Page 36 of Wedding Wrecker

I’m in the car with an almost-stranger, who’s obsessed enough with me to come all the way from Texas, after ditching his fiancée at the altar. And while Hassan sees who I’m leaving with, the adrenaline flowing through my veins pushes me to think about the worst of scenarios.

“Just breathe, the hospital is only twenty minutes from here,” Kyle says, pulling out of the stables.

I huff in frustration. “I don’t need advice,” I rasp, but when Jekyll whines, my heart softens a little and give him my hand to lick.

“I know. It’s just... I’m thinking it’s best if you don’t think about the pain. We can talk about anything else. Like… what’s the name of your horse?” Kyle asks.

“Or, like, what are you doing here?” I don’t even have the energy to yell as I glance into his big brown eyes in the rearview mirror. Damn, they’re beautiful, like a doe’s, but that doesn’t change a thing, because he sought me out and invaded my privacy. For what?

Kyle’s shoulders stiffen, and when he speaks, his voice is low and flat. “I’m sure you heard what happened with the wedding. I got real with Madison, told her I know what she’d been up to, and broke things off. But… I don’t know, it didn’t feel fair to leave her to take the blame just because no one knew what I did, so the official version is that I wasn’t ready. It’s been a shitshow.”

I rub my forehead in frustration. Of course Kyle took the fall. He had to prove to himself that he’s the good guy. “How am I involved in this?” I have a vague idea but I want him to say it.

Kyle looks back, for a moment neglecting the road ahead, but he focuses on where we’re going before I have to remind him that he’s in a moving car. “Well… we had this amazing chemistry, and I kept thinking about you. So I figured I’ll seek you out and see what happens.”

I swallow, processing that. Okay, maybe it’s a little psycho stalker, but he’s got good intentions. I don’t have to be mean to him.

“That’s… brave of you, taking life in your hands and all that, but you don’t know me. Not really."

Kyle chuckles as we speed up on the highway. “I know, but with the way things developed, I can’t be home right now. I drove away after Mom got the pastor involved. It was a whole intervention kind of thing, and for a moment I was seriously worried they might try to take me somewhere.” He rubs his forehead before hitting the back of his head against the seat.

Oh God. This is bad. I’m not some mother hen about to take baby gay boys under her wing. None of this should be my problem, but somehow I’m involved, and on top of it, I’ll owe him for driving me to the hospital.

“I’m… sorry,” I mutter. “So I understand you came out?”

Kyle nods with a deep exhale. “Madison didn’t want anyone to know, but my Mom has seen my porn before, and she told the rest of the family that this is why I really backed out. I know they’re just worried, but it was relentless. I didn’t want to stay with any of my friends back home, because their ties to my family are too strong, so I figured… I guess I wasn’t thinking straight. I just packed one bag, Jekyll’s food, and we were on our way.”

“On your way… here? Where are you staying?” I ask as the cogs in my brain move at an increasing speed.

“I don’t really know anyone living far away enough. This is the first time I left Texas,” Kyle says, squeezing the steering wheel.

I don’t know any more if he’s brave or reckless. “Why did you think this was a good idea? If you knew your mom would cause you problems you should have waited and saved up for an escape plan. Jesus!” I whimper with pain when he drives over a bump in the road.

“Well, she already knew. And didn’t you tell me to not marry Madison yourself?”

I’m exhausted already. I don’t want this upheaval in my life. I’ve barely got it together after a clusterfuck of a relationship last year. “Okay, so what do you plan to do here?”

Kyle rubs his face. “Find work, see how things go,” he says, meeting my gaze in the mirror.

With you is silent. He is out of his mind, hung up on a good fuck. It’s flattering really, but also stupid and borderline insane. I glance at my swollen ankle. This is the beginning of the problems he will bring into my life. There’s no reason to not let him down gently though. After all, I can’t expect a twenty-year-old gay dude who just got his first dick to make the best of decisions.

“I mean… it’s a good place to live. Quite a gay-friendly area too. I can give you some tips on nice places to eat when I get my fill of painkillers.”

Kyle’s silent, but his hands work the steering wheel, offering me a glimpse of his innermost thoughts. Jekyll looks at his master and whines softly, which makes Kyle snap out of his thoughts.

“I tried to book a motel, but none of the places that have rooms available around here accept dogs…”

Oh no. Oh hell no! I can see where this is going.

I take a deep, shivery breath, but it’s so hard to think when my leg is a throbbing mass of pain. “Are you shitting me? Don’t tell me you’ve been staying in your car?”

“Yeah, last night. It wasn’t ideal. I was thinking that maybe you’d agree to let Jekyll stay at yours until I find someplace to live?”

The dog doesn’t understand what’s being said, but the expression on his little canine face is crestfallen, as if the weight of the world suddenly fell on its back.

I have to close my eyes and count to five. “Kyle. You can’t do that. This isn’t Texas, it’s still cold at night at this time of year. Are you sure you can’t go back home? I’m sure your mom will come around.” I have no idea if she will, but I also don’t want any of this to be my problem.

He takes a loud breath as farmland passes by. “But… you told me not to marry her, and then left before the ceremony, because you didn’t want to see me go through with it. I thought you’d be glad to see me.”