lot busier than it was earlier this afternoon, which I guess is unsurprising considering it’s happy hour.

I place my hand on Xavier’s shoulder, guiding him in the direction of the bar. “This way.”

To my surprise, he quickly steps away from me, shrugging my hand off. “You probably shouldn’t touch me like that.”

A twinge of guilt hits me. I really need to remember that people have different boundaries to me. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to invade your space.” I hold my hands up to let him know it was unintentional. “Won’t happen again.”

He rolls his eyes in the kind of dramatic way I’m used to seeing from Alicia. “It’s not that. It’s just if you keep touching me all the time, people are going to think we’re a couple.”

My mouth falls open in surprise. Idefinitelyhadn’t considered that. “Seriously? I touch your shoulder so that means we’re fucking?” I ask incredulously.

Xavier’s face burns beetroot-red in response to my question. “Maybe not to most people, but to other gay guys, yeah. That guy Oliver already thought we were a couple just because we’re travelling together.”

I give a helpless shrug. “Alright then, I guess I won’t touch you.” It’s going to be hard, though; I’m a tactile guy by nature and Xav’s just the right height to sling an arm around.

He nods his approval. “Good idea. You don’t want people thinking you’re gay.”

I let out a harsh snort. “I don’t give a shit what people think about me. But it’ll put a bit of a hitch in the plan if all the gay guys around here think you’ve got a boyfriend, won’t it?”

He blinks up at me in confusion. “The plan?”

“Your rebound. Alastor told me not to bring you home until you’ve had some fun, and we both know what he meant by that,” I say with a wink.

Xavier lets out a low groan, wiping a hand over his face. “Alastor is dead to me.”

I sling an arm around Xavier’s shoulders and drag him against me for a side-hug. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Fairy godfather, remember?”

Xavier lets out an exasperated sigh. “Not sure if you’ve noticed, but you’re touching me again.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” I drop my arm from his shoulders and move a little to the side, putting some distance between us.

We reach the bar, which has an open-air alfresco set up. The actual service bar and several seating areas are undercover, with more lounges and tables spread around in open space. It opens out onto the pool area on one side and the restaurant on the other, with beautiful views of the beach all along the front.

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