The Pretend Husband: Romance In the City, Book 1

by Declan Rhodes

  The kitchen was beginning to fill with the heady aroma of sausage, cheese, and pasta baking in the oven, and Chester occupied himself in the corner of the floor gnawing on a chew toy when I heard the sound of Liam’s car pulling into the driveway. I leaned back against the counter and gripped it tight in anticipation.

  The kitchen door opened, and Chester scrambled across the floor to leap at Liam’s legs. He laughed and reached down scratching between Chester’s ears smiling broadly. “Hey, buddy, let me at least get in the door.”

  I spotted a small bouquet of flowers in Liam’s arms, and I said, “Surely you didn’t buy those for me.”

  He laid them on the countertop and pulled open a cabinet door below the counter to search for a vase. He said, “I guess it would be a nice thing to do for you sometime after everything you do around here, but no, I didn’t. These are for both of us. The Lintons sent them to us.”

  I bit my lip and didn’t say anything else. I watched Liam run water into the vase. He tried to arrange the flowers pleasingly, but then he just gave up in a huff. He turned away from the bouquet saying, “This is not my thing. Maybe you can do something better with them later.” Liam blinked and turned back toward me asking, “Are you okay, Alex? You look a little bit like you’ve seen a ghost. You’re pale.”

  I blurted out my news without any introduction. “Mark knows that we’re married.”

  Liam smiled at first and started to joke about it. He asked, “Did you hit your head? We’re not married, Alex. We’re pretending.”

  I spoke in a firm, flat voice. “Listen to me, Liam. Mark knows that we’re married. He congratulated me on our elopement just over an hour ago. He was confused about why I wasn’t wearing my ring.”

  I saw Liam’s face blanch white. He asked, “You mean you didn’t tell him anything about it? Didn’t you have a conversation like I did with Sarah? Did he just bring it up out of thin air?”

  “It came up out of thin air. I don’t have any idea how Mark found out about our marriage. I didn’t want to sound weird by asking, ‘Who told you?’ He acted like it was common knowledge.”

  Liam gripped the countertop to steady himself. “Common knowledge? Then how many other people know, and, even more importantly, how did Mark find out? Does he have any connection to the Lintons?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know Mark that well. We chat every time I see him at the dog park, but it’s rarely anything much deeper than observations about the weather, or chit-chat about cooking and travel. He’s planning to go on a cruise to the Caribbean this winter to get over his breakup.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m not that interested in Mark’s personal life right now. I think we need to deal with our crisis. Did you have your ring with you? Or how did you explain that to him?”

  “I keep it in my wallet.”

  “And the explanation for that?”

  “I told him that I take it off while I’m washing dishes, and being married is still so new that sometimes I forget to put it back on.”

  Liam held his hand up to his mouth and said, “So you confirmed that we’re married. You didn’t deny it at all.”

  “I didn’t think I could deny it. I didn’t know how Mark found out. For all I know, he could be the grandson of Hubert Linton, and I didn’t think it was a good thing if that kind of person found out that you were lying, Liam.”

  He corrected me immediately. “We were lying.” A long, silent pause hung in the air between us before Liam finally asked, “Now what? What do we next?”

  I tried to smile and said, “We go to the baseball game.”

  I nearly laughed out loud at the priceless look of utter confusion on Liam’s face. He asked, “Baseball game? I don’t see the connection…”

  “I bought tickets.”

  Liam’s forehead furrowed. He asked, “How did you decide to buy tickets? And where did you get the money? What if I don’t like baseball?”

  I said, “I’ve saved a shred here and there, and my parents sent a couple of checks. I took a chance on the tickets. I like baseball, and I want to take you. The last game of the season is tomorrow night, and we have seats in the field boxes.”

  My abrupt change of topic was successful. Liam said, “I like baseball, too. Maybe it will be the fun thing that we both need. It will be our last big hurrah together before our world comes crashing down into an ugly heap around us.”

  11

  Liam

  I was still terrified about the news that Mark thought we were married. He found out the information from someone other than Alex or me, and that was worrisome. Fortunately, I could put the concerns on hold for at least a few hours because it was baseball night. I pulled my jersey from the closet. I wore a long sleeve T-Shirt beneath it and smiled at myself in the mirror as I buttoned it up. Alex didn’t know, but he hit the bullseye when he bought the baseball tickets. I was a fan, and I only managed to see two games so far in the current season. Those were back in May.

  Alex dressed in a blue polo and said, “At least I can wear the right color. You look perfect in your jersey. Can I touch it?”

  I said, “Of course you can.” I watched as Alex stepped up close and reached out to trace the team logo across my chest with a single fingertip.

  “Like I said, perfect.”

  Alex looked up from the logo, and our faces were only inches apart. He took a deep breath and then leaned in just a few inches closer.

  I saw his lips start to part, and I chickened out. I said, “I got one without a player’s name on the back.”

  “One what?” asked Alex.

  “The jersey. Three different times when I was growing up, my parents bought me jerseys with the name of my favorite player, and they were traded away in the next season. This time around I decided to get a jersey that would be appropriate every year.”

  I saw a small frown pull down the corners of Alex’s mouth, and he took a step back. He didn’t say anything about being so close to me. Instead, he asked, “So you’ve been a baseball fan all your life?”

  I nodded. “My uncle on my dad’s side played two seasons in the minor leagues here in Wisconsin. He tells stories about it every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

  “Were you a player?”

  “I tried to be, but I didn’t have much success. I was small for my age in elementary school, and I didn’t have the running speed that could compensate for it. I played for three summers, but then it was noticeable that I couldn’t keep up with some of my friends. I quit and tried playing soccer instead. By the time I was in junior high, my dreams of being a team athlete were over.”

  Alex laughed and said, “You did better than me. I tripped over a base in my second season and broke my thumb. I ended up with a cast for most of the summer, and I never went back to the field. I did stay a major league fan, though. I like to go to games.”

  I loved listening to Alex talk about growing up. It was like talking to a buddy, and it was easier than having to deal with the physical attraction, I mean lust, that I felt growing more intense by the day.

  I didn’t go to nearly as many baseball games during a season as I would like to. I usually caught three or four, but none of my close friends had much interest in sports in general. Alex told me that he didn’t care much for other sports, but baseball was a family tradition. He found watching the other fans as enjoyable as watching the actual events of the game.

  When we settled into our seats just fifteen rows back from the field, Alex said, “We should do this more often.”

  I turned my head and asked, “When you’re living in St. Paul?”

  He blushed and said, “Oh, I guess that might be a problem.”

  We chatted back and forth about memories of catching fly balls. We had each caught one. It happened to me when I was in high school, and it bounced off a seat four rows away. Alex snagged one while he was in college. He said it was a line drive, and his roommate ducked.

  In the fourth inning, we decided to leave our seats in search of re
freshments. Being a Milwaukee native, bratwurst was a requirement for me at a game. Alex opted instead for ice cream.

  After we settled back into our seats, it didn’t take me long to polish off the brat. Alex asked, “Did you inhale that? I could have sworn you had a whole bratwurst and bun just thirty seconds ago.”

  “I was hungry.”

  While Alex dug into his ice cream during the mid-inning break, I watched the kiss cam on the scoreboard. It wasn’t difficult to think of Alex as I watched each couple smile and then kiss energetically for the crowd. I often grumbled to myself about the focus on heterosexual couples, but I knew that some stadiums on the coasts were beginning to include same-sex couples in the kissing frenzy.

  Alex leaned over toward me holding out a spoon. He said, “Here, Liam, taste this. It’s really delicious. It’s a lot better than the ice cream you get at the stadium in Minnesota.”

  Keeping one eye on the scoreboard, I turned my head to take a bite from Alex’s spoon. Then it happened.

  Alex and I were on the scoreboard larger than life. He held the spoon handle, and I gripped the other end tight with my teeth. He pulled it back, and the first thought running through my mind was, “A gay couple at last!” My enthusiasm crowded out any other concerns about propriety.

  Alex’s eyes opened wide when I turned, wrapped an arm around his shoulders and kissed him full on the lips. It didn’t last long. The crowd roared, and seconds later the cam switched away in search of another photogenic couple.

  Alex blinked and froze with the spoon still waving in the air. The fans around us were applauding, and a man behind us clapped me on the back just before Alex asked, “Did you mean that?”

  I leaned toward him and spoke directly into his ear. I said, “They never feature gay couples on the kiss cam. At least I’ve never seen one here. We needed to take one for the team.”

  He raised an eyebrow and frowned. “Take one for the team? Is that all it was? You didn’t feel anything?”

  I said, “Let’s talk about it when we get home. You are a good kisser. That’s the best kiss I’ve had in a long time. Thank you.”

  I started to turn away, but then Alex grabbed me. He gripped my chin in his hand and planted a kiss square on my lips. The fans around us cheered again, and Alex said, “I felt that, and it wasn’t for the team.”

  I slumped down in my seat, crossed my arms over my chest and focused on the game. I enjoyed the kisses more than I would ever want to admit. The tips of our tongues even touched. If we were alone, and Alex wasn’t moving to St. Paul, I would tackle him to the floor. That was guaranteed, but I also knew that he didn’t need to know. We still had our marriage to sort out.

  12

  Alex

  We returned to Liam’s house after the game. I still had the taste of his kiss on my lips. I wondered if we were going to talk about the meaning of the kiss, or if Liam had already forgotten about his offer of a discussion.

  Chester begged to be taken out, and I did the honors. I attached the leash to his collar and escorted him to the backyard. It was almost 11:00 p.m. and the moon was nearly full. I released Chester to let him run around the yard. While he darted into a corner sniffing at the fence, I looked up. Even though we were in the middle of the city, I could still see a scattering of stars across the sky and the moon was nearly full. It was a stunningly beautiful fall night. I wondered if one of the stars up there was my lucky one. I picked one out, closed my eyes, and wished for Liam to remain in my life. At least I could hope.

  When Chester returned to my side, I squatted down and scratched behind his ears. I whispered, “I still can’t believe I’m even here, Chester.” He stared into my eyes and then licked my hand. The moon was bright enough that I could see the outlines of his face. On a normal night, as a black Lab, he looked like a darker segment of an already dark night. On this night, in the strong moonlight, his features were clear. I said to him, “But I don’t want to stay longer than I should.”

  Chester failed to respond to my commentary. Instead, he panted lightly and then licked my hand a second time. The weeks with Liam so far were some of the best experiences of my life, but I knew that I needed to leave soon if I was going to live up to my word. I also needed to help extricate Liam from the marriage scheme. If it continued, his life was likely to become complicated in ways that I never planned.

  By the time Chester and I returned to the kitchen inside the house, everything was quiet and dark. Liam was already upstairs and likely in bed. The kiss discussion would have to wait for another day.

  I hung Chester’s leash on the hook by the kitchen door and wiped out and refilled his water dish. Holding a finger to my lips, I implored him to be quiet as we both climbed the steps in the dim light cast through the windows by the moon and the street lamps.

  As I reached the second-floor landing, I could hear a very light snore coming from down the hall. Chester stepped ahead of me, and he turned back with an expectant gaze when he reached the doorway of Liam’s bedroom. I raised an eyebrow as if to ask what he wanted.

  Chester didn’t move, and I decided to step forward. Liam’s bedroom door was wide open like usual at night. He wanted to give Chester the full freedom to wander from room to room. I did the same with the guest room allowing Chester run of the house.

  Stepping up next to the dog, I peered in through the doorway. I bit my lip at the alluring sight laid out before me. Liam was lying flat on his back. His arms were splayed out to his side, and his mouth was slightly open as the gentle snoring sounds issued forth.

  The sheet and blanket pushed down to just above his waist exposed his smooth chest. I was momentarily mesmerized watching it rise and fall with every breath. My mind drifted off to a fantasy of stripping off my clothes and climbing into the bed naked beside Liam.

  I would let my fingers explore the visible parts of his body and then slowly slip them beneath the sheets. That’s when I would lean in close and press our lips together. He would wake just as my fingers found his cock under the covers. My overtures would lead to a perfect night of sex I’d ever experienced before falling asleep wrapped in Liam’s arms.

  I gasped when I realized I was standing in the doorway touching myself, gripping my package through my jeans, kneading and stroking, while I fantasized.

  Stepping back, I caught my breath wondering what the consequences would have been if Liam caught me masturbating just outside his bedroom. As I turned away to walk down the hall to the guest room, I heard Liam’s bed groan when Chester jumped onto it to settle in for his night’s sleep.

  I didn’t feel any more restful when I finally made my way to the guest room. I unbuttoned my shirt and laid it on the back of the chair in the corner. Reaching up to rub my right hand across my chest, I thought again about the sensation of Liam’s warm skin beneath my fingertips. After gently touching and kneading, I would kiss his body and bathe it with my tongue. He was so much better of a man than Eric, and that made my attraction to him almost unbearable late at night. I took a deep, heavy breath that broke into jagged shards punctuated by little gasps.

  The moon shone directly through the guest room window and sent rays of light onto the floor and across the bed. I continued to undress, and then I crawled into the bed naked. The sheets were clean and pressed. I changed them earlier in the day. Laying my head on the pillow, I rolled over to my side and closed my eyes. Before falling asleep, I decided to speak with Liam about the false marriage plans as soon as he returned home from work the next day.

  If we put that issue to rest, maybe, just maybe there would be some opportunity to talk about ourselves further in the future, and I could find out if he were at all interested in me. Letting that moment expand itself in my mind, I was finally restful enough to drift off to sleep.

  13

  Liam

  My boss, Guy Fischer, said, “I know that you normally wouldn’t be asked to attend an event like the Milwaukee Risers reception tomorrow night, but the Lintons were so impressed with you, Lia
m. I think you make a great goodwill ambassador for the museum. This group’s purpose was helping the young people of the city work their way into important social networks. You might even meet people who can play a key role in your future.”

  I swallowed hard as I stared back at Guy. Just as I settled into my office to start browsing through photos of outsider art after a quick bratwurst lunch with Sarah, he knocked on my door. The Milwaukee Risers were an important group if your goal was to be part of the upper-crust crowd in the city. I was aware of their importance, but it wasn’t a group of interest for me.

  I was never comfortable being asked to move from person to person in a big group while trying to come up with something inconsequential to say. Fortunately, since graduating from college I taught myself techniques for small talk that worked in my favor, but I still didn’t enjoy it. I started to say, “I’m not sure…”

  Guy interrupted me. He said, “And please bring your husband. It was a shock to me that you got married, but I would like you to bring your husband to the reception. He was a big hit with the Lintons.”

  I swallowed hard. First, Mark, and now Guy. I was shocked how the word of our marriage spread so quickly, and it sounded like the reason was our fault. Alex and I were both too good at acting. Everyone was convinced we were married. No one thought it was fake.

  “So, can I count on you, Liam?” asked Guy.

  I resisted the temptation to sigh and hang my head. Instead, I managed a weak smile and said, “Of course, you can count on me.”